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Mountain Valley Pipeline bumps planned in-service date
Developers of the Mountain Valley Pipeline have revised their planned in-service date for the 303-mile natural gas project from West Virginia into Southern Virginia, saying they now hope to begin operating it in “early June.” On April 22, the pipeline’s joint venture company sent a request to the Federal Regulatory Energy Commission to authorize the pipeline’s operation by May 23, with a goal of placing it in service by June 1. The commission regulates the construction of interstate pipelines.
Henrico County-based Altria seeks approval for lockable e-cigarette and flavored vaping pods
Henrico County-based tobacco giant Altria Group‘s vaping unit is asking federal regulators to let it sell a device that locks out users unless they can verify that they are old enough to legally use it. At the same time, Altria’s NJOY unit is asking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve watermelon- and blueberry-flavored nicotine vaping pods. The FDA does not currently allow fruit- or candy-flavored vapes.
Yancey: Senate candidate blasts ‘podunk local newspaper.’ Umm, Staunton is not ‘podunk.’
A few weeks ago, a journalist in Richmond was writing about the different parts of Virginia and made a snarky, dismissive reference to “whatever the hell is west of Roanoke.” To this journalist whose publication covers “whatever the hell is west of Roanoke,” those were fighting words. I limbered up my typing fingers and wrote a riposte to that description. Then our readers weighed in, offering up suggestions for what visitors to the western part of the state — be it west of Roanoke or not — should see. I considered the matter concluded … Then on Wednesday came news that a candidate for the U.S. Senate had referred to another part of Virginia as “podunk.”
Classes end for final time at two Franklin County schools
The classrooms of Burnt Chimney and Henry elementary schools emptied for the final time on Wednesday. Teachers waved goodbye to students as they loaded onto buses and vehicles, marking the end of an era for these communities. The Franklin County School Board voted to close the schools in February due to the financial strain of less state money due to dropping enrollment.
An ACLU lawyer defended racists’ free speech rights. Now she’s running for Congress
After growing up learning about the Civil Rights Movement and the importance of people being free to advocate for their beliefs, Leslie Mehta says providing legal help to the racist organizers of the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville was one of the hardest things she’s done as an attorney. Mehta, who’s now running for Congress in Virginia as a Democrat, was serving as legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia seven years ago when the chapter made a controversial decision to represent rally organizer Jason Kessler in litigation against Charlottesville officials.
Chesapeake Bay blue crab population holds strong, harvesters encouraged
The Virginia Institute of Marine Science and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources have conducted their 2024 Bay-wide Blue Crab Winter Dredge Survey and found that the population held strong. This news comes after four years of population fluctuations according to Maryland.gov.
Public vents frustration with state regulators crafting permit for factory discharge into James River
At a hearing designed to hear public comment regarding a new permit for Hopewell’s largest chemical factory, city residents and environmental groups criticized state regulators tasked with ensuring the health of the James River. The hearing — held Tuesday evening at Hopewell’s Carter G. Woodson Middle School — focused on the renewal of a water discharge permit for AdvanSix Resins and Chemicals. AdvanSix is based in New Jersey and inherited a sprawling chemical plant from Honeywell International.
Completion of Mountain Valley pipeline delayed, again
Developers are again delaying — slightly, they say — plans to begin shipping natural gas through the Mountain Valley Pipeline. Construction crews are still working to complete the final sections of the 303-mile pipeline, Matthew Eggerding, deputy general counsel for the project, wrote in a letter late Tuesday to federal regulators. Rather than place the pipeline in service by June 1, as Mountain Valley had asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to approve a month ago, the company is now “adjusting its targeted in-service date to early June,” the letter stated. An exact date was not provided.
Two GOP contenders seek Trump’s nod for Virginia’s 5th Congressional District primary
Republican Congressman Bob Good has faced a primary challenger in Virginia’s 5th Congressional District before, but June’s primary will be different than the contests he’s won in the past. That’s thanks to a state law that was patroned by Democratic Del. Dan Helmer and signed by former Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam in March 2021. That law, which went into effect in January, had one unintended consequence: It all but outlawed conventions in any election, including party primaries, in Virginia.
Mapping Arlington’s History of Racially Restrictive Neighborhoods
Northern Virginia’s fraught history of racial discrimination is well-documented. Now, three researchers have mapped out just how prevalent “whites-only” housing was in the early 20th century—and how those exclusionary policies shaped the communities we live in today. Their hope is that their work will inspire current residents to investigate and learn from their property’s past. Covenants preventing non-White people from owning or occupying land were once commonplace in this area. “[The practice] was pretty evenly spread across Arlington,” says Krystyn Moon, a researcher and a professor of history and American studies at the University of Mary Washington (UMW) in Fredericksburg.