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Chesapeake’s first proposed data center already faces opposition
A Chesapeake developer has filed plans to build the first large-scale data center in Hampton Roads. Longtime developer Doug Fuller said the project is designed to handle computing for artificial intelligence applications and is made possible by tens of millions of dollars of new ultrafast internet infrastructure built by the city and region to lure tech businesses. But before Fuller’s plans were submitted to the city, opposition to the data center was already fomenting online.
Arlington approves plan to scale back cooperation with ICE
Arlington’s board has unanimously approved a plan to scale back the police department’s communication with federal immigration officers in the Northern Virginia suburb. At a Tuesday afternoon meeting, leaders voted to make changes to the county’s Trust Policy. The tweak specifically removes the portion of the policy titled Section 7, which detailed instances in which Arlington police can inform U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement about an arrest. The change comes as board members said people are becoming increasingly reluctant to call 911 when they need help.
Innocence petition for Terence Richardson of ‘Waverly Two’ denied by Court of Appeals of Virginia
Terence Richardson — one of the two men known as “the Waverly Two,” who were acquitted of a Waverly police officer’s 1998 murder but still sentenced to life in prison — was denied a writ of actual innocence in the Court of Appeals of Virginia on Tuesday. Richardson had spent decades there for Allen Gibson’s murder, despite a federal jury finding both him and Ferrone Claiborne, the second of the Waverly Two, not guilty. A rare legal maneuver by the federal judge allowed him to sentence them to life in prison for their federal drug convictions because of their previous state pleas and his personal certainty of their guilt.
Virginia’s progress reducing overdose deaths is worth celebrating
Virginians have reason to feel encouraged by the latest reports from state and federal officials of the death count in the ongoing battle against fatal overdoses of fentanyl and other drugs. In April, the Virginia Department of Health Office of the Chief Medical Examiner announced that deaths from fentanyl overdoses in the commonwealth were down 44% from the previous year. They are down 46% from the worst year on record, 2021.
Loudoun Board Questions Sheriff Over ICE Agreement
Sheriff Mike Chapman last week addressed the Board of Supervisors to dispel “misinformation” surrounding his agency’s recent agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He said the agreement formalizes a longstanding practice of the Sheriff’s Office to inquire with other agencies prior to releasing a person incarcerated at the Adult Detention Center. A formal Memorandum of Agreement was signed in late March, which prompted a community protest in front of the office’s Leesburg headquarters. “Let me explain what we do and what we don’t do when it comes to working with ICE,” Chapman said.
Yancey: Former Del. Barnie Day, known as ‘Virginia’s Mark Twain,’ dies
Sometimes on winter mornings, Barnie Day would wake up and find a freshly killed deer hanging in his barn in Patrick County. He often had no idea who had left it, but that’s not what mattered. What mattered is that the hunters who hauled their kill to Day’s barn knew that he’d know what to do with it. “They knew Barnie would know who didn’t have meat in his refrigerator, so Barnie would call around and see who needed venison,” says Jack Betts, Day’s friend and former neighbor. Day died Monday at age 72. Those who follow Virginia politics might remember Day from his brief stint in the House of Delegates more than a quarter-century ago, during which he made such a name for himself as an orator that he was mentioned as a possible candidate for lieutenant governor.
National Airport, Pentagon hotline had been disconnected for three years
A hotline connecting air traffic controllers at Reagan National Airport and their counterparts at the Pentagon has been “inoperable” since March 2022, a Federal Aviation Administration official confirmed Wednesday, further evidence of poor safety coordination between federal agencies responsible for the airspace where a midair collision in January killed 67 people. The line is maintained by the Defense Department, and the aviation agency was not aware of the outage during the three years it was down, Franklin McIntosh, the FAA’s deputy head of air traffic control, testified at a Senate hearing Wednesday.
Amazon to open giant warehouse in Goochland County
Retail giant Amazon broke ground Wednesday on a massive, 3.1 million-square-foot fulfillment center in Goochland County. It will be the 10th Amazon facility in Greater Richmond, feature robotic operations and create more than 1,000 jobs, the company said. Amazon is building the warehouse at 2022 Ashland Road, near two dozen other industrial business locations. Expected to open in 2027, it will be the largest Amazon facility in greater Richmond and the second largest in the state, following Suffolk.
Norfolk City Council unanimously adopts shoplifting ordinance
Norfolk City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to adopt a new ordinance that will give the city the power to prosecute shoplifters themselves. The ordinance adds a new section to the city code giving city attorneys that power in the wake of higher larcenies in the city, though prosecution is a duty the Commonwealth's Attorney — a separately-elected entity — currently oversees.
Democrats running for attorney general say Virginia needs to challenge Trump
Democrats will choose between a longtime prosecutor from the Richmond suburbs and a former lawmaker from a politically active Hampton Roads family in the primary race for attorney general. Former state delegate Jay Jones and Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor are facing off in the Democratic primary. Democrats are hoping to win big this year. Virginia is considered to be a bellwether state because its statewide elections are held the year after the presidential election.