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Metro avoids drastic cuts, but fares are going up in new $4.8B budget
Metro fares will soon be going up as part of the $4.8 billion budget approved Thursday by the WMATA Board of Directors. This budget, which goes into effect July 1, avoids drastic service cuts the transit agency proposed in December when it said it faced a $750 million deficit. But to help bring in more revenue, fares will increase by 12.5%. That means the base fare will go up from $2 to $2.25, while the maximum fare jumps up from $6 to $6.75. Metro Access fares will also rise to $4.50.
Virginia’s first shared solar facilities come online
Virginia’s first “shared solar” facilities are now online, and the state is set for a major expansion. Shared solar is a way for people who cannot afford solar panels, or do not own land to put them on, to tap the sun and save on power bills. For utility customers who sign up for these, or the other shared solar facilities set to start in the months ahead, the electricity that shared solar systems feed into Dominion Energy’s grid translates to a 10% credit against their power bills.
Richmond baseball stadium project’s unlikely supporters: Labor unions
The city of Richmond’s plan to build a new minor-league baseball stadium has gained a groundswell of support from more than just baseball fans. The plan has found favor with union workers. The Diamond District project calls for the developers to hire a minimum number of union workers, small businesses and minority-owned businesses to build the $110 million stadium, the infrastructure and the development around it.
Warner promises tough talk with postmaster general on Richmond mail service
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., expects to have some tough things to say about Richmond’s mail service when he sits down soon with U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, he told the Richmond Times Dispatch editorial board on Friday. Virginia has the worst on-time mail delivery record in the nation, and a recent audit of the Richmond Regional Processing and Distribution Center in Sandston found an egregious lack of attention to detail, ranging from losing mail that falls off conveyor belts, to poor coordination between processing machines and trucks moving mail.
Virginia Attorney General Speaks At UVa. On Free Speech And Criminal Justice Reform
Politician and Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares spoke at an event titled “An Afternoon with Attorney General Jason Miyares” hosted by the Blue Ridge Center, an organization devoted to promoting free speech and debate on Grounds, and the Jefferson Council — a conservative alumni group dedicated to preserving the legacy of Thomas Jefferson — in collaboration with the Center for Politics on Grounds Wednesday.
Corneliussen: Restore Fort Monroe’s 1619 name: Point Comfort
Virginia is considering a great idea: restoring the original name of the place where the arc of the moral universe bent toward emancipation. In 1619 as “Point Comfort,” that historic landscape saw the dawn of British North America’s slavery. In 1861 as “Fort Monroe,” it saw the dawn of U.S. slavery’s demise. True, dropping the military name could offend people such as me — a former Navyman, son of a Navyman, married in Fort Monroe’s chapel to a soldier’s daughter. But way more importantly, that Chesapeake Bay landscape uniquely commemorates the struggles of the planet’s first nation to found itself on freedom.
Virginia using multi-pronged approach to address teacher vacancies
Virginia wasn’t an outlier in learning or teacher loss in the wake of the pandemic. But new teacher licensure programs, backed with state funds, are hoping to curb the shortage of educators parts of the Commonwealth are facing. Turner Penton is a tech ed teacher at Tucker High School in Henrico County. In the past he was a prison guard, worked in retail but had his longest stint working in a daycare center. But now, helping kids get socially and mentally adjusted to the real world, he’s thrilled to be working in a space where he feels like he’s making real impacts.