Virginia
Ex-Virginia Beach prosecutor indicted by grand jury on embezzlement, money laundering charges
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — A former prosecutor in the Virginia Beach Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office is accused of multiple financial crimes, including embezzlement and money laundering.
James Panagis was indicted on Monday by a Virginia Beach grand jury, Virginia Beach Commonwealth’s Attorney Colin Stolle announced Tuesday night.
Panagis was charged with four counts of embezzlement by a public officer, four counts of embezzlement >= $500, uttering a forged check, and money laundering-conduct a financial transaction, proceeds from felony activity.
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The charges stem from Panagis allegedly taking restitution money that belonged to victims while he was employed in the commonwealth’s attorney’s office. Stolle says Panagis was employed from August 22, 2015, and February 16, 2022.
Stolle says he called for the investigation into Panagis on August 2022, after discovering irregularities on Panagis’ files.
“I immediately requested the Virginia State Police conduct a criminal investigation and asked that a Special Prosecutor be appointed,” Stolle said in a statement. “I also immediately contacted the Virginia State Bar lead ethics counsel who advised me to turn this matter over for their review after the conclusion of the criminal investigation.”
The Chesterfield Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office has been asked to handle the prosecution of the case.
Stolle says he can’t say more about the case, due to pending special prosecutor’s appointment, but that his office has fully cooperated in the investigation. He did say that there were no disciplinary issues with Panagis during his time with the office and he left on his own accord.
“Prosecutors, in particular, must practice law with the utmost integrity in order for the justice system to work, and that is what I expect from the prosecutors in my office. While ethical restraints prevent me from commenting on a pending investigation, I will be available to answer questions when this matter is concluded.”
Virginia Beach-based law firm Wolcott Rivers Gates meanwhile announced Panagis was fired from their office on Tuesday, and that they had no further comment until the end of the judicial process.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Virginia
Homestead Creamery launches two new flavors of Virginia Tech-inspired ice cream
![Homestead Creamery launches two new flavors of Virginia Tech-inspired ice cream Homestead Creamery launches two new flavors of Virginia Tech-inspired ice cream](https://gray-wdbj-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/44L23HHGTZGH3J3KP3XHIS26TI.jpeg?auth=7d8f329230a056b94591a5013e9a62ced856dd3740b70de0bd45674069d14659&width=1200&height=600&smart=true)
BLACKSBURG. (WDBJ) – Looking to beat the summer heat? Well, Virginia Tech has a scoop for you.
Hokie Nation has two new ways to stay cool this summer as the latest flavors to come out of Virginia Tech and Homestead Creamery’s cool ice cream collaboration roll out to grocery stores, restaurants, ice cream shops, and specialty stores across Virginia.
According to a news release:
Evoking the creaminess of Homestead’s classic French custard-style ice cream, HokieBerry Trail consists of a base of premium vanilla swirled with tart Chicago maroon raspberry pomegranate and sprinkled with decadent dark chocolate crumbles. Hokie Sunset Swirl has a smooth vanilla ice cream base with vanilla cake crunch bites. A ripple of sun-kissed mango tangerine gives it a refreshing fruity bite and its signature burnt orange color.
As with Hokie Tracks — the first licensed ice cream to come out of Virginia Tech and Homestead’s creamy collaboration — these new flavors were developed by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ Department of Food Science and Technology faculty members and alumni Joell Eifert ’88, M.S. ’14 and Brian Wiersema ’98 working in partnership with Homestead’s team.
“The success of Hokie Tracks exceeded our expectations, and now we’re really excited to share these two new flavors with the public,” Joell Eifert said. “We worked really hard to make sure they embody Virginia Tech in every way,” Eifert said.
Team members’ first ice cream was so well liked that it caught them off guard, and according to Eifert, it didn’t sink in until the CEO of a popular regional grocery store chain reached out after tasting it to request to carry the legen-dairy dessert in his stores.
“We’ve been developing these two new flavors for quite some time — they’ve become a passion project for Joell and I — and they each express something about us,” Brian Wiersema said.
When the team set out to develop Hokie Tracks’ successor, its members came up with three ideas that guided the development of the ice creams’ flavor profile — they wanted refreshing fruity flavors, classic Virginia Tech colors Chicago maroon and burnt orange to be represented and they wanted to create something that consumers couldn’t already buy.
“What says summer more than fresh fruit?” Eifert said. “We also wanted to lean into flavors that both showed off our colors and were something unusual that folks weren’t seeing in stores.”
This cold collaboration benefits more than just those who enjoy quality frozen treats. A portion of the proceeds from sales of all three flavors go to support food science education through the funding of scholarships, student product development teams, lab supplies, and more in the Department of Food Science and Technology — a program consistently recognized as one of the top food science institutions in the country for its focus on experiential learning and its nearly 100 percent career placement rate.
Eifert said the department will award its first student scholarships funded entirely by Hokie Tracks sales in summer 2025.
“I hope when people buy our ice cream they know that a portion of the proceeds does come back to the academic side and help our students be able to do things that maybe they wouldn’t normally be able to do,” Wiersema said. “Experiential learning and studying abroad gives them new perspectives and opportunities for discovery.”
The new pint container label designs for both flavors feature university trademarks, including the word “Hokie” and the Hokie ice cream marks, which represent the footprints of Virginia Tech’s beloved mascot, the HokieBird. The label for Hokie Sunset Swirl features a golden-orange sun setting over silhouetted mountains, reminiscent of the Appalachian sunset that both Virginia Tech’s Blacksburg campus and Homestead experience every night. HokieBerry Trail’s label features topography lines surrounding a dotted path, a reference to Blacksburg’s Huckleberry Trail that gave the ice cream its name. The new designs were created by Shanin Glenn for Virginia Tech Communications and Marketing in collaboration with Homestead Creamery.
Copyright 2024 WDBJ. All rights reserved.
Virginia
Virginia Football Injury Report: Brian Stevens Returns, McKale Boley ‘Hopeful’
![Virginia Football Injury Report: Brian Stevens Returns, McKale Boley ‘Hopeful’ Virginia Football Injury Report: Brian Stevens Returns, McKale Boley ‘Hopeful’](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_2047,h_1151,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/voltaxMediaLibrary/mmsport/cavaliers_now/01j5rwx23tevnapjcx3z.jpg)
Slowly, but surely, the Virginia offensive line is getting healthy. After missing starters Brian Stevens and McKale Boley for more than a week, Tony Elliott was happy to report on Monday that Stevens has since returned to being a full participant in practice and is “hopeful” that Boley will be able to return sometime next week in advance of UVA’s season-opener against Richmond.
“[Brian] Stevens is back, rolling, and we’re hoping that sometime this week, before we get ready to really dive in to Richmond prep, that we’ll get [McKale] Boley back,” Elliott said. “But, Brian’s been back practicing. He started back last week and has looked good. Boley’s doing some stuff, in the underwater treadmill, in the AlterG, trying to get his conditioning up. He’ll be back on the land this week and then hopeful for next week. But again, you’re dealing with a high-ankle sprain. Those things are tricky.”
The return of Stevens to practice is paramount for the Cavaliers, as he took over as UVA’s starting center in week 3 last season and was exceptional in that spot, earning an All-ACC honorable mention after rating as the top run-blocking center in the ACC according to Pro Football Focus. This year, Stevens has been named to the preseason watch list for the Rimington Trophy, presented annually to the top center in college football. Boley, meanwhile developed significantly in his sophomore season, starting all 12 games at left tackle for the Cavaliers. His return will also be pivotal for protecting whichever quarterback Virginia ends up starting.
READ MORE: Tony Elliott Open to Playing Both Quarterbacks
Elliott didn’t offer any specific updates on other injured Cavaliers, but emphasized that Virginia’s roster is getting healthier as a whole as fall camp comes to a close this week.
“We’re getting a lot of guys back this week, so for the next week and a half, as we prime up for gametime, we should have some more continuity,” Elliott said.
Of course, there are still a few notable players out for Virginia in addition to Boley. Junior running back Xavier Brown and junior wide receiver JR Wilson are both unlikely to be available in time for the start of the season, which is less than two weeks away, but Elliott expects both players to return early in the season, if not by week 1. Senior linebacker James Jackson missed most of fall camp rehabbing from an offseason cleanup, but should be ready to go by the time the season begins.
Senior defensive end Bryce Carter and graduate offensive lineman Drake Metcalf suffered long-term injuries, though Elliott noted that Metcalf could return from the Achilles injury he suffered back in the spring by November or even October. Unfortunately, four Cavaliers have been lost for the season: junior linebacker Stevie Bracey, sophomore defensive end Mekhi Buchanan, junior offensive lineman Noah Hartsoe, and freshman wide receiver Triston Ward.
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Virginia
Virginia Football: Tony Elliott Open to Playing Both Quarterbacks
![Virginia Football: Tony Elliott Open to Playing Both Quarterbacks Virginia Football: Tony Elliott Open to Playing Both Quarterbacks](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_1919,h_1079,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/voltaxMediaLibrary/mmsport/cavaliers_now/01j5r4gp619pxhcgqa3e.jpg)
Tony Elliott held his final press conference of fall camp on Monday evening and, somewhat expectedly, he has yet to name a starting quarterback as the competition between Tony Muskett and Anthony Colandrea continues with less than two weeks remaining before the 2024 Virginia football season begins.
Here’s what Elliott said on Monday about his timeline for determining the starting quarterback for week 1.
“I’m hopeful that, as we get through this week, in fairness to whoever it is, he’ll at least have a week to prep as the starter, but we’re gonna have some tough conversations with all of our personnel over the next couple of days,” Elliott said. “This is a little bit different because of the times that we’ve had in camp. We’ve really been able to push these competitions to get a good body of work to make decisions. So, I’m hopeful that sometime this week, we should be able to settle in on who’s going to be the guy, or if it’s going to be a combination of both of them, again. For those guys, they’ve battled their tail off. They’ve both done a good job. And now it’s on us as coaches to do the right thing based on the body of work as we truly evaluate it and what gives us the best chance to go win football games.”
It was always a possibility, and a relatively likely one, that Elliott would wait until the week of UVA’s season-opener against Richmond to publicly name a quarterback. But not only has Elliott and the Cavalier coaching staff not given any indication as to which way they are leaning as fall camp comes to a close, but Elliott also said he hasn’t ruled out playing both quarterbacks. When asked about the possibility of playing both quarterbacks, this was his answer:
“That’s to be determined. If that’s the way that it shakes out, you know, that’s the way that it shakes out. And again, we’ll have those conversations and see what’s best for the football team,” said Elliott. “I think you got both guys that are very, very capable. But I’m not gonna say yes, I’m not gonna say no. Those will be conversations that we’ll have the rest of this week to determine as we get ready to prep and how we need to prep for Richmond.”
Tony Muskett and Anthony Colandrea both started six games last season and each had their ups and downs, which is why this quarterback competition is so close. But last season, all of the games Colandrea started were with Muskett unable to play due to various injuries. Now, both quarterbacks are healthy and Elliott and his coaching staff have a tough decision to make with many factors to be considered.
Which quarterback gives Virginia the best chance to win? How long is the leash for the eventual starter in week 1? Does Tony Muskett’s experience give him the nod or does Anthony Colandrea’s future potential as a younger player make a difference? Does playing both quarterbacks in the same game offer more benefits than drawbacks?
I, for one, do not envy the UVA coaching staff for the decision before them, but the clock is ticking.
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