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Pro-Palestinian protesters at Virginia Tech challenge university’s account of events
Students and faculty held a press conference at Virginia Tech on Thursday evening to challenge the university’s account of a pro-Palestinian encampment that was dismantled late Sunday night, resulting in 82 trespassing arrests. After the encampment was broken down by Virginia Tech police late Sunday night with assistance from Virginia State Police and local police departments, the university has continued to suppress student-led protests by “heavily policing, intimidating, and threatening retaliation against its own students and faculty who want to continue exercising their constitutional rights,” said Desiree Poets, an assistant professor in the political science department at Virginia Tech.
Dominion responds to lawsuit over environmental concerns of offshore wind project
In the past few months, multiple whales, including a right whale who had recently given birth, died along the Virginia coast, causing some groups to question the advancement of wind energy off the coast. Three public interest groups, as well as two individuals, filed a lawsuit against Dominion Energy and the Biden administration, [hoping] to delay the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Commercial (CVOW) project.
Conservative groups challenge wind farm project; Dominion says it’s still on track
Three groups that are challenging Biden administration energy policy as climate change alarmism want to block work on Dominion Energy’s offshore wind project. The groups — Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, The Heartland Institute and National Legal and Policy Center — say the Biden administration’s push to develop wind farms threatens the endangered North Atlantic right whale.
Luna Innovations considers options including sale or merger as it reports latest executive turnover
Luna Innovations Inc., a publicly traded Roanoke-based technology company, will consider a sale or merger among its options going forward, in the wake of financial reporting irregularities that led to the resignations of its chief executive officer and chief financial officer, and the firing of its chief technology officer. The company announced on Wednesday that it has found that former CEO Scott Graeff, who resigned in late March, had engaged in conduct that constituted “cause” under his contract, so Luna will cancel his severance payments and take back stock from him.
Protesters call for VCU president’s resignation, condemn police response to demonstrations
Pro-Palestine protest organizers gathered on the lawn outside the James Branch Cabell Library at Virginia Commonwealth University on Thursday afternoon and called for university President Michael Rao’s resignation or removal on the heels of Monday’s violent showdown between police and demonstrators. The clashes, which came after protesters set up an encampment on the lawn outside the library, resulted in 13 arrests and numerous reported injuries to both police and protesters.
Three Democrats seeking 5th District nomination agree to agree in campaign forum
Three Democrats are vying for their party’s nomination in the June 18 primary elections in Virginia’s 5th Congressional District to take on Rep. Bob Good, R-Campbell County, the incumbent, who faces his own primary challenge by state Sen. John McGuire, R-Goochland. The three Democratic candidates, Paul Riley, Gary Terry, and Gloria Witt, met at a candidate forum in Danville on Thursday evening to discuss their backgrounds and legislative priorities and generally agreed on the issues. They also talked about how they’d run in November against a GOP candidate in a heavily Republican district.
Friday Read Centuries ago, Black freedmen found refuge harvesting oysters. A descendant carries on their legacy.
On a warm spring morning, Mary Hill is on a boat working her oyster grounds just north of the Crittenden Bridge in Chuckatuck Creek. “I’ve got about 500 acres out here,” she says, pointing to markers dotting the creek, which feeds into the Nansemond River. Thousands of oysters in buckets already line the boat’s perimeter while Hill and two colleagues lower a dredge into the water. The metal cage scrapes the bottom of the oyster beds. The crew raise it up, dump the bounty and start sifting through oyster shells, tossing small ones back into the water to replenish the reefs. To Hill, these mornings out on the water are more than just a job. It’s her family legacy.
As early voting begins in Virginia, the key races to watch
On May 3, Virginia voters can begin in-person early voting for the June primary elections, where two open congressional seats in the northern part of the state have fueled competitive nomination contests while Rep. Bob Good (R) is facing a heated challenge in his Charlottesville-area district. Both Democratic Reps. Jennifer Wexton and Abigail Spanberger have said they do not plan to seek reelection, making their Northern Virginia seats more vulnerable in November contests that are likely to attract large influxes of cash from both major political parties. Statewide, Democrats hope to pick up a few seats after redistricting made some Republican seats more vulnerable.
These are the people who will decide Metro’s future
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) have created a task force charged with developing a unified vision for the region’s transportation system and coming up with a sustainable funding model for Metro that is palatable to political leaders in D.C., Maryland and Virginia. The task force, dubbed DMV Moves, was unveiled in D.C. Wednesday at the first-ever joint board meeting of two organizations. The 20-person task force will be made up primarily of political leaders across D.C., Virginia and Maryland appointed by the Council of Governments as well as four representatives appointed by Metro.
Bedford County School Board cuts damages sought in lawsuit against parent to $1
The Bedford County School Board has reduced the price tag on its lawsuit against a parent from $600,000 to just $1. The school board sued David Rife for damages of $600,000 in late March, alleging he used crude language and threatened police and legal action during repeated calls to the school district about his son. Rife’s son, who attends Staunton River High School, is on an individualized education program for a learning disability, but Rife has claimed repeatedly over the course of several years that his son wasn’t receiving the services outlined in his plan.