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VCU hires outside firm to oversee federal anti-DEI compliance
Virginia Commonwealth University has hired an outside firm to review its compliance with a federal mandate to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. That’s in addition to the university’s own review, which has resulted in the shuttering and changing of multiple programs and some job reassignments or layoffs. Provost Fotis Sotiropoulos said the university hired Cozen O’Connor because federal guidance isn’t clear about which programs are allowed — and said the firm will assist in identifying programs “that either illegally discriminate or are perceived to be illegally discriminating.”
Community Pushback Is Stalling $64 Billion in Data Center Development Nationwide, Report Shows
As Elena Schlossberg of Prince William County, Virginia, sees it, the community effort to fight the richest companies in the world seeking to build data centers began about a decade ago when opposition coalesced in the early days of the industry’s development. Then, a couple of years ago, when people began to learn much more about the warehouse-like server farms proliferating at double the earlier rate, the fight strengthened with a meeting in Warrenton. ... Such community opposition is the focal point of a recent report by Data Center Watch, a research organization tracking data center opposition. A key finding: “$64 billion in U.S. data center projects have been blocked or delayed by a growing wave of local, bipartisan opposition.”
Dominion’s power line plan for data centers sparks opposition
Chris Colvin spent two years fighting a data center proposed near her family’s historic farm in Fauquier County. Now, she’s having nightmares about another threat to their land: Dominion Energy’s new, high-power transmission line needed to feed data centers outside the county. Since learning Dominion is considering a route alongside the rear of their 268-year-old farm — about “20 yards from where I put my head on my pillow,” she says — she’s woken her husband with shouts of “No! Stop! Help!” “My husband and I founded Protect Catlett two years ago and now it’s become extremely personal,” Colvin said of the group that stopped a planned data center in Catlett last year.
Kelly: Safe kids equal strong families
May is Foster Care Awareness Month. Virginia is fortunate to have a vast community of advocates, child welfare workers, foster youth and families who keep foster care front of mind every day. Each year, 2,200 children enter foster care in Virginia, and around 5,400 kids are in foster care on any given day. Children who are removed from their homes, primarily due to abuse or neglect, often tell trusted adults about the confusion that occurs, waking up disoriented the next morning to deal with the mistakes and choices that others made.
Williams: The J6 shame to fame tour – next stop, Monument Avenue?
Given historical precedent, it’s not beyond the realm that a monument to the Jan. 6 insurrectionists would be built near the White House in the former Black Lives Matter Plaza. The individuals who sought to overturn a presidential election are on a journey from ignominy to unearned redemption since President Donald Trump returned to power and gifted them with a mass pardon. The headline of a recent story in The Washington Post says it all: “They stormed the Capitol. Now they’re selling merch.”
Yancey: How Spain’s electrical blackout could factor into Virginia elections this fall
At 12:33 p.m. on April 28, something happened in Spain that you’ll likely hear about in Virginia this fall. The electric grid across Spain — and then Portugal and a small part of France — suddenly shut down. The details of what happened are not in dispute: Some strange oscillations in the power grid began at 12:03 p.m., went away, then came back, then went away again. At 12:32:57, to be precise, the power supply suddenly started dropping. Just 27 seconds later, at 12:33:24, the grid collapsed and two counties (and part of a third) were blacked out. It took until 4 p.m. before power was restored.
New mayor, same old City Hall? A little patience, RVA
Don’t give up on RVA — not yet. Granted, this new administration isn’t making things any easier. Mayor Danny Avula’s first budget was a bungled mess, and despite the managerial acumen, his political instincts are clearly lacking (seriously, who sends their highest-paid employees to argue for pay raises?). . . . Toss in the sudden dismissal of the very person hired to root out that fraud, waste and abuse — James Osuna, the now-former inspector general whom City Council dismissed Monday with no explanation — and it’s tempting to unfurl those little white flags. But not yet. Give this City Hall, and Avula, a little more time.
Charlottesville names new city attorney — a year after the last one was put on leave
Charlottesville is set to once again have a city attorney after a little more than a year of the office sitting empty — a vacancy that has been shrouded in mystery. Jacob Stroman, the former city attorney was placed on leave in April of last year after an undisclosed complaint was lodged against him. Although an investigation into the matter cleared him of wrongdoing, Stroman nevertheless decided to retire in September.
Logistics company laying off more than 50 people at Richmond warehouse
A logistics company is cutting dozens of jobs at one of its two local warehouses. Saddle Creek Logistics Services is planning to lay off 54 employees at its facility at 4701 Commerce Road, according to state records. The Florida-based firm, which offers fulfillment, warehousing and transportation services, operates two local sites – one is the 460,000-square-foot warehouse on Commerce Road in South Richmond and the other is a 43,000-square-foot facility at 540 HP Way in Chester.
Data Centers’ Hunger for Energy Could Raise All Electric Bills
Individuals and small business have been paying more for power in recent years, and their electricity rates may climb higher still. That’s because the cost of the power plants, transmission lines and other equipment that utilities need to serve data centers, factories and other large users of electricity is likely to be spread to everybody who uses electricity, according to a new report. The report by Wood MacKenzie, an energy research firm, examined 20 large power users. In almost all of those cases, the firm found, the money that large energy users paid to electric utilities would not be enough to cover the cost of the equipment needed to serve them. The rest of the costs would be borne by other utility customers or the utility itself.