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State forestry program purges hundreds of Virginia Callery pear trees

By MEGHAN MCINTYRE, Virginia Mercury

Both residents and Virginia Department of Forestry officials agree: Callery pear trees, including the much-loathed Bradford pear variety, aren’t just offensive to the nose — they’re detrimental to the state’s environment. A new state program is what led approximately 300 residents to the department’s headquarters in Charlottesville this past weekend, each having chopped down at least one pungent, invasive Callery pear in exchange for a native tree species.

VaNews April 23, 2024


Trial opens for former Virginia hospital medical director accused of sexual abuse of ex-patients

By SARAH RANKIN, Associated Press

The former longtime medical director of a Virginia hospital that serves vulnerable children used physical examinations as a “ruse” to sexually abuse two teenage patients, a prosecutor said Monday, while the physician’s attorney “adamantly” denied any inappropriate conduct. The trial of Daniel N. Davidow of Richmond, who for decades served as the medical director of the Cumberland Hospital for Children and Adolescents, opened Monday morning in New Kent County, where a judge will weigh the charges against him.

VaNews April 23, 2024


Richmond man charged with assaulting officer in Jan. 6 Capitol attack

By LUCA POWELL, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

A Richmond man associated with the white supremacist group Patriot Front is accused of striking a police officer during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol building. Nathaniel Noyce of Richmond is charged with assaulting law enforcement officers, civil disorder, and violence and disorderly conduct at the Capitol.

VaNews April 23, 2024


Richmond’s baseball stadium was billed as risk-free. Now leaders say there is risk.

By ERIC KOLENICH, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

For two years, the city of Richmond pitched a new minor-league baseball stadium as a project that would have no impact on the city’s taxpayers. This month, however, city leaders made a significant pivot. Deciding the old plan had become too expensive, they announced a new financing structure. The city will issue general obligation bonds and, if the worst-case scenario unfolds, the city would have to delay programs or raise taxes to pay off the debt.

VaNews April 23, 2024


Roanoke-based Luna Innovations says more financial statements are unreliable

By MATT BUSSE, Cardinal News

The Roanoke-based fiber-optic technology company Luna Innovations Inc. on Friday added more than a year’s worth of previous financial statements to the list of those that it says are no longer reliable. Luna said in a news release that a committee formed by its board of directors has determined that the company’s financial statements from 2022 and the first quarter of 2023 “cannot be relied upon and need to be restated due to identified accounting errors relating to revenue recognition.”

VaNews April 22, 2024


Richmond housing authority pauses evictions for at least 30 days

By PATRICK LARSEN, VPM

The Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority announced a new approach to lease enforcement amid public outcry over eviction cases it recently filed against residents. CEO Steven Nesmith said the “Compassion Action Initiative” will focus on re-establishing relationships with residents, adhering to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development regulations, strengthening data collection and sharing with stakeholders, and addressing a $3 million backlog of unpaid rent. At least 14 pending cases were dismissed from Richmond General District Court on Wednesday in a pause that Nesmith said would extend for a minimum of 30 days.

VaNews April 22, 2024


Concerned community members rally to ‘save the Moss Free Clinic’

By JOEY LOMONACO, Fredericksburg Free Press

Lloyd Moss Jr. recalls his father’s trademark retort for whenever someone would make reference to his namesake health center. “His comment was always, ‘It’s not my clinic.’” Moss Jr. said of the late Dr. Lloyd F. Moss, who helped found the Moss Free Clinic back in 1993. “It’s the Fredericksburg community’s, and it’s the volunteers’ clinic.” On Sunday afternoon, nearly 100 people gathered in a Taco Bell parking lot less than a mile from the clinic’s doors with a shared aim: taking ownership of its now-precarious future.

VaNews April 22, 2024


DOJ: Richmond man, a Patriot Front member, arrested in connection to Jan. 6 insurrection

By RYAN NADEAU, WRIC-TV

A Richmond man and member of the white nationalist group Patriot Front was arrested Friday and hit with several charges relating to his alleged conduct during the Jan. 6 insurrection, including impeding and physically assaulting officers. According to the Department of Justice, 26-year-old Nathaniel Noyce was arrested on Friday, April 19, in connection to his alleged participation and disorderly, disruptive conduct during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

VaNews April 22, 2024


James Madison University board announces interim president, tuition increase

By AVERY GOODSTINE, The Breeze

The Board of Visitors (BoV) announced former Senior Vice President of Administration and Finance Charlie King as JMU’s interim president — the first in over 30 years — during its Friday morning meeting. Both the proposed tuition increase and budget for the 2024-25 academic year were approved unanimously. The tuition proposal includes a 3% in-state and 1.5% out-of-state tuition increase.

VaNews April 22, 2024


I-95 express lanes use (and tolls) up

By SCOTT SHENK, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

More traffic has been using the electronically tolled lanes on Interstate 95 since a 10-mile extension opened in Stafford County last year. According to the toll lane operator Transurban’s March quarter financial update, released Thursday , the Australian-based company’s North American toll lanes “continued its recent strong performance with traffic increasing 4.9%,” equating to 147,000 trips, compared to the first quarter of 2023.

VaNews April 22, 2024