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State issues funds for micro reactor feasibility study for Southwest Virginia
The state approved nearly $100,000 last week to conduct a feasibility study for potentially locating a micro nuclear reactor in Southwest Virginia. On Friday Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced the funding as part of $6.8 million for eight projects in Growth and Opportunity for Virginia (GO Virginia) grant awards.
J.J. Davis named acting president of UVa
University of Virginia Chief Operating Officer J.J. Davis will soon assume the role of acting president, taking the helm of Virginia’s flagship public university after the sudden resignation of Jim Ryan last week. When exactly Davis will take over is still unclear. “President Ryan’s resignation has not yet become effective, we’ll announce a date for that as soon as we have one,” UVa spokesman Brian Coy told The Daily Progress late Monday afternoon.
Ranked-choice voting in Charlottesville 'didn't make a powerful difference'
After months of buildup, Charlottesville’s first experiment with ranked-choice voting was anticlimatic. Proponents of the voting model — which allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference instead of simply voting for one candidate for one open seat — say ranked-choice voting diversifies the candidate pool, reduces the effects of spoilers on the race, produces more focused campaigning and increases turnout at the polls.
James City, York counties latest localities to mull data centers
As more and more data centers continue to pop up across Virginia, localities such as James City and York counties are looking to implement policies amid concerns over size, utility usage and noise. Lessons are being learned from jurisdictions in Northern Virginia, where data centers have been built without regulations in place, giving them free rein over how they operate. ... In Hampton Roads, municipalities are starting to incorporate policies about data centers with regards to where they can be located, as well as how much power and water they can use.
Judge voids VB City Council’s vote that implemented 10-1 voting system
A judge has ruled a 2023 vote taken by City Council to institute a 10-1 district election system is now void, but held off on dictating what system must be put into place to elect council and School Board members. Instead, state Circuit Court Judge Randall Smith, retired out of Chesapeake, stayed his ruling Monday until after a referendum on the voting system is held in November. Voters in the city will have the choice to either endorse continuing to use the 10-1 system that has been used in the 2022 and 2024 elections, or transition to a 7-3-1 system, spelled out in the City Charter.
Powhatan Board of Supervisors, School Board clash over demolition of Pocahontas Middle
Some Powhatan County residents are wanting to put a stop to parts of the former Pocahontas Middle School set to be demolished in the second week of July. The school is a symbol of desegregating Powhatan County Public Schools in 1969. This comes after a Powhatan County School Board vote on June 24. The board voted 4-1 for the partial demolition contract, but 8News is told the Powhatan County Board of Supervisors were hoping to take over the property to avoid this.
Rotherham and Forte: Virginia students deserve better. Close the 'honesty gap'
Alarming data from multiple sources, most notably the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), underscores just how deeply every state was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic — the only difference is by how much. In Virginia, failure to adequately serve students resulted in the largest drops in learning on national assessments of any state, with average achievement in some cases reverting to 1990s levels. Students who were already struggling were impacted the most. This was, and remains, a genuine crisis for students, families and the commonwealth.
Judge voids Virginia Beach district-based election system, but not results
A Circuit Court judge ruled Monday that the district-based election system Virginia Beach imposed to comply with federal voting rights law is void. According to the ruling, that’s because the General Assembly did not vote to pass corresponding legislation that would have officially changed the city’s charter. Attorneys said Monday’s summary judgement, means that the “10-1” system used in the past two local election cycles is not permitted unless and until the state legislature passes legislation that amends the city charter to that effect. However, the ruling applies only to future elections ...
Gas station's opening in Rockingham County draws a crowd
Before the sun came up on Monday morning, Cristi Trego left her home in Houston, Delaware, to make the four-and-a-half-hour drive to Mount Crawford in Virginia’s Rockingham County to stop at one particular gas station. “We love Buc-ee’s,” Trego said about herself and her 3-year-old grandson, Mason, as they were waiting in line to meet Buc-ee the Beaver. . . . The nation’s northernmost Buc-ee’s travel center, and the first in Virginia, opened Monday morning amid huge crowds, sweltering weather, and a parking lot that was full-to-bursting with cars. County sheriffs and Buc-ee’s employees eventually had to begin directing the traffic that came from as far away as Georgia.
Youngkin ignores assembly on vetoes as budget takes effect
Virginia will have a new budget on Tuesday, but it won’t include money to pay for wider access to weight loss drugs, hire nursing home staff under Medicaid or prevent the state from issuing contracts that allow vendors to pocket a portion of any savings they find. Those three provisions were among 37 line-items that Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed in the revised budget that the General Assembly adopted in late February.