Miyares, Pence, and Trump Call for Jay Jones to Quit; Tourism Record in Virginia’s Blue Ridge — Oct 7

End quote. Well, the latest Waston Center survey conducted by Christopher Newport University in late September and early October of statewide elections did come after the revelations about Jay Jones with his text messages and his recent traffic incident. Still, that survey shows Democrat Abigail Spanberger leading Republican lieutenant governor, wins Merle Sears by 10 points in the race for governor, Democrats winning by nine points in the lieutenant governor's contest, and Jay Jones still leading incumbent Republican Attorney General Jason Miarez by six points in the AG race. Virginia colleges and universities fare better in free speech on campus, even as threats to free speech continue to grow nationally. According to a new study, WFIR's Clark Palmer has that story. The report by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression examined 257 schools nationwide, with 166 receiving a failing grade for their speech climate. Support for free speech on campus continued to decline, led by drops among conservatives. For the first time, a majority of students would prevent speakers from both the left and the right who expressed controversial views from coming to campus. John Stevens' chief research advisor at the foundation said, Virginia had some of the highest-ranked schools, including UVA at 21 and George Mason University at 26. Virginia, on a whole, I'd say, does well compared to other states. There's certainly still room for improvement, but as a whole, the lowest ranked school in terms of the ones we've got here for Virginia is James Madison, and it's a hundred-third. They're all in the top half. The foundation surveyed more than 68,000 students of those surveyed, more than a third of students said the use of violence to stop someone from speaking was acceptable, at least in rarer cases, up 10 points from four years ago. Clark Palmer, WFIRE News. Reno County School Board member Tim Greenway has been charged with an election-related misdemeanor with weeks to go until election day. The charge stems from paperwork Greenway submitted earlier this year to get his name on the ballot. The county registrar flagged problems with Greenway's petitions, including affidavits that were not filled out correctly in some duplicate signatures. Greenway later corrected the issue, which he said was unintentional. Greenway remains on the ballot for the November election. AARP has released new polling that it says reveals supermajorities of Virginia voters are solidly behind two hot button issues. With the House of Delegates up for election in November. More from WFIR's Gene Marano. Freedom, Virginia points to the new AARP polling, which it says there was overwhelming support for a prescription drug affordability board, which made it through the Democrat Majority General Assembly earlier this year, only to see Governor Glenn Youngkin and veto that legislation. Rina Hicks, Freedom Virginia's co-executive director, says they hope to have data from other states soon. Maryland, it is looking like mid-November is when their board is set to take an upper payment limit, which we are excited.

about and looking forward to seeing how that plays out, especially since our General Assembly session wouldn't start until January. We're hoping to have some really concrete examples from these other states and how they're working in real time. Hicks says the Democrat candidate for Governor Abigail Spanberger has supported another issue high on the priority list for Freedom, Virginia. We are definitely talking to folks up and down the ballot from the state delegate to all the statewide positions. Abigail Spanberger specifically has mentioned support for paid family and medical leave publicly, and so we are really excited. that that would be a real reality for Virginians if she's elected this fall. And just hoping to expand that bipartisan support, this really shouldn't be a partisan thing. Meanwhile, John Hickenlooper says that Republican governor hopeful Winsome Earle-Sears, the current lieutenant governor, has called the prescription drug affordability board concept bureaucratic in the past. Sheen-Merano, WFIR News. Tourism spending in Virginia's Blue Ridge has hit an all-time high, and Roanoke is driving most of the growth. The region brought in nearly a billion dollars in visitors spending last year with more than half of that happening inside Roanoke City limits. Landon Howard, who heads the tourism group, visit Virginia's Blue Ridge, updated city leaders during a briefing yesterday. Howard says the city of Roanoke alone generated $25.5 million in local tax revenue from tourism last year, cutting the average households tax burden by nearly $600. There are over 43,000 households. in the city of Roanoke. And with the 25.5 million, that means that travel and tourism lowers the tax bill for every household in the city of Roanoke by $597. Because we've got a dynamic travel and tourism industry and fresh, clean new dollars are coming in, our citizens pay less taxes. And we know that that is absolutely critical. Howard says that competition is fierce and regional collaboration is key. Our neighbors that touch our borders, they're not our competition. I'll tell you who I think of every day. It's people like the Poconos, Charleston, West Virginia, Asheville. My job is to beat them out of market share and get as much business here as we possibly can, because we are the better vacation choice, in my opinion. But even with demand, but even with demand rising, Howard says there's a problem. The region doesn't have enough hotel space to meet current needs. I've said this to council before we're up on say it again. We've got a capacity issue, folks. We've got a capacity issue. If I could get another hotel Roanoke built with conference center space, we would fill it up within two years. There's no doubt in my mind. The demand is that strong. Visit Virginia's Blue Ridge says local tax dollars do not fund the organization. It's supported by the lodging tax, meaning growth in tourism pays off directly for the region. That's the latest. Check back tomorrow for our next update. Ian Price, WFIR News.