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Bids for SPSA landfill alternative arrive
Bids proposing alternatives to the Southeastern Public Service Authority’s near-capacity Suffolk landfill are in but staying secret for now. SPSA, which operates the regional landfill on behalf of Isle of Wight County and seven other Hampton Roads localities, solicited proposals due May 1 from companies looking to fill the void come June 30 when the WIN Waste, formerly Wheelabrator, waste-to-energy plant that had been diverting more than 70% of the region’s municipal waste from the landfill shutters.
Chesapeake Bay cleanup far from 2025 goals, despite some progress
Virginia and the other states in the Chesapeake Bay watershed are continuing to cut pollutants flowing into the bay but are still well short of targets for nitrogen and phosphorus that they have promised to hit by next year. Nitrogen and phosphorus feed the summertime algae blooms that starve the bay and its creatures of oxygen, which fish and shellfish alike need to stay alive.
Excavation of graves begins at University of Richmond
After gaining state approval, the University of Richmond has begun excavating graves on campus that might belong to enslaved workers who lived on a plantation there 180 years ago. The state’s Department of Historic Resources on Monday approved UR’s application to excavate, and work began immediately, said Joanna Wilson Green, an archaeologist who oversees cemetery preservation for the department.
Good and McGuire clash in 5th District GOP primary; loyalty to Trump a factor
Not far from where Rep. Bob Good, R-5th defeated his previous Republican challenger in a 2022 convention at Hampden-Sydney College, he recently spoke to a crowd of about 50 in an event room at Charley’s Waterfront Cafe. “I was ‘too conservative’ and now I’m ‘not conservative enough,’ ” Good said, speaking of how his opponents in both parties have classified him over the years. The two-term congressman now faces a challenge from state Sen. John McGuire, R-Goochland, in a June 18 primary in which the degree of loyalty to former President Donald Trump has become a litmus test.
Williams: Congressional bill is about curbing college speech, not antisemitism
Antisemitism was on the march on a college campus in August 2017 when torch-carrying Nazis and other white supremacists chanted “Jews will not replace us” during a rally at the University of Virginia. Antisemitism was on the hunt on Oct. 27, 2018, when a gunman open fired during the Shabbat morning services at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue ... But it was not until Wednesday that the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Antisemitism Awareness Act, as if suddenly cognizant of the lethal power of anti-Jewish hate.
VCU protesters arraigned as dozens appear in court to support them
Twelve people were arraigned in a packed courtroom at the John Marshall Courts Building on Friday morning on charges related to Monday’s violent clash between pro-Palestine protesters and police outside the James Branch Cabell Library on VCU’s Monroe Park campus. [They] have all been charged with participating in an unlawful assembly and trespassing on VCU property after a group of protesters established an encampment on the lawn outside the library and refused to disperse when ordered by officers dressed in riot gear and carrying guns and pepper spray.
Schapiro: Budget deal is work in progress
In their fight with short-timer Gov. Glenn Youngkin over Virginia’s new $188 billion budget, Democratic legislators appear to be going long, betting that they can get what they want — higher taxes and more spending — after the Republican drifts into history in 19 months. Ahead of their scheduled — but unannounced — meeting with Youngkin this coming Tuesday, General Assembly budget writers are floating a possible deal under which both sides, over the approaching two-year fiscal cycle, retreat on taxes: Democrats backing off on expanding the sales tax to digital services; Youngkin surrendering on income tax cuts.
Dinwiddie prosecutor moves to drop charges against five more defendants in Irvo Otieno case
Dinwiddie County’s new commonwealth’s attorney has moved to drop murder charges against five defendants accused in the death of Irvo Otieno in 2023. Initially, 10 defendants were charged last year with second-degree murder of the 28-year-old in a case that rocked the nation after video surfaced of a shackled Otieno being held down by multiple officers and hospital personnel. ... Later, charges were dropped against two hospital employees who appeared to have the least amount of contact with Otieno in video showing his death. ... The latest move, first reported by television news station WTVR, would bring the number of defendants down to three.
Two Democrats seek to unseat Virginia Beach Rep. Jen Kiggans
Two Democrats are running in the June 18 primary to get the chance to challenge Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Virginia) in the fall. Early voting for the race kicked off Friday. Missy Cotter Smasal is a Navy veteran and former small business owner. She ran for State Senate in 2019, but lost. The establishment of the party has lined up behind her. … Jake Denton is a lawyer and first time political candidate. He says many of the endorsements came before he entered the race.
Clean-energy funding in limbo in governor–assembly standoff
Virginia could be about to leave on the table $300 million of low-cost federal financing to tackle climate change because Gov. Glenn Youngkin and the General Assembly take different views on a proposal for how to access the money. At issue is a proposal from Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, to set up a Virginia Clean Energy Innovation Bank. He’s proposing the new entity to tap the Department of Energy’s offer of low-interest-rate loans to finance clean energy projects, investments in reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and similar efforts. The governor wanted to amend the measure, to require a second vote by the General Assembly next year.