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Clouds gathering over big solar farms in Va.?
In recent years, many solar farms have been approved by local governments across the state, but the outlook in some areas isn’t so sunny anymore. In Frederick County, the Board of Supervisors’ rejection of a utility-scale solar project has led to a lawsuit. In April, Hollow Road Solar LLC and property owners National Fruit O[...]
JULY FOR THE RECORD
Roanoke/New River Valley Appalachian Power in late May issued two requests for proposals to help the company comply with provisions of the Virginia Clean Economy Act. Under the VCEA, Appalachian Power must meet annual interim requirements as it works to achieve 100% carbon-free energy generation in its Virginia service territory by 2050. The utility is […]
G-Men headed for Springfield? Possibly.
After being sidelined during the Trump administration, the plan to build a new FBI headquarters in the Washington, D.C., suburbs appears to be back on track. Earlier this year, U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, both Democrats, and their Maryland counterparts wrote to President Joe Biden to request that the federal government[...]
Back to the future
The candidates running for governor in November face the convergence of two Virginia political trends. The first is the commonwealth’s tendency to vote for governors of the opposing party from the present White House occupant. Beginning in 1977, Virginia has voted against the party holding the White House in every election exc[...]
Region hopes for jolt from batteries, electrification
Adam Wells is charged up about a plan to create a “battery and electrification economy” in Southwest Virginia. “This is the most exciting thing that I’m working on,” says Wells, Appalachian Voices’ Norton-based regional director of community and economic development. The environmental nonprofit led the effort that pe[...]
Seismic session
With short legislative sessions and state elections looming in the fall, odd-numbered years have developed an often-unfair reputation for being a slack time for the General Assembly. Observers of the Virginia legislature’s 2021 session, however, would hardly have come away with that impression. In the second year of Democratic[...]
Va. Tech researchers make Spot go
Spot can’t dance. Well, Spot could, but you’d have to pay extra for that. “Spot out of the box cannot do all those tricks,” says Virginia Tech doctoral student Srijeet Halder. Spot is Boston Robotics’ $74,500 four-legged walking platform, a star of viral dancing videos that also has the ability to navigate stairs, avoi[...]
Pittsylvania officials hope to spur brownfields development
Pittsylvania County’s growth trajectory received an added boost in May when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded the county a $600,000 grant to conduct environmental due diligence on 18 brownfield sites in the county. Five of the sites are considered high priorities. They include the former Southside Manufacturing [...]
Chesterfield eyes zoning overhaul to boost development
In 1980, developer George Emerson stood in a wooded area of Chesterfield County’s Bermuda district and told a contractor where he wanted to build a road. Without any formal plan endorsed by the county, Emerson built the Walthall Industrial Parkway, opening the adjacent land for industrial development. Times have changed, and s[...]
In the balance
The struggle for work-life balance was taking its toll on women professionals even before the pandemic struck. But the lack of child care and the burnout from increased workloads may now be driving some women business leaders and aspiring leaders out of the workforce altogether. A May 19 Deloitte Global study, “Women @ Work: A[...]
The real world
In spring 2020, University of Virginia officials were left scrambling as thousands of students lost summer internships overnight due to the then-burgeoning COVID-19 pandemic. Those precious 10- to 12-week gigs, during which students lay the groundwork for their post-college careers, were suddenly gone. “We said, ‘We can’[...]
