Gov. Ralph Northam declared Sunday as a day of prayer and remembrance to honor the Virginians who died of COVID-19 as the state marks a grim milestone: more than 10,000 deaths in the Commonwealth are linked to COVID-19.

“Sunday marks one year since we first learned that a Virginian had died from COVID-19 in our Commonwealth,” Northam said in a statement. “Since then, more than [10,000] of our fellow Virginians have lost their lives to this disease, leaving behind families, friends, colleagues, and neighbors of all races, religions, and backgrounds. And while we cannot bring them back, we can honor their memories — and prevent more grief and loss — by working together to keep each other safe.”

Del. Delores McQuinn also introduced a resolution during the 2021 General Assembly session designating March 14, in 2021 and in each succeeding year, as Victims of COVID-19 Remembrance Day in Virginia.

Does your child have asthma? According to the CDC, the condition is “a leading chronic disease” for children and teenagers.

Recently the Virginia Senate approved HB 2019, supported by Delegate Delores McQuinn, to place albuterol inhalers in public schools. The legislation passed by a vote of 37-2.

“I have heard of too many instances, including from students that I know personally, of them having an asthma attack, but not having their inhaler on them because they forgot to bring it with them that day, or their parents did not provide them with one,” said McQuinn. This bill will ensure this life-saving medication is readily available to our students.”

Governor Ralph Northam on Friday unveiled a plan to advance diversity, equity and inclusion in Virginia’s state government. The ONE Virginia plan, which will support more than 100 state agencies in prioritizing fair and equitable services, is the first of its kind in the country.

“Using the Inclusive Excellence framework, ONE Virginia will help implement tangible reforms that interrupt long-held systems of structural inequity to create sustainable change, innovation, and productivity across state government, throughout Virginia, and around our country,” Underwood stated in a release.

The plan is being codified by the General Assembly through previously-passed legislation. House Bill 1993 — sponsored by Delegates Alex Askew, D-Virginia Beach, and Delores McQuinn, D-Richmond — requires state agencies to establish and maintain diversity, equity and inclusion plans in coordination with the Governor’s Chief Diversity Officer.

On Friday, Norment presented the idea to the House Rules Committee, which Filler-Corn oversees. Though he insisted he was not trying to “poke a finger in anyone’s eye,” Filler-Corn’s leadership team clearly felt otherwise.

“This is a step when we are taking the power away from our first woman speaker. I cannot support something like that,” said House Majority Leader Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria. “Because it will tell every young girl out there who seeks to achieve something that is so magnificent that there are people out there who are trying to take that authority from you. That’s not the way that we should do things.”

Del. Delores McQuinn, D-Richmond, also a member of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, defended the speaker’s action as a “proud moment” for the state. “For days, for years, walking past that room often left me sort of disgusted and anxious and bothered. And sometimes even preoccupied by what I saw as I walked through that particular space,” McQuinn said. “Some individuals want to call it a museum and even with that I take offense because I don’t see this as a museum.”