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The Piedmont News: April 25, 2025

The Piedmont News is an email digest of top news stories about conservation, land use, energy, and environmental matters of interest to the region. We hope you’ll share The Piedmont News with someone else who cares about these stories.

Bridget Bryant | Baby chicks explore the spring grass | Submit a Photo

Top Stories

  • Virginia’s agriculture at risk after Trump administration’s cuts to NOAA

    Virginia Mercury (April 24, 2025) "Many Virginia farmers use the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, to guide their agricultural operations. However, cuts to the federal workforce under President Donald Trump have begun to affect NOAA’s employees, and there is concern that its ability to provide weather forecasts will be impacted."

  • Interior secretary gives DOGE aide sweeping powers to remake department

    The Washington Post (April 21, 2025) "Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has given a former oil executive and aide to Elon Musk broad latitude to cut costs and consolidate work within his vast department, which oversees more than 500 million acres of land across the United States."

  • Maryland Protected Nearly a Third of Its Land, and It’s Reaching for More

    The New York Times (April 21, 2025) "The protected land includes a one-acre fish hatchery at Unicorn Lake in eastern Maryland and the sprawling Green Ridge State Forest in the west. It includes shorelines, farms and woods around Naval Air Station Patuxent River, and the Chesapeake Forest Lands, some 75,000 wooded acres that are home to species like bald eagles and the once-endangered Delmarva fox squirrel. None of it can be developed, and all of it has helped Maryland reach a landmark conservation goal six years ahead of schedule, before any other state that’s joined an effort known as '30 by 30.'"

  • Rappahannock Tribe acquires nearly 1,000 acres along its namesake river

    Virginia Mercury (April 18, 2025) "On Wednesday, the Rappahannock Tribe announced it acquired the largest amount of its ancestral lands to date with the transfer of nearly 1,000 acres from The Conservation Fund, to be preserved in perpetuity under easement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Virginia Board of Historic Resources. All but a sliver of the four-mile stretch of shoreline that makes up Fones Cliffs, a cultural and ecological treasure that is the location of the tribe’s historic homeland, is now protected. The area is the habitat of one of the largest concentrations of nesting bald eagles along the Atlantic coast."

  • Charlottesville area could become world’s first ‘biophilic region’

    The Daily Progress (April 17, 2025) "A biophilic city is a nature-friendly city, but it means more than simply having a park to visit nearby. Rather, it’s a reimagining of the city itself as a park, said Tim Beatley, who is the Teresa Heinz professor of sustainable communities at UVa’s School of Architecture and is also the founder and executive director of the Biophilic Cities Network."

  • The Rappahannock ranks sixth when it comes to endangered American rivers

    Radio IQ (April 16, 2025) "The Rappahannock, which runs from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Chesapeake Bay, is the longest undammed river in the eastern United States, but a non-profit called American Rivers says it’s endangered. Brent Hunsinger, with Friends of the Rappahannock, says there’s big demand for its water due to unchecked development... Data centers, which need water to cool, are also counting on the river, and people who live east of I-95 have been ordered to stop relying on wells as the level of groundwater drops."

  • LEAP’s Solarize Virginia Program returns

    CBS 19 News (April 15, 2025) "Solar energy can often feel out of reach — too technical, too expensive or just too overwhelming. But that’s exactly what the Local Energy Alliance Program is trying to change with the return of Solarize Virginia. Now in its 11th year, the program is designed to make solar power more accessible and affordable for homeowners across the state."

    The Piedmont Environmental Council partners with LEAP to put on Solarize Piedmont each year.

Regional

  • Virginia co-op proposes path to keep data centers from boosting electric bills

    The Daily Progress (April 24, 2025) "Rappahannock’s proposal to protect ratepayers calls for a special rate for big users in the cooperative’s mainly rural territory, which stretches from the Middle Peninsula’s Essex County west to Frederick County in the far northwestern corner of the state and includes parts of Albemarle, Caroline, Culpeper, Hanover, Goochland, Greene, Louisa, Madison, Orange, Spotsylvania and Stafford counties."

  • Soireé will celebrate Shenandoah National Park

    Rappahannock News (April 23, 2025) "The Shenandoah National Park Trust invites the community to join in the fourth annual Shenandoah Soirée — an evening of scenic views, local libations and exceptional fare by The Black Twig restaurant team on Sunday, June 1 from 4-6 p.m. at Chancellors Rock Farm, 805 Chancellors Rock Lane, Flint Hill."

  • USDA shuts down ‘climate smart’ program with big impacts for conservation work in Chesapeake watershed

    Bay Journal (April 23, 2025) "The U.S. Department of Agriculture in April announced the termination of its $3 billion “climate smart” program, a grantmaking initiative that was supporting hundreds of millions of dollars in conservation work in the Chesapeake Bay watershed."

  • As plants spring back to life, here’s what to know about foraging, a growing hobby

    The Winchester Star (April 17, 2025) "By collecting handfuls of edible sprouts, blooms and berries, Wilson has found a peaceful pastime, a way to bring nature into her life and grow a budding business where she uses those ingredients to make teas, jams, dressings, salsas and beyond."

  • News New executive order allowing logging could affect area forests

    C-VILLE Weekly (April 16, 2025) "An April 3 memo from United States Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins designates 112,646,000 acres of national forest lands as an Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act 'emergency situation.' The directive, which comprises 59 percent of all National Forest Service lands and includes most of the George Washington & Jefferson National Forests, allows for expanded logging in the designated areas."

  • Canceled USDA programs impact farmers, schools, food banks

    Rappahannock News (April 13, 2025) "The abrupt elimination of two national food procurement programs by the Trump administration’s DOGE unit is hitting close to home as local farmers and the food-needy communities the programs serve cope with the uncertainties."

  • Locals Work to Protect Virginia’s Grassland Birds

    Middleburg Life (April 11, 2025) "If only grassland birds weren’t so good at hiding. 'You can easily miss a nest, even when you’re right on top of it,' October Greenfield, of the Piedmont Environmental Council, says. Also a co-coordinator of the Virginia Grassland Bird Initiative (VGBI), Greenfield guides birders, farmers, landowners, and wildlife enthusiasts through Hunt Country grasslands during the spring nesting season."

    This article features Piedmont Environmental Council Wildlife Habitat Program Manager October Greenfield and covers the Virginia Grassland Bird Initiative, a project of PEC, Virginia Working Landscapes, American Farmland Trust, and Quail Forever.

  • Spring has sprung! Cue the vernal pools and amphibians

    Bay Journal (April 9, 2025) "Each year throughout the Northeast, melting snow and spring rains create a very specialized wetland habitat. Small depressions in forests and meadows temporarily fill with water. Known as vernal pools, these often small and inconspicuous areas spring to life as amphibians like frogs, toads and salamanders converge at them to breed."

  • Inside the Divisive Debate Surrounding Northern Virginia’s Data Centers

    Northern Virginia Magazine (April 9, 2025) "When John McAuliff stands at the front door of his home in The Plains, a small, incorporated town in Fauquier County, he’s 15 minutes from a massive data center in one direction and 20 minutes from a massive data center in the other direction."

Albemarle County / Charlottesville

  • Charlottesville meeting goals on affordable housing investment, but needs more homes for families with lowest incomes

    Charlottesville Tomorrow (April 22, 2025) "Charlottesville is meeting or exceeding many of the goals for affordable housing it set for itself in 2021, but city leaders feel some areas still need improvement, according to an annual update presented to City Council on Monday."

  • Another preliminary ruling from Judge Worrell allows lawsuit against Charlottesville’s zoning code to proceed

    C-VILLE Weekly (April 18, 2025) "A major feature of Charlottesville’s relatively new zoning code is that developers can build more places to live without seeking additional permission from local elected officials. There has been an active lawsuit since January 2024 that claims the city did not follow Virginia’s regulations to study the impact more people would have on area roadways."

  • Congress cut funding for thousands of community projects — here’s how it’s affecting affordable housing in Charlottesville and Albemarle County

    Charlottesville Tomorrow (April 17, 2025) "Three local affordable housing projects are facing additional hurdles after Congress cut planned federal dollars for neighborhood projects in its most recent stopgap funding bill."

  • Piedmont Community Land Trust continues to add to portfolio

    C-VILLE Weekly (April 16, 2025) "There are many ways to make it more affordable for an individual or family to own a home. One of them is to separate the cost of land from the cost of the structure itself. That’s the business model of the Piedmont Community Land Trust, an entity created in 2008 by the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission, which is now operated by the Piedmont Housing Alliance."

  • Albemarle Supervisors agree to put $5.2 million toward affordable housing next year

    C-VILLE Weekly (April 11, 2025) "Earlier this year, dozens of organizations sent a letter to the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors, demanding it increase the real estate tax and put at least $10 million a year toward affordable housing projects."

Clarke County

  • Clarke County encourages residents, others to Take a Hike!

    The Winchester Star (April 22, 2025) "The Clarke County Conservation Easement Authority (CEA) wants you to take a hike. Literally. It has developed a flier titled 'Take a Hike!' detailing a dozen trails — at locations both in and near the county — for people with varying levels of hiking skills."

  • Berryville expansion resolution concerns Clarke County supervisor

    The Winchester Star (April 21, 2025) "The resolution asks the Berryville Area Development Authority (BADA) to recommend amendments to the Berryville Area Plan (BAP). The amendments would enable new single-family, detached homes to be built along the town's southern and western edges. They also would provide for an expansion of the Clarke County Business Park, plus the construction of a road connecting the park to U.S. 340 (Buckmarsh Street)."

  • Groundwater in Clarke County reaches emergency levels

    The Winchester Star (April 16, 2025) "Groundwater in parts of Clarke County is at emergency levels amid the drought. No restrictions on water use have been imposed. But the Clarke County Board of Supervisors is encouraging people to conserve water."

  • Public meetings slated on the future of White Post, Millwood

    The Winchester Star (April 15, 2025) "Information gleaned during the meetings will be used by the Clarke County Planning Commission to develop a Rural Lands Plan, which ultimately will become part of the county's Comprehensive Plan. Required by state code, the Comprehensive Plan is used by county officials as a guide for future land-use decisions. It takes into account officials' vision for the county and outlines strategies and suggestions for making the vision a reality, according to the county's website."

Culpeper County

  • 29th annual Park Day this weekend in Culpeper, nationwide

    Culpeper Star-Exponent (April 24, 2025) "Join a nationwide effort to revitalize historic sites this weekend in Culpeper as part of the 29th Annual Park Day. Volunteers at over 110 sites across 27 states as far west as New Mexico are teaming up with the American Battlefield Trust for the annual spring clean-up on Saturday, April 26. Park Day provides an avenue to refresh these locations in time for tourist season."

  • Culpeper Habitat requests cash, not homes in Stonehaven

    Culpeper Star-Exponent (April 22, 2025) "Three years into construction and with more than several hundred homes done, the developers of Stonehaven in Jeffersonton recently received an OK from the Planning Commission to change the layout and location of one set of houses. Centex Homes also requested, and received a recent positive recommendation at the April 9 meeting to donate $1 million to Culpeper Habitat for Humanity, instead of building eight homes in the planned 774-home development."

  • “We the Kids” explore Madison’s Montpelier on spring break

    Culpeper Star-Exponent (April 19, 2025) "James Madison’s Montpelier hosted a successful 'We the Kids Day' on April 5, welcoming 400 visitors to the fun, educational, history-laced event on a warm, sunny day during spring break in Orange County"

  • Culpeper gets silver designation for SolSmart backyard solar

    Culpeper Star-Exponent (April 17, 2025) "Culpeper County recently received a silver designation from the U.S. Dept. of Energy SolSmart program for encouraging the growth of affordable, residential solar energy options at the local level for the past three years."

  • County discusses managing growth

    Culpeper Star-Exponent (April 15, 2025) "The county’s elected officials recently continued conversation that sparked much debate in 2024 and made the top 10 local stories — how to manage or slow down growth. At a March 21 land use planning work session, the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors discussed programs for purchase and transfer of development rights, a new 'preservation' zoning district, direct costs to the county of development, and current undeveloped land."

Fauquier County

  • OPINION: How many data centers does Fauquier need?

    Fauquier Times (April 23, 2025) "We already have data centers in Vint Hill and at the Warrenton Training Center. OVH, in Vint Hill, is expanding — more than doubling in size. Warrenton Training Center data centers seem to be continuously increasing, and our county has no say in that. But there is much more in the pipeline about to be built."

  • A sneak peak: Hero’s Bridge Village releases plans for veterans’ community

    Fauquier Times (April 23, 2025) "After months of contentious debates, Hero’s Bridge has finally released renderings of Hero’s Bridge Village – giving a sneak peak at the 'pocket community' of affordable housing for veterans planned for an empty lot in Warrenton."

  • Arrington annexation will get its day in court

    Fauquier Times (April 22, 2025) "The Warrenton Town Council was all set to reconsider the annexation of the former Alwington property for a second time Monday – a meeting that had the potential to delay or even quash the plan."

  • PHOTOS: Warrenton Farmers Market opens for its 50th season

    Fauquier Times (April 22, 2025) "The Warrenton Farmers Market debuted for its 50th season at its new location on Saturday, April 19... Vendors including local farmers with farm-fresh produce to folks hawking giant pickles, dog biscuits and more are among the approximately 60 vendors that are available each Saturday."

  • With Remnant Farm Store, a new life for Warrenton’s longtime market The Stand

    Fauquier Now (April 21, 2025) "In January, the Taylors opened the store under the new name Remnant Farm Store, offering primarily locally sourced products ranging from produce and meat to tallow soap and sourdough as well as the couple’s own brand of kombucha. As the owners of Remnant Farm in Orlean, the Taylors were eager to take over the farm store to continue their commitment to supporting local agriculture as well as to continue to build something their children could benefit from as well."

  • Fauquier supervisors approve battery energy storage ordinance after back-and-forth on thresholds

    Fauquier Now (April 21, 2025) "The ordinance allows Battery Energy Storage Systems as a special exception use in Agricultural, Industrial Park, Industrial General and Business Park zoning districts. It introduces a tiered approach: Tier 1 systems, storing up to 600 kilowatt-hours, are permitted by right as accessory uses in all zoning districts; Tier 2 systems, storing more than 600 kWh, are considered utility-scale and require special exception approval."

  • Citizens for Fauquier County recognized for fight for Amazon records

    Fauquier Times (April 12, 2025) "Citizens for Fauquier County is the winner of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government’s 2025 Laurence E. Richardson Citizen of the Year award."

    This article includes a photo by Piedmont Environmental Council Multimedia Communications Specialist Hugh Kenny.

  • Peaches returns, sets record

    Rappahannock News (April 12, 2025) "Peaches, a five-year old female kestrel outfitted with a tiny solar-powered backpack transmitter, arrived in Warrenton on March 18 after completing her 560 mile spring migration journey from a farm in Georgia. This feat was a scientific first for those tracking kestrels."

  • Dominion Energy’s long-term electricity plan could include new transmission line, substation in Fauquier

    Fauquier Now (April 11, 2025) "Fauquier County residents will soon have the opportunity to tune in to a public hearing on Dominion Energy Virginia’s proposed 2024 Integrated Resource Plan, a document outlining how the utility intends to meet projected electricity demand over the next 15 years. The plan, which could include a new transmission line and power substation in Fauquier County, is currently under review by the State Corporation Commission."

    This article quotes Piedmont Environmental Council President Chris Miller.

  • Warrenton Town Council directs staff to draft plan for parklets

    Fauquier Times (April 10, 2025) "Warrenton town leaders plan to enhance Main Street by widening sidewalks and converting parking spaces long used for temporary dining into permanent seating for restaurants. But with the business community nervous about that ambitious plan and impending construction, the Warrenton Town Council is also considering bringing back parklets."

Greene County

  • Greene Commons Farmers Market thrives as hub of local enterprise and community spirit

    The Piedmont Journal Recorder (April 23, 2025) "But this bustling open-air marketplace is more than just a place to shop – it’s a reflection of the community’s deep-rooted commitment to supporting small businesses, promoting food security and environmental stewardship, and celebrating the unique cultural heritage of Stanardsville."

  • Greene PC tackles Agritourism Event Regs in latest work session

    The Piedmont Journal Recorder (April 17, 2025) "The Greene County Planning Commission convened its latest work session Wednesday night, diving deep into the ongoing effort to update regulations governing agritourism events at local wineries, distilleries, and similar agricultural operations. Commission Chair John McCloskey set the stage, noting this was the fourth work session dedicated to the topic, as the county aims to find the right balance between supporting these economically important industries while also addressing community impacts."

Loudoun County

  • Leesburg Council Approves Greenway Manor Rezoning

    Loudoun Now (April 23, 2025) "The Leesburg Town Council on Tuesday voted to rezone the Greenway Manor campus to allow an expansion of the Destiny School of Arts, construction of a commercial inn and the revitalization of the historic barn to serve as a performing arts center."

  • Goats mowed a path away from glyphosate for one Virginia town

    Bay Journal (April 23, 2025) "It was the fireflies — or sudden absence of them — that got the attention of a pair of 9-year-olds in Leesburg, VA, in 2019. Aila McGregor had already made a sign for the window of her family’s townhouse in Loudoun County (“Wanted: fireflies to come back”) when a neighbor knocked on her door."

  • Scrape for the Grape Destroys Millions of Spotted Lanternflies

    Loudoun Now (April 22, 2025) "Nearly 800 Loudoun County residents joined forces this month for a community-wide campaign aimed at protecting the county’s vineyards and other crops from the invasive spotted lanternfly, destroying up to 9 million eggs."

  • Commission’s Draft Zoning Ordinance Review Dives into Uses, Floodplains

    Loudoun Now (April 22, 2025) "The Leesburg Planning Commission is continuing its review of the draft zoning ordinance rewrite last week, taking a deep dive of sections that cover land use regulations and standards."

  • Kuhns Propose Donating White’s Ferry to Loudoun County

    Loudoun Now (April 18, 2025) "The effort to relaunch service at White’s Ferry took another turn Friday with the announcement that the Kuhn family has offered to donate the operation to the Loudoun County government. That offer comes after the owners, Chuck and Stacy Kuhn, learned that leaders in Montgomery County, MD, decided not to move forward with a plan to accept the donation offer they made a year ago. Instead, the county and state government announced a new plan to offer up to $3 million to help restart the ferry."

  • Making the Trip: A Day on Loudoun’s Commuter Buses

    Loudoun Now (April 18, 2025) "After news that the county’s commuter bus ridership levels have doubled in the last three months resulting in less-than-ideal riding conditions, I decided to catch bus into Washington, DC, to talk with residents and try it out myself."

  • Loudoun Supervisors to Reevaluate Scope of Next Data Center Regulation Changes

    Loudoun Now (April 18, 2025) "After the Board of Supervisors in March enacted the first of a two-phase initiative to rework the county’s data center regulations, the second phase is heading to a committee for a new look."

  • Supervisors Suspend Lawsuit Enforcement of Mountainside Overlay District Violations

    Loudoun Now (April 17, 2025) "New county lawsuits filed against property owners alleging violations of the county’s Mountainside Overlay District will be suspended pending a September review of the Zoning Ordinance. Supervisors approved the action Tuesday night during discussions on the Department of Planning and Zoning’s work plan amid concerns that doing so would carve out protections for a single individual, negatively impact the mountainside and set legal precedent."

  • Old Ashburn Added to List of Villages Slated for Small-Area Plans

    Loudoun Now (April 17, 2025) "Old Ashburn will be added to the list of villages getting special attention from the Department of Planning and Zoning to help residents create new visions for their communities as developmental pressures increase."

  • Environmental Commission Presents Excellence Awards

    Loudoun Now (April 15, 2025) "The county’s Environmental Commission on Tuesday announced its annual Environmental Excellence Awards given to organizations and individuals for their leadership on the issue within Loudoun. This year’s winners include What About the Turtles, Beth Sastre, Loudon Water, Ryan Nisay, Phil Daley and Al Van Huyck."

  • Commission Recommends Approval of Evergreen Mills Road Development

    Loudoun Now (April 15, 2025) "The county’s Planning Commission last week recommended approval of a proposal to build 518 housing units and commercial uses along Evergreen Mills Road just south of the Leesburg Executive Airport."

  • Middleburg Council Eyes New Policies to Promote Water Conservation

    Loudoun Now (April 15, 2025) "As the region continues to be impacted by severe drought conditions, the Middleburg Town Council is reviewing two proposals aimed at promoting water conservation. After experiencing drought for much of 2024, conditions in Loudoun County have not improved. The first quarter of the year was the second driest in the past 131 years and March was the seventh driest on record, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System."

  • Plans for Larger Lovettsville Assisted Living Facility Raise Community Concerns

    Loudoun Now (April 14, 2025) "Plans to build an assisted living facility in Lovettsville are garnering community concerns as the developer brought forward a revised application to permit up to 80 residents during a public hearing last week. The application would rezone the four-acre lot along Berlin Turnpike from R-1, residential, to R-C, retirement community. In 2003, the town approved an application to permit up to 42 units at an assisted living facility."

  • Lovettsville Leaders Celebrate Broad Way Streetscape Groundbreaking

    Loudoun Now (April 14, 2025) "The project includes sidewalks, curb and gutter, storm drainage, a watermain replacement, and nine additional streetlights between Park Place and South Church Street. Hornbaker said the work would help make Lovettsville a walkable community."

  • Data centers could replace Cracker Barrel, offices and hotel in Sterling

    Washington Business Journal (April 14, 2025) "TA Realty LLC is the contract buyer of 93 acres in Sterling — home to aging offices, their sea of parking lots, a hotel and Loudoun County's only Cracker Barrel restaurant — where it wants to build a big data center campus."

Madison County

  • Madison BZA approves setback variance for by-right subdivision

    The Piedmont Journal Recorder (April 21, 2025) "A Barboursville limited liability company won approval Tuesday night for its variance request from the Madison County Board of Zoning Appeals."

Orange County

  • Orange BOS hold work session to discuss Zoning Ordinance

    The Piedmont Journal Recorder (April 24, 2025) "Orange County’s Board of Supervisors struggled to find consensus when discussing changes to the agricultural zoning ordinance during Tuesday’s work session. There was general agreement among the body about two of the other proposed districts; Technology and Rural Service."

Rappahannock County

  • Rappahannock Comprehensive Plan review begins

    The Piedmont Journal Recorder (April 22, 2025) "The Rappahannock County Planning Commission hosted their first public listening session on the county’s Comprehensive Plan at Amissville Fire and Rescue April 14... State law requires every county in the commonwealth to create and publish a Comp Plan that lays out guidelines and makes recommendations on the physical development of land within each county. The comprehensive plan must be reviewed by law every five years."

  • Washington Town Council plans for multiple public hearings in May

    Rappahannock News (April 20, 2025) "The Washington Town Council scheduled public hearings next month on three issues: water and sewer rates, a lot line adjustment at The Inn at Little Washington and the town budget. It also discussed upcoming construction and improvement projects in the town at Monday’s meeting."

  • Canceled USDA programs impact farmers, schools, food banks

    Rappahannock News (April 13, 2025) "The abrupt elimination of two national food procurement programs by the Trump administration’s DOGE unit is hitting close to home as local farmers and the food-needy communities the programs serve cope with the uncertainties."

Prince William County

  • Prince William supervisors adopt fiscal 2026 budget, approve tax hike for data centers, homeowners

    InsideNoVa (April 23, 2025) "The Board of County Supervisors on Tuesday adopted the county’s fiscal 2026 budget in a series of mostly party-line votes, with notable tax increases on data centers and homeowners and a reduction in personal property and meals taxes on the horizon."

  • Prince William data center forum intermingles local officials, industry reps

    InsideNoVa (April 22, 2025) "A data center panel discussion in Manassas Park united elected leaders from Prince William County with industry experts for an extensive dialogue on the future of Northern Virginia’s digital infrastructure amid rising power grid demands."

  • New kayak launch opens at Neabsco Regional Park in Woodbridge

    InsideNoVa (April 17, 2025) "Kayakers can now start their journey into the Potomac River via a new dock in Neabsco Regional Park, which opened just in time for the spring weather."

Shenandoah Valley

  • Virginia transportation department publishes Shenandoah Valley Railroad Corridor use assessment

    Virginia Mercury (April 21, 2025) "The future of the Shenandoah Valley Railroad Corridor is coming into clearer focus after the Virginia Department of Transportation recently released its highly anticipated rail with trail assessment and completed a series of related public hearings."

Surrounding Area

  • Closure of Maryland’s last coal power plant may be pushed to 2029

    Bay Journal (April 22, 2025) "The owner of Maryland’s last coal-fired power plant had proposed shutting down the financially underperforming facility by June of this year. Then came a red light from the region’s power grid operator, PJM Interconnection."

Virginia

  • Virginia’s $2.3 billion park economy faces staffing crisis

    Cardinal News (April 24, 2025) "Temperatures are warming, flowers are blooming and Virginia’s peak park tourism seasons are ahead. Travelers could find their plans affected, with funding and job cuts hitting the National Park Service. Virginia boasts several trails, parks and historic landmarks that fall under park service management that could be impacted. State officials hope park tourism stays strong because of the millions it generates, and park officials are trying to manage expectations with fewer resources."

  • ‘It’s devastating’: Virginia park rangers warn of lasting damage from federal cuts

    InsideNoVa (April 23, 2025) "Temperatures are warming, flowers are blooming and Virginia’s peak park tourism seasons are ahead. Travelers could find their plans affected, with funding and job cuts hitting the National Park Service. Virginia boasts several trails, parks and historic landmarks that fall under park service management which could be impacted."

  • A brighter future for Virginia’s rural schools

    Virginia Mercury (April 23, 2025) "Putting rooftop solar on our rural schools is cost-effective, pollution-free, and provides a locally-made source of power. Though largely untapped as a community-based solution, solar can be installed on schools much more quickly than a big power plant can be built to meet energy needs."

  • Regional climate office gets reprieve after funding loss, but concerns remain about loss of weather data

    Cardinal News (April 23, 2025) "Staff and constituents of the Southeast Regional Climate Center are breathing a sigh of relief as a new contract has restored federal funding after the previous contract lapsed last week, temporarily closing the center and its online resources. But concerns linger about how funding and staffing cuts to NOAA entities are affecting the collection and availability of weather data."

  • Commentary: Dominion Energy is fueling profits with your money

    Richmond Times-Dispatch (April 18, 2025) "Recent news reported that Dominion Energy, the monopoly utility serving most Virginians, is planning to raise the average household’s energy bill by $21 per month, or $252 per year. The company explains this price hike by claiming that “Virginians are using about 5% more power every year.” But Virginians are doing no such thing. Nearly all of the increase in electricity demand forecast is associated with the proliferation of data centers."

  • Jury orders Dominion to pay nearly $350K to Virginia Beach funeral home

    WAVY (April 17, 2025) "After nearly four hours of deliberation, a jury has ordered Dominion Energy to pay Walton Funeral Home nearly $350,000 in an eminent domain case over what the utility said was the need for land as part of its Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project."

  • Elevated metals found in James River sediment near coal ash pits

    Bay Journal (April 16, 2025) "A researcher has found contaminants associated with coal ash present in another Virginia waterway, this time the James River, near a site where the waste product has long been stored in the ground."

  • As demand for AI rises, so do power thirsty data centers

    Virginia Mercury (April 11, 2025) "The next time you’re on a Zoom meeting or asking ChatGPT a question, picture this: The information zips instantaneously through a room of hot, humming servers, traveling hundreds, possibly thousands of miles, before it makes its way back to you in just a second or two."

  • Energy demand will outstrip supply in Virginia as data centers proliferate

    Cardinal News (April 11, 2025) "At least one regional leader, with more than 30 years experience in electrical engineering, warns of a worst-case scenario that few of Virginia’s electric customers have ever seen. Rolling blackouts are very likely in the region in the next few years, said Gary Wood, president and CEO of Central Virginia Electric Cooperative. His co-op, with help from Dominion Energy, will deliver power to a recently approved Appomattox data center. "

National

  • What’s going on with electric boats?

    Volts (Podcast) (July 18, 2025) The jump from gas-powered boats to electric boats is even bigger, in terms of quality and user experience, than the jump from gas-powered cars to EVs.

  • Critics fear Trump will use flawed DOE report to push pro-coal agenda OLD

    Canary Media (July 14, 2025) Grid experts say DOE’s new forecast of major blackout risks by 2030 misuses data to justify the Trump administration’s push to force dirty plants to stay open.

  • Trump officials consider shrinking 6 national monuments in the West

    The Washington Post (April 24, 2025) "Trump officials are analyzing whether to remove federal protections for national monuments spanning millions of acres in the West, according to two people familiar with the matter and an internal Interior Department document, in order to spur energy development on public lands."

  • An Acadia-to-Zion Guide to Visiting National Parks in an Uncertain Summer

    The New York Times (April 22, 2025) "Firings, resignations and delays in seasonal hiring have clouded the coming vacation season at the 433 sites and 85 million acres managed by the National Park Service. Parks are already closing campgrounds, cutting hours and reducing services, and insiders are predicting a challenging summer."

  • Oaks excel at supporting the food web (including us). Arbor Day’s a good time to plant one

    AP News (April 22, 2025) "If you plan to plant a tree this year, why not consider an oak? 'An oak is the best tree to choose because it is the No. 1 plant for supporting the food web,' says University of Delaware entomologist and native plants champion Doug Tallamy, the New York Times bestselling author whose books include 'The Nature of Oaks.'"

  • Trump officials say destroying endangered species’ habitats isn’t ‘harm’

    The Washington Post (April 16, 2025) "In what could be one of the most significant actions the Trump administration has taken on the environment, officials have proposed redefining what it means to 'harm' a plant or animal under the Endangered Species Act, excluding habitat destruction from activities deemed a threat to protected species."

  • Lawmakers fear AI data centers will drive up residents’ power bills

    News From The States (April 10, 2025) "State lawmakers have long sought to attract such operations with generous tax breaks and incentives. But now, some are concerned that the infrastructure needed to add all those data centers to the electric grid will drive up residents’ utility bills. The growing use of artificial intelligence, which requires massive amounts of computing power, has added to that worry."

  • This federal rule helped clear air over America’s most beloved parks. Trump’s EPA wants to kill it

    AP News (April 10, 2025) "A 26-year-old federal regulation known as the regional haze rule has helped cut down on pollution over national parks, wilderness areas and tribal reservations, restoring some of the nation’s most spectacular natural vistas for outdoor lovers like Barger. But conservationists fear those gains may be lost after President Donald Trump’s administration announced in March the rule is among dozens of landmark environmental regulations that it plans to roll back."

Global

  • Bluebells and other spring flowers can be nature’s antidote to stressful times

    AP News (April 24, 2025) "Gilles Gui was looking for the magical purple bluebells that raise their heads each spring under the budding beech leaves of the Hallerbos forest, an annual explosion of color that draws crowds from around the world."

  • Pope Francis converted to the environmental cause and denounced those he blamed for climate change

    AP News (April 22, 2025) "Francis, who died Monday at 88, was moved to silence that day by the survivors’ pain and the devastation he saw. But he would channel it a few months later when he published his landmark encyclical, 'Praised Be,' which cast care for the planet as an urgent and existential moral concern."

  • Amazon Follows Microsoft in Retreat From Ambitious AI Data Center Plans

    Gizmodo (April 21, 2025) "The number of tech giants paring back on their AI data center plans rises to two. According to banks Wells Fargo and TD Cowen, Amazon has paused negotiations on some co-location data center deals, primarily in Europe. The news comes shortly after several reports have indicated Microsoft has paused or cancelled some of its plans."

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  • Recent Posts

    • Press Release: Virginia Department of Environmental Quality Should Not Loosen Rules on Data Center Use of Diesel Generators
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  • Popular Posts

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