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By CHARLIE PAULLIN,
Virginia Mercury
Charybdis, the name of one of the Greek sea monsters who made it difficult for Odysseus to complete his epic journey in The Odyssey, is also the name of Dominion Energy’s new 471-foot ship, a vessel that will be used during construction of the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, the largest such project in the country.
On Monday, Dominion announced the 23,000-ton ship was lifted from land, rolled to the edge of a dock and placed in the water to undergo the rest of the work needed to finish it by late 2024.
VaNews April 16, 2024
By EMILY HARRISON,
WVEC-TV
After the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, Port of Virginia officials warned there could be a substantial increase of containers coming to Hampton Roads.
Now weeks after the disaster, those in Hampton Roads are starting to feel the impacts.
“It’s all that anyone will talk about,” said Brooke Deems, president of the Tidewater Motor Truck Association. “But it’s unavoidable, the Port is doing everything it can.”
VaNews April 16, 2024
By EVAN GOODENOW,
Loudoun Times
(Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)
A Loudoun County Sheriff's Office deputy who has twice run for School Board is the subject of an internal LCSO investigation over derogatory remarks he made about public speakers at the April 9 board meeting. Deputy Michael A. Rivera removed the comments from his X feed several hours after posting them on April 10, according to LCSO lead spokesman Thomas R. Julia. In the post, Rivera referred to one speaker as "a barren hag that probably lives in her parent's basement."
VaNews April 16, 2024
By KARRI PEIFER,
Axios
The city of Richmond sent late notices to 58% of delinquent meals tax accounts during a recent seven-month period, according to a new report from the city auditor.
The other 42% considered delinquent between July 12, 2022 and Feb. 13, 2024 did not receive any notice telling them they owed a balance.
July 2022 is when the city said it began sending late notices to delinquent account holders. By February, the city was a month into the recent meals tax debacle.
VaNews April 16, 2024
By DAVID TEEL,
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
The inevitability and wisdom of college athletic departments and their foundations coordinating name, image and likeness compensation for their enrolled athletes has long been clear. Overriding NCAA policy, state law soon will grant Virginia schools that option.
Wednesday’s reconvened session of the General Assembly will determine whether the bill, passed by the House and Senate and supported by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, becomes law July 1 or Nov. 15. The latter date comes into play if Wednesday’s session requests a review of the bill by the General Assembly’s Athletics Review Commission.
VaNews April 16, 2024
By PATRICK LARSEN,
VPM
The General Assembly will take another look at legislation that would allow the state’s two biggest electric utility companies to request ratepayer funds to cover costs of early development for small modular nuclear reactors.
SMRs are well-described by their name. They’re smaller than a traditional reactor — those are often rated at about 1,000 MW. An SMR would produce about one-third of that. They’re modular — meaning they can be built off-site and used in an array of one or more reactors.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office made some changes to the bills that supporters say would protect electric ratepayers against major bill impacts — opponents of the measures maintain the bills have ratepayers fronting the risk of an unproven technology.
VaNews April 16, 2024
By JANE HARPER,
Virginian-Pilot
(Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
Murder charges against one of two brothers accused of taking part in a 2017 fatal shooting were thrown out Monday after a judge ruled prosecutors had violated his right to a speedy trial.
Judge Brenda Spry issued her ruling at the end of a hearing in Portsmouth Circuit Court, during which attorneys for Alexander Weinschel pointed to repeated lapses in his case over the past six years, including a period of more than two years in which no scheduling or continuance orders were ever filed.
VaNews April 16, 2024
By NORMAN K. STYER,
Loudoun Now
The four-year effort to increase opportunities for agricultural operations even as western Loudoun properties are carved up into new subdivisions is nearing a final Board of Supervisors vote, but debate continues over whether the new policies would hamper broader countryside conservation efforts.
Following a public hearing that stretched to nearly 3 a.m. April 11, county supervisors have scheduled a June vote on the proposed zoning regulations for rural cluster subdivisions aimed at limiting development on the best spaces for farming, defined as having prime agricultural soils.
VaNews April 16, 2024
By JACKIE BOND,
Cavalier Daily
The University’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is facing scrutiny from two online news publications after OpenTheBooks — a nonprofit organization dedicated to government transparency — reported that the University currently has 235 DEI-related employees, totaling $20 million in University spending. The University contests this report, claiming that these numbers are highly inflated.
The University’s DEI office provides several resources and programs, including the Equity Center, which works to redress racial and economic inequalities, the Diversity Council, where elected representatives discuss strategies for making the University a more welcoming environment, and resource groups for Black, LatinX and veteran employees to help recruit, mentor and support staff members in each of these identity categories.
VaNews April 16, 2024
By ROBERT ZULLO,
Virginia Mercury
The nation’s largest public power company, the Tennessee Valley Authority, which serves 10 million people in Tennessee and parts of six neighboring states, has put forward plans for eight new natural gas plants since 2020.
In South Carolina, Dominion Energy and Santee Cooper are pushing the state legislature to pave the way for a 2,000-megawatt natural gas power plant. Farther north, Dominion also plans new gas generation in Virginia. In its most recent plan filed with state regulators, Georgia Power is looking to add new gas turbines. Likewise, Duke Energy in North Carolina is proposing new gas plants and delaying coal power retirements.
VaNews April 16, 2024
