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Long-awaited effort to limit data center noise in Prince William County hits a snag
A nearly three-year effort to revise Prince William County’s noise ordinance to limit the constant, annoying low-pitched roar emitted by some data centers will be delayed because further testing is needed to enforce the new rules. The county formed a special committee of residents and county staff and hired three different consultants to work on the new ordinance, an effort that has so far taken about two years. But one of the three consultants — a specialist on enforcement — said more testing is needed to devise a better way to identify the source of problem noise.
Norfolk School Board fires superintendent in surprise 4-3 vote
A closely divided Norfolk School Board voted Wednesday to remove Superintendent Sharon Byrdsong as the school system faces demands from Norfolk City Council to close at least 10 schools. The vote was 4-3 with School Board Chair Sarah DiCalogero, and members Jason Inge, Tiffany Moore-Buffaloe and Tanya Bhasin voting to terminate Byrdsong’s contract without cause. Vice chair Alfreda Thomas, members Adale Martin and Kenneth Paulson voted against the resolution. In remarks before the vote, Paulson said the firing was in direct response to a May memo Byrdsong sent the board criticizing what she said was dysfunction and a loss of trust between the School Board and the public.
Norfolk school board fires Superintendent Sharon Byrdsong
The Norfolk school board voted to fire Superintendent Sharon Byrdsong Wednesday night. The board discussed their decision in a closed session and cast a 4-3 vote after coming out of the closed meeting. Members didn’t include a reason for the termination during the meeting. Board members also voted to appoint Chief Academic Officer James Pohl as interim superintendent. Byrdsong’s contract was up for reconsideration next year.
Tobacco at risk in GOP’s big tax bill, industry reps say
The Mecklenburg County Board of Supervisors took aim Monday at an obscure provision of President Donald Trump’s signature tax cut and spending bill that will hurt domestic tobacco growers, according to tobacco industry representatives. The provision, the elimination of the “tobacco duty drawback,” is wrapped up in the “One Big Beautiful Bill” passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in May. Industry advocates say changes contained in Section 112032 of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will discourage domestic production of tobacco products and push cigarette companies into using cheaper foreign tobacco
Former Chesterfield and state superintendent Billy Cannaday dies
Billy Cannaday, who served as superintendent of Chesterfield County Public Schools from 2000 to 2006, died Sunday at age 75. A Roanoke native, Cannaday became CCPS superintendent after holding the same role at Hampton Public Schools from 1994 to 2000. ... In 2006, Gov. Tim Kaine appointed Cannaday as state superintendent of public instruction. Two years later, Cannaday was named dean at the University of Virginia’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies ...
Ex-Richmond worker spent over $2M at businesses registered to his and friend's homes
A former city employee spent more than $2 million of city funds at three businesses — one registered to his own home and two others registered to the Prince William County home of a woman he met while serving in the U.S. Navy. Officials are investigating all three businesses, which are associated with Reginald Thomas, a former management analyst with the city’s fire department.
Chesapeake Bay’s blue crab population falls to ‘distressing low’
Blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay have dropped to a “distressing low” number, experts say, marking several years of repeated declines and raising concern about their long-term health. The estimated number of crabs was 238 million, the second-lowest point since an annual blue crab dredge survey to measure their population started in the 1990s and coming shortly after 2022’s record low of 226 million crabs, according to experts. The survey found that the decline hit all of the crustaceans, regardless of maturity or gender.
Feds release delayed infrastructure grants, sending $8.6 million to Virginia
After years of bureaucratic limbo, Virginia is set to receive $8.6 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation to support a slate of infrastructure projects that were first announced three years ago. The funding comes as part of a national effort by the administration of former President Joe Biden to clear a backlog of 3,200 unobligated grants that had stalled “critical investments” in communities nationwide, according to the agency. The department said Tuesday it has now cleared 1,065 of those projects but did not explain why the grants were delayed in the first place.
States are picking sides as competing election integrity efforts move ahead
Two events last week offered a glimpse of the growing weight of politics in the nation’s elections process. Alabama’s secretary of state, Wes Allen, announced that Virginia had become the tenth state to join his voter integrity database, called AVID, an increasingly popular alternative to a larger bipartisan voter integrity coalition used by half of the nation’s state governments. And the New York State Assembly approved legislation permitting the state to join the more popular bipartisan system, called the Electronic Registration Information Center. With 26 members, ERIC is still the most popular way for states of all political persuasions to verify the accuracy of their voter rolls, but the Alabama Voter Integrity Database is proving an enticing, if less sophisticated, option for some secretaries of state ...
New report: 302,608 Virginians could lose health insurance
More than 302,000 Virginians could lose their health benefits under pending and proposed changes to Medicaid and health insurance purchased under the Affordable Care Act, according to a new report by Democrats on a joint congressional committee. The minority members of the Joint Economic Committee issued the report on Tuesday. It is based on estimates by the Congressional Budget Office, or CBO, of the potential effect of a budget reconciliation bill passed by the House of Representatives and now pending in the Senate, as well as the likely loss of enhanced federal subsidies for monthly insurance premiums and other proposed changes for people who depend on health benefit exchanges for coverage.