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Nauticus preps for thousands of cruise passengers in Norfolk after Baltimore bridge collapse

By PRESTON STEGER AND ANGELIQUE ARINTOK, WVEC-TV

Nauticus is gearing up for thousands of cruise ship passengers arriving and departing Norfolk on Easter weekend following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore Tuesday morning. Amid clean-up and recovery efforts around the bridge, Carnival Cruise Lines announced Tuesday night it will temporarily move its Baltimore-based operations of the Legend vessel to Norfolk. Officials with the Port of Baltimore said incoming and outgoing vessel traffic is suspended until further notice.

VaNews March 28, 2024


Pharrell movie filming in Richmond

By COLLEEN CURRAN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

A musical based on Pharrell Williams’ childhood is set to begin filming in Richmond. Details are scarce at the moment, but here’s what we know: “(T)he film is said to be a coming-of-age musical, set in 1977 Virginia Beach, which draws inspiration from Williams’ childhood growing up in the city’s Atlantis Apartments,” Deadline reported. Michel Gondry, director of “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” has signed on to direct the Universal project.

VaNews March 28, 2024


Baltimore cruises to reroute; Carnival will move some operations to Norfolk

By HANNAH SAMPSON, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Cruise lines are scrambling to make alternative plans and avoid the Port of Baltimore while officials suspend vessel traffic amid cleanup and rescue efforts around the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse. Three major cruise lines sail from Baltimore, though no ships were in port Tuesday morning. The next cruise was scheduled to depart Sunday, but its operator confirmed late Tuesday afternoon that the voyage would instead head out from Norfolk.

VaNews March 28, 2024


Southwest Virginia landowners again appeal Mountain Valley Pipeline case to U.S. Supreme Court

By MATT BUSSE, Cardinal News

Six Southwest Virginia landowners are once again asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their case related to the Mountain Valley Pipeline. Since 2020, the six have argued that Congress violated the constitutional separation of powers when it delegated the legislative power of eminent domain to the executive branch by way of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which regulates interstate pipeline construction. In 2017, FERC authorized developers to take property from the six landowners for the 303-mile natural gas project.

VaNews March 28, 2024


Prince William School Board appoints local Moms for Liberty leaders to key advisory committees

By CHER MUZYK, Prince William Times

The Prince William County School Board recently appointed three leaders of the local Moms for Liberty chapter to key school division advisory committees at the request of school board member Erica Tredinnick. … Moms for Liberty is a national organization comprised of local chapters of typically conservative parents. The organization was first formed in Florida in 2021 to challenge mask rules and other pandemic-related restrictions. It has since spread to dozens of states with the stated goal of supporting “parental rights” in public education ...

VaNews March 28, 2024


Virginians react to news that Monumental Sports won’t be moving to Potomac Yard

By KATIE LUSSO, WUSA-TV

It’s official. Northern Virginia will not be home to the Washington Capitals or Wizards anytime soon. At a news conference Wednesday night, Mayor Muriel Bowser and Monumental Owner Ted Leonsis announced that Monumental Sports had reached an agreement to keep the teams at Capital One Arena in D.C. until 2050. Their announcement, just three hours after an announcement from the City of Alexandria, that they had “ended negotiations related to the Potomac Yard Entertainment District opportunity and the proposal will not move forward.” Outside of Wednesday’s news conference, members of the Coalition to Stop the Arena at Potomac Yard celebrated.

VaNews March 28, 2024


Warren supervisors seek to block Front Royal Economic Development Authority’s return of McDonald house

By ALEX BRIDGES, Northern Virginia Daily

Warren County supervisors said Tuesday they want to block the Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority from allowing the EDA’s former executive director to buy back her home. The EDA took ownership of property at 158 Faith Way, the home of Jennifer McDonald and her husband, Samuel North, on Feb. 5. The EDA took the property as part of a court-ordered civil settlement after McDonald was accused of funneling millions in EDA money through banks and other agencies ... The EDA board of directors voted at its March 22 meeting to authorize the transfer of the property back to McDonald and North in exchange for $350,000.

VaNews March 28, 2024


NHL’s Capitals and NBA’s Wizards are staying in Washington after Virginia arena deal collapses

By SARAH RANKIN, MATTHEW BARAKAT AND STEPHEN WHYNO, Associated Press

When Ted Leonsis told District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser late last year that the NBA’s Washington Wizards and NHL’s Washington Capitals he owns would probably be leaving Washington for Virginia, she told him no, they would not. Ultimately, she proved to be right. The teams are staying in the District for the long term after Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s plan to lure them to Virginia imploded and the city and ownership reached an agreement on a $515 million, publicly funded arena project.

VaNews March 28, 2024


Hanover approves zoning request for 1,200-acre data center project

By JACK JACOBS, Richmond BizSense

The Hanover Board of Supervisors has given the nod to a massive planned industrial project outside Ashland. Development company Tract on Wednesday secured the zoning approval needed to create a 1,200-acre data center park along Hickory Hill Road east of Interstate 95 in Hanover County. Tract Chief Investment Officer Graham Williams previously told BizSense that the company anticipated the project area would be able to support up to 9 million square feet of data center space spread across 30 buildings on multiple campuses.

VaNews March 28, 2024


Though Richmond is taking action now, past audits show city finance woes date back several years

By TYLER LAYNE, WTVR-TV

Over the past few months, Richmond business owners have come forward to share concerns about dramatic meals tax late fees, inaccurate advice they received from finance employees, incorrect tax accounts, and a lack of transparency from City Hall. The issues have left business owners and some city leaders wondering how the finance department got into this position in the first place, where the problems stem from, and when officials knew about them.

VaNews March 28, 2024