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One Virginia Community Took a Radical Approach to Fighting Addiction. It’s Working.
When Officer Chelsea Johnston came across a wanted felon one evening in May, Johnston jerked her cruiser in front of him, sprinted after him and tackled him to the ground. Still catching her breath, Johnston motioned for someone to step out of the cruiser: Joy Bogese. “Thank God,” the man said. “It’s you.” Bogese, who served time for financial crimes that fed a heroin addiction, now spends many of her evenings in a police cruiser as a recovery specialist helping people with addiction get into treatment. The man asked Bogese to help him get into a drug-treatment program at the local jail, where Bogese occasionally facilitates groups. She is part of a growing effort in Chesterfield County’s fight against addiction.
‘No Kings’: Hundreds of Charlottesville residents turn out to protest Trump
Virginia’s official state motto is “Sic semper tyrannis.” Those words — which translated out of Latin mean “Thus always to tyrants” — are emblazoned on the state seal, the state flag and, on Saturday, hundreds of signs held aloft by Charlottesville protesters. Throngs of them gathered along U.S. 29 outside the Shops at Stonefield just north of city limits, part of a nationwide protest against the Trump administration.
Volunteers keep watch over Smith Mountain Lake’s water quality for nearly four decades
For nearly 40 years, volunteers and environmental experts have made sure Smith Mountain Lake is ready for a season of fishing, swimming, and other recreational use. And while finding help over that time is rarely a problem, concerns about Harmful Algae Blooms are bringing new focus to their work. Ferrum College laboratory supervisor Carol Love has been monitoring Smith Mountain Lake since the late 1990’s.
3 more Southwest and Southside localities come under state fire ant quarantine
Fire ants stayed in one part of Virginia for almost 30 years. Now, the invasive species is creeping toward Southwest and Southside Virginia, and a state quarantine to contain them has expanded yet again. Danville, Lee County and Pittsylvania County are among the 10 Virginia localities that have recently been added to the state quarantine as the warming climate makes western regions of the state more suitable for these small insects. The ants first appeared in Virginia in 1989 at a golf course in Hampton. Until 2017, they stayed put in Southeast Virginia. That year, they started to appear in Southside localities. The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences extended a fire ant quarantine to some of these localities in response.
What’s the future of drone production in the U.S.? Sen. Warner tackles the question at Manassas’ RapidFlight
Sen. Mark Warner visited Manassas-based RapidFlight Thursday for a discussion on the future of domestic drone production. The fireside chat, hosted by Axios reporter Colin Demarest, was held in RapidFlight’s headquarters and production facility in downtown Manassas. RapidFlight was founded in 2021 and announced it would be opening its operation in Manassas in 2022. The company designs and manufactures 3D-printed unmanned systems, more commonly called drones.
Culpeper man drives SUV through crowd at ‘No Kings’ protest; no injuries reported
A person at a No Kings protest was struck by a vehicle Saturday in Culpeper as a crowd was dispersing near the end of the gathering on the sidewalk in front of Walmart. Police said no injuries were reported and they don't know who was hit, but a Culpeper man has been taken into custody in the incident. Culpeper Police Department officers were in the area of 801 James Madison Highway on June 14 monitoring the conclusion of a lawful protest event organized by Culpeper Democrats as part of a nationwide movement protesting Trump Administration policies.
Environmental groups in Hampton Roads at odds with Army Corps over proposed wetlands mitigation project
For decades in Hampton Roads, officials have used a legal mechanism called mitigation banking to protect local ecosystems. If a developer or locality impacts wetlands or river bottom when building a project, they must compensate by paying to restore it elsewhere. Organizations that conduct restoration work can sell credits to developers to meet those requirements – hence the bank-like system. The goal is for the compensatory work to serve the same river or watershed that is affected by the original development action. But local environmental groups and some federal scientists now worry that an impending decision by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers could upend that system.
Remington town officials voice support for new data centers in Fauquier County
Remington officials are voicing support for proposed data centers just outside the town limits and are hoping the county will share some of the tax revenue generated by the developments. Though no proposed data center projects fall within Remington town limits, town council officials are arguing this type of development “offers significant economic benefit and aligns with smart growth (principles) for both town and county residents,” Remington town administrator Racheal Brinson wrote in a June 9 letter to the Fauquier County supervisors and planning commissioners.
Aston and Fleet: Hampton Roads lawmakers continue to deliver for higher education
It is not common these days to hear voters say positive things about what leaders in government are doing. Yet, in this age of political division, Virginians agree on at least one big thing: Our top-ranked higher education system drives growth and opportunity in our commonwealth. And, in Hampton Roads, our legislators are leading the way. Recently, our organization, the Virginia Business Higher Education Council, released the results of a wide-ranging statewide public opinion survey to gauge voters’ views on higher education.
Thousands gather across Virginia on Saturday for ‘No Kings’ protests against Trump
Saturday was the first time Elizabeth Prom-Wormley had protested, she said. “But it just … enough's enough already,” she said. “I feel hurt. I feel angry. I feel hopeless, and I don't like feeling that way as somebody who pays their taxes on time and gives to my community over and over and over again.” Prom-Wormley was one of thousands who gathered at the Virginia state Capitol, as thousands more across the commonwealth protested against the actions of President Donald Trump’s administration. And the demonstrations in Richmond, Charlottesville, Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C., were among thousands of planned protests in the U.S., offering contentious counterprogramming to a military parade for the Army’s 250th birthday, which coincided with Trump’s 79th birthday.