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No-fish story: Milde afraid that lack of menhaden is dooming osprey
Del. Paul Milde is concerned that a lack of a small, oily fish could be causing the collapse of the osprey population in the Chesapeake Bay, and he says the Democratic majority in the House of Delegates isn’t helping matters. Milde (R-Stafford) continues to push legislative efforts to have a study of menhaden fishing done as new research suggests that declining numbers of the species, which osprey eat, could be leading to a drop in the population of the birds. The lawmaker issued a statement late last month saying inaction on scrutiny of the menhaden is a result of partisan politics.
Osprey came back from the brink once. Now chicks are dying in nests, and some blame overfishing
Stepping onto an old wooden duck blind in the middle of the York River, Bryan Watts looks down at a circle of sticks and pine cones on the weathered, guano-spattered platform. It’s a failed osprey nest, taken over by diving terns. “The birds never laid here this year,” said Watts, near the mouth of Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay. “And that’s a pattern we’ve been seeing these last couple of years.” Watts has a more intimate relationship with ospreys than most people have with a bird — he has climbed to their nests to free them from plastic bags, fed them by hand and monitored their eggs with telescopic mirrors.
Holbrook and Williams: Sentara should invest more to improve regional health
A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon you’re talking real money,” said the late Sen.Everett Dirksen. Now comes the shocking news that Sentara Health System lost $1.5 billion on health insurance ventures according to its 2024 publicly available audited financials. One of these was Sentara Holdings Florida, an HMO bought for $225 million in December 2022 which lost $290 million over the next two years. All that “real money” would have made a profound impact if it had been invested back into Hampton Roads where it came from. Yes, we are thankful for Sentara’s pledge to give $35 million annually for 10 years to the Macon and Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University, but it should have been much more and should have been given much earlier.
Atkinson: Halt menhaden harvest until studies determine its effects
With summer in full swing, Chesapeake Bay fishermen, birders and environmentalists are once again faced with the harsh reality that menhaden, the most important fish in the sea, are scarce. Even Omega Protein, the Canadian-owned menhaden reduction fishery (i.e. reduces the fish to animal feed), and its partner Ocean Harvesters, with its spotter planes and huge purse seine nets, is having trouble finding them.
Lund: ‘Go see’ Virginia exhibit about the Vietnam War
A Vietnam veteran and I met in a small-town, fast-food restaurant in Southside Virginia some years ago to talk about his military experience. He wanted someone to listen; I wanted someone to write. I direct Home and Abroad, a free writing program for the veteran community that offers writing seminars, individual coaching and professional printing of participants’ work. We both felt what he had to say was important enough to be shared.
Williams: George Mason must take a stand against federal overreach
You didn’t think they’d stop at UVa, did you? The U.S. Department of Education is coming after George Mason University, alleging the use of race in the hiring and promotion of faculty members, part of its latest, legally dubious attack on diversity, equity and inclusion. And a second civil rights investigation, also launched this month, alleges that the Fairfax-based school “discriminated on the basis of national origin (shared Jewish ancestry) by failing to respond effectively to a pervasive hostile environment for Jewish students and faculty.”
A historic Black school in Powhatan was her 'home away from home.' It’s set to be demolished Monday.
A historic school building that once served Black students in Powhatan County during segregation is scheduled for demolition on Monday, despite objections from former students and some local officials. The building, now called the Pocahontas Landmark Center, holds special memories for Sandra Morris Kemp, who attended the school for 10 years. She said she had lots of friends, the teachers were friendly, and she learned a lot. . . . . "I do not want to see that school demolished," Kemp said. In June, the school board voted 4-1 to approve about $830,000 to demolish the buildings. School board spokesperson Laura McFarland told CBS 6 that the parts being torn down are currently vacant and deteriorated.
Fleet of laser-equipped robots begins survey of Arlington sidewalks
A fleet of robots has begun wandering the sidewalks between Ballston and Rosslyn, searching for any defects to report back to the county’s Department of Environmental Services. The bots, which went live at the start of this month, use a combination of laser scanners, mobile mapping, AI and machine learning to look for defects like cracks, weeds or gaps of at least half an inch. Owned by the company Kiwibot, the robots are surveying around 45 miles of linear sidewalk, primarily focused around Wilson Blvd, Clarendon Blvd and Fairfax Drive.
Who was arrested in Virginia’s immigration crackdown? State, federal officials won’t say.
The Virginia Homeland Security Taskforce has been busy this year, arresting more than 2,500 people in the United States illegally. That’s according to Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who boasted the arrest data during a July 2 news conference at the Virginia State Police headquarters in Richmond. But while the governor’s office has described the 2,512 people arrested as “violent criminals who are illegally in the United States,” neither Youngkin’s office nor state or federal agencies involved in the operation have provided any documentation about those arrested to be able to verify who they are, what they were charged with or whether they’ve been deported.
Lt. Governor Winsome Earle-Sears visits Newport News Shipbuilding
When Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears arrived at the Victory Arch near Newport News Shipbuilding Friday, she couldn’t help but feel like she was back home again. It was in 2001 when she emerged on the political landscape, taking down longtime Democratic Del. Billy Robinson. “I feel like in my old stomping ground — this is where my children grew up,” Earle-Sears said. “People really need to see you, so that is why I am in our great Hampton Roads.”