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Long-awaited effort to limit data center noise in Prince William County hits a snag
A nearly three-year effort to revise Prince William County’s noise ordinance to limit the constant, annoying low-pitched roar emitted by some data centers will be delayed because further testing is needed to enforce the new rules. The county formed a special committee of residents and county staff and hired three different consultants to work on the new ordinance, an effort that has so far taken about two years. But one of the three consultants — a specialist on enforcement — said more testing is needed to devise a better way to identify the source of problem noise.
Norfolk School Board fires superintendent in surprise 4-3 vote
A closely divided Norfolk School Board voted Wednesday to remove Superintendent Sharon Byrdsong as the school system faces demands from Norfolk City Council to close at least 10 schools. The vote was 4-3 with School Board Chair Sarah DiCalogero, and members Jason Inge, Tiffany Moore-Buffaloe and Tanya Bhasin voting to terminate Byrdsong’s contract without cause. Vice chair Alfreda Thomas, members Adale Martin and Kenneth Paulson voted against the resolution. In remarks before the vote, Paulson said the firing was in direct response to a May memo Byrdsong sent the board criticizing what she said was dysfunction and a loss of trust between the School Board and the public.
Trump and Army plan to restore name of Fort Lee — but not for that Lee
President Donald Trump and the U.S. Army plan to restore the names of seven bases that had been named for Confederate officers. But the Army says the restored names, such as Virginia’s Fort Lee, Fort Pickett and Fort A.P. Hill, will not honor the Confederate officers, but decorated service members who had the same last names as the Confederates. For instance, the Army plans to rename the former Fort Lee in Prince George County — now Fort Gregg-Adams — for Fitz Lee, a Black Buffalo Soldier who received the Medal of Honor for helping rescue wounded comrades under fire during the Spanish American War.
Henrico, Hanover come to the table to discuss water
The governments of Hanover and Henrico held a joint meeting Wednesday in the wake of two Richmond water outages this year that left county leaders “frustrated.” The topic of conversation: how do the two counties work with Richmond and Chesterfield to make sure it doesn’t happen again? Henrico and Hanover have been talking about the need for regional oversight since January.
FBI leaders seek to move some training from Quantico, Virginia, to Alabama; Youngkin questions proposal
FBI leadership is pushing to move one of the bureau’s elite training academies from Quantico, Virginia, to Huntsville, Alabama, according to multiple people familiar with the plan who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a proposal that has not yet been made public. FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino’s effort to relocate the National Academy — a 10-week training program for local and international law enforcement and federal agents who are not with the FBI — is part of the Trump administration’s broader goal of shrinking the bureau’s footprint in the Washington, D.C., area and relocating personnel to Huntsville.
No, Not That Lee. Pentagon Finds Black Hero to Rechristen Base Long Named for Robert E.
In its latest move to undo diversity efforts, the Army announced this week that it had found ways to restore the names of seven installations that long venerated Confederate heroes. But in the case of Fort Lee in Prince George County, Va., the Pentagon did it with a curious twist. Rather than restore the name of Gen. Robert E. Lee, the Confederate commander who defended slavery, the Army found Pvt. Fitz Lee, who was Black and fought in the Spanish-American War. Private Lee, who had kidney disease, died in 1899 within months of being awarded a Medal of Honor.
Henrico board OKs new rules to limit rapid data center growth
Henrico officially scrapped its plans for a technology overlay district around the White Oak Technology Park for new, stricter regulations. The decision was made at a Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday night. Any developer seeking to build a data center in Henrico will now have to get a stamp of approval from the board. The idea is that board members can reject any project that doesn’t have adequate protections for residents, such as the distance between a data center and residential homes, excess light pollution or noise in the evenings.
Female athletes, including one from UVa, appeal NCAA settlement, saying it violates federal antidiscrimination law
Eight female athletes filed an appeal Wednesday of a landmark NCAA antitrust settlement, arguing that women would not receive their fair share of $2.7 billion in back pay for athletes who were barred from making money off their name, image and likeness. U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken approved the settlement last week, clearing the way for direct payments from universities to athletes and the end of the NCAA’s amateurism model. The athletes who appealed the settlement competed in soccer, volleyball and track. They [include] Kate Johnson of Virginia. They have standing to appeal because they previously filed objections to the proposed settlement.
Stoney points to predecessor as Richmond water crisis seeps into lieutenant governor race
Richmond’s water crisis is trickling into the lieutenant governor’s race. Former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney says he wishes the city’s prior administration had fixed the city’s water plant issues that, among other things, led to the Jan. 6 breakdown that left much of the city without drinking water for six days. Referring to efforts to replace the water plant’s switchgear, a key piece of equipment in the breakdown, Stoney shifted some of the blame to his predecessor, Dwight Jones, who served as Richmond’s mayor from 2009 to 2016, before Stoney’s eight-year tenure.
Trump’s trade war impacting Va. port, reshoring hopes
As President Donald Trump’s tariff wars heat up, Virginia businesses and the industries that support them are feeling the burn. That’s according to the Virginia Advisory Committee on International Trade that met in Richmond Tuesday. When the committee last met in April, the word of the day was uncertainty. And according to Riverwind Advisors investment firm president Bob Feeser, not much has changed. “Most businesses can deal with almost any kind of trade policy regime and tariff, but there has to be some certainty that you can plan around,” he said at the meeting held at the Virginia Economic Development Partnership office.