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From trash to takeoff: Virginia eyes sustainable fuel future for aviation
As President Donald Trump’s administration scales back national climate initiatives, local leaders in the Washington Metropolitan region are stepping up to push for cleaner skies — with jet fuel made from trash, crops and forest waste. At the heart of the push is Sustainable Aviation Fuel, or SAF, a biofuel derived from sources like corn grain, municipal solid waste, wet waste, and agricultural residues. Though not yet widely used, SAF is gaining traction thanks to its lower emissions and growing interest from regional policymakers.
Youngkin administration has missed deadline to set AI rules for state police
Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration and state Attorney General Jason Miyares are seven months behind a deadline set by the governor to outline standards for Virginia State Police’s use of artificial intelligence. Youngkin signed an executive order in January 2024 implementing AI guidelines for state agencies, including standards “for the ethical use of AI” and a mandatory approval process to use the technology. The order directed Miyares and Terry Cole, Virginia’s public safety and homeland security secretary, to develop rules for AI use “applicable to all executive branch law enforcement agencies and personnel” within nine months. That deadline passed on Oct. 18, 2024, and specific rules for law enforcement are still not in place.
Yancey: Grid operator warns of possible summer power shortage. Congress is trying to slow growth of solar energy.
The good news is that the lights (and the air conditioning) will probably come on this summer. The bad is that word “probably.” PJM Interconnection, the organization that runs the regional power grid of which Virginia is a part, has warned that under “extreme scenarios” it may not have enough power this summer, and will need certain users to reduce their electricity usage. This is the first time that PJM has issued such a warning. ... Increasingly, though, PJM is turning up in the news through no fault of its own: Thanks largely to the growth of data centers in Northern Virginia (but also the growth of data centers everywhere and our general desire to plug in more devices), we’re seeing power demand grow, both nationally and especially in Virginia.
NASA Langley workforce slashed by 40% in Trump budget plan
NASA Langley Research Center will lose funding for several projects and cut its workforce by 672 civil servants under the Trump administration’s proposal to slash about $163 billion in federal spending next fiscal year. The White House budget proposal is a starting point, and ultimately Congress must approve it. But the technical supplement to the proposed budget released Friday includes new details about how the administration would seek to reduce federal spending levels.
Democratic lieutenant governor candidates discuss taking on Trump, federal cuts
A field of six candidates is competing to be the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in Virginia’s June 17 primary election. It’s a job that, at first blush, doesn’t appear to have as many responsibilities as other elected offices. The lieutenant governor is first in the line of succession for the governor, and shall assume the position if the governor is not able to complete his or her job duties, according to the Constitution of Virginia.
Fauquier County supervisor to sell land for data center
Fauquier County Supervisor Daron Culbertson is seeking to sell land he owns in Fauquier County to a data center developer. The new data center project was pitched this week for 204 acres of land between the Bealeton and Remington service districts. Applicant Ron Meyer, acting on behalf of SDC Capital Partners LLC, proposed to Fauquier County Community Development a seven building data center campus between Remington Road and Falling Creek Drive. Culbertson, who could not be reached for comment, owns part of a 39.5-acre parcel of the land the project would be built on, according to the project’s page on the county’s land development online portal.
Stafford officially recognizes LGBTQ diversity
Stafford County’s government is officially recognizing Pride Month, though some will take exception to that move. The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday night voted 4-1 with one abstention in favor of a proclamation that recognizes June as a time supporting those of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities in the county. The proclamation was board Chairman Deuntay Diggs’ idea. Diggs, the first openly gay supervisor to serve as chairman, said that, in his leadership role, he gets to see all the proclamations the county issues, and he thought: why not Pride Month? “Right?” he said. “Why do we recognize any community? Because they’ve been marginalized.”
Petersburg residents ask City Council for transparency on Sycamore Grove project
Residents asked for more transparency from city officials during Petersburg’s June 3 City Council meeting following last month’s abrupt termination of the Sycamore Grove development agreement — a high-profile project once heralded as a key piece of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s “Partnership for Petersburg” initiative. Petersburg resident Barb Rudolph took to the podium during the public comment period to express frustration over what she called a lack of communication from the city ...
VCU Health seeks approval for its first Chesterfield hospital
VCU Health continues to map out a larger presence in Chesterfield with a proposal to build its first hospital in the county. The health system is seeking regulatory approval to open a 66-bed hospital at 7220 Beach Road near the county’s government complex, according to a letter of intent recently submitted to the state health department. The facility would also have six operating rooms and a cardiac catheterization lab as well as CT and MRI units, the filing shows.
Several NASA programs tied to Va.’s Wallops Flight Facility at risk for funding loss amid massive cuts to federal agency
Several scientific and research efforts tied to NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia's Eastern Shore are at risk, following President Trump's new budget proposal aiming to cut roughly a quarter of the agency's funding. Wallops Island, Virginia's lone NASA flight facility, is a regional pillar and dubbed "Virginia’s Proven Portal to Air and Space." The budget framework for 2026 introduced by the Trump administration aims to cut roughly $6 billion from the federal agency, roughly 24% of its operations. It would bring the agency's budget to a level not seen since 2015.