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Va. bill aims to block public access to past police cases

A bill going through Virginia’s General Assembly aims to limit who can see the documents from past police cases.

The legislation is getting strong pushback from organizations that say access to the investigations — which are funded by taxpayers — also hold the police accountable.

Legislation headed to a Senate hearing would prevent anyone but the victim of a crime — or their attorney or next of kin — from getting access to documents from a past police investigation.

The bill introduced by Del. Rob Bell (R-Albemarle) passed the House earlier this month, and is opposed by a number of government-transparency advocates, including the Virginia Coalition for Open Government. Its executive director, Megan Rhyne, argues against giving police and prosecutors the discretion over what is kept from the public.

The parents of Hannah Graham, who was murdered in 2014, are just one family tied to a high-profile murder who support Bell’s bill, as reported by the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Susan Graham, Hannah’s mother, testified in Richmond at a House subcommittee hearing on the bill. Graham stated that she and her family are fearful that access to documents in her daughter’s murder investigation will give anyone the opportunity to retraumatize them.

The legislation passed the House earlier this month 54-45.

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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