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Eviction pause at Richmond housing agency to end with offer of final repayment plan
A pause on public housing evictions will end as Richmond’s housing agency tries to wipe out a balance of unpaid back rent that is approaching $4 million with some public housing tenants ignoring repayment plans intended to bring that down. But first, Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority will offer a one-time, last chance repayment plan offer, CEO Steven Nesmith said Thursday.
Judge dismisses lawsuit challenging Bristow-area data center complex
A plan to allow as many as nine new data centers on about 270 acres along Devlin Road in Bristow will move forward after a judge dismissed on Thursday a lawsuit brought by “Devlin Defend Corporation,” a nonprofit residents organized to challenge the rezoning in court. In the ruling, Prince William County Circuit Court Judge Carroll A. Weimer Jr. rejected the residents’ argument that the Prince William Board of County Supervisors violated its own comprehensive plan and county policies when it rezoned the land to allow industrial development close to homes and schools.
This Week’s Settlement Offers Justice For Max The Envigo Beagle, Family Says
Max was born in the now-shuttered Envigo facility in Cumberland, Virginia. Envigo’s parent company pled guilty this week to violating the Animal Welfare Act must pay a record $22 million in fines. It was the tattoo on Max’s ear that brought home to the Cavalier family everything their new foster beagle had been through in his short 8-month life. Max was born in the Envigo facility in Cumberland, Virginia, which up until 2022 bred and sold dogs to laboratories for experimentation. “It didn’t register to either of us until then that [these dogs] were treated like a number and like a commodity to be sold,” Beth Cavalier said. “Beagles are so gentle and sweet, it’s hard to wrap my mind around what they went through at that breeding facility, much less what happens when they are sold for research and testing. …”
Several arrested in April protest at Va. Tech taking community service option
Several Virginia Tech students and other community members who were arrested at a pro-Palestinian protest in April had court hearings originally scheduled Thursday, but all chose a trial diversion route and didn’t have to appear in court. They agreed to do 25 hours of community service, pay a $99 fine and their cases will be reviewed in a year — then likely to be dismissed. They will also be eligible to apply to have their case expunged from their record.
I-95 traffic study shows Virginia on the hook for any attempts to fix
The stretch of interstate 95 that runs just south of Washington D.C. is one of the worst in the country. And investigators with the state’s legislative watchdog agency have bad news about any future attempts to address the problem. Anyone who’s driven from D.C. down to Richmond or back is aware of the traffic terror zone where I-95 crosses the Occoquan River. This stretch of road, which brings Routes 1 and 123 into 95, was found to be the busiest route on the north-south running highway, according to a state study from 2021. An estimated 1.2 million hours of economic and family time is lost for the poor souls trapped in its traffic backups.
Va. House speaker reconvening lawmakers on military tuition program
How much do Virginia politicians value their military constituents? Enough to reconvene the legislature later this month to fix one item in the state budget that limits a popular tuition program for the families of some service members. House Speaker Don L. Scott Jr. (D-Portsmouth) plans to summon the House of Delegates back into a special session at the end of June to take up changes to the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents program, he said Thursday. The Senate is likely to reconvene as well, but possibly at a different time, depending on when members are available, Senate Majority Leader Scott A. Surovell (D-Fairfax) said.
Roanoke Council Candidate Drops Out Before Primary Amid Review of ‘Questionable’ Voter Signatures
Roanoke City Council candidate Jamaal Jackson said Monday he is dropping out of the race — effectively making obsolete the outcome of a Democratic primary in which voters have already cast ballots. Jackson made the announcement about a week after city officials received an email alleging that Jackson’s campaign improperly copied voter signatures obtained during his unsuccessful 2022 bid for Council onto 2024 paperwork for the June 18 Democratic primary, according to a copy of the email obtained by The Rambler.
Dominion customers to get cheaper electric bills after state’s exit from Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
A surcharge on Dominion Energy bills to cover costs incurred from Virginia’s now-abandoned participation in a multi-state greenhouse gas reduction program is going away next month, the State Corporation Commission decided. The decision, requested by Dominion, translates to a $4.43 savings on a benchmark monthly bill for 1,000 kilowatt hours – a bill that now costs $138. The electric monopoly said that Virginia’s withdrawal at the end of last year from what’s now the 11-state Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative means it no longer has to pay the body for the carbon gas it emits.
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol pushes back grand opening to later in year
Leaders with the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Bristol announced on Wednesday that the grand opening of the permanent casino and resort space, initially intended for July, has been pushed back to later this year. A news release from the casino said a new timeline for the permanent casino and resort’s completion was rolled out, which involves a late-year grand opening.
Chesapeake-based Dollar Tree looking at options for Family Dollar, including possible sale of segment
Discount retailer Dollar Tree says it’s looking at strategic options for the Family Dollar stores that it owns, including a possible sale of the segment. Dollar Tree said Wednesday that alternatives also include a spinoff or other disposition of the business. Dollar Tree acquired Family Dollar nearly a decade ago for more than $8 billion after a bidding war with rival Dollar General. But the company has had difficulty incorporating Family Dollar into its business and recently announced that it would close nearly 1,000 stores, with most of them being Family Dollar locations.