Will the prez put away
the pipelines?
Joe Biden hit the ground running during his first few days on the job, including passing an executive order that has energy tycoons sweating over projects in Virginia. Last week, the new president canceled the Keystone XL pipeline, a controversial oil pipeline that would have carried fossil fuel from Canada into the U.S. That’s left industry insiders wondering if Biden will directly intervene in other pending pipelines—including the Mountain Valley Pipeline in western Virginia.
The MVP, a natural gas pipeline that has been under construction since 2018, has been tied up in legal limbo for years. It’s now facing a sixth lawsuit over important Federal Energy Regulatory Commission permits for stream crossings, reports the Roanoke Times.
Whether or not Biden intervenes directly, new appointments at regulatory agencies could serve to slow the project. The new Biden-appointed head of FERC is a commissioner named Richard Glick, who has voted against multiple of MVP proposals in the past. In September, after the commission voted to approve a permit for the pipeline, Glick wrote a dissent, stating that “the Commission once again refuses to consider the consequences its actions have for climate change.”
Justice for Xzavier
The demands for justice for 18-year-old Xzavier Hill continue.
On Friday, family and friends held a memorial service in Henrico County for the Charlottesville teen who was killed by state police earlier this month. Afterward, around 100 protesters rallied in
the funeral home parking lot, and peacefully marched to the Goochland Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, calling
for the release of the dash cam footage of the shooting.
While police claim that Hill, who is Black, led them on a high-speed
chase and displayed a gun, his family says the footage proves their son was not carrying a weapon and was innocent.
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Quote of the week
“It’ll always be remembered as a day of shame, and there has to be accountability for it.”
—Senator Tim Kaine, explaining to MSNBC why he and other senators filed an ethics complaint against U.S. Senators Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz
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In brief
Housing help
The Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority is providing housing vouchers to 40 households in need that have a disabled family member between the age of 18 and 61. The households must currently be experiencing homelessness, or be in a rapid re-housing or permanent supportive housing program. Applications open January 29, and end February 26.
No shot
The Old Dominion is struggling with vaccine rollout. Virginia currently ranks last in the nation in percentage of doses sent to the state that have them been administered. As of this weekend, the CDC reports that Virginia has used just 42 percent of the doses it has received. Meanwhile, our neighbors to the west are among the nation’s leaders—West Virginia has administered more than 83 percent of its doses, one of the best marks in the nation.
Food.
Local food justice nonprofit Cultivate Charlottesville, in cooperation with the city government and a host of other local charitable organizations, has launched a food insecurity text hotline. Area residents in need of food assistance can text FOOD or COMIDA to (844) 847-6518 to learn about the resources available to them in their time of need.
Bucc-ing expectations
St. Anne’s-Belfield class of 2013 graduate Aaron Stinnie has Super plans for the weekend after next—the third-year NFL pro will start at guard for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Super Bowl. It’ll be just the third professional start for Stinnie, who went undrafted out of JMU but was thrust into the action after Buccaneers starter Alex Cappa was hurt in this year’s wild card round. Stinnie will have a tough task keeping the Kansas City defensive front away from the legendary Tom Brady.