Welcome to Notes from the Square, a roundup of state politics and policy news. Each week, we bring you updates on the movers and shakers in Virginia politics as well as the legislation and initiatives they’re supporting or opposing — with a Southwest and Southside Virginia focus.
Got a tip or story idea? Email me at elizabeth@cardinalnews.org.
Congressman Morgan Griffith weighs in on Dominion and NextEra merger
Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, urged Gov. Abigail Spanberger to protect coal as she intervenes in the proposed merger between Dominion Energy and Florida-based NextEra Energy in a letter he sent to the governor Friday. (Disclosure: Dominion is one of our donors, but donors have no say in news decisions; see our policy).
In that letter, Griffith noted that though few of his constituents in the 9th Congressional District are Dominion customers — most in the Southwest Virginia region get their energy from Appalachian Power Company — the merger could impact the district he represents.
“My interest in the merger case concerns the Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center (VCHEC) power plant that Dominion Energy owns and operates in my district near St. Paul,” Griffith wrote.
The power plant generates 610 megawatts of electricity at the site using waste coal, known as gob, and sawmill waste as fuel, he said. The merger could affect control over VCHEC, one of Virginia’s last remaining coal-fired power plants, Griffith’s office said.
“I want the new company to understand the economic and environmental assets this plant offers to Southwest Virginia and the State as a whole,” Griffith said.
Griffith argued in his letter that the plant provides essential baseload power to enhance the reliability of the electric grid while also reducing methane emissions, remediating waterways in the 9th District and cleaning up legacy waste sites at a lower cost to the taxpayer. It also employs nearly 160 people at a high wage and pays about $8.5 million in taxes per year to Wise County and the city of St. Paul. The coal plant, Griffith’s office said, has also supported local jobs and cleaned up millions of tons of waste coal in Southwest Virginia since it opened in 2012.
“I am concerned about potential negative impacts that the merger could have on VCHEC as it is allowed to operate until 2045 under the Virginia Code,” Griffith wrote in his letter to Spanberger. “I urge you not to forget our constituents in Wise County as you participate in this merger case.”
Spanberger’s office did not respond when asked if the governor has reviewed Griffith’s letter.
Lt. Gov. Hashmi launches statewide energy costs listening tour
Speaking of energy, Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi announced that she will hit the road in September to criss-cross the commonwealth for a listening tour focused on energy costs amid the pending merger between Dominion and NextEra.
The tour will make stops in Loudoun, Hampton Roads, Richmond, Charlottesville and Roanoke, Hashmi’s office said. The lieutenant governor’s goal is to bring together local elected officials, energy experts, and community members and give Virginians an opportunity to hear from experts, ask questions and share their perspectives on the pending merger.
“An acquisition of this size and significance requires a thorough, transparent review,” Hashmi said in a statement. “Virginians deserve the opportunity to understand what this proposal could mean for their utility bills, their community, and our shared energy future. These conversations are about listening, sharing information, and ensuring the public has a meaningful voice before a decision of this magnitude is made.”
Input gathered through the tour will help to inform conversations about Virginia’s energy future and reinforce the importance of a transparent, accountable review process, her office said.
Hashmi’s Roanoke stop is slated for Thursday, September 24.
Gov. Spanberger encourages Virginians to serve as elections officers
Speaking of the governor, Spanberger put out a call out to Virginians to serve as elections officers on Tuesday, which was National Poll Worker Recruitment Day.
Apparently every day is a “national day”: Today’s “national day” (as I write this on August 13) is geared toward fancy food and drink. August 13 is National Prosecco Day and National Filet Mignon Day. Tomorrow’s “national day” (when this is set to publish on August 14) is slated to be National Creamsicle Day and National Navajo Code Talkers Day, according to the National Day Calendar website.
Anyway, on Tuesday, National Poll Worker Recruitment Day (which was also, supposedly, National Sons and Daughters Day, National Presidential Joke Day and National Raspberry Bombe Day), Spanberger encouraged Virginians to consider serving as poll workers ahead of the November midterm elections.
“Every year in our Commonwealth, poll workers play an essential role in supporting our secure, accurate, and fair elections and allowing Virginians to make their voices heard,” Spanberger said in a statement. “We have some of the most talented and experienced election staff in the nation working at our polls. Ahead of our upcoming elections, I am encouraging more committed Virginians who would like to serve their communities to do so in this deeply meaningful way.”
Qualified Virginia voters who are interested in serving as Officers of Election — which is what the commonwealth calls poll workers — can find additional information and complete the online application on the Department of Elections website. Officers of Election receive compensation for their service.
More board appointments and high school essay contest winners announced by the governor
Let’s keep this Spanberger news train moving. The governor issued dozens more board appointments on Monday.
Here’s a list of folks that she appointed from the Southwest and Southside regions of the commonwealth:
Governor’s Advisory Council on Revenue Estimates (GACRE)
- Robert Mills of Pittsylvania, president, Briar View Farms
Joint Advisory Board of Economists (JABE)
- Dr. David Kohl of Blacksburg, professor emeritus, Virginia Tech
- Dr. Can Dogan of Blacksburg, associate professor, Radford University
- Dr. Alice Kassens of Fincastle, dean of the School of Business, Economics, and Analytics, Roanoke College
Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee to the Chesapeake Bay Executive Council
- Dr. Michael Sorice of Blacksburg, associate professor, Virginia Tech
State Water Control Board
- Jerald Hess of Goochland, associate general counsel, Apex Clean Energy
Task Force for the Identification of the History of Formerly Enslaved African Americans in Virginia
- Karice Luck-Brimmer of Danville, genealogist, Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Inc./Monticello
And lastly but definitely not least-ly, to add to this list of Southwest and Southside residents, Spanberger announced Thursday the winners of the Virginia Council on Women’s 15th Annual High School Essay Contest.
The winners from the Southwest and Southside regions of the commonwealth are:
- Kamori Dillard, Martinsville High School, Martinsville; and
- Emmaline Dowell, Chilhowie High School, Chilhowie.
The Virginia Council on Women established the essay contest in 2012 to award scholarships to high school junior and senior girls planning to pursue STEAM-H careers at institutions of higher education. More than 300 young women from across the commonwealth submitted essays this year about why they want to pursue a STEAM-H career, the governor’s office said. To date, the council has awarded more than $225,000 in scholarships through this annual essay contest.
