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Metro’s automated train expansion delayed over safety concerns, says oversight commission
The commission that has federally granted oversight of Metrorail on safety said Tuesday afternoon it is still not ready to allow Metro to expand its use of automated trains. Officials with the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission (WMSC) said they still have too many safety concerns to allow Metro to increase its use of train autopilot features. But they added that they are working with Metro to get to a point where the transit agency will be allowed to use more automation.
Green Recycle in Pittsylvania to create 28 jobs; QualiChem in Salem to add 12
A plastics recycling startup will invest $4.3 million and create 28 jobs in Pittsylvania County, the governor’s office announced Tuesday. Green Recycle USA LLC will turn industrial plastic waste into raw material to be used in new products by manufacturers in a variety of industries, Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in a news release. ... A Salem-based producer of fluids used in fabricating metal components will invest $9 million to expand in the city, creating 12 jobs, the governor’s office announced Tuesday. QualiChem Inc.’s products include oils, coolants, rust preventatives and cleaners used in the aerospace, medical and automotive industries, among others.
Pulaski company’s $1.3 million poultry poop proposition
A Pulaski County company stands to earn $1.3 million in a state program to keep pollution out of the Chesapeake Bay. The target: chicken poop. MOVA Technologies is one of nine Virginia businesses chosen for the Department of Environmental Quality’s $19 million grant program, called Pay-For-Outcomes Nonpoint Source Pollution Reduction, according to a DEQ news release. MOVA will begin testing its poultry air purification system later this year in Rockingham County, at a poultry house near the Shenandoah River, company spokesman Luke Allison said. Commercial demonstrations will begin next year. Ultimately, the system will help both farmers and MOVA make a profit, he said.
New Virginia law requires all car passengers to wear seatbelts on highways
It's a major win for a grieving Virginia mother who says her son lost his life because he wasn't wearing a seat belt. After years of advocacy work and asking lawmakers to listen, the "Christopher King Seat Belt Law," also known as HB2475, will go into effect July 1. The law requires every adult riding in a car on a public highway to wear a seat belt, even in the back seat. Current law only requires adults in the front seat to wear a seat belt. . . . The Christopher King Seat Belt Law is still considered a secondary law, meaning police cannot stop a driver for not wearing a seat belt. Police can, however, issue a $25 fine for not wearing a seat belt if a driver is stopped for something else.
Virginia GOP embraced a diverse ticket in this year’s elections. Then things got complicated
Republicans engaged in scrubbing the federal government of diversity, equity and inclusion programs are fielding a historically diverse ticket in Virginia in one of the only states holding elections this year. Those two things aren’t inherently incompatible, and some experts say nominating diverse candidates could reinforce the argument that officeholders should be chosen on merit. But in the shadow of Washington, where President Donald Trump’s push to stamp out DEI programs has caused turmoil at colleges, businesses and throughout the federal government, things have gotten complicated.
Yancey: Is Fairfax County gaining population or losing population? Here’s why two estimates differ.
In the famous quantum mechanics thought experiment known as Schrödinger’s Cat, the question concerns the status of a feline in a box with a flask of poison and something radioactive: Under some quantum theories, the cat is both alive and dead at the same time. Fairfax County is Virginia’s Schrödinger’s Cat. In the annual population estimates from the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia, the state’s largest locality is losing population. In the latest population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, it’s gaining population. So which is it?
Yancey: Former Del. Barnie Day, known as ‘Virginia’s Mark Twain,’ dies
Sometimes on winter mornings, Barnie Day would wake up and find a freshly killed deer hanging in his barn in Patrick County. He often had no idea who had left it, but that’s not what mattered. What mattered is that the hunters who hauled their kill to Day’s barn knew that he’d know what to do with it. “They knew Barnie would know who didn’t have meat in his refrigerator, so Barnie would call around and see who needed venison,” says Jack Betts, Day’s friend and former neighbor. Day died Monday at age 72. Those who follow Virginia politics might remember Day from his brief stint in the House of Delegates more than a quarter-century ago, during which he made such a name for himself as an orator that he was mentioned as a possible candidate for lieutenant governor.
Chesapeake’s first proposed data center already faces opposition
A Chesapeake developer has filed plans to build the first large-scale data center in Hampton Roads. Longtime developer Doug Fuller said the project is designed to handle computing for artificial intelligence applications and is made possible by tens of millions of dollars of new ultrafast internet infrastructure built by the city and region to lure tech businesses. But before Fuller’s plans were submitted to the city, opposition to the data center was already fomenting online.
Norfolk City Council unanimously adopts shoplifting ordinance
Norfolk City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to adopt a new ordinance that will give the city the power to prosecute shoplifters themselves. The ordinance adds a new section to the city code giving city attorneys that power in the wake of higher larcenies in the city, though prosecution is a duty the Commonwealth's Attorney — a separately-elected entity — currently oversees.
Arlington approves plan to scale back cooperation with ICE
Arlington’s board has unanimously approved a plan to scale back the police department’s communication with federal immigration officers in the Northern Virginia suburb. At a Tuesday afternoon meeting, leaders voted to make changes to the county’s Trust Policy. The tweak specifically removes the portion of the policy titled Section 7, which detailed instances in which Arlington police can inform U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement about an arrest. The change comes as board members said people are becoming increasingly reluctant to call 911 when they need help.