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Daily Progress sues UVa after school withholds review of fatal 2022 shooting
A Daily Progress reporter who has repeatedly sought access to a fact-finding report on the 2022 shooting that killed three University of Virginia students has won a legal victory over a team of lawyers that UVa has hired to shield the report from public view. Last month, a judge rejected UVa’s effort to dismiss the petition filed by reporter Jason Armesto, the Daily Progress and the newspaper’s parent company Lee Enterprises and greenlighted the matter for trial later this summer.
Inova CEO betting $2.5B on a huge expansion
"If you take this job, you’re going to have to replace that hospital.” That suggestion was one of the first things Dr. Stephen Jones heard about Inova Health System’s Alexandria hospital when interviewing for the nonprofit’s top slot more than six years ago. ... The solution was to build not one, but two state-of-the-art facilities five miles apart, one in Alexandria and another in the Franconia-Springfield area, each spanning roughly 1 million square feet, as well as an outpatient medical complex nearby.
Documents show Petersburg financial advisers wanted more vetting about Bally’s future, Rivers’ hotel
The investment firm that has advised Petersburg for many years informally recommended The Cordish Companies as the city’s casino sponsor in part because of wariness about the financial status of one top bidder and another top bidder’s reluctance to include a hotel in its proposal, according to a review by The Progress-Index of the questions the firm submitted to the city. Davenport & Co. had chosen Cordish and co-developer Bruce Smith Enterprise, Bally's Corporation and Rush Street Gaming as the top three candidates for Petersburg's casino business. Davenport noted, though, that the recommendation for Cordish was "informal" based on the proposals Davenport reviewed and its previous business dealings with Cordish officials.
‘Everything’s on fire’: Inside the nation’s failure to safeguard toxic pipelines
The inspectors warned for months that the construction crew was burying the pipeline on unstable ground. In at least a dozen reports, they described soupy soil, landslides and failed efforts to contain runoff. But the crew kept working as the problems mounted. The Revolution ethane pipeline had to get built. In September 2018, just below a neighborhood outside Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, the muddy hillside gave way. The landslide severed the pipe, and the dense gas inside erupted into a roaring inferno. The blaze incinerated a house. The family inside escaped with just the clothes they were wearing and one of their dogs. Their other pets, a dog and several cats, died in the fire. Karen Gdula, who lives nearby on Ivy Lane, raced through the neighborhood shouting, “It’s the pipeline. Everything’s on fire. Get out now!”
Climate group expanding to Richmond with focus on businesses’ energy efficiency
It’s a phrase that has been called less sexy than other energy conservation efforts to combat climate change, but a local group is focused on making energy efficiency available to a narrow sector. Climate Community Collaborative, also known as C3, is expanding from Charlottesville to Richmond after working the past few years to help businesses reach carbon neutral emission goals, a more modest approach to ultimately reaching zero-carbon goals.
Early voting begins for Virginia’s June congressional primaries
Virginia’s 45-day early voting window began Friday for the June 18 primaries that will set the stage for the state’s U.S. Senate race as well as a handful of competitive races for seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Republicans are choosing a nominee to challenge U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. in a statewide contest this fall, and at least one party is holding a primary in six of Virginia’s 11 congressional districts.
Yancey: Protesters want Virginia Tech to divest from Israel. Why divestment is easier said than done.
The pro-Palestinian protesters at Virginia Tech want the school to divest of any investments tied to Israel. This will not happen. Even if Virginia Tech wanted to do this, divestment from Israel is easier said than done. Let’s look further at each of these. The reason Virginia Tech will not divest from Israel is simple: politics. Technically, a public school’s investment funds are managed by a nonprofit foundation — in this case, the Virginia Tech Foundation, which is governed by its board. However, we all know that these foundations are closely tied to the universities they support. The foundation’s board includes the Tech president and the rector of the board of visitors, the gubernatorial-appointed board that governs the school. The board also includes three other top Tech officials. As a practical matter, the foundation is not going to do something the school doesn’t want.
Police forcefully clear encampment at UVa., detain protesters
Over 50 police officers, including state troopers in riot gear, cleared the pro-Palestinian encampment near the University chapel Saturday afternoon and detained at least 25 protesters. The removal of the encampment marked the end of a days-long protest that called on the University to disclose its investment portfolio and divest from institutions benefiting from Israeli occupation in Palestine, among other demands.
Virginia law expands shared solar into coal country
After languishing since 2022, a revamped measure to launch a shared solar program in Southwest Virginia found daylight this year. The General Assembly gave the go-ahead to a pair of measures (SB 255, HB 108) directing utility regulators to set up Appalachian Power’s inaugural 50 megawatt program by Jan. 1. Despite the modest size laid out in the new law, Charlie Coggeshall, Mid-Atlantic regional director with the Coalition for Community Solar Access, is content with the breakthrough into a part of the state historically dependent on the coal industry.
Letter signed by at least three dozen UVa. professors condemns school leaders over police response
At least three dozen history professors at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville signed an open letter on Sunday condemning “the repression of a peaceful protest of our students” by the police, a day after officers in riot gear clashed with pro-Palestinian demonstrators, spraying chemical irritants and arresting at least 25 people. In the letter, which was particularly scathing toward President Jim Ryan and Ian Baucom, the provost, the professors also demanded answers about the intensity of the police response, who approved it and why, and whether protesters at the school could be guaranteed the ability to protest peacefully.