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The Buc-ee’s stops here? Stafford residents put off by potential gas giant
The mascot for Buc-ee’s may be the beaver, but many Stafford residents aren’t eager for the business to come to the county. Buc-ee’s, a Texas-based chain of large gas station/convenience stores, is seeking a permit to build what would be its third Virginia location near the intersection of Interstate 95 and Courthouse Road in Stafford. The initial public hearing on the proposal likely won’t be held until late fall or early winter at the earliest, but some Stafford residents who live near the proposed site have already begun voicing their opposition to it with county officials.
Virginia budget negotiators, Youngkin strike deal on spending plan
General Assembly negotiators and Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) have reached a deal on the state budget, agreeing to use several hundred million dollars in excess state revenue to pay for spending priorities favored by the General Assembly without resorting to the tax expansion opposed by the governor. “We have a budget!” House Appropriations Committee Chairman Luke E. Torian (D-Prince William) said Thursday afternoon after meetings between lawmakers and Youngkin. The full document will be made public Saturday morning and still has to be approved by the legislature in a special session next week.
Budget deal reached by Virginia governor and negotiators, chairman says
After an earlier breakdown in state budget negotiations, General Assembly budget negotiators and Gov. Glenn Youngkin reached a consensus on a two-year spending plan for Virginia that does not raise taxes. House Appropriations Committee Chair Luke Torian confirmed the budget conferees reached a deal Thursday, though he said the full details of the plan would not go public until this weekend. “It will not be released until Saturday; there are a lot of administrative things that need to be done,” Torian, D-Dumfries, said Thursday. “We just reached an agreement this afternoon.”
Powhatan school leaders address racism concerns with policy change
Ripped papers and a mother’s desperate tears for change flooded the room at Tuesday night’s Powhatan County School Board meeting. Parents and students pleaded with the board to take more drastic measures towards fighting ongoing racism they say they’ve continued to witness in Powhatan schools.
Shenandoah County Fair pig scramble called ‘unfair and unjust’
The Shenandoah County Fair pig scramble was scrutinized during Woodstock’s Town Council’s meeting Tuesday night after a Lorton resident made the 90-minute drive to speak against the popular event. The pig scramble is held annually, with over 300 local children participating in last summer’s rendition. Children from 3 to 8 years old, their hands covered in lard, are tasked to catch one of a group of running pigs. If a child manages to capture one of the 3-month-old pigs up for grabs, it is theirs to take home.
Louisa Co. supervisors reverse decision to cut Piedmont Virginia Community College funding over Jewish film
What exactly Piedmont Virginia Community College President Jean Runyon said to convince the Louisa County Board of Supervisors that a documentary called “Israelism” by two Jewish filmmakers wasn’t antisemitic remains unclear. Though it must have done the trick, as the board unanimously voted Monday night to overturn the resolution it had passed just one week prior that cut off the county’s funding to the school, a sum of $6,000 this year.
Loudoun in preliminary ‘priority’ corridor for new electricity transmission lines
The U.S. Department of Energy released May 8 a list of potential “priority” corridors for new transmission infrastructure that would give a federal commission the authority to overrule state agencies when ruling on transmission projects. One possible corridor includes existing transmission rights-of-way across Loudoun County along with a new path through western Loudoun. The maps of the possible new transmission line corridors are “rough approximations,” according to the department, and provide little detail. The department did not respond May 8 to a request for the detailed mapping data used to create the high-level maps ...
In rural Virginia, sea-level rise swamps septic systems. A local partnership is testing a solution.
On Virginia’s rural Middle Peninsula, Jamie Miller is the guy you call when something goes wrong with the least glamorous part of your home. “‘I can’t flush my toilet. I have sewage backing up in my house,’” Miller said, listing off some of the typical calls he receives. … A lifelong resident of Gloucester, Miller was born into the sewage business. He owns Miller’s Services, a plumbing company first started by his grandparents in the 1970s. But in recent years, the nature of the work has changed. Many homes in rural regions of Virginia rely on standalone septic tanks to handle wastewater because they aren’t connected to a municipal sewer system. When he took over in 2001, Miller said, the business was usually called to maintain working septic systems. Now, more and more septic systems are failing altogether, Miller said, flooding homes and yards with sewage that can threaten residents’ health and the local environment. The problem lies underground.
Southwest Va. region to get $845M as part of six-year transportation plan
The Virginia Department of Transportation’s Bristol district is slated to receive over $800 million, or about 3% of the state’s total proposed transportation funding, during the next six years. The district, which includes the 12 counties and two cities of far Southwest Virginia, is budgeted about $845 million in transportation funding as part of the Commonwealth Transportation Board’s proposed $25.4 billion six-year plan for fiscal years 2025-2030.
Alexandria anti-‘Zoning for Housing’ case gets another day in court
Alexandria succeeded in its bid [Wednesday] to dismiss a case filed by residents furious with a citywide zoning overhaul that allows developers to build homes with up to four units on any property, but residents will get a chance to try again in a month. … The zoning reform package was unanimously approved last year by City Council after an extensive public engagement process. It includes citywide changes to single-family zoning, expansion of transit-oriented development, reducing parking requirements for single-family homes and analyzing office-to-residential conversions. The effort is meant to increase affordable housing options, as well as eliminate segregationist zoning practices of the past.