SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22 , 2020. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ M2 C3
in Minneapolis police custody in
May, to cover issues of racial
injustice and police brutality. It
kicked off Aug. 18 and did not
wrap up until Nov. 9.
L egislators did not meet daily
over that long stretch. And the
House convened only online as a
precaution against the novel cor-
onavirus.
That made it more convenient
for some delegates to carry on
with their day jobs. But for
legislators from rural areas with
spotty Internet access, participa-
tion was harder. Some members
of the public and lobbyists found
it harder to join in committee
hearings and to observe floor
sessions.
Filler-Corn plans to convene
the House remotely for the regu-
lar session, while the Senate will
continue meeting in person, with
desks spaced far apart at a
meeting space at the Science
Museum of Virginia.
Irked by the marathon special
session and the breathtaking
speed of Democratic gains, some
Republicans have cheered the
proposed 30-day limit as a way to
rein in the newly blue Capitol.
“We’re doing what we can to
limit the amount of further de-
struction Democrats can inflict
on the Commonwealth in their
remaining 12 months in power,”
Del. David A. LaRock (R-Loud-
oun) tweeted.
But Sen. Scott Surovell (D-
Fairfax) said that’s not up for the
Republicans to decide.
“It’s an effort to limit the
power of the majority that voters
put in office 12 months ago,” he
said. “If you’re going to make
major policy changes, it takes
more than 30 days of session.”
[email protected]ture will need more than 30 days
to continue wrestling with the
state budget and the pandemic’s
continued economic fallout.
“All of our state agencies are
stressed, our higher education
system is stressed, and we need
to have mature leadership look-
ing at how to deal with these
issues,” Howell said. “I want us to
make wise decisions, not hasty
ones.”
Democrats say a 30-day ses-
sion would be unrealistically
short to give every bill fair con-
sideration — even under new bill
limits expected to be imposed in
both chambers in response to the
mountain of legislation filed last
year.
Plans call for the House’s 100
delegates to be capped at seven
bills apiece. The 40 senators will
get 12 bills each.
That amounts to a maximum
of 700 House bills and 480
Senate bills. In a 30-day session,
each would have to make it out of
one chamber and over to the
other in the space of two weeks,
Simon noted, calling that a “fair-
ly daunting” pace.
After flipping the House and
Senate blue in November 2019
elections, Democrats pushed
through sweeping changes in the
60-day regular session that
kicked off in January. They tight-
ened restrictions on guns, loos-
ened them on abortion, raised
the minimum wage, expanded
LGBT rights and increased vot-
ing access, to name just a few of
their wins.
That session ran five days into
overtime. Then came the special
session, initially planned to ad-
dress the pandemic’s impact on
the budget but later expanded,
after the killing of George Floydsembly should be able to do its
work in 30 days next year be-
cause it just reworked the state’s
two-year, $135 billion budget,
adjusting it to the financial hits
the pandemic was taking on
state finances.
He contends the 30-day limit
would force the legislature to
focus on the most critical issues,
such as ensuring that, in a time
of shuttered schools and unequal
Internet access, “kids are learn-
ing every day.”
“We feel very comfortable that
the legislature can get its work
done in a timely fashion, and no
one needs to put in every bright
idea [for legislation] that they’ve
ever had,” Gilbert said. “If the
majority and minority want to
work on things to make life
better for people and address the
ongoing consequences of the
pandemic... that’s what we
intend to stick to.”
But just one year into their
takeover in Richmond, Demo-
crats are not in the mood to trim
their sails.
“After 20-something years in
the wilderness, there was a lot of
pent-up work to do. It’s sort of
amazing how much we accom-
plished,” said Del. Marcus B.
Simon (D-Fairfax), who hopes
the campaign-finance overhaul
measure he’s been pushing for
the past seven years will finally
fly next year. “I think we have a
lot of work left to do, and I think
it’s a little disappointing that
Republicans aren’t interested in
giving us the time we need to do
the things we promised voters
we will do.”
State Sen. Janet D. Howell
(D-Fairfax), chairwoman of the
Senate Finance and Appropria-
tions Committee, said the legisla-But Democrats could get
around the limit, most easily if
Northam called a special session,
which would not be subject to
constitutional limits.
Northam spokeswoman Alena
Yarmosky declined to say wheth-
er the governor would do so, but
she was sharply critical of the
GOP’s efforts, calling it “the type
of petty and partisan game play-
ing we would expect out of
Washington, D.C. — not Rich-
mond.”
Democrats could also cram
more legislating into the 30 days
— they’re counted by calendar
day, not work day — by meeting
on weekends. Marathon commit-
tee and floor meetings that run
late into the night are another
option. And, in a real hardball
move, Democrats could cite the
time constraints as reason not to
take up any GOP bills.
Given those workarounds, vet-
eran Richmond political analyst
Bob Holsworth said he thinks the
GOP does not realistically expect
to shorten the session. But it may
be hoping to convey a limited-
government message to voters
ahead of 2021 elections — the
first test of whether Republicans
can regain a foothold in this
onetime swing state after Presi-
dent Trump leaves office.
“It’s theater, not policy,” Hols-
worth said. “It is so easily cir-
cumvented by the Democrats,
who believe the session should
continue as it has for years.”
The stakes are high for both
parties heading into an election
year, when Virginia will pick a
governor, lieutenant governor
and attorney general and all 100
House of Delegates seats will be
on the ballot.
Gilbert said the General As-Results from Nov. 21DISTRICT
Day/DC-3: 0-0-9
DC-4: 3-3-2-4
DC-5: 2-6-8-2-5
Night/DC-3 (Fri.): 7-4-4
DC-3 (Sat.): 2-3-6
DC-4 (Fri.): 4-1-9-8
DC-4 (Sat.): 4-9-1-2
DC-5 (Fri.): 9-1-1-2-2
DC-5 (Sat.): 3-8-1-5-5MARYLAND
Mid-Day Pick 3: 8-6-4
Mid-Day Pick 4: 1-1-6-2
Night/Pick 3 (Fri.): 0-4-8
Pick 3 (Sat.): 7-2-5
Pick 4 (Fri.): 3-4-0-3
Pick 4 (Sat.): 6-4-5-6
Match 5 (Fri.): 13-21-27-28-31 *26
Match 5 (Sat.): 1-14-15-18-28 *25
5 Card Cash: 7D-2S-10D-QH-3SVIRGINIA
Day/Pick-3: 6-6-6
Pick-4: 2-3-7-3
Night/Pick-3 (Fri.): 0-4-4
Pick-3 (Sat.): 3-8-7
Pick-4 (Fri.): 3-7-2-6
Pick-4 (Sat.): 2-7-6-8
Cash-5 (Fri.): 6-8-11-25-26
Cash-5 (Sat.): 1-11-21-27-28
Bank a Million: 2-4-8-12-21-22 * 23MULTI-STATE GAMES
Powerball: 51-54-57-60-69 †11
Power Play: 2
Mega Millions: 26-33-45-61-68 **17
Megaplier: 3x
Cash 4 Life:4-8-35-40-54 ¶ 3*Bonus Ball **Mega Ball
¶ Cash Ball †Powerball
For late drawings and other results, check
washingtonpost.com/local/lotteryLOTTERIESMARYLANDSilver Spring house
fire leaves one deadMore than 80 firefighters
responded to a Silver Spring
house fire Friday night but were
unable to rescue the man
inside.
Montgomery County Fire and
Rescue Service arrived at a two-
story home on Lorain Avenue
just before 9:30 p.m. and found
flames coming from the second
floor. The resident, whom
officials did not identify
Saturday, was discovered in an
upstairs hallway, already
deceased. No others were
known to live at the home.
The fire was so large that it
took over an hour to bring
under control. Fire and Rescue
Service spokesman Pete
Piringer said hoardinglike
conditions inside the home
fueled the blaze. Although the
bedroom was determined to be
the location of the fire’s origin,
it remains unclear whether
cigarettes, electronics or some
other hazard was to blame.
“A definitive ignition source
cannot be concluded,” Piringer
said. “The cause of the fire is
officially undetermined.”
— Jessica ContreraMan fatally shot
in SuitlandA man was fatally shot early
Saturday morning in Suitland,
Md., according to Prince
George’s County police.
Police found the victim about
4:50 a.m. in the 4500 block of
Lacy Avenue. He was
pronounced dead at the scene.
Police had not released the
man’s identity by midmorning
Saturday.
An investigation is ongoing.
— Emily DaviesVIRGINIAMan hospitalized after
Falls Church shootingA man was shot Saturday
morning in Falls Church,
according to Fairfax County
police.
The man was taken to the
hospital in life-threatening
condition and remained
hospitalized Saturday
afternoon.
The shooting occurred at 6:25
a.m. in the 7300 block of
Parkwood Court.
Police did not release the
man’s name Saturday and the
investigation is ongoing.
— Emily DaviesLOCAL DIGESTWhen we think of
Colonial houses,
we often think of
brick, Georgian-
style homes, fine
frame mansions
or porch-adorned
plantations.
That’s because
those are the ones
that tend to be
preserved. And yet many
Colonial homes must have been
built with a mixture of
determination and desperation:
I need to get this house up
pronto. My family needs a roof
over its head and there are crops
to plant.
In recent weeks, Answer Man
has been exploring old houses in
the Washington of today. But
what about old houses in
yesterday’s Washington? You
will remember that when the
capital was created in 1800, it
included the existing city of
Alexandria and the adjacent
land known today as Arlington
County.
What are the oldest surviving
houses in those places?
Well, let us go first to 5620
Third St. South in Arlington.
There we find the Ball-Sellers
House, named for its first
private owner and its last. It was
acquired by the Arlington
Historical Society in 1975, which
just happened to be roughly 200
years after farmer John Ball
built it. The vernacular style of
the house — wooden logs
chinked with plaster and
covered in clapboard — allows
historians to date its
construction to the 1750s.
Ball farmed the area around
his house with his five daughters
and also ran a grist mill on Four
Mile Run.
The house’s next owner was
George Carlin, a tailor whose
customers included George and
Martha Washington. Three
generations of the Carlin family
lived in the house. It is their
name that is memorialized in
Arlington’s first residential
subdivision: Glencarlyn.
Marion Sellers, the niece of a
later owner, donated the house
to the Arlington Historical
Society, which operates it as a
museum.
Ball did not own any enslaved
people, but the Carlins did. The
family supported the
Confederacy. It’s possible the
house was taken over by the
Union Army during the Civil
War, which may be one reason it
escaped destruction.
“It is a miracle that it
survived,” said Annette Benbow
of the Arlington Historical
Society.
Why should we care about the
Ball-Sellers House?
“This is one of the few houses
that the common man — j ust a
farmer — built,” Benbow said.
“It’s not a big, big estate, like
Mount Vernon. It’s just a guywho owned land and farmed it
with his daughters. We know the
entire history of Arlington
because we know who lived
there. It’s a pretty important
house. We’re so proud to own it.”
One of the interesting aspects
of the Ball-Sellers House is that
some of the original roof is
protected under a later roof.
That’s also the case with the
oldest surviving house in
Alexandria: 517 Prince St., or
what’s known as the Murray-
Dick-Fawcett House. The oldest
part of the house dates to 1772.
There is access to the space
between the old roof and the
roof that was later built above it
at a less-severe pitch.
“You go back there and it’s‘Wow. These are the original
shingles on this house.’ It’s cool
every single time,” said
Gretchen M. Bulova, the
director of the Office of Historic
Alexandria. (The city bought the
house in 2017.)
The timber frame house was
built by Patrick Murray, a
merchant who immigrated from
Scotland. As with the Ball-
Sellers House, the Prince Street
house was enlarged over the
years.
And as with the Arlington
house, it helped that the
Murray-Dick-Fawcett House was
in the hands of a single family
for a very long time. John
Douglas Brown and his
descendants owned it from 1816to 2000. (As with the Ball-Sellers
house, there were periods when
enslaved people also lived in the
house.)
“What this house really offers
is that it has stayed largely
intact over time,” Bulova said.
Answer Man can’t help but
wonder at the paucity of really
old houses in one of the area’s
oldest enclaves. Bulova helped
explain: “When the town was
founded [in 1749] and lots were
sold, they were sold in quarter-
block lots,” she said. “Owners
were required within two years
to build a substantial structure.
Anybody who didn’t build on
their lot defaulted on the
property.”
And so it was in the
landowner’s interests to erect
something.
“A lot of the houses put up
were frame,” Bulova said.
The frame house would be
torn down later and a brick
house built in its place. This was
especially prudent when fire was
such a hazard, even if it deprived
future old-house buffs of old
houses to salivate over.
This suggests that the
teardowns we see today — w here
1970s ranchers are replaced with
mini mansions — are not such a
new thing, after all.
[email protected]
Twitter: @johnkelly F or previous columns, visit
washingtonpost.com/joh n-kellyTwo houses once among the oldest in D.C. became Va. treasures
John
Kelly's
Washington
JEFF HANCOCK
The Murray-Dick-Fawcett House on Prince Street in Alexandria
was built in 1772. It and Arlington’s 1750s Ball-Sellers House are in
parts of Virginia that used to lie within the District of Columbia.... This is nerve wrecking!! Is he
alive?? Did something happen to
him overnight? He is vulnerable
to attacks from other inmates
when they know he has lost his
vision.”
Rushin’s case is complicated
and filled with devastating
details. Two families were
irreparably changed in the crash
that landed him in police
custody and ultimately led to
him pleading guilty to two
charges of malicious wounding.
(He also pleaded guilty to a hit-
and-run charge for an earlier
collision that same night.)
“It is my opinion that Matthew
Rushin took the responsible,
adult path by pleading guilty,”
says Danna Cusick. Her
husband, George, was driving,
and she was in the passenger
seat when Rushin’s vehicle hit
theirs head-on. Her husband
now lives in a full-care facility,
unable to talk or feed himself.
“George has been destroyed....
A family has been destroyed.”
In a letter she sent Northam,
which she shared with me, she
asks him not to make Rushin’s
sentence any shorter than he
already has.
“Doing so would simply
victimize us further,” it reads. “I
sleep in an empty bed. I eat at an
empty table. My days are spent
worrying about George. Prior to
the covid lockdown, I visited
George twice a day in order to be
sure that he was dressed and out
of bed in a timely fashion as well
as to help him with his meals. (It
is difficult for me to say ‘to feed
him.’) Distanced visiting has
been allowed only five or six
times since March 12. I want to
hug my husband. I miss him. He
is regressing due to all of this
time without stimulation. We
Skype twice a week, but it is
difficult for him to focus on a
small screen. I talk to him for the
duration of the call with little to
no reaction from him.”
Prosecutors have argued that
Rushin was trying to commit
suicide that night. They
described him as getting into a
collision in a parking lot, leaving
the scene and driving recklessly
before heading into oncoming
traffic. An investigation found
that he was going approximately
65 mph just before the crash and
didn’t hit the brakes.
Rushin’s mother maintains
that he didn’t intend to hurt
anyone that night and was
coerced into signing a plea
agreement that was not in his
interest.
She, along with advocates in
the autism community, have
offered detailed explanations on
how his autism probably played
a role in his actions that night,
from his response after the
parking-lot collision to his
confusion about which pedal he
stepped on. An interrogation
video shows Rushin telling the
police: “I was on my brakes. I can
promise you that.”
“I wish I could take their pain
away,” Lavern Rushin says of the
Cusick family. “I would never
want to be that mother sitting
here, which I am now, knowing
my son caused this. But was it
intentional? By no means, no. Iembrace them being angry at us.
I really do. But I am not going to
let Matthew be a statistic. I am
not going to give up on my son.”
Thousands of people across
the country have rallied behind
Rushin. Some have notable
names. Some have autism, or
care about someone who does.
And some remain haunted by
what happened to another young
Black man with autism from
Virginia whose life was altered
by the justice system.
Reginald “Neli” Latson was 18
and sitting outside a library in
his neighborhood in 2010 when
someone called the sheriff’s
office to report a “suspicious
male, possibly in possession of a
gun.” Latson didn’t have a gun,
and he hadn’t committed a
crime, but he ended up hurting a
deputy during a confrontation.
H e then spent years in prison,
much of it in solitary
confinement, before then-
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D)
gave him a conditional pardon.
O n Jan. 16, 2019, McAuliffe
commemorated that decision by
tweeting: “4 years ago today I
pardoned Neli Latson who never
should have been sent to jail.”
At that moment, Rushin was
sitting behind bars.
Lavern Rushin has asked state
officials to let her son come
home in time for the holidays —
and they should.
Before the crash, Rushin
wrote poetry, played the piano
and took classes at Old
Dominion University. He was a
contributing member of s ociety.
Keeping him locked up, amid apandemic, benefits no one. What
happened to the Cusick family is
heartbreaking. Releasing Rushin
now doesn’t make it any less so.
The details of the conditional
pardon reflect that, in contrast
to the 50 years he was given, the
sentencing guidelines for his
convictions call for a range of
two years and seven months to
six years and four months.
Northam adjusted his sentence
to 10 years for each conviction,
with seven years and five months
suspended, to be served
concurrently.
The conditional pardon also
requires he remain under the
supervision of a parole officer for
five years and prohibits him
from possessing a firearm or
driving for the rest of his life.
On the day their son is
released, Lavern Rushin and her
husband plan to take him to a
trauma center so doctors can
determine whether the cyst is
causing his bouts of blindness.
Then they will finally take him
home to stay.
In an email that Matthew sent
to me, through his mom, he
recalls the moment he learned
about the conditional pardon.
“I cried because I realized all
the hard work of my mother had
finally paid off,” he writes. “It is a
day I will always remember.”
“When I get home, I am
enjoying everything I took for
granted,” he adds.
He then lists a few of those
things: Sitting outside. Breathing
in the morning air. Eating
pretzels.
[email protected]pardon and reduced his sentence.
What he didn’t do — what he
failed to do — was free Rushin.
Rushin’s tentative release date
is now in the spring, leaving him
in a limbo that has his family
worried.
Worried about the way the
novel coronavirus has torn
through some prisons.
Worried that his impending
freedom will make him a target
to inmates who don’t have going-
home dates.
Worried that a cyst on his
pituitary gland, which has not
been checked since the crash, is
the reason he is experiencing
episodes of temporary blindness.
“I have NOT... I repeat have
NOT heard from Matthew
Rushin today!” reads a recent
post on the “Free Matthew
Rushin” page. “Matthew has
been complaining about his
headaches becoming more
frequent to the point he cannot
open his eyes. He mental and
physical health is deteriorating.
VARGAS FROM C1
THERESA VARGAS
It’s time
to free this
22-year-old
with autism
January.
“We are not a professional
legislature,” said House Minority
Leader Todd Gilbert (R-Shenan-
doah). “We are intended to be a
citizen legislature, and part time,
and that’s something that makes
our system work better.”
But Democrats, entering their
second year of consolidated pow-
er in Richmond, say the GOP’s
tactic will not get in the way of
their ambitious agenda, which
includes a plan backed by Gov.
Ralph Northam (D) to legalize
marijuana.
“Regardless of whether it’s 30
days or 46, I can assure you we
will get our work done around-
the-clock so we can deliver for
Virginia,” said House Speaker
Eileen Filler-Corn (D-Fairfax).
Virginia’s legislature ordinari-
ly holds some of the shortest
sessions in the country — 60 days
in even years, 30 days in odd,
under the limits set out in the
1971 state constitution. The con-
stitution allows the legislature to
extend odd- and even-year ses-
sions by up to 30 days, which it
has always done in short ses-
sions, though it takes a two-
thirds supermajority vote in both
chambers to sign off.
SESSION FROM C1
Democrats
see ways
around
GOP move
Did you hear
The Post
today.
wpost.com/podcastsS0263 1x2