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“Virginia has the chance to get this right and to show the rest of the country how it is done. But that outcome depends on this Commission demanding more than assurances. It depends on enforceable conditions, on real accountability, and on affordability being the organizing principle of the entire review.” — Virginia House Speaker Don Scott
Virginia House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth. (Photo by Charlotte Rene Woods/Virginia Mercury)
By Shannon Heckt
In an official filing in the State Corporation Commission's review of the proposed $67 billion NextEra-Dominion Energy merger, Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, on Wednesday aired his concerns and advice about the deal in a letter to SCC Chair Kelsey Bagot.
“If this merger is not built around affordability for Virginians then it should not go through. That is my starting point, and it should frame every question this Commission asks over the coming months,” Scott wrote in the Sept. 2 missive. The House leader has received nearly $4 million in campaign donations from Dominion over the years.
Smith Mountain Lake in Franklin County. (Photo by Casey Johnson/Getty Images)
By Charlotte Rene Woods
Damien and Angela Smith and their friends Amanda and Michael Mills said Wednesday they feel a sense of relief at the conclusion of their years-long housing discrimination case. Each couple has received nearly $420,000 in restitution, Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones announced this week
The families had retreated to a Smith Mountain Lake property in 2020, where they faced harassment and racially derogatory comments by owner Regina Smith.
Virginia consumer sentiment fell sharply in August as renewed inflation and a cooling labor market put added pressure on household finances, according to a Roanoke College poll. (Photo by Getty Images)
By Markus Schmidt
Virginia consumer sentiment fell sharply in August, wiping out modest gains from earlier in the year as renewed inflation and a lackluster labor market weighed on household finances, according to a new Roanoke College poll released Thursday.
The Virginia Index of Consumer Sentiment fell to 59.6, down 7.8 points from February and 4.9 points from a year ago. The overall index and its two components — current conditions and consumer expectations — are now below their five-year average of 68.1.
By Staff Report
In this feature, we aim to highlight the frequency with which officials around Virginia are resisting public access to records on issues large and small — and note instances when the release of information under FOIA gave the public insight into how government bodies are operating
This month's FOIA Friday: Lynchburg prosecutor finds no criminal conduct by Franklin County officials; Records show Purcellville stopped paying town manager in June; Virginia medical examiner’s departure raises questions over Tidewater cases; and Turmoil in Mineral puts small town’s future in question.
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