Riggleman appointed to dig in to January 6
The House of Representatives committee tasked with investigating the January 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection has hired former Virginia 5th District representative Denver Riggleman as a senior staff member. The Democrats in charge of the committee have been searching for conservatives willing to turn a critical eye to the Capitol siege, in hopes that including conservatives in the process will make Republican officials more willing to accept the committee’s eventual findings. Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger are
already part of the team.
Riggleman voted straight along the party line during his two years in office, and enthusiastically accepted Trump’s endorsement in his re-election campaign. Since losing a primary to ultra-conservative Bob Good, however, the local distillery owner has rebranded as a Republican willing to criticize Trump and his acolytes still in the party.
“We can’t worry about the color of the jerseys anymore, or whether we have an R or a D next to our name,” Riggleman said in a video on Twitter last week. “It’s time for us to look in a fact-based way at what happened on January 6, but to see if we can prevent this from ever happening again in the future.”
Gold mining study gets underway
The National Academy of Sciences has agreed to conduct a comprehensive study of gold mining in Virginia. Environmental activists and legislators called for the study earlier this year, after international gold mining companies started to sniff around Virginia’s gold belt, which runs through the center of the state. In this year’s legislative session, the General Assembly passed a law banning gold mining—a dangerous and invasive process—until the study was complete.
“It is without doubt that metals mining negatively impacts communities and their water supplies,” says Stacy Lovelace of Virginia Pipeline Resisters in a press release. “Metals mining is the next major industrial threat to the Commonwealth alongside the buildout of pipelines and other fossil fuel infrastructure. Evaluating these impacts is a critical first step in acting to stop this industry from harming Virginia communities.”
“I’m teaching at U of Virginia for the upcoming academic year. I’ll be moving to Charlottesville for the duration. I should warn homeowners that property values will drop for as long as I’m there.”
—Writer Rabih Alameddine, on Twitter, sharing that he’ll be a fellow in the creative writing department this year
In brief
Like taking (pot) candy from a baby
Virginia has seen a steep rise in little kids accidentally eating marijuana-infused candy, according to the Virginia Poison Center. You can’t blame them—many marijuana candies come in colorful packaging and look just like any other sweet treat at first glance. The Poison Center says that in 2019, just 13 people called to report adverse reactions. Seven months into 2021, that number is 78. Marijuana edibles haven’t led to any reported deaths in the region. Word to the wise: Keep your pot gummy worms on a high shelf.
Bad boss?
Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin’s former colleagues at high-end investing firm The Carlyle Group don’t have good things to say about him, according to a new Bloomberg exposé. Youngkin has touted his experience in the private sector during his political run, but Bloomberg reports that he “was responsible for troubled forays into hedge funds and energy investments,” “flamed out” when he was given a shot to run the business in 2018, and ultimately “retired after a power struggle that left him in charge of more modest businesses.”
Vlogger arrested for incest
Internet personality and Greene County resident Christine Chandler, known online as Chris Chan, was arrested in Henrico this week for “sex crimes against a family member,” according to the Greene County Sheriff’s office. Chandler initially rose to fame for creating a webcomic and has since become a vlogger with a large following. Chandler is being held without bond at the Central Virginia Regional Jail.