Virginia
Virginia proposes adding 12 plants, including kudzu, to noxious weeds list – WTOP News
Virginia is considering adding 12 more plants to its noxious weeds list, a compilation of species that are banned from use in the state because of the damage they provide to ecosystems.
This article was reprinted with permission from Virginia Mercury.
Virginia is considering adding 12 more plants to its noxious weeds list, a compilation of species that are banned from use in the state because of the damage they provide to ecosystems.
On Thursday, the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services held a public hearing on the proposed additions. No one spoke during it, but one comment was submitted via the state’s online regulatory Town Hall website from Chesapeake resident Rogard Ross, who said he “strongly agrees” with the additions.
“You should also add English Ivy, Japanese Stilt Grass, and Linden Viburnum,” wrote Ross. “These are all terribly invasive plants in our local parks in Chesapeake, Virginia.”
The public comment period is scheduled to end Friday, Dec. 8.
The plants proposed to be added to the list are:
- Two-horned trapa
- Garlic mustard
- Chinese yam
- Autumn olive
- Lesser celandine
- Bicolor lespedeza
- Amur honeysuckle
- Japanese honeysuckle
- Common reed
- Kudzu
- Japanese knotweed
- Siberian elm
Two-horned trapa would be added as a “tier 2” noxious weed, a classification given to plants that can be suppressed or eradicated. The rest would be added as tier 3 noxious weeds, those that experts say can’t reasonably be wiped out.
Virginia also compiles an invasive plant species list that is used for informational purposes. There are no restrictions for the vast majority of plants on that list if they are deemed “commercially viable.” But when the negative ecological impacts of an invasive plant are deemed to outweigh its economic benefits, officials can place it on the noxious weed list.
The state began the process of considering the latest additions in 2021. Larry Nichols, director of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Division of Consumer Protection, said the species were recommended by the state Noxious Weeds Advisory Committee.
The 12 plants “are highly adaptable to their environment, are copious seed producers and can overwhelm native plant species through rapid growth and spread, resulting in the displacement of the native, desirable plant species,” Nichols said. “Controlling these plants is costly and long term once they become established.”
Following the public comment period, the Board will vote on the regulation, and pending approval, it will continue through the review process.
This article was updated with information on the next steps for the regulation to be enacted.
West Virginia has landed its second commitment out of the transfer portal, and its first on the offensive side of the ball.
Sunday evening, Eastern Michigan wide receiver transfer Oran Singleton Jr. announced his pledge to the Mountaineers.
This past season for the Eagles, Singleton caught a team-high 64 passes for 639 yards and two touchdowns. Prior to arriving at Eastern Michigan, Singleton played one year at Akron and then made the move to the junior college level to play for Hutchinson CC. There, he led the team in receptions (31) and was second in yards (419).
West Virginia will continue to add to the wide receiver room in the coming days and weeks as they look to replace the departure of Justin Robinson along with the potential departures of Traylon Ray Ric’Darious Farmer and Hudson Clement.
Singleton will have one year of eligibility remaining.
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Still without Tucker DeVries, Sunday’s game against Mercyhurst would be West Virginia’s final opportunity to figure things out ahead of their holiday break, followed by the gauntlet that is the Big 12.
While the Mountaineers would ease past the Lakers, they couldn’t do it without suffering another injury. Starting center Amani Hansberry was injured in the opening minute and did not return as West Virginia beat Mercyhurst 67-46 at the WVU Coliseum to close non-conference play.
The Mountaineers persevered the early departure of Hansberry by getting inside on the Lakers. After a Jonathan Powell 3-pointer, eight of WVU’s next 13 points came at the rim as they took a 16-7 lead in the opening eight minutes of action.
While the Lakers would be able to keep the West Virginia lead in single digits, a late 11-3 run helped West Virginia into halftime with a 35-22 lead.
While West Virginia shot 50 percent from the field in the first half, the second half would have a much different feel to it.
West Virginia made only one basket, and that came on a score from Eduardo Andre just a minute into the second half. After that, though, West Virginia’s offense went silent, and it allowed the Lakers to get back into the game.
Mercyhurst went on an 8-0 run from the 17:23 mark until the 14:46 mark of the second half, as West Virginia’s lead was cut to 38-30. The Mountaineers would respond appropriately, though, going on a 16-0 run themselves, pushing the lead to 24 with 8:13 to play.
During the run, it was a plethora of players who got involved for the Mountaineers. Five different players scored during the run, including Javon Small, who scored on a fastbreak dunk after a steal from Joe Yesufu. The dunk would be Small’s 1,000th career point.
Mercyhurst countered with a 5-0 run, but that didn’t faze the Mountaineers in the slightest. West Virginia scored the next nine points as they continued to lock down on defense.
Mercyhurst would score only 11 points in the final 14:45 of the game, shooting 22 percent from the field in the second half and 28 percent from the field on the afternoon. West Virginia held Mercyhurst to shoot only 5-for-17 from beyond the arc.
The Mountaineers shot 48 percent from the field despite struggling mightly from three as they shot 5-for-19 from beyond the arc. Small led West Virginia with 19 points on the afternoon.
West Virginia now will be off until Dec. 31, when they open Big 12 play on the road against No. 8 Kansas.
A Richmond, Virginia, woman lost more than $30,000 after police say she fell victim to a scam.
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RICHMOND, Virginia (WTVR) — A Richmond, Virginia, woman lost more than $30,000 after police say she fell victim to a scam.
CBS 6 Crime Insider Jon Burkett spoke to Frank Oley, her financial adviser and Greg Wade, a Richmond detective about how this happened.
The woman got an email which appeared to be from PayPal.
“It was about the purchase of some type of malware and if you didn’t want it to call a certain number,” Wade said.
She then called the number and got swindled.
“After the transaction was done, he said, ‘You added too many zeroes,’ and, ‘Oh, my God, I’m going to lose my job, it’s Christmas time and I have kids,’ laid it on thick to her. This client being such a nice, honest and decent person felt sorry for this guy,” Wade explained.
The woman felt so bad she withdrew a total of $34,300 from two banks in an effort to pay for what she thought was her mistake.
The scammer instructed her to load the cash into a bitcoin machine along Azalea Avenue. It took her two hours and 873 separate transactions to do.
Detective Wade got a search warrant and told the store to shut the machine down. A representative came to open it, and the woman’s money was still there.
Her money is being held as evidence for now, but she will get it all back.
“The good news is with George, the Richmond City Police Department, we got the money back,” Oley said.
Wade says the scammer was traced to a location outside the United States.
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