Virginia

Hopewell: Virginia Department of Forestry program will improve city’s tree canopy

Published

1 year ago

July 9, 2024

Hopewell: Virginia Department of Forestry program will improve city’s tree canopy

‘Trees help lower temperatures by up to nine degrees in the summer by providing shade and promoting exercise and healthy living’ — Kendall Topping, urban forester, Green Infrastructure Center

HOPEWELL — The Virginia Department of Forestry selected Hopewell for its Community Forest Revitalization Program. The city will partner with the Green Infrastructure Center [GIC] to improve the city’s tree canopy through urban forestry planning, management and community tree planting.

“Trees are an important element of the city’s health. They are natural air filters that decrease asthma rates by reducing air pollution,” Karen Firehock, GIC’s executive director, said.

The program funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture through the Inflation Reduction Act is available at no cost to the city. This initiative will help Hopewell plan for a healthier future and implement goals related to community health and beautification for the city’s comprehensive plan.

“Studies have shown that businesses also benefit from the presence of mature trees, with higher spending recorded in well-treed commercial areas,” Jessica Huang, GIC’s community forest planner, noted.

Kendall Topping, GIC’s urban forester, shared, “Trees help lower temperatures by up to nine degrees in the summer by providing shade and promoting exercise and healthy living.”

During this two-year program, GIC, a Virginia-based nonprofit organization founded in 2006, will assist with city-wide tree planning goals and work with underserved and disadvantaged neighborhoods to choose how to plant trees in their neighborhood through a series of community engagement activities and meetings. For more information, visit gicinc.org.

Park rangers highlight history Petersburg National Battlefield reopens two sites, Hopewell, Dinwiddie: Free admission

‘Thank you for cooperation, support’ Hopewell downtown: Here we go again… filming of TV commercial closes roads

Kristi K. Higgins aka The Social Butterfly, an award-winning columnist, is the trending topics and food Q&A reporter at The Progress-Index voted the 2022 Tri-Cities Best of the Best Social Media Personality. Have a news tip on local trends or businesses? Contact Kristi (she, her) at khiggins@progress-index.com, follow @KHiggins_PI on X and @socialbutterflykristi on Instagram.

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Virginia

Spanberger names longtime National Guard leader as next veterans secretary

Published

49 minutes ago

December 22, 2025

Press Room

Spanberger names longtime National Guard leader as next veterans secretary

Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger on Monday announced she has selected retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Timothy Williams to serve as Virginia’s next secretary of veterans and defense affairs, tapping a longtime military leader who spent nearly four decades in uniform and led the Virginia National Guard through some of its most demanding recent missions.Williams, who retired in 2023 after 38 years in the armed forces, served for nine years as Virginia’s adjutant general under three governors. In that role, he oversaw the Virginia Department of Military Affairs, which provides leadership and administrative support to the Virginia Army National Guard, Virginia Air National Guard and Virginia Defense Force.

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Virginia Union’s Curtis Allen makes HBCU history winning Harlan Hill trophy: ‘Kind of crazy’

Published

13 hours ago

December 22, 2025

Press Room

Virginia Union’s Curtis Allen makes HBCU history winning Harlan Hill trophy: ‘Kind of crazy’

RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Union running back Curtis Allen made history by becoming the first player from a Historically Black College or University to win the Harlan Hill Trophy as Division II college football’s player of the year.

Allen, in his only season as the Panthers’ starting running back, rewrote the program’s record books and captured the 39th annual award after a dominant campaign.

The senior finished 82 votes ahead of the second-place finisher and broke a 10-year streak of quarterbacks winning the honor, which is Division II’s equivalent to the Heisman Trophy.

Allen set a new Division II single-season rushing record with 2,409 yards in just 12 games, along with a nation-leading 30 rushing touchdowns. He also broke the CIAA single-season rushing mark.

“It really sounds crazy because, you know, I really thought Jada (Byers) won last year, but I thought he was a finalist, but I thought he won,” Allen said. “So for me to actually win it, that’s actually kind of crazy. Because I feel like Jada could have possibly been a better running back than me. I just took what he did and did a little bit, you know better than him.”

Allen also recently won the 2025 Willie Laneir Award for his outstanding performance on the field.

Virginia Union’s Curtis Allen takes home Lanier Award

CBS 6 provides Central Virginia with the most experienced local TV sports coverage in town. Count on Lane Casadonte and Sean Robertson for the most in-depth local sports coverage.

This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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Virginia

Virginia lottery tickets win $400K in Saturday’s Powerball drawing

Published

1 day ago

December 21, 2025

Press Room

VIRGINIA (WAVY) – Saturday’s Powerball drawing treated Virginia players well as there were six winners which totaled $400,000, including a ticket bought in Richmond that won $150,000.

Virginia Lottery saw an additional five players win $50,000 each, including one winner in Norfolk. The ticket that won $150,000 was bought at:

Publix, 4591 South Laburnum Avenue in Richmond.

The five tickets that each won $50,000 were bought at:

7-Eleven. 14533 Lee Road in Chantilly,
Food Lion, 1859 East Little Creek Road in Norfolk,
BJ’s, 6607 Wilson Blvd. in Falls Church,
Murphy USA, 1860 Stavemill Crossing Lane in Powhatan,
Online, using the Virginia Lottery mobile app.

Powerball drawings are held Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m., with the odds of matching all six numbers sitting at 1 in 292,201,338. No tickets purchased matched all six numbers, raising the jackpot for Dec. 22 drawing to $1.6 billion.

All Virginia Lottery profits, including those from the sale of Powerball tickets, go to K-12 education in Virginia. For more information, visit the link here.

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