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Governor Youngkin rips Biden after illegal immigrants tried to breach military base
A Republican governor is demanding the Biden administration provide further details on how two illegal immigrants were nearly able to breach a Marine Corps base, citing “grave concerns” for safety in his state as migrants continue to pour through the southern border. In the May 22 letter addressed to President Biden, Virginia Gov. Youngkin detailed being “deeply concerned” over a recent attempt by illegal immigrants to breach a U.S. military site.
Judge dismisses lawsuit challenging Prince William Digital Gateway
The controversial Prince William Digital Gateway, a rezoning allowing a massive data center development at the edge of the Manassas battlefield, is facing one fewer hurdle following the dismissal Thursday of the first of three lawsuits filed against it. The lawsuit was filed in December 2022, about a year before the Prince William Board of County Supervisors voted in December 2023 to rezone about 1,700 acres northwest of the battlefield and along Pageland Lane to allow a corridor of up to 37 data centers.
Virginia Has the Biggest Data Center Market in the World. Can It Also Decarbonize Its Grid?
While short-lived, the denial came as a surprise. This March, Loudoun County, a suburb of Washington, D.C. in Northern Virginia that is home to the greatest concentration of data centers in the world, made an unexpected move: It rejected a proposal to let a company build a bigger data center than existing zoning automatically allowed. … County supervisors would later reverse the decision, approving a smaller version of the project. But the initial denial sent ripples throughout Virginia, where concern over the rapid growth of data centers and what that means for the state’s ambitious decarbonization goals is growing.
Youngkin outlines efforts to ‘Accelerate Southwest Virginia’
Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Thursday unveiled “Accelerate Southwest Virginia,” a multi-faceted, “holistic” approach designed to promote development by addressing roadblocks to future success. The governor’s remarks came during the keynote address of the Southwest Virginia Economic Forum at the David J. Prior Center at UVA Wise. More than 300 people from across the region attended the daylong event.
City manager’s pending departure sets up complex scenario for Roanoke City Council
A city manager steps down and the mayor replaces him. It’s a rare situation, but not unheard of in Virginia. The most recent example happened in Roanoke this week, when the city council unanimously accepted Bob Cowell’s resignation, effective June 7, then approved a resolution that makes Mayor Sherman Lea the acting manager, starting the next day.
City agrees to state giving Hotel Petersburg developers $2.2 million so project can finish on time
City Council agreed Tuesday night to $2.2 million in state tourism-funded gap financing to push the long-awaited Hotel Petersburg project across the finish line this fall. The $2.2 million equals 1% of the anticipated yearly revenue the hotel and all of its amenities will generate. It would be paid back over 20 years by the developer, Nathaniel Cuthbert of Tabb Street Development LLC.
In rare agricultural land auction, large Suffolk farm near downtown lands in developer’s hands
On a drizzly Wednesday morning in a Suffolk hotel ballroom, hundreds of acres of farmland came up for grabs. For a local developer, it’s a great opportunity for his company in the region’s fastest growing city. For others, the sale represents another swath of prime Suffolk farmland destined for transformation into suburban subdivisions or something similarly clad in concrete.
Virginia Beach’s infamous ‘no-cursing’ signs will be sold to raise money for police charity
Ever wonder what in the @?#!! happened to those old “no-cursing” signs at the Oceanfront? They’ve been sitting in storage since the city took them down in 2019. Now, the Virginia Beach Police Foundation wants to sell the signs to raise money for police-related charitable programs. Mayor Bobby Dyer got the green light Tuesday from his city council colleagues to donate them to the foundation.
Diamond District bonds help Richmond achieve first AAA credit rating from Fitch
Changing its approach to financing the Diamond District has helped the City of Richmond achieve its first AAA credit rating, the highest possible, from one of the big three U.S. bond rating agencies. City officials on Thursday celebrated the upgrade from Fitch Ratings with a news conference and reception in the observation deck atop City Hall.
Richmond receives AAA bond rating for first time
For the first time in its history, Richmond has received a AAA bond rating — the highest possible mark of financial success. Fitch, one of three municipal credit agencies, upgraded the city’s rating this week from its previous general obligation debt rating of AA+. As a result, the city will now be able to borrow more funds at the lowest possible interest rate — saving the city millions in interest on capital projects.