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New water crisis report calls for 'regional utility coordination'
City officials on Wednesday evening released the latest report to detail officials’ emergency response to January’s water outage. It’s the third report on Richmond’s first water crisis, following a review of the city’s water infrastructure and standard operating procedures by engineering firm HNTB, and a probe by officials in the Virginia Department of Health. The new document, produced by Hagerty Consulting, in many ways retreads now-familiar territory ... Here are three takeaways from the latest review.
Nelson County Social Services calls claims of degrading work 'unfounded'
Nelson County officials and other local agencies are ringing alarm bells over an “inexcusable decline” and lack of transparency in the county Department of Social Services, but the board charged with oversight of that department says those allegations are “unfounded” or already addressed. The Nelson County Board of Supervisors issued a letter on May 23 to the Department of Social Services board in response to “credible reports” the county received from key local partner agencies regarding the department’s poor collaboration and communication on several child protective services cases.
Big bet: Can a $130M conservation deal in Virginia’s coal country curb climate change and lift Appalachia?
Waiting around isn’t Debbi Hale’s forte. So nobody in this depleted coalfield town of barely 850 near the Kentucky border was shocked four years ago when the retired gym teacher orchestrated a $10,000 makeover of a neglected patch of grass across from a trailer court. From there, it’s just a short hike down to a paddler’s bliss, where Bad Creek flows into eight undisturbed miles of the Pound River. Then, just days before the July 2022 ribbon-cutting, a ferocious flood ripped through Appalachia. . . . It’s an all-too-familiar pattern for the Wise County native. Such exhausting episodes of one step forward, two steps back are common in this place, which has foundered as King Coal’s century-plus reign plays out. That demise has government agencies and entrepreneurs alike casting about to “fix Appalachia” . . .
Alpha-gal syndrome is gaining recognition in Virginia
Just days before Christmas 2021, Nicole Cooper was struggling to breathe. Her husband called 911, and moments before the ambulance arrived, Cooper jabbed herself with an epinephrine shot. She could tell she was having an allergic reaction, but she didn’t know what she was reacting to. She remembers the panic, the medical questions and treatments in the emergency room. What she doesn’t remember is the tick bite that triggered it all. . . . A bill that passed unanimously during the 2024 General Assembly session added alpha-gal syndrome to Virginia’s list of reportable diseases. Starting July 1, health care professionals must report cases to the Virginia Department of Health.
Toalson: Yes, Virginia, we can build our way out of the housing crisis
Virginia’s housing production is not keeping pace with overwhelming demand for it. Our population increased by 0.9% (nearly 77,000 people) from July 2023 to July 2024. Last year, and consistent with recent years, Virginia issued just 34,000 single-family and multifamily permits — roughly half the annual pace from the mid-2000s, and we trail our neighboring states in permits. The result is that more families, workers and young people are struggling to find Virginia homes they can afford. Housing competition is intensifying across Virginia because the supply is falling short.
New exhibit examines coal dust pollution in Newport News
Environmental studies have yet to directly link Newport News residents’ health problems with coal dust pollution the community has spent generations advocating against. An exhibition opening Thursday is presenting its own evidence. Local nonprofit EmPower All is collaborating with The Repair Lab, an environmental justice research lab out of the University of Virginia, to present “Evidence: Coal Dust in Hampton Roads.”
Trump parade, nationwide ‘No Kings’ protests mirror national division
Saturday will mark 250 years since the Second Continental Congress approved the creation of an army to organize a military response to the increasingly intolerable rule of the British, a day now celebrated as the birth of the U.S. Army. Two years later, also on June 14, the colonial legislature adopted a resolution regarding the design of a new flag, now recognized annually as Flag Day. Both are worth commemorating and, in normal times, would be cause for national celebrations. But these aren’t normal times, and Saturday will instead feature an unprecedented parade of military hardware and personnel in Washington, D.C., and the likelihood of widespread protests across the country, including several in Hampton Roads.
Moss Free Clinic is ceasing operations in Fredericksburg
The Lloyd F. Moss Free Clinic announced it was ceasing operations on Thursday, June 12, after 16 months of struggling to keep the doors open as its operational funds were used up and its longtime partnership with Mary Washington Healthcare dissolved. “The clinic is working with area health systems and health-care providers to ensure continuity of care for current patients,” Corie Bacher, director of development, stated in a two-paragraph news release.
'The law is the law': Va. senator rejects Trump move to rebrand Army posts to former names
Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine is rejecting what he calls the Trump Administration’s "whim" to change the names of Fort Gregg-Adams and two other Virginia Army posts back to their original branding, saying he will continue to refer to the installations with their current names because "the law is the law." In a Zoom session June 11 with Virginia reporters, Kaine said he does not believe President Donald Trump has the authority to overturn congressional litigation that changed the names of Forts Lee, A.P. Hill and Pickett to Fort Gregg-Adams, Fort Walker and Fort Barfoot, respectively. The legislation, part of the unanimously passed 2020 Defense Authorization Bill, was vetoed by Trump in 2020 because of the removal of the names of Civil War Confederate heroes. Congress, however, overrode the veto, and the Biden Administration moved forward with the initiative.
Fredericksburg Council may consider a ranked-choice voting system
The Fredericksburg City Council might take a new look at how future city elections with multiple candidates for a single position are determined. Councilman Will Mackintosh Tuesday night raised the idea of exploring a ranked-choice voting system in future city elections. In such a system, voters would list their preferences in order in single-seat races involving three or more candidates. ... “I just wanted to start the conversation and see where it goes,” Mackintosh said. “It would ensure that no one would win without at least 50% of the vote.”