IN THE NEWS: When the Air Pollution Control Board denied a permit for a pipeline compressor station in Chatham, some criticized the ability of a citizen-led board to issue permits. One of those people is Republican Senator Richard Stuart of King George County. Now he has a bill stripping the Air Pollution Control Board of deciding who gets a permit and who doesn't. The Senate has already approved Stuart's bill, and a House committee approved it Wednesday. So it's on its way to the House floor, where it's likely to get a welcome reception.

Virginia has some of the weakest public disclosure laws in the country for police files. Documents that are widely available in other states are not available in Virginia, even for closed cases. Last year, lawmakers approved a new bill that allowed for some access in closed cases. But now Gil Harrington says that law puts family members of crime victims in the crosshairs. She's the mother of Morgan Harrington, who was murdered in 2010. She's working with Republican Delegate Rob Bell to roll back the new public documents to prevent salacious material from appearing on a made-for-TV movie. But Megan Rhyne at the Virginia Coalition for Open Government says returning to the old system would harm public access. Lawmakers are trying to work out a compromise that would block access to photos and videos for now and send the rest of the bill to the FOIA Council to study for next year.

Senator Amanda Chase’s effort to spend $70 million of taxpayer money to conduct a “full forensic audit” of the 2020 election. It was denied, but it’s worth noting senators who failed to vote against it. Four Republican senators voted for it: Amanda Chase, Jen Kiggans, Mark Peake, Bryce Reeves

GUEST INTERVIEW: (Christopher) Goad Gadsby is a Richmond Twitter legend. The guy with the disco mustache, tweeter of extreme politics, and host of the radio show Richmond Cryptoids. You may recognize him from his reporting during the Black Lives Matter protests in Richmond where he had a run-in with RPD. Goad endures hours of committee hearings, detailing them on Twitter so people who aren't there know what's happening. He discusses Republicans moving the "Overton window" and political arsonists setting fires with fake issues like "Critical Race Theory."

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