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Virginia Court of Appeals hears challenge in Suffolk case regarding automatic court dates, speed cameras
The Virginia Court of Appeals on Monday heard arguments on whether the city of Suffolk can be sued over its system to use cameras to catch speeders. Attorney Tim Anderson said Suffolk raked in $10 million last year after a third party vendor issued some 130,000 citations from cameras set up in work zones, school zones and other local roadways. But the city is breaking state law in the process, Anderson contends.
Virginia’s Democrats in D.C. push back on process behind Iran strikes
Minutes before the news broke Saturday that American bombers had struck Iran without congressional approval, US Sen. Mark Warner was addressing Virginia Democrats gathered at Richmond’s Main Street Station for an annual fundraiser. “God knows, if there's anything we should have learned in this country, it's a hell of a lot easier to start a war in the Middle East than to stop one,” said Warner to applause. But in reactions from Virginia’s congressional delegation in the hours after President Donald Trump announced strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, the state’s Democrats focused most of their criticism on the process behind Trump’s decision to bomb Iran without congressional approval or standard notification — with others also weighing in on whether the US should involve itself further in the war between Israel and Iran.
Warner, 21 other senators call for limits on Insurrection Act
Sen. Mark Warner wants to rein in a 218-year old law granting presidents sweeping power to send troops to suppress protests, a measure President Donald Trump has said he might use. Warner has joined 21 other senators sponsoring a bill that sets new limits on the Insurrection Act of 1807 — the law that President Abraham Lincoln invoked in the Civil War. “It’s clear that President Trump is unworried about defying the limits on executive power clearly outlined in our Constitution,” Warner said.
Federal judge temporarily halts lawsuit over Dominion’s Virginia Beach offshore wind farm
After a series of delays, a federal judge last week temporarily stayed a lawsuit against Dominion Energy’s wind farm off the Virginia Beach coast. Judge Loren AliKhan of the U.S. District Court in Washington ruled that the groups involved must decide whether they wish to proceed by late September. The lawsuit does not currently affect Dominion’s ability to move forward. The delays in the case stem from changes in federal leadership and policy under President Donald Trump, who has taken action to halt the offshore wind industry.
Petersburg mayor among prominent names chosen for new Richard Bland College Board of Visitors
Petersburg’s mayor and the general manager of one of the city’s pharmaceutical manufacturers will be among the charter members of Richard Bland College’s Board of Visitors. The list, released June 20 by Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office, also includes a former state education official and a longtime area business professional. ... Among the notable names on the board is Petersburg Mayor Sam Parham, a 1996 graduate of RBC.
Youngkin names Richmond hotelier Neil Amin to VCU board, former House leader Eric Cantor to W&M board
Gov. Glenn Youngkin has named local hotelier Neil Amin to the Virginia Commonwealth University board of visitors. Amin is CEO of Shamin Hotels, which is based in Chesterfield County and owns about 75 hotels on the East Coast. His term begins July 1. Each year, the governor nominates people to the board of visitors for each public college in the state. The members typically serve a four-year term that can be renewed once.
Trump Administration to End Protections for 58 Million Acres of National Forests, Including in Virginia
The Trump administration said on Monday that it would open up 58 million acres of back country in national forests to road construction and development, removing protections that had been in place for a quarter century. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced plans to repeal the 2001 “roadless rule” that had preserved the wild nature of nearly a third of the land in national forests in the United States. Ms. Rollins said the regulation was outdated. ... The unspoiled land in question includes Tongass National Forest in Alaska, North America’s largest temperate rainforest; Reddish Knob in the Shenandoah Mountains, one of the highest points in Virginia; and millions of acres of the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness in Idaho.
FEMA adds 180 Richmond sites to flood zones
Roughly 180 Richmond homes and businesses will soon be in a high-risk flood zone, according to new FEMA flood maps for the city. The additions will likely be required to buy flood insurance for their property when the maps go into effect in two weeks. FEMA updates its Flood Insurance Rate Maps every five years to account for shifts in flood risk due to environmental changes, construction and development impacts, or other factors, per the city.
Supervisors to consider tax incentives for data center projects in western Chesterfield
Following recent EDA-initiated rezonings of sites for two code-named data centers developments in western Chesterfield, incentives are being teed up for the planned projects. Proposed incentive agreements between Chesterfield and two limited liability companies – Skyward Holdings and Aeris Investments – would lock in the county’s personal property tax rate for data centers at its current 24 cents per $100 of assessed value for the future projects at sites near Moseley and Westchester Commons for 30 years.
Yancey: A rewrite of the Clean Economy Act seems increasingly likely. This may pose hard questions for many
This fall, you’re going to hear a lot about the Virginia Clean Economy Act, the 2020 law that mandates a carbon-free electric grid by 2050, and which Democrats say lowers electric bills (because solar is cheaper than other fuels) and which Republicans say is raising them (because utilities have to build new facilities to generate that carbon-free power). Here’s what you may not hear: the conversations behind the scenes about ways to rewrite that law. Republicans, of course, would like to rewrite the whole thing, top to bottom. That’s not happening, not at least for the next two years, while Democrats have control of the state Senate. (Democrats currently control the House, too, but that’s up for election this fall, along with the governorship.)