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Prince William supervisors mull eliminating data center overlay district
A proposal to eliminate Prince William County’s data center overlay district, a 10,000-acre zone south of Manassas where numerous data centers have been built in recent years because they are largely allowed by right, is being debated by the Board of Supervisors. Gainesville Supervisor Bob Weir, whose district includes much of the county’s data centers, introduced a zoning text amendment to undo the district due to the intensity of development in recent years.
Dominion approved for 3 long-term battery storage pilots
Dominion Energy recently received state regulatory approval to use developing battery storage technologies that could have major implications for the commonwealth’s renewable energy transition. The projects include two battery systems at Darbytown Power Station, a natural gas plant in Henrico County. One will utilize an iron-air battery system; the other, a zinc-hybrid technology. An additional project to help power Virginia State University’s Multi-Purpose Center will use metal-hydrogen batteries. Battery storage is expected to double on the United States electric grid in 2024.
Fox News floats VSU as host for vice presidential debate
Is a debate still in the cards for Virginia State University? Fox News hopes so. In a letter Friday to both the Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns, Fox News has offered to moderate a debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and the yet-to-be determined running mate of presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump. Trump immediately accepted the invitation, even calling out VSU by name, but President Joe Biden’s camp does not appear to be as intrigued.
Virginia’s Republican U.S. Senate candidates face off in Staunton ahead of primary
Four Republican candidates lobbed attacks at Democratic incumbents, Sen. Tim Kaine and President Joe Biden, and appeared to jockey for former President Donald Trump’s endorsement in the Virginia Senate primary race during a candidate forum on Friday. Scott Parkinson, Johnathan Emord, Eddie Garcia, and Chuck Smith met each other on stage Friday morning in front of roughly 100 people at Victory Worship Center and World Outreach, a church on a hill that overlooked a cow pasture and I-64 in Staunton.
Boy Scouts love this scenic Va. river. Locals say they’re ruining it.
Anne McClung was tending horses in her 19th-century barn one day last summer when she noticed a change in the Maury River flowing swiftly nearby. She’s known the river all her 76 years, but it didn’t take a practiced eye to recognize clouds of silt in the normally clear waters. McClung could think of only one cause: The Boy Scouts. The National Capital Area Council of the Scouts, based in Bethesda, has maintained a campground and lake a few miles upstream from McClung’s home for almost six decades. In recent times, the Scouts have drained the lake every fall, causing sediment to pour into one of Virginia’s most iconic and well-loved rivers.
Who were the mysterious ‘men in black’ at the UVa encampment?
Who were the men in black? In the fallout since the University of Virginia’s controversial decision to have Virginia State Police break up a small encampment of anti-war protesters on May 4, UVa officials have cited a number of justifications. Among them is a claim that four mysterious men in black, wearing helmets and backpacks, joined the encampment the night before. “At least two of these [men] were known to law enforcement personnel as participating in violent acts elsewhere in the commonwealth,” UVa President Jim Ryan said in a "virtual town hall" days after the incident. “This became a safety and security issue, especially when the four men came in on Friday night.” Since then, the university has offered almost no further details on the mysterious quartet ...
Loudoun schools scrap 2-hour delay proposal
Loudoun County Public Schools is no longer considering starting school two hours late on 16 days next year to accommodate state-mandated training for teachers. In a division-wide letter to parents on May 17, Superintendent Aaron Spence said LCPS received nearly 2,000 comments from parents after administrators first announced the proposal at a May 14 School Board meeting. Officials are now exploring alternatives, he said.
Under Glenn Youngkin, Parole in Virginia Has Nearly Vanished
In early April, Sarah Moore got the news she was dreading: Her husband, Dennis Jackson Moore, had been denied parole again. It was his fourth rejection in as many years. Dennis, who goes by Vega, is 45. He has spent more than half his life in prison in Virginia for a murder and armed robbery he committed as a teenager. At the time, his defense argued that he did not fully understand the charges against him and had been misled by a detective when he gave a recorded confession. Vega was tried in adult court.
State budget includes money to study tapping into natural gas pipeline in Tazewell and Russell counties
Studies that will explore the economic development benefits of extending natural gas from a major pipeline in Southwest Virginia to Tazewell and Russell counties were funded in the state budget approved last week. Each county will receive $100,000 from the general fund for fiscal year 2025 for its own study. Originally, the budget amendment filed by state Sen. Travis Hackworth, R-Tazewell County, asked for a total of $250,000 just for Tazewell County, where officials have been working for more than a decade to tap into a pipeline that runs through the county. Tazewell County is the third largest producer of natural gas in the state, but businesses and residents there have little access to it.
Bristol Casino reports nearly $14M in April revenues
Adjusted gaming revenues for the first four months of this year topped $55 million for the Bristol Casino, future home of Hard Rock. On Wednesday the Virginia Lottery released its monthly casino revenues report, showing the temporary Bristol Casino generated nearly $14 million in adjusted gaming revenue – hitting $13.94 million. Through the first four months of the year, the casino’s revenues exceeded $55.7 million, or about 1% ahead of the first four months of 2023, lottery records show.