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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Kiggans backs bill to extend affordable internet; Dems say she’s tardy
As a federal program that offsets internet costs to families in need has expired, Congress is seeking both short- and long-term solutions. Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-2nd, signed onto a bill to extend the Affordable Connectivity Program on Wednesday, months after its introduction and as the program expired. The timing prompted a rebuke from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
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.
Adkins: 250 years later, Native Americans have a chance to reclaim the narrative
The 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence is a momentous occasion for the United States. It’s a time to celebrate the ideals enshrined in that document — life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. However, for the Chickahominy people and other Native American tribes, this anniversary carries a more complex weight. The declaration, for all its eloquence, wasn’t written with us in mind. It spoke of freedom from tyranny, a right blatantly denied to my ancestors through broken treaties and forced removal from our lands.
Luna claws back cash, benefits from former CEO Graeff
Luna Innovations declared this week that its former president and CEO, Scott Graeff, engaged in prohibited conduct in connection with a series of incorrect financial statements — triggering a claw back of severance and stock benefits payable to Graeff for his assisting the company after his March 24 retirement, according to the company. A personnel shakeup continued as Luna leadership also fired Chief Technology Officer Brian Soller for cause Friday … The disclosures appeared in a late Wednesday afternoon filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and triggered a temporary plunge in company stock to near $2 a share.
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.