Virginia
Bill allowing balcony solar kits in Virginia awaits governor’s signature – WTOP News
Under the plan, Virginians will be able to buy solar kits with a maximum output of 1,200 watts per dwelling, starting in January.
Virginia appears ready to flip the switch to allow residents to use small solar panels that will provide power to their home or apartment and shrink their electric bills.
Legislation allowing small and portable solar panels installed by tenants passed the Virginia General Assembly last week and Gov. Abigail Spanberger is expected to sign it. The only other place in the U.S. that has such a law is Utah.
“Balcony solar, which is also called plug-in solar, allows any Virginian to go to a store, like Ikea or Walmart, and buy a plug-in solar kit and go home and install it in a matter of hours, powering some of their household’s needs with clean electricity and lowering their monthly energy bill,” Virginia Director for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network Victoria Higgins told WTOP.
If you don’t have a balcony, the kits can be set up in other ways to catch the sun’s rays, such as propping them up in your backyard.
“It’s an opportunity to open up clean energy to so many people who have not had access for a variety of different reasons, whether they are renters, or they just don’t have a suitable roof or they just can’t pay for a full rooftop system,” Higgins said.
Under the plan, Virginians will be able to buy solar kits with a maximum output of 1,200 watts per dwelling starting in January.
State Sen. Scott Surovell, a Democrat representing part of Fairfax County, sponsored the legislation in his chamber and said in a floor speech that the units pay for themselves in two to five years.
Surovell, who serves on the Commerce and Labor Committee, said at a session on March 5 that the use of the small, portable solar panels “pay for themselves within two to five years.”
He noted some amendments to the bill that require a tenant to give a landlord notice of their plan to install a solar panel within “a certain amount of notice,” as well as forming a work group to look into safety and potential building code changes.
“They’re becoming very popular worldwide. And this will put Virginia at the forefront of allowing people to generate their own power, have some individual freedom and liberty, and free themselves from the grips of having to purchase power from ‘the man,’” Surovell said.
The kits are already popular in Europe.
“There are over 1 million registered units in Germany alone that, in the aggregate, are providing one gigawatt of power, which is the equivalent of a nuclear power plant,” Higgins said. “While it’s a small amount of electricity per household, altogether, it can be a meaningful source of clean electricity.”
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“I didn’t know I could go that fast,” Richard Delcid, the general manager of a Domino’s Pizza in Manassas, told WTOP.
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‘I didn’t know I could go that fast’: Virginia pizza maker breaks record
A general manager of a Domino’s Pizza in Manassas, Virginia, won the chain’s “World’s Fastest Pizza Maker” competition this month.
Richard Delcid prepared a pepperoni pizza, mushroom pizza and cheese pizza for the oven in 31.22 seconds.
“I didn’t know I could go that fast,” Delcid told WTOP.
“Eight seconds better than the previous record,” Robert Donner, one of the owners of the Domino’s on Centreville Road, said.
The competitors at the May 13 Las Vegas event came from Domino’s locations around the world, and Donner said the competition is about more than speed.
“They’re judged by weight, they’re judged by portion, and they’re judged on whether they’re sellable to a customer,” Donner said.
When Delcid first started working for Domino’s in 2012, he was a teenager. He was much slower then, he joked.
As with anything, practice makes perfect.
“We record ourselves during practices,” Delcid said. “We dissect videos, we look at body movement, hand movement, everything.”
Delcid was not alone in Vegas. Donner, who is part owner of more than 30 Domino’s Pizza locations in Virginia and Maryland, brought dozens of employees to the event.
Coming in second at the competition was another member of Donner’s team.
Joe Burr, who is known as “Domino Joe,” is the local director of training, and calls himself the Dan Marino of the Domino’s World’s Fastest Pizza Maker competition.
“I’ve won third place a couple times, I’ve won second place like three or four times,” Burr said. “So I’m like always a bridesmaid, but never a bride.”
Don’t let Burr’s jokes fool you — he has known Delcid for a long time and is very proud of him.
“I like to say it’s not the sculptor, it’s the clay. Richard is the best clay,” Burr said.
Along with a championship belt and a trophy, Delcid’s record‑breaking performance earned him $5,000 from Domino’s Pizza corporate, and his local bosses kicked in another $5,000.
Virginia
Netflix casting Central Virginia singles for “Love on the Spectrum” after Danville man joins show
DANVILLE, Va. (WSET) — Netflix is searching for singles in Central Virginia to appear on its documentary-style dating series “Love on the Spectrum,” after a Danville man was cast for an upcoming season and producers are now looking to find his match.
The series follows adults on the autism spectrum as they navigate dating.
Monica Karavanic, executive director of The Arc of Southside in Danville, said the person cast has ties to her organization.
SEE ALSO: City leaders tour $100M Lynchburg CSO tunnel aimed at improving Lynchburg waterways
“This show has been loved by millions internationally and so for it to come to Danville is pretty awesome and we’re just really excited and hoping to make it work,” Karavanic said.
Casting is focused on singles ages 25 to 40, of any gender, who live near Danville or Lynchburg and would be interested in going on a date with a man on the spectrum. Producers say the time commitment could be as little as half a day.
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For more information on how to apply, you’re asked to email: production@northernpictures.com.au
RICHMOND, Va. — Friday will be sunny and seasonably warm, with highs in the upper 70s and low 80s.
The pattern of cool nights and mild afternoons will continue through the weekend and through much of next week as upper-level flow continues to bring reinforcing mild and dry air out of eastern Canada.
Rain chances will be very limited over the next week, with only a slim chance with a frontal passage on Monday.
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