Recent News
Farmers, retailers worry as state and federal regs for hemp, marijuana shift
A legal cannabis market is set to take effect in Virginia next summer pending a final state budget, but Mannassas-based Barbara Biddle has already given notice to her landlord to...
FCC adopts new rules as states transition to Next Generation 911
The Federal Communications Commission has approved new rules designed to improve the reliability of Next Generation 911 systems as states continue replacing decades-old emergency call infrastructure with internet-based networks. The...
Virginia’s romance with data centers has cooled, but nobody benefits if there’s a full breakup
Data centers. Can’t live with them. Can’t live without them. But we could do with data centers slowing their jackrabbit pace of reproduction in congested suburbs and, instead, building where...
Lacking Trump’s signature, a major congressional housing bill with Va. roots still has a path to law
President Donald Trump was expected to sign a bipartisan bill on Wednesday that represents the most significant congressional action to address the nation’s housing shortage in decades, which has aspects...
Budget amendment would give ratepayers estimated $3 monthly rebate from RGGI funds
An amendment to return 45% of funds earned through the regional carbon market to rate-paying residents, small business and churches is part of the two-year budget Virginia lawmakers passed Monday,...
Virginia joins initiative to create three-year bachelor’s degree model
Higher education leaders in Virginia and Ohio announced Thursday that they will join forces to create a model for three-year bachelor’s degrees, cutting the traditional timeframe of obtaining the credential...
Trump order limiting voting by mail halted by federal court
A federal judge on Thursday blocked major portions of President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting voting by mail, finding he had exceeded his constitutional authority. The decision halts, at least until...
More than abortion: What Va. patients and providers want you to know about reproductive health laws
Editor’s note: This story mentions pregnancy loss. Miscarriages were common for Albemarle County resident Casey Oakley during her in vitro fertilization process. Some embryo transfers weren’t successful and her body...
Virginia joins challenge to Trump’s controversial IRS settlement
Virginia Attorney Jay Jones joined a coalition of 22 Democratic attorneys general Wednesday urging a federal judge in Florida to closely examine a controversial settlement tied to President Donald Trump’s...
Va. legislature grants emergency funds to help close leaking, bankrupt landfill in Chesterfield
The Virginia General Assembly allocated $10.6 million in the two-year budget lawmakers passed this week for the Department of Environmental Quality to help contain toxic leachate spilling from the bankrupt...
After criticism, Virginia proposes two-year delay in raising school standards
The Virginia Board of Education may delay the full implementation of the state’s plan to raise academic benchmarks for reading and math by two years, rather than gradually increasing them...
Federal government scouts for interest in mineral mining off Virginia shores
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has pitched the possibility of leasing areas of the outer continental shelf off Virginia’s shores for mineral mining. Over the next month, the agency...
Spanberger unveils reformed practices for Va. prisons and council on corrections
A new council convened by Gov. Abigail Spanberger aims to help solve longstanding issues in Virginia’s prisons that residents and correctional officers have expressed concerns about for years. The Governor’s...
Trump’s policies won’t bring back coal, but they are driving up Virginians’ energy costs
If virtue signaling has a Trump-era corollary, we might call it vice signaling. That’s what President Donald Trump’s most recent package of subsidies for the coal industry looks like: it...
Miscarriage management remains muddled 4 years after Dobbs
Mylissa McNeill never expected to be a mother. But when she learned she was pregnant in the spring of 2022, at age 41, she and her partner were happy and...
Recent News
Board to discuss solar ordinance at Monday meeting – The Enterprise
By Taylor Boyd The Patrick County Board of Supervisors will consider a draft solar ordinance proposed by the Planning Commission at its Monday, Feb. 9 meeting. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. in the third-floor courtroom of the Patrick County Administration Building. The ordinance was sent to the board more than four months ago, on Sept. 16. Kurt Bozenmayer, then chairman of the commission, asked the board to take action on the proposed solar ordinance at the...
Read moreDetailsLocal volunteers go above and beyond for Fincastle shelter animals – Fincastle Herald
By Matt de Simone When a winter storm threatened the League for Animal Protection in late January, the shelter’s safety depended not on equipment, but on people willing to step in at a moment’s notice. As freezing temperatures and icy conditions approached, shelter officials learned that the facility’s backup generator had failed — a discovery that raised immediate concerns for the dogs and cats in their care. “We realized the generator wasn’t working the very day the storm was...
Read moreDetailsSupervisors approve confidential retail deal, elect new leadership at January meeting – Fincastle Herald
By Matt de Simone In a surprise move during its January meeting, the Botetourt County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a performance agreement tied to a proposed major retail development, an item added to the agenda as a walk-on without advance public notice. County Administrator Gary Larrowe presented the agreement, describing it as a preliminary step to allow a developer to seek financing for a “confidential” national destination retailer proposed for the Gateway Crossing area near the Interstate 81...
Read moreDetailsBuchanan Theatre to close for long-awaited renovations – Fincastle Herald
The Buchanan Theatre will close following this Saturday’s final screenings as the historic venue begins a long-anticipated renovation project aimed at improving accessibility, comfort and long-term efficiency while preserving the theater’s beloved character. The project is being funded largely through grants from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, awarded two years ago. Theater officials said the timeline was extended as architects, engineers and contractors were secured and detailed plans finalized for the complex renovation of the aging building. Once construction...
Read moreDetailsCommunity invited to shape future of Greenfield Recreation Park – Fincastle Herald
Botetourt County Parks and Recreation has unveiled the first two conceptual designs for the Greenfield Recreation Park Master Plan, marking an important early step in a long-term vision for one of the county’s most beloved outdoor spaces. The concepts, released last week, are the result of community survey feedback gathered over recent months. According to Parks and Recreation officials, resident input played a central role in shaping the preliminary layouts, amenities, and overall direction of the proposed park improvements. “We’ve...
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