It’s long been clear that the folks of the small, predominately black Union Hill community in bucolic Buckingham County don’t want the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and its compressor station on their soil. And now two well-known voices who condemn environmental racism are joining the fight against it. Former vice president Al Gore and Reverend William […]
All is quiet along the proposed path of the 600-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline, now that five federal permits have either been thrown out or put on hold. A vote on a permit that would allow a 54,000-horsepower pipeline compressor station to be built in Buckingham’s historic African American community of Union Hill, on a former […]
Got a complaint? The city has an app for that. MyCville. Ever heard of it? We hadn’t, either, until the city encouraged residents to digitally report their delinquent neighbors who hadn’t shoveled sidewalks following the recent dumping of about a foot of snow on Charlottesville. There’s nothing like a (mostly) unexpected snowstorm to put the […]
Awkward moments: Fields trial edition When we crammed more than two weeks of trial proceedings into a 4,000-word story, some of the finer details didn’t make the cut. So we’d like to take this opportunity to share a few of the not-so-fun facts of the James Alex Fields, Jr. trial, in which he [...]
Using ACA insurance? Read this first Yes, the Affordable Care Marketplace is still here, and sign-up ends December 15. Counselors at the Jefferson Area Board for Aging have seen a few surprises in the process, and want residents to be aware they could face some unpleasant results if they simply [...]
Earlier this month, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality issued the final state approval needed to begin construction on the $6 billion, 600-mile, 42-inch diameter Atlantic Coast Pipeline planned to slice through Nelson County on its way from West Virginia to North Carolina, leaving [...]
About 50 miles south of Charlottesville, in the small, quiet community of Union Hill, there are far more “No Pipeline” signs than traffic lights. The historic town of weather-faded homes and churches in bucolic Buckingham County could soon be sliced by the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, and in what [...]
A “jumbled mess” of hundreds of clear-cut trees still lie at the entrance to Wintergreen, across Route 664 and up the side of Piney Mountain. Dominion Energy started knocking them down to make way for its Atlantic Coast Pipeline in Nelson County on March 6, a day the locals now refer to as the [...]
Hundreds of anti-Atlantic Coast Pipeline activists have emerged to monitor construction on the $6 billion gas fracking project. A coalition of more than 50 anti-pipeline groups called the Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance launched the Pipeline Compliance Surveillance Initiative last week to ensure [...]
Seeking asylum He’ll tell you it’s not haunted, but owner and developer Robin Miller acknowledges the twisted history of the new Blackburn Inn, his historic boutique hotel set to open in Staunton this spring. Originally serving as the Western State Lunatic Asylum in the early 1800s, a hospital [...]
Though the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the Atlantic Coast Pipeline October 13, those opposing the $6 billion and 600-mile gas fracking project say they’re not going down without a fight. “It’s not over by any means,” says Kirk Bowers, a program coordinator with the local [...]
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission released its final environmental impact statement for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline July 21, and it said the proposed 600-mile, $5.5 billion natural gas pipeline will have a “less than significant” impact on the environment. “The [final environmental [...]
In an April 27 telepresser, a number of environmental groups discussed Dominion’s alleged plans to decapitate 38 miles of ridgelines in Virginia and West Virginia to make way for the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline. About 5.6 of those miles are atop Roberts Mountain in Nelson County. Moderated [...]
A local legal group will file a last-minute opinion that there isn’t enough market demand for a $6 billion pipeline. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which will eventually approve or deny plans for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, is accepting comments for its draft environmental impact [...]
Gubernatorial candidates Ralph Northam and Tom Perriello and three lieutenant governor hopefuls were in town over the weekend for the Charlottesville Democratic Party’s 17th annual pasta supper and auction. New on this year’s menu was an Atlantic Coast Pipeline protest in which seven [...]
Though Dominion Virginia Power announced last week the hiring of a contractor to build the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, efforts to halt its construction, and that of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, have not ceased. A new survey released September 21 by two anti-pipeline groups, the Chesapeake Climate [...]
Food & Drink Farm to Feast dinner Sunday, September 11 Enjoy a family-style meal of locally sourced food at Blenheim Vineyards’ Farm to Feast benefit dinner, which supports Local Food Hub and Farm Aid. In addition to dinner prepared by acclaimed chefs, there will be passed canapés, a teepee [...]
Locally, the Atlantic Coast Pipeline has amassed intense opposition since Dominion Energy formally announced its project plans in September 2014. What some challengers may not know, however, is that more than 2,000 miles of pipelines have sliced through Virginia for several decades, sparking [...]
Companies surveying for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline must provide property owners sufficient written notice before setting foot on their properties, a Nelson County judge ruled May 9. Though this doesn’t stop the project, pipeline opponents say any ruling in favor of landowners is a success. “It [...]
A new route proposed for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline February 12 will dodge sensitive areas in the George Washington and Monongahela national forests, but will impact about 249 additional landowners in Virginia and West Virginia. The new route—which will go through Highland, Bath and Augusta [...]
The Atlantic Coast Pipeline’s proposed route through the George Washington and Monongahela national forests has been scrapped—a very big deal for the future of the pipeline, according to opponents—and Dominion must now begin looking for an alternate. The U.S. Forest Service rejected the [...]
While many out-of-towners plan tours of Nelson County to learn the land by way of winery and brewery, Governor Terry McAuliffe has been extended a much more somber, or rather, sober, invitation. Over 1,200 Virginia residents signed Friends of Nelson’s request for McAuliffe to join locals and [...]
In a letter sent to the Federal Energy Regulatory Committee October 26, 30 organizations in Virginia and West Virginia called on FERC to do a single, comprehensive review of all four of the major natural gas pipeline projects currently proposed in the Blue Ridge and central Appalachian regions, [...]