INSTITUTE INDEX: Virginia senator's law firm promotes GOP voter fraud lies
By Sue Sturgis
November 16, 2020 - Holtzman Vogel Josefiak Torchinsky, whose managing partner is Virginia state Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel (R), was one of three main law firms involved in this year's unprecedented election litigation. That work continued the partners' longtime efforts to create the appearance of voter fraud where none exists — a gambit that's gotten the firm sued for defamation in North Carolina.
Permitting racial injustice in North Carolina hog country
April 22, 2019 - State regulators recently issued a new general permit for industrial hog farms, and it dashed the hopes of environmental advocates who say it represents a failure to address the unequal pollution burden borne by nonwhite communities. They're calling on the agency to take environmental justice into account in future permitting decisions.
How the Klan Act of 1871 is fighting voter intimidation today
By Billy Corriher
April 19, 2018 - A law targeting white-supremacist terrorism is being used to sue a conservative Virginia activist who falsely accused people of voting illegally — the latest example of how the Reconstruction-era statute remains relevant today.
Reckoning with Confederate monuments in 2018
By Paul Blest
January 29, 2018 - With controversy still raging over memorials to the Confederacy, some state legislatures are taking steps to protect them — while some cities are finding creative ways to skirt those laws.
Louisiana hires controversial law firm to block fix for racist judicial elections
October 20, 2017 - Facing legal action in North Carolina for filing false claims of voter fraud after last year's close governor's race, Holtzman Vogel Josefiak Torchinsky is now opposing the NAACP in a lawsuit over judicial elections in Louisiana's Terrebonne Parish. The Virginia-based firm's managing partner is a GOP state senator and candidate for lieutenant governor in that state.
On offshore drilling, Virginia's governor now stands alone in the Southeast
July 21, 2017 - When Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina announced this week that his administration would submit formal comments against offshore seismic testing for oil and gas, Terry McAuliffe of Virginia became the last governor along the Southeast coast who's continuing to press for offshore drilling.
Prominent VA politician implicated in NC GOP voter fraud deceit
April 28, 2017 - The law firm managed by Jill Holtzman Vogel — a Virginia state senator and GOP candidate for lieutenant governor — is at the center of a scandal over false accusations of voter fraud in North Carolina.
The energy lobbyists linked to Trump's offshore drilling plans
April 14, 2017 - The Trump administration unveiled plans to expand offshore drilling at last week's conference of the National Ocean Industries Association. Launched by Exxon in the 1970s to represent the offshore drilling industry, NOIA has been investing in politicians from Southeastern states where its members would like to do business.
REPORT: North Carolina's 2016 state elections smashed outside spending records
By Alex Kotch
February 22, 2017 - Independent political groups broke records for spending on North Carolina state races in 2016, more than doubling the amount spent during the last election when the governor's mansion was up for grabs.
A step toward environmental justice in North Carolina's hog country
February 3, 2017 - EPA civil rights investigators say they're concerned that North Carolina's hog farm regulations are discriminating against communities of color — and they have the attention of the state's new top environmental regulator.