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U.S. company fined $650,000 for illegally hiring children to clean meat processing plants
A Tennessee-based sanitation company has agreed to pay more than half a million dollars after a federal investigation found it illegally hired at least two dozen children to clean dangerous meat processing facilities in Iowa and Virginia. The U.S. Department of Labor announced Monday that Fayette Janitorial Service LLC entered into a consent judgment, in which the company agrees to nearly $650,000 in civil penalties and the court-ordered mandate that it no longer employs minors. The February filing indicated federal investigators believed at least four children had still been working at one Iowa slaughterhouse as of Dec. 12.
Energy Developers Want Reforms to Va.’s Process for Connecting Renewables to Grid
As Virginia solar developers and Dominion Energy continue to clash over requirements for tying new small and mid-sized renewables into the electric grid, some environmental groups and grid experts say changing how the state approaches interconnection costs could ease long-standing issues. “It’s a solution to a big problem that’s been stifling a lot of solar projects,” said Josephus Allmond, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center. Virginia, like other states that have adopted ambitious renewables goals, has seen increasing tension in recent years over interconnection, the process of connecting new power sources to the electric grid.
No one will take credit for calling state police on UVa campus protesters
On Saturday, a decision was made by someone at the University of Virginia to have state police break up a small anti-war encampment on Grounds. Exactly who made that decision remains unclear. Gov. Glenn Youngkin is not taking credit. Various statements from the school indicate it was President Jim Ryan or university police that determined state troopers were needed to remove the two dozen rain-soaked protesters, what remained of a four-day demonstration on a patch of grass near the University Chapel.
Richmond council proposes shifting Coliseum demo funds to schools
The Richmond City Council is nearing a final budget approval following the introduction of amendments that will see funds pulled from the $3.5 million Coliseum demolition and other programs to fund public schools. The unanimous decision came after dozens of Richmond Public Schools employees came forward last week to urge the council to fully fund the Richmond School Board’s budget.
Dominion Energy says preliminary injunction request not delaying offshore wind construction
The legal battle between Dominion Energy and three organizations opposed to its offshore wind project is heating up. In March, the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT), the Heartland Institute, and the National Legal and Policy Center sued Dominion Energy, alleging it hadn’t taken the necessary steps to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale and other marine life during construction. Dominion Energy called the lawsuit “meritless.” In the latest development, the three organizations requested a preliminary injunction, asking a judge to stop offshore construction before it starts.
More of Youngkin’s lab schools approved, but future state funding still in limbo
Three more lab schools were approved by a state committee Monday. The approvals come as future state funding for the program remains in limbo. A high-ceilinged meeting room in Old City Hall played host to the approval of three lab school applications Monday. Among them was one at Old Dominion University, which aims to educate students as young as kindergarten. The program would refit a Suffolk elementary school to “incorporate hands-on STEM experiences.”
Family of Irvo Otieno criticizes move to withdraw murder charges against 5 deputies
A Virginia judge has signed off on a prosecutor’s request to withdraw charges against five more people in connection with the 2023 death of Irvo Otieno, a young man who was pinned to the floor for about 11 minutes while being admitted to a state psychiatric hospital. Judge Joseph Teefy of Dinwiddie Circuit Court on Sunday approved the prosecutor’s motion to nolle prosequi — or effectively drop for now — the case against five sheriff’s deputies, according to court records. The prosecutor could still seek to renew the charges, attorneys involved with the matter said.
Otieno’s mother to Department of Justice: ‘Where are you?’
The family of Irvo Otieno pleaded for the intervention of the U.S. Department of Justice on Monday afternoon, minutes after a judge approved the dismissal of five charges of second-degree murder in Otieno’s death in March 2023. The request comes despite the possibility that charges may still be refiled by Dinwiddie County Commonwealth’s Attorney Amanda Mann, who has suggested to the family that the cases are only being dropped as part of her legal strategy to reorder the cases.
Study: Opioid use disorders are undertreated among formerly incarcerated Virginians on Medicaid
A new Virginia Commonwealth University study shows that opioid use disorders are underdiagnosed and undertreated among formerly incarcerated Virginians enrolled in Medicaid. Among the 4,652 adults released from state prisons in 2022, the study shows 85% were enrolled in Medicaid within one month of their release. While 13%, or 514 of these adults had a diagnosis of opioid use disorder, only a quarter received medication treatment through Medicaid. By comparison, 78% of all Medicaid members with an opioid use disorder in state fiscal year 2021 received treatment.
Can’t install your own solar panels? Some areas let you join a community project.
For four generations, Steve Wine’s family has tended a 600-acre farm in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, raising steers and growing corn, soybeans and alfalfa. The farm has struggled in recent years with rising costs and slumping crop markets, leaving Wine to question the operation’s viability. In a bid to sustain the farm, Wine will begin in the coming months to harvest a new crop: solar energy. He’s leased 34 acres to a solar electricity developer, which has installed panels that will generate about 5 megawatts of power at peak capacity. The project is funded by subscriptions from about 1,000 households in the region, who will receive credits on their electricity bills based on the power it generates.