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Operations of the hotly contested East Coast natural gas pipeline can begin, regulators say
A hotly contested East Coast natural gas pipeline was given the go-ahead Tuesday to start operating, six years after construction began at more than double its original estimated cost. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the 303-mile (500-kilometer) Mountain Valley Pipeline project across rugged mountainsides in West Virginia and Virginia over longstanding objections from environmental groups, landowners and some elected officials. Project developers told regulators on Monday that the pipeline was complete.
Educators union blames Petersburg School Board ‘interference’ for interim superintendent’s departure
The local educators’ union does not appear to buy claims by outgoing interim school superintendent Dr. John Farrelly that his upcoming departure is an “opportunity” for career growth. Instead, the Petersburg Education Association is blaming the School Board, saying it interferes too much with the day-to-day operations of Petersburg City Public Schools to the detriment of the futures of students and teachers.
Virginia NAACP sues Shenandoah school board after district restored Confederate names
The Virginia NAACP on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against the Shenandoah County School Board for what it called “reaffirming discrimination,” after the school system voted to rebrand schools with Confederate names in May. The lawsuit alleges that the school board violated the U.S. Constitution, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Educational Opportunity Act. The plaintiffs seek to remove the Confederate names, mascots and vestiges, and to prevent any future school naming involving Confederate leaders or references to the Confederacy.
Mountain Valley Pipeline gets final approval to begin operations
The Mountain Valley Pipeline was authorized Tuesday to begin operations, the final step in a bitter, decade-long battle between natural gas advocates and opponents. Approval of the deeply controversial project was granted in a one-page letter released shortly after 5 p.m. by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. “We find that Mountain Valley has adequately stabilized the areas disturbed by construction and that restoration and stabilization of the construction work area is proceeding satisfactorily,” Terry Turpin, director of the commission’s Office of Energy Projects, wrote in the letter.
Educators, staff in Fairfax County Schools back collective bargaining
Teachers and staff members in Fairfax County, home to Virginia’s largest school district, are a step closer to being able to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement for the first time in nearly 50 years. School employees overwhelmingly voted in favor of collective bargaining on Monday, with the Fairfax Education Association and the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers coming together under an alliance group, the Fairfax Education Unions, that will represent more than 27,000 school system employees in labor talks.
Fairfax County Public Schools workers vote to unionize
Fairfax County Public Schools teachers and other workers have elected a union to represent them in forthcoming labor contract negotiations. The Fairfax Education Unions (FEU), a team-up of the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers (FCFT) and the Fairfax Education Association (FEA), announced yesterday (Monday) that it will represent over 27,500 FCPS employees in their first collective bargaining effort since they secured that right in March 2023. The elections, which began on June 3 and involved separate votes by instructional and operational workers, resulted in the unionization of Virginia’s largest public school system and represented the largest successful public-sector collective bargaining campaign in the U.S. in 25 years, according to FEU.
Loudoun Groups Cite Priorities in Power Line Opposition
Bury new transmission lines. Explain the impact of new power infrastructure on local communities. Stop data center growth. Those are the priorities listed by Loudoun residents speaking up about the planned transmission line projects by Dominion Energy and NextEra Energy in the county. On Tuesday, the Lansdowne Conservancy, Loudoun Transmission Line Alliance and Piedmont Environmental Council hosted a community meeting to delve into those issues. The conservancy has been leading the effort to have all or part of Dominion Energy’s Aspen to Golden 500- and 230-kV line project along Rt. 7 in eastern Loudoun undergrounded—a feat Dominion said is not feasible ...
Prince William County supervisors mull hiring panhandlers to pick up roadside litter
Prince William County officials took a first look Tuesday at a plan to address panhandling through a part-time employment program and an effort to encourage residents to give to local nonprofits rather than directly to people asking for cash at busy intersections. The proposed program would pay panhandlers $13 an hour to pick up roadside litter. Participants could work two three-hour shifts a week, allowing them to earn up to $78 a week.
Salaries for Portsmouth mayor, council members will nearly double in 2025
Portsmouth City Council members voted to go forward with pay raises. The boost will nearly double the salaries of the mayor and council members next year. Roughly a dozen residents shared their thoughts on the pay raise at a public hearing Tuesday night. The topic divided the people who took to the podium.
Petersburg schools’ acting superintendent resigns weeks after taking over
Petersburg City Public Schools’ acting superintendent John Farrelly resigned, the school division announced Tuesday evening, less than two months after he took over the school district. The former superintendent, Tamara Sterling, disappeared in late February and officially resigned March 20. The reasons for her departure have been shrouded in secrecy as school officials refuse to answer questions about the circumstances surrounding her parting. ... The Petersburg school division is under a Memorandum of Understanding with the Virginia Department of Education due to its schools’ troubles.