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Amazon picks Goochland for next fulfillment hub
Amazon is building a new state-of-the-art robotics fulfillment center in Goochland County, the company’s fourth in Virginia, creating more than 1,000 jobs and further deepening its footprint in the commonwealth. The 3.1 million-square-foot facility, known as RIC6, will occupy a 107-acre parcel in the Rockville Opportunity Corridor. It joins a growing network of Amazon investments in Virginia that include fulfillment and delivery centers, dozens of data centers, Whole Foods Markets, Amazon Fresh stores, and the company’s second headquarters in Arlington.
Advocates say cuts to SNAP would have significant impacts for Virginia families
Families that are in poverty and struggling to make ends meet might be cut off from social welfare benefits if Congress moves forward with a funding proposal now under consideration. Virginia could be facing a shortfall of more than $350 million – that’s if Congress moves forward with a budget proposal to change the funding formula for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps. One of the new features is a work requirement that Lily Roberts at the Center for American Progress says is a misnomer.
Johnson: How Virginia honors its vets should evolve from recognition to reform
May is National Military Appreciation Month, with events held throughout the country honoring American heroes who sacrificed their lives and health in service of their country. Yet this month should also be about advocating for better policies that improve the lives of veterans and active service members. Currently, despite considerable progress in safety measures, working for the military is a hazardous career path. Veterans experience some of the highest rates of cancers and chronic conditions, while many continue to face obstacles in accessing timely health care and benefits tied to their service-related exposures.
GOP presents plan to seize legislative majorities in Virginia and New Jersey this November
The Republican State Leadership Committee is looking to make key expenditures in this year’s New Jersey and Virginia state legislature races. Republicans are wary of how well Democrats tend to over-perform in off-year elections, but they have a strategy to “defy” expectations in November. In a memo, the RSLC said the races “present significant challenges for Republicans, reminiscent of the complex political landscape of 2017, the last odd-year election Republicans had full control of Washington.”
Republicans prioritize data centers in attempt to flip House seat in Prince William County
With just a little more than a month left in their primary election campaigns, Sahar Smith and Gregory Lee Gorham are focusing their campaigns on data centers and taxes in an attempt to represent Republicans come November and flip Prince William County-based House District 21, one of the few Virginia House of Delegates swing districts in the region. ... State Del. Joshua Thomas currently represents this district and is running unopposed in the Democratic primary for his second term.
Reaser: Va.’s children are safer, but we still have work to do
Virginia’s legislative season is over, and Gov. Glenn Youngkin has sifted through dozens of bills and issued a record number of vetoes. While the governor vetoed most bills increasing gun safety, he also signed two gun safety measures into law that have flown under the radar: House Bill 2055 and House Bill 2679. I, along with my chief co-patrons Dels. Michael Feggans and Laura Jane Cohen, championed these bills with one goal in mind: protecting Virginia’s children from needless gun violence. And that’s exactly what these bills do.
Tempers, tensions, racism, lawsuits dot Hopewell City Council agenda
Tensions continue to boil over the firings of Hopewell’s city manager and city clerk, with the most recent City Council meeting erupting in chaos after demands for resignations, a description of some councilors as a “cancer” on Hopewell and the city’s mayor being called a “b***h” by a citizen while being escorted out. The May 13 council meeting was a potpourri of events that often turned up the temperature inside Hopewell’s council chambers.
Dominion proposes cuts to credit for homes’ solar panels
Dominion Energy wants to cut the credit that customers with solar panels on their rooftops can get on their monthly power bills, a move that could make installing them less attractive to homeowners and businesses. Dominion currently values electricity flowing from residential rooftop solar panels at about 14 cents per kilowatt hour. The company proposes dropping this credit to 9.553 cents per kilowatt hour, the rate the utility pays for solar power from large-scale facilities. ... The proposal also is likely to spark one of the biggest clashes at the State Corporation Commission this year because it makes the economics of installing solar panels a lot more challenging, said Josephus Allmond, a staff attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center, a nonprofit that aims to protect ratepayers and the environment.
Amazon fulfillment center in Goochland to create 1,000+ jobs
Gov. Glenn Youngkin participated Wednesday in a ceremonial groundbreaking for Amazon.com's 3.1 million-square-foot robotics fulfillment center in Goochland County, which is expected to create more than 1,000 full-time and part-time jobs. The fulfillment center will have a 650,000-square-foot footprint on a 107-acre parcel, according to the governor’s office, and will be Amazon’s fourth robotics fulfillment center in the state, joining others in Henrico County, Suffolk and Virginia Beach.
Growing tension boils over in Martinsville council meeting
The temperature began to rise Monday at one of many budget work sessions and boiled-over Tuesday night with a disruption by a city employee and a near altercation between two council members. ... The Bulletin published a report on Tuesday showing Martinsville government employees had spent more than $1.4 million on city credit cards over 15 consecutive months ending in March. The statements show thousands of dollars in expenses involving travel, hotel stays, food, and conferences, including trips to Las Vegas and luxury resorts.