A small group rallied outside Chesapeake city hall before the council meeting Tuesday. (Photo by Toby Cox)
Chesapeake moves to restrict data center development, Virginia Beach presses pause
Toby Cox
Business and Growth Reporter
John-Henry Doucette
Virginia Beach Reporter
Chesapeake City Council unanimously voted to close a loophole in its zoning code that could have allowed data center development despite an eight-month moratorium adopted last month to craft stronger regulations.
Meanwhile, Virginia Beach City Council followed suit with a unanimous vote to enact a temporary 12-month ban on new data center permits while officials establish zoning definitions and oversight.
Both cities are taking a pause amid significant public outcry over large-scale facilities' potential impacts on electricity, water consumption, noise and property values.
Maury High School is named for Matthew Fontaine Maury, a naval officer who joined the Confederacy during the Civil War. (Photo by Ryan Murphy)
Must schools named after Confederates change after the Shenandoah schools ruling?
Nick McNamara
Suffolk and Williamsburg Reporter
A federal judge ruled that Shenandoah County must remove Confederate names from two of its schools after the school board voted in 2024 to reinstate the names it had previously stripped in 2020.
While most Virginia schools named after Confederate figures have already been renamed, a few remain, including Magruder Elementary in York County.
Legal experts say the ruling offers limited precedent for forcing changes elsewhere, but it could provide a playbook for future civil rights lawsuits.
Alongside Kiggans, U.S. House Speaker says Virginia's 2nd District ‘will determine the fate of the country’ Read More
AUDIO: Norfolk Public Library’s Larchmont branch reopens following major renovations Listen here
Cardinal Ridge developers offer to cut home amount by 23%, to 770 units Read More
Many recent grads say AI is making it harder to get a job. Economists aren't so sure. Read More
From Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism
From Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism
Both energy giants have a history of trying to make small, independent solar projects more costly for homeowners and businesses. (Image via Shutterstock)
As Dominion and NextEra move toward a merger, rooftop solar advocates raise concerns
Elizabeth McGowan
Investigative Reporter
Florida-based energy giant NextEra embraces solar energy with some qualifications – they want to own those sun-powered arrays, and they have fought to discourage residential and small-scale commercial solar.
As Virginia regulators consider NextEra’s proposed acquisition of Dominion Energy, solar developers are worried about what could happen to their industry.
The Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO probed NextEra’s history of supporting regulations in Florida that would drive up costs for residential and small-scale commercial solar.
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