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Crisis averted, fares hiked: What Metro’s new budget means for riders
After months of financial challenges and threats to shutter rail stations and bus lines, Metro has a new budget that avoids catastrophic service cuts. But it still comes at a cost to riders. The transit agency’s board passed a $4.8 billion budget last week for the coming fiscal year that will maintain rail and bus service levels but raise fares by 12.5 percent.
Pro-Palestinian protesters at Virginia Tech challenge university’s account of events
Students and faculty held a press conference at Virginia Tech on Thursday evening to challenge the university’s account of a pro-Palestinian encampment that was dismantled late Sunday night, resulting in 82 trespassing arrests. After the encampment was broken down by Virginia Tech police late Sunday night with assistance from Virginia State Police and local police departments, the university has continued to suppress student-led protests by “heavily policing, intimidating, and threatening retaliation against its own students and faculty who want to continue exercising their constitutional rights,” said Desiree Poets, an assistant professor in the political science department at Virginia Tech.
Dominion responds to lawsuit over environmental concerns of offshore wind project
In the past few months, multiple whales, including a right whale who had recently given birth, died along the Virginia coast, causing some groups to question the advancement of wind energy off the coast. Three public interest groups, as well as two individuals, filed a lawsuit against Dominion Energy and the Biden administration, [hoping] to delay the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Commercial (CVOW) project.
Conservative groups challenge wind farm project; Dominion says it’s still on track
Three groups that are challenging Biden administration energy policy as climate change alarmism want to block work on Dominion Energy’s offshore wind project. The groups — Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, The Heartland Institute and National Legal and Policy Center — say the Biden administration’s push to develop wind farms threatens the endangered North Atlantic right whale.
Protesters call for VCU president’s resignation, condemn police response to demonstrations
Pro-Palestine protest organizers gathered on the lawn outside the James Branch Cabell Library at Virginia Commonwealth University on Thursday afternoon and called for university President Michael Rao’s resignation or removal on the heels of Monday’s violent showdown between police and demonstrators. The clashes, which came after protesters set up an encampment on the lawn outside the library, resulted in 13 arrests and numerous reported injuries to both police and protesters.
Lerch: Va. counties step up to meet solar energy demand
There’s been considerable discussion recently regarding county review and approval of utility-scale solar projects. We would like to provide some context to this important conversation on behalf of Virginia counties. Members of the Virginia Association of Counties are accommodating this emerging and intensive land use in a responsible and inclusive manner. Over the past decade, Virginia local governments have approved 260 projects totaling 11,640 megawatts in capacity generation. That’s 69 counties, eight cities and six towns that have said yes to utility-scale solar ...
UVa student protest diminishes in size as it enters third day
A student-led protest at the University of Virginia remained peaceful but had noticeably diminished in size as it entered its third day Thursday. UVa’s demonstration stands in stark contrast to how larger anti-Israel protests have unfolded across the country and the commonwealth. As of Thursday evening, there were roughly 40 protesters on UVa Grounds, mostly concentrated near the chapel adjacent to the university’s landmark Rotunda.
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.
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.
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.