Author: chiara-canzi

As a conclusion to his Economic R.E.V.I.V.A.L. tour, Tom Perriello received the endorsement of labor union UNITE HERE. Perriello, a Democrat challenging Democrat-turned-independent-turned-Republican Virgil Goode for his congressional seat, received the endorsement yesterday at the Hyosung Tire plant in Scottsville.

The union represents more than 10,000 manufacturing and textile workers in Virginia and almost a half a million nationwide. American manufacturing and textiles jobs have increasingly gone overseas, leaving large holes in the economies of much of Southside, Virginia, which is part of the Fifth Congressional District that also includes Charlottesville.

Tom Perriello, third from left, with members of a labor union at the Hyosung Tire plant in Scottsville

Boyd Tinsley rocked a very different crowd today. The virtuoso violinist of the Dave Matthews Band was one of the keynote speakers at the leadership conference for the Ron Brown Scholar Program, which awards college scholarships to African-American high school students, at the Paramount Theatre on the Downtown Mall.

Tinsley addressed the roughly 180 college scholarship recipients in attendance about his personal experience as a young, poor, black student raised in Charlottesville. “I don’t know where you guys come from, but I know we have very similar backgrounds,” he said. “I am you and you are me.”

The program was named for the late Secretary of Commerce and was established to provide scholarships for young African Americans with outstanding academic and leadership records.

Themed “Local Service–Global Change,” this year’s conference served tribute to community service’s impact on the world and recognized Tinsley for his effort to aid underprivileged kids in the Charlottesville area. He started the Boyd C. Tinsley Foundation, which helps students with school tutoring, music lessons and instruments, as well as tennis lessons, one of Tinsley’s passions.

“I have no limits to what I can do and so should you. I still think the band and I just started,” he said. “That’s what successful people think.”

Geraldine Pierre is a 2004 Ron Brown Scholar and a 2008 UVA graduate. "The mission of the program inspired me to strive to achieve success," says Pierre, an economics and African-American studies double major. "And thanks to the great support network, I got great internships that helped me land my next success."

In the fall, Pierre is headed to the University of North Carolina at Chapell Hill to get a master’s in public health.

Boyd Tinsley rocked a different audience today as one of the keynote speakers of the Ron Brown Scholar Program Leadership Conference. 

At 2pm this afternoon, activists from Blue Ridge Earth First, Rising Tide North America, and Nuclear Watch South staged a non-violent protest in Dominion Resource’s North Anna nuclear power visitor center in Mineral.

The protest, inspired by the ideology and teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is intended as a demand to stop planned construction of a third reactor at the North Anna power station in Lake Anna.

“Fifteen people are involved and they are definitely in the visitor center,” says Mary Olson with Nuclear Watch South. “They are going to be there for a while, at least until 4pm when the center closes.” Dominion Resource, Olson says, has decided to stand back and not do anything. “It’s the ‘hope it goes away’ attitude,” she says. Dominion Resource could not immediately be reached for comment at the time of this posting. 

As C-VILLE previously reported, opposition arose when the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a permit for the utility company to start clearing the land and prep the area where the reactor will be built.

In an earlier article, C-VILLE also reported that the Sierra Club and other environmental groups warned of possible legal actions against the issuance of the building permit, and the decision of the State Water Control Board to renew another permit that allows the North Anna power station to discharge water into Lake Anna at a higher temperature than the 90-degree maximum allowed by the federal Clean Water Act. Indeed, on April 28, the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League filed a legal motion with the U.S. Regulatory Commission to postpone deadlines for the North Anna power station construction and operating license. 

The North Anna power plant has recently been at the center of major disputes between environmental groups and the U.S. Regulatory Commission.

Six activists from Blue Ridge Earth First, Rising Tide North America, and Nuclear Watch South, were arrested for taking over and refusing to leave the Dominion Power’s North Anna nuclear visitor center in Mineral, Virginia.

The protest, inspired by the ideology and teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is intended as a demand to stop plans for the construction of a third reactor at the North Anna power station in Lake Anna.

A spokesperson for Dominion Power said the protest was not peaceful. “About 25 people came in and gave themselves a self-guided tour of the visitor center,” he says. At about 4:05pm the staff at the visitor center informed the activists that they needed to close the facility. “At that point, my staff was informed that the protestors intended to be arrested and refused to leave the premises,” he says. “Dominion Power respects peaceful protest, but we don’t condone illegal acts such as refusing to leave. That’s when we called the county sheriff.”

The six protesters were taken to the Louisa County Sheriff’s office and await processing.

As the C-VILLE previously reported, opposition arose when the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a permit for the utility company to start clearing the land and prep the area where the reactor will be built.

In an earlier article, the C-VILLE reported that the Sierra Club and other environmental groups warned of possible legal actions against the issuance of the permit and the decision of the State Water Control Board to renew a permit that allows the North Anna power station to discharge water into Lake Anna at a higher temperature than the maximum of 90 degrees consented by the federal Clean Water Act.

To update, on April 28, the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League filed a legal motion with the U.S. Regulatory Commission to postpone deadlines for the North Anna power station construction and operating license. 

The North Anna power plant has recently been at the center of major disputes between environmental groups and the U.S. Regulatory Commission.

On Friday, August 1, the C-VILLE reported that The Tavern restaurant voluntarily closed for one day, but soon re-opened to business. Today, The Daily Progress reports that the Tavern is currently closed while it awaits the results of the Department of Health’s inspection, and won’t be open until Wednesday at the earliest.

So what’s the deal? Which one of these competing truths is true? Did we talk to a bum who told us he thought The Tavern was still open and just take his word for it? Did the Progress talk to a different bum?

Here is the paradox explained: The restaurant voluntarily closed down on Friday, July 25 after local health department officials cited four critical health code violations, but reopened the very next day. The Tavern remained open—including on August 1 when we talked to the restaurant staff—until this past weekend, closing its doors on Saturday night, August 2, because of concern over the critical health code violations. Owner Shelly Gordon says that it will remain closed until Thursday at the earliest.

Tavern owner Shelly Gordon hopes to reopen by Thursday after another inspection by the Department of Health.