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After ‘whites only’ job posting, Va. technology company hit with fine from the Justice Department
A tech company based in Loudoun County, Virginia, has been fined by the Department of Justice after it advertised that it was seeking “white” candidates for an open job posting. The job posting by Ashburn-based Arthur Grand Technologies Inc. was published in March 2023 and said that the company was only looking for “U.S. Born Citizens [white] who are local within 60 miles from Dallas, TX [Don’t share with candidates],” according to a Justice Department news release.
100 years after Charlottesville’s Lee statue went up, work starts to find a replacement
A hundred years ago, a bronze statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee astride his horse Traveller was erected in what was then known as Lee Park in downtown Charlottesville, where it stood until … eight years ago, when Zyahna Bryant, a Black student at Charlottesville High School, wrote a petition to City Council calling on the city’s leaders to remove the “offensive” statue … The statue would remain up throughout this until … three years ago, when Lee was removed and the park renamed.
What’s to become of the keepsakes left at Arlington Cemetery?
During one of their winter visits to Arlington National Cemetery, Mark and Nancy Umbrell placed a colorful patchwork quilt beside their son Colby’s grave. It had arrived in the mail years earlier from a sender they did not know after the 26-year-old’s 2007 death in Iraq. They had observed other visitors leaving mementos, a gesture that felt to them like a fitting way to both honor the fallen Army officer and thank the quilt maker whose kindness meant so much in their moment of grief, Nancy Umbrell said.
Private meeting spurs new collaboration involving Virginia Tech and surrounding towns
Virginia Tech is signaling its intentions to take a more active role in infrastructure planning for the New River Valley. University representatives, as well as those from Blacksburg, Montgomery County, Christiansburg and the New River Valley Regional Commission, came together in a recent private meeting, and it was then announced that a new initiative to jointly plan for the future of the region is starting. … The announcement comes after Blacksburg Mayor Leslie Hager-Smith said in January that the Virginia Tech needs to take more accountability for the pressure its growth is putting on the town.
‘Your quiet community could be destroyed’: Gum Springs residents in Fairfax fight to preserve local history
In 1833, West Ford — a freed slave — bought 214 acres of land in Northern Virginia and founded the oldest free-sustained African American community in Fairfax County known as Gum Springs. “A Black man in Northern Virginia, buying property in 1833? That just didn’t happen,” said Ronald L. Chase, president of the Gum Springs Historical Society and Museum.
UVa student panel: The significance of college counselors and how Virginia falls short
In 1954, ruling on the case of Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court asserted that “education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments.” While this case dealt with racial segregation in schools, it upheld the notion that all children should have the opportunity to pursue an education “on all equal terms.” Over the past 70 years, the nature of education has changed, with college degrees now required to pursue many careers. Across the nation, and in many of Virginia’s public schools, there is a lack of adequate college counseling and preparatory resources.
Virginia’s new gambling agency, skill game monitor considered
The failure of Virginia lawmakers to legalize skill games in the 2024 session has raised questions about a special summer session to address the issue. But with record profits coming in, some want the state to remake its gambling oversight system first. “If you look on the right, that one-billion-dollar figure is really net revenue and we think that figure will change significantly as well,” said Collin Hood, a director at the Virginia-based consulting firm Guidehouse, explaining how much Virginia made from gambling in 2023 alone.
Opposition mounts to revived Catlett data center plan in Fauquier
More than 90 people who packed the old rescue squad hall in Catlett [last] week for a meeting about a data center complex proposed for just north of town had a resounding message for developers and county officials: Not here. First pitched in 2020, the project was recently revived with a new application to Fauquier County officials. Developer Headwaters is seeking a rezoning to allow up to four two-story buildings with 1.2 million square feet of floor space at the junction of Catlett Road and Gaskins Lane.
Opinions vary on proposed solar program in Washington County
County officials and residents of Washington County, Virginia, [last] week began discussing the pros and cons of a proposed large-scale solar energy project. Texas-based Catalyst Energy has proposed placing solar panels on as much as 1,800 acres to collect supplemental energy and sell power to the electricity grid. … Catalyst is interested in coming to Washington County because of proximity to Wolf Hills Energy, a natural gas-fired power plant located near the county’s western border with the city of Bristol Virginia, said County Administrator Jason Berry.
GOP candidates campaign in Lynchburg ahead of U.S. Senate primary
With the upcoming primary in June, Republican U.S. Senate candidates are hitting the campaign trail. Two of the five running, Chuck Smith and Eddie Garcia, came to a veteran event in Lynchburg. Incumbent Senator Tim Kaine is the only Democratic candidate in the race.