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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.
Fundraising frontrunner in 7th District Democratic primary faces opponents with more established local presence
Nomination contests often become competitions centered around networking with party insiders and demonstrating sufficient fundraising ability ahead of a potential candidacy in the general election. Typically, those two occurrences coincide—but not always. Wealthy outside candidates can appear out of thin air and occasionally gain steam, like Glenn Youngkin in 2021. Still, more often than not, they spend a boatload of money to finish well below the candidate with an established presence in the district.
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.
Data center construction damages 2 Black cemeteries in Prince William County
The Prince William County Historical Commission is sounding the alarm after two historic African American cemeteries in Brentsville were damaged by the construction of a new data center and a related electrical substation. Both cemeteries are the final resting places for members of the Gaskins family, whose lineage can be traced back to slaves freed in the 1790s by plantation owner Robert Carter III. They are located about 2 miles apart on Wellington Road outside Manassas, where historians say a vibrant community of free African Americans thrived in Prince William County both before and after the Civil War.
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.
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.”
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.