Virginia
Data centers transformed Northern Virginia’s economy, but residents are wary of more expansion
Julie and Chris Borneman signed petitions, wrote to their local officials, put a sign in front of their house, and joined a campaign against putting the power line through their property.
The recent expansion of data centers and associated power infrastructure is unprecedented, according to Julie Bolthouse, director of land use at the Piedmont Environmental Council, a local environmental nonprofit. She has worked at the nonprofit for 15 years.
“Prior to 2021 I had only worked on two or three transmission line proposals … Within the last three years, I’ve been a participant in stakeholder meetings for at least a dozen transmission line proposals,” Bolthouse said. “We’ve never seen this many transmission lines at once.”
The Piedmont Environmental Council has been keeping track of all these data centers and associated power infrastructure.
Bolthouse said the power company and state regulator have been approving many of these projects, but there is not enough public information about how much energy the data centers use, and their impact on air and water quality.
“We need transparency so that we can proactively plan ahead,” said Bolthouse. “Right now, what we’re doing is basically like our utility is handing out blank checks that we, the rate payers, are on the hook for paying for.”
To that, Aaron Ruby, spokesperson for Dominion Energy, the largest utility in Virginia, said, “as a public utility we are the most heavily regulated industry in Virginia.”
He said the state regulator reviews the energy costs to make sure everyone is paying their fair share, and the share of energy costs that households pay for has gone down, whereas the share for data centers has gone up.
He also added that Dominion Energy expects the power demand from data centers to nearly quadruple over the next 15 years.
The demand for power has never gone up by so much, so quickly.
Some of the electricity will come from natural gas plants, but Ruby said most of that will be from renewable energy like wind and solar power.
In a statement, Amazon pointed out that their company has been the world’s largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy for four years, and that 90 percent of the energy the company uses comes from renewable sources.
Local officials say data centers saved their economy during the Great Recession of 2007. Buddy Rizer helped bring data centers to Loudoun County in northern Virginia, as the executive director for economic development for the county for the past 17 years.
He said they brought in data centers because during 2007, the local economy took a big hit when the housing bubble burst. The county lost a third of its tax revenue.
“Data centers have such an inordinate return on investment for a community that there’s nothing else that comes close,” Rizer said. “As an example: for every dollar a data center uses in services in our community. We get $26 back. There’s nothing that comes within $24 of that.”
He said the revenue from data centers helped transform their local economy, so they could invest in their schools and roads. He added that the tax revenue from data centers is almost a third of the county’s budget, and completely funds their operating budget.
But Rizer has also heard the concerns about how quickly the industry is growing in their area.
“When you’re in any job 17 years, in your community, you become your job … especially a fairly public facing job like mine,” Rizer said. “I have a lot of conversations at the grocery store or when I’m filling my car with gas.”
He expects the demand for data centers to continue to grow.
Rizer said cloud computing led to a big wave of data centers, then it was the demand for online services during COVID-19. Now, the big driver of growth is artificial intelligence.
He said data centers actually do not have a lot more room to grow in Loudoun County anymore. The more recent proposals for new data centers have been in the surrounding counties, Maryland, states like Kansas and Mississippi, or other countries, like China, India, Japan, and Malaysia.
Virginia
Virginia lawmakers repeal changes to disabled veterans tuition program, will work on new deal
The House of Delegates voted unanimously to repeal changes to a program that provides free tuition to the families of those killed on active duty or who are at least 90% disabled.
Dozens of veterans and family members were in the gallery while the House voted. Delegates to completely repeal the changes. The House then voted to add back $20 million a year that was included in the budget to help public universities off-set the cost of the program, which serves more than over 6,000 veterans and their families.
“I’m a veteran myself. And so making sure that we take care of our veterans is my highest priority,” Speaker of the House Don Scott, D-Portsmouth.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin called a special session of the legislature after public outcry from veterans’ groups when the cuts were passed as part of the state budget in May without a separate public hearing.
Though Youngkin signed the changes as part of the budget, he ended up calling for a complete repeal and created a state task force to look at potential cuts.
“We’ll look at what the governor’s task force says and what changes, if any, are necessary,” Scott said.
Meanwhile, the Senate has wrestled with keeping some of the changes in place.
The cost of the program rose from $12 million in 2019 to $65 million in 2023. The Senate set up its own subcommittee to look at changing the program.
The committee took testimony Friday from veterans and the families of first responders who are disabled or were killed in the of duty, who are also covered under the program.
Ella Hestser, 20, of Virginia Beach told a Senate committee that college may be unaffordable if she and her brother become ineligible for the program. Both of her parents were in the military. Her mother suffers from PTSD.
“I’ll be in massive amounts of debt, as well, as I’m sure all these other families who were promised this benefit,” Hestser said.
The Senate is scheduled to return Monday, July1.
Lawmakers could bring the session to a close if they chose to pass the repeal language approved by the House of Delegates, or vote on their own bill, which would trigger a round of negotiations with leaders in the House.
By this point in the season Notre Dame should know exactly where it stands in the College Football Playoff race.
Realistically, unless the wheels completely come off, the Irish shouldn’t be any worse than 7-2 when Virginia comes to South Bend.
The date at Texas A&M starts the season, there are a few landmines to sidestep, like a dangerous Louisville team and road games at Purdue and Georgia Tech, but the real key will be what happens the week before this November 16th game.
Virginia might be the letdown moment after facing Florida State.
Again, assuming all is going at least okay and the Irish have at least seven wins, either this will be a momentum game after a big win over the Seminoles, or desperation time in the final home game of the season before going to New York City to face Army and then LA to play USC.
We’re talking mid-November here for this, so only about a gajillion things will change between now and then, but in the meantime, here are 5 things Notre Dame fans should know about Virginia.
It’s been a really, really rough run for Virginia football.
From several close losses on the field, to a tragedy in 2022 off of it, there’s hope after two straight seasons with just three wins in each.
This late in the season the team will be full of experience across the board no matter what, but as long as the veterans tighten up from the start this season, and if the mistakes that have been a crusher slow down, this could be a dangerous post-Florida State hangover team for the Irish to deal with.
The Cavalier skill parts won’t be bad, they should be in a bit of a groove this late in the season. The O line couldn’t get the ground game going and was miserable in pass protection.
Four starters are back, and UCF transfer Drake Metcalf is a good center, but by this point in the year this bunch had better be night-and-day better than it was in 2023, or it’ll be a long day.
There’s size, experience, and talent on the Virginia defensive front, but pressuring Riley Leonard should be a problem.
Virginia generated just 11 sacks last season, and it mattered. Most of those game in the first four games, and it was a struggle in key moments as the season went on.
Let’s not overplay this TOO much, but in a game that might be lacking big storylines outside of the Game After Florida State thing, former Notre Dame RB/WR will now be a big deal for Virginia.
Tyree was a solid runner for the Irish with 1,162 yards and eight scores in his first three seasons, and then he played a bigger role as a true receiver. He left with 82 grabs for 945 yards and seven scores, and now he’ll be in the slot for Virginia.
To keep reiterating this, we’re talking about a game that will happen in mid-November. Teams change, seasons change, guys get hurt, guys step up, and yeah, yeah, yeah. However, this aspect should matter.
Virginia should have a better, more consistent passing game, but it has to run well to win.
The Cavalier offense ran for over 140 yards three times last year – the team was 3-0. It was 0-9 when it didn’t.
Virginia will be plucky, and it’ll make this a game for a while, but it’ll miss out on several key opportunities.
Expect lots of bending by the Notre Dame defense, but not a lot of breaking.
After the Florida State game the Irish will be workmanlike, with the lines and defense taking over as the game goes on. It won’t be perfect, but it’ll be a good win for the Irish to keep the College Football Playoff momentum going.
Notre Dame 34, Virginia 19
– Virginia 2024 Preview
5 Things To Know
– Aug 31: Texas A&M
– Sept 7: Northern Illinois
– Sept 14: Purdue
– Sept 21: Miami Univ.
– Sept 28: Louisville
– Oct 12: Stanford
– Oct 19: Georgia Tech
– Oct 26: Navy
– Nov 9: Florida State
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — The 6th annual Hill of Heroes Day was held at the Virginia War Memorial on Saturday to honor service members who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
On Saturday, June 29, the 6th annual Hill of Heroes Day was held at the Virginia War Memorial and featured 12,000 flags honoring Virginians who have lost their lives in battle since World War II.
The event also hosted activities such as demonstrations by military working dogs, crafts and a book sale.
Continue scrolling to view the celebrations held at the Hill of Heroes Day event to honor all American service members.
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