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By TAD DICKENS,
Cardinal News
The Virginia General Assembly on Wednesday took its final steps on a bill intended to solve disputes and speed work in the state’s quest for full broadband deployment.
Both the Senate and the House of Delegates voted unanimously to concur with Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s only recommendation to the so-called “make-ready” bill that centers on utility pole access for broadband cable. Youngkin recommended that the State Corporation Commission, which will arbitrate any disputes, get an extra 60 days to make such decisions, on top of the 180 days the General Assembly granted.
VaNews April 18, 2024
By JESS KIRBY,
Loudoun Times
(Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)
Echoing concerns from county residents and activist groups, county supervisors unanimously passed a resolution April 16 calling for NextEra Energy’s proposed transmission lines to be routed on existing transmission corridors rather than building a new path through western Loudoun.
VaNews April 18, 2024
By BILL ATKINSON,
Progress Index
(Metered paywall - 10 articles a month)
It will now be up to Petersburg’s voters to decide if their city will become Virginia’s fifth casino home.
On votes of 32-8 in the state Senate and 80-19 in the House of Delegates Wednesday, the General Assembly has agreed to move the question of a Petersburg casino to a November referendum. Senate Bill 628 cleared the legislature earlier this year with a House-generated amendment calling for a second legislative vote, but Gov. Glenn Youngkin sent the bill back to lawmakers with a suggestion to strike the re-enactment.
VaNews April 18, 2024
By KATE ANDREWS,
Virginia Business
Petersburg voters will likely get the opportunity to vote on a casino referendum this fall, as a Virginia General Assembly obstacle has been removed from its path.
SB 628, sponsored by Sen. Lashrecse Aird, D-Petersburg, replaces Richmond with Petersburg among Virginia cities eligible to host a casino following approval by voters on a ballot. An earlier version of the bill had required a second General Assembly vote in 2025 before the law could take effect, but Gov. Glenn Youngkin removed that section of the measure this spring.
On Wednesday, both legislative bodies passed Youngkin’s version — meaning a vote could take place this fall in Petersburg, expediting the possible development of a casino resort in the city.
VaNews April 18, 2024
By MADISON MOORE,
WRIC-TV
Dozens of Powhatan County residents, teachers and parents showed up to yet another packed Powhatan County School Board meeting Tuesday night, with many voicing their frustrations about the alleged ongoing racial discrimination taking place in the school district.
The public outcry comes in response to a series of recent incidents, including a racist death threat scrawled on a Powhatan High School student’s arm that went viral on social media in February.
“There is a wildfire raging in Powhatan schools and you [Powhatan School Board] are allowing it to escalate,” said a Powhatan resident at the meeting.
VaNews April 18, 2024
By HANNA PAMPALONI,
Loudoun Now
The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution opposing the preliminary route of a proposed electric power transmission line across western Loudoun.
The action comes two weeks after supervisors voted to intervene in the State Corporation Commission’s review of a separate Dominion Energy application to construct new transmission lines across eastern Loudoun.
The western Loudoun line is planned by Florida-based NextEra Energy and has been approved by PJM Interconnection, the organization that coordinates power transmission in the region.
VaNews April 18, 2024
By JILL PALERMO,
Prince William Times
Data centers in Prince William County would get hit with higher tax bills this year, while homeowners will see an average tax bill increase of just $26 if county supervisors approve their budget plan next week.
On Tuesday, the supervisors moved to advance a 70% increase in the tax rate that data centers pay on their computer equipment while cutting the real estate tax rate to 92 cents per $100 in assessed value. The latter cuts the tax bill increase on a home valued at about $500,000 to $26 from the initially proposed $243, according to Nikki Brown, a Prince William County spokeswoman.
VaNews April 18, 2024
By JUSTIN WM. MOYER,
Washington Post
(Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)
Montgomery County officials said Wednesday that they hope to reopen White’s Ferry — a centuries-old service between Maryland and Virginia that was shut down in 2020 amid a legal dispute — after the owner this week offered to donate it to the county.
Chuck Kuhn, chief executive of JK Moving Services, and his wife Stacy Kuhn — who purchased the ferry in 2021 — said in a statement Tuesday that they are offering to donate the ferry to Montgomery County “contingent on Montgomery and Loudoun counties working together to find a solution to gain access to the Virginia shoreline and reopen the ferry in a timely manner.”
At a news conference Wednesday, County Executive Marc Elrich (D) said it could take a year to get it reopened.
VaNews April 18, 2024
By TIM HENDERSON,
Stateline
Juan Ramirez, watching his dog play in Chandon Park here in suburban Virginia on a Saturday morning, tries to imagine the massive office buildings next to the park becoming apartments and townhouses.
“I guess it’s inevitable. People don’t use offices as much now. I hope it’s affordable. Maybe it’ll bring more young people to town, more taxes for parks,” said Ramirez, 38, who grew up in the area and returned recently to take a restaurant management job after living in Minnesota and Ohio.
Cities and suburbs around the country are struggling with vacant office space as remote work becomes an established post-pandemic reality.
VaNews April 18, 2024
By PAUL GOLDMAN,
published in
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
Mayor Levar Stoney and City Council members — soon to leave office — are hellbent to use their waning power to put Richmond taxpayers on the hook for $280 million in unprecedented baseball stadium debt financing. Stoney unveiled his proposal on April 8. He and his Council majority say they will ram it through at a Council meeting on May 8. But having the right to do it doesn’t make it the right thing to do.
Paul Goldman is a lawyer, former chairman of the Virginia Democratic Party and author of “Remaking Virginia Politics.”
VaNews April 18, 2024
