For the win
A sense of hope and victory was strong among the over 200 people who attended a virtual, national rally to stop construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline.
The MVP is a 42-inch, underground natural gas pipeline system that stretches 303 miles from northwestern West Virginia to southern Virginia. Activists and environmental advocacy groups have expressed opposition to the project since it was first proposed in 2014.
The rally, called We Believe We Will Win, included speeches from several climate activists and leaders of environmental organizations who shared their reasons for opposing the pipeline and the active roles they have played in the movement.
According to the project’s website, 94 percent of the pipeline is already complete. Activists, however, say this is a ploy, and some of the most difficult work has yet to be started.
“They want you to believe that it’s inevitable and we’re here to say it’s not,” said Joshua Vana, director of ARTivism Virginia and MC of the event.
Crystal Cavalier-Keck, co-founder of Seven Directions of Service, spoke about her role in advocating against a key air compressor station for MVP. In December, a state regulatory board denied a permit for the compressor station in a 6-1 vote as a result of efforts from Cavalier-Keck and other Black and indigenous activists.
“We keep sending out postcards, phone calls, doing stuff, because we might be small, but we are mighty,” she says. “We can accomplish anything if we do it together in unity.”
In January, a federal court stopped the MVP from crossing into the Jefferson National Forest. A week later, the same court invalidated another permit.
Speakers including Karenna Gore, the daughter of former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, told stories of their own experiences joining the movement, many of which were sparked by a desire to protect future generations. The MVP has led to the destruction of sacred ancestral sites along its trail, displaced indigenous communities, and disrupted the connection between the land and the people who live there.
The speakers on the call were all certain about ultimate victory in this fight.
“People are tired of the landscape being torn up and the waterways and the property being seized,” says Gore. “They want it to seem inevitable and all-powerful, a goliath of a project…But guess who will win. We will win.”
Money woes
Sanctions are still piling up against one of the neo-Nazi co-defendants in the Sines v. Kessler lawsuit.
According to The Daily Progress, federal Judge Norman K. Moon added $18,000 to the amount due from Robert “Azzmador” Ray for attorneys’ fees and out-of-pocket expenses. Ray disappeared after coming to Charlottesville for the torch rally at the Rotunda on August 11 and the Unite the Right rally the next day. He didn’t show up for the November trial, and is considered a fugitive on a criminal warrant stemming from the torch rally and a bench warrant for contempt of court in 2020.
The lawsuit sought to hold the Unite the Right planners, including Ray, responsible for the carnage inflicted that weekend. At trial, the jury was instructed that they could view Ray’s absence in an adverse light, and found him liable for $700,000.
According to the Progress, plaintiffs asked the court for nearly $26,000 for attorneys’ fees and expenses. Moon arrived at $18,000 by reducing the hourly rate charged by plaintiffs attorneys and the number of hours they claimed.
In brief
Bottoms up
To-go margaritas, Long Islands, and other boozy libations are here to stay—for now. Last week, Governor Glenn Youngkin signed legislation extending Virginia’s takeout cocktails policy until July 1, 2024, in an effort to support the state’s struggling bars and restaurants as they recover from pandemic losses. It remains unclear if Virginia will join the 18 other states—plus Washington, D.C.—that have permanently legalized to-go and delivery alcohol sales.
Due time
This week, the City of Charlottesville resumed utility cutoffs for past-due accounts, after pausing all service disconnections at the beginning of the pandemic. Customers who are behind on their utility bills are encouraged to call (970-3211) or email (cvilleutilities@charlottesville.gov) Utility Billing to set up a payment plan as soon as possible.
Stage exit
Crozet native Kenedi Anderson has dropped out of this season of “American Idol,” just after making it to the competition’s Top 24. In an Instagram post on Monday evening, the 18-year-old Western Albemarle High School student shared that she was unable to continue on the show “for personal reasons.” She thanked her supporters and said it was “one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make, but I know it’s necessary.” Host Ryan Seacrest made the announcement during Monday night’s show, following Anderson’s previously recorded performance of Christina Perri’s “Human.” Anderson had secured her spot in the final group of contestants last week with a duet of Bill Withers’ “Lean on Me” and a solo performance of Bruno Mars’ “Talking to the Moon.”
Bills, bills, bills
More than $2,400—that’s how much the Virginia Department of Transportation billed Lake Monticello residents Charles and Carolyn Westrater for removing a pine tree that fell on their car while they were driving on Route 53 last month, according to the Fluvanna Review. The uprooted tree trapped the elderly couple inside their 2014 Toyota Avalon until help arrived, and blocked both lanes on the road near Hillridge Drive. They are now awaiting a verdict from the state attorney general’s office, the only agency that can dismiss the exorbitant charges.