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Northam signs several bills that will become Va. law in July

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has signed multiple bills approved by the General Assembly on issues ranging from alcohol sales to health care and early voting into law, which will go into effect on July 1, 2021.

One bill will allow restaurants to continue to sell mixed alcoholic drinks and premixed wine for takeout and delivery until July 1, 2022.

Another will let people on Medicaid get up to a 12-month prescription of birth control.

Two other bills aim to remove honors for segregationists and Confederates.

One will give Arlington County the power to rename its stretch of Lee Highway, named after Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. The other will allow a statue of Harry Byrd, Sr. that stands in Capitol Square in Richmond to be taken down.

Byrd was a segregationist and served as governor of Virginia and as a U.S. senator.

A measure aimed at increasing sales of electric cars in the state was also signed. It will require carmakers to sell a certain percentage of electric or hybrid cars.

Northam signed two bills related to voting as well.

One will let localities that want to hold early voting on Sundays. The other will drop the requirement for absentee ballots to be signed by a witness during public health emergencies.

Click here for a full list of bills from the General Assembly’s 2021 special session that have been signed or enacted by Gov. Northam so far.

Trump announces a $22.5B makeover of Dulles airport that will eliminate the ‘people movers’

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a $22.5 billion renovation of Washington Dulles International Airport that will end the use of the widely disliked “people movers,” the mobile lounges that have been used for decades to shuttle travelers to and from the main terminal. In place of the people movers, the airport will add a new U-shaped passenger train, a central walking tunnel, more moving walkways and new concourses. An above-ground parking garage closer to the main terminal with space for 32,000 vehicles is also in the offing, according to Trump and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. The airport makeover would add to a long list of renovation projects the Republican president is pursuing to leave a lasting mark on the Washington region after his term ends in January 2029. Among other undertakings, he is building a new White House ballroom and wants to build a towering triumphal arch near the Lincoln Memorial. But of all the construction projects Trump is pursuing, the renovations at Dulles could prove to be his most popular and benefit the greatest number of people. The airport, the area’s primary international airport, served roughly 29 million passengers over the past year, according to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
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