Most Read Articles Oct. 5, 2020
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Shenandoah County Planning Commission backs solar facility despite neighbors' concerns
The Shenandoah County Planning Commission gave its stamp of approval for a proposed large-scale solar facility in Mount Jackson despite concerns raised by neighbors during a joint public hearing with the county’s Board of Supervisors on Thursday night. Commissioners voted unanimously (one member was absent) to recommend to supervisors the approval of a special-use permit filed by Randolf Solar Partners LLC, which plans to construct a solar energy facility on a 32-acre portion of property located at 332 Walker Road and 595 Georgetown Road.
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In Virginia’s budget debate, an unexpected focus on the birds and the bees
If state legislators didn’t already know about the birds and the bees, by the end of last week, they definitely knew about the BrdsNBz — a national sexual health textline rolled out in Virginia last year. The program became an unexpected highlight of the General Assembly’s budget discussions after Republicans in the House and Senate drafted last-minute floor amendments to prohibit state expenditures on the textline, which is currently funded through federal grants for maternal and child health services.
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University of Virginia president: ‘UVA will not walk away from Thomas Jefferson’
University of Virginia President Jim Ryan is sharing his thoughts on the future of the Thomas Jefferson statue and more in written remarks published by the university. Ryan says he received many notes and some of them were skeptical, but in the end, he has a clear view of the Jefferson statue: it will stay. There are already plans to contextualize it, but President Ryan wrote: “I do not believe this statue should be removed, nor would I ever approve such an effort.”
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EDITORIAL: Include Virginia in an offshore drilling ban
There should be no offshore oil drilling along the coasts of Virginia and North Carolina. Not ever. Period. The potential for harm far outweighs the benefits, which are questionable at best. That matter should be settled for good, so everyone concerned can move ahead.
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No way out of state hospitals for some elderly psychiatric patients
For Alison Land, necessity is the mother of intervention. When Land became commissioner of Virginia’s mental health agency in December, she inherited a hospital system that by law is required to always have a bed ready for someone in crisis. Yet all of the psychiatric hospitals were packed, caring for more patients than they should, with fewer staff than they would want.
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Price: Vote no on Virginia’s Amendment 1
This election, Virginia voters will choose who has the power to draw political district boundaries in the commonwealth. Redistricting only happens every 10 years, so it is important that we get it right. Because I know that Virginians should be able to choose their representatives through a fair election process based on equitable maps drawn by an independent and non-partisan redistricting commission, I am voting “No” on Amendment 1.
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Microsoft adds to its N. Va. data center land holdings
Microsoft Corp. is at it again, acquiring 46 acres in western Prince William County, likely for a future data center or data center campus. The tech giant followed up its $93.7 million purchase in August of 66 acres in southern Loudoun County with the $29 million buy of 11314 Balls Ford Road in Manassas, according to public records. The site sits between Interstate 66 and Balls Ford Road. It is zoned explicitly for data centers.
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Trump-supporting boaters parade past Norfolk’s Waterside
As President Donald Trump remained in the hospital Saturday for COVID-19 treatment, local supporters gathered for a boat parade on the Elizabeth River. Boats with Trump flags paraded slowly from Craney Island to Waterside, the Tidewater Yacht Marina and back early Saturday afternoon.
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EDITORIAL: Some states don't matter
Today we are here to tell you something that most newspapers won’t: Your vote doesn’t really count. Oh, it counts in this year’s congressional elections, in the referendum on whether Virginia should adopt a constitutional amendment to ban partisan gerrymandering, in whatever local races are on the ballot (such as Roanoke mayor and city council). And, of course, it counts as part of a citizen’s fundamental rights in a democracy. So yes, everyone should vote. But your vote doesn’t really count in the presidential race. The only people whose votes matter are those who live in the handful of states considered swing states.
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Thomas Jefferson High alumni rally for change in student admissions process
Thomas Jefferson High alumni were looking to be heard loud and clear outside of the school in Alexandria, Virginia, on Sunday during a rally to change the way students are admitted. They said the change would allow for greater inclusion and equity among the student body.