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Rural Loudoun Residents Hear Opposition Strategies to NextEra Power Line
Nearly 200 residents filled the banquet hall at the Lovettsville Fire and Rescue Station Wednesday night for a meeting hosted by the Lovettsville chapter of the Loudoun Transmission Line Alliance about the proposed transmission line by NextEra Energy expected to cut through the western part of the county to Leesburg. The meeting was led by Alliance member Mary Terpak and included presentations by Piedmont Environmental Council Senior Land Use Planner Tia Earman, Waterford Foundation President Sue Manch and Scenic Loudoun Legal Defense representative Tom Donahue.
Hanover officials discuss major solar farm development
Hanover County is in the early stages of reviewing what would be the largest solar development to come to Hanover’s Beaverdam District since the county adopted a broadened solar policy. The project was submitted by North Carolina-based Strata Clean Energy LLC, who has constructed 12 solar projects in Virginia. To date, Hanover has only approved four solar projects in the county. Strata aims to rezone around 1,477 acres of privately-owned land adjacent to the North Anna River in order to build a solar farm capable of producing 72-megawatts worth of electricity; enough to power around 18,000 homes.
UVa student protest diminishes in size as it enters third day
A student-led protest at the University of Virginia remained peaceful but had noticeably diminished in size as it entered its third day Thursday. UVa’s demonstration stands in stark contrast to how larger anti-Israel protests have unfolded across the country and the commonwealth. As of Thursday evening, there were roughly 40 protesters on UVa Grounds, mostly concentrated near the chapel adjacent to the university’s landmark Rotunda.
Police raze pro-Palestine encampment at VCU; students outraged
Pro-Palestine VCU students protested what they called the ongoing genocide in Gaza on Monday, April 29, by building an encampment on campus. The protest began with song and dance and ended with pepper spray, smoke bombs and 13 arrests by police. The incident comes amid a wave of pro-Palestinian protests and consequential arrests on college campuses across the country. In Virginia, at least 94 protesters in total have been arrested at Virginia Tech and the University of Mary Washington over the last week. Students started peaceful protests at the University of Virginia and Christopher Newport University on Tuesday, April 30, and at James Madison University on Wednesday, May 1, according to reports by multiple Virginia newspapers.
Yancey: Cumberland County teacher is a model for how he’s led students to research state’s history
In March 2023, a historical marker was unveiled at Roanoke College. The subject matter was unusual enough: It recognized Kim Kyusik, a leader in the Korean independence movement, who had been a student at the Salem school in the early 1900s. At a time when segregation was the order of the day in Virginia, Roanoke College had made a concerted effort to recruit students from Korea. Between 1894 and 1930, some 30 Korean students matriculated at Roanoke College. Research by Roanoke College professors Whitney Leeson and Stella Xu suggests that Roanoke College at the time had more Korean students than any other college in the United States.
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.
Workforce and child development hub on track to open in Abingdon this summer
Travis Staton donned a hard hat Thursday and proudly showed off some of the features — from exploration labs to a cafe — of the first-of-its-kind Regional Workforce and Child Development Hub taking shape in Abingdon. Construction of the $25.5 million project started last July, and it is on schedule and about 85% complete, according to Staton, who is president and CEO of EO, formerly the program arm of United Way of Southwest Virginia.
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.
Youngkin announces formal relationship between Virginia National Guard, Finland
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, who is currently traveling through Europe on an international trade mission, has announced a formal relationship between the Virginia National Guard (VNG) and Finland. According to Youngkin’s office, the Virginia National Guard was selected as the U.S. partner to Finland as part of the Department of Defense National Guard Bureau State Partnership Program. Youngkin took part in an official state partnership signing ceremony at the Finnish Ministry of Defense in Helsinki to commemorate the relationship.
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.