skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Monday, March 24, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Wildfires prompt evacuation in the Carolinas as New Jersey crews battle their own blaze; Iowa town halls find 'empty chairs'; California groups bring generations together to work on society's biggest problems; and Pennsylvania works to counter Trump clean energy rollbacks.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Lawmakers from both parties face angry constituents. Some decide to skip town halls rather than address concerned voters and Kentucky considers mandatory Medicaid work requirements.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Cuts to Medicaid and frozen funding for broadband are both likely to have a negative impact on rural healthcare, which is already struggling. Plus, lawsuits over the mass firing of federal workers have huge implications for public lands.

Despite opposition, VA pipeline expansion moves ahead

play audio
Play

Wednesday, December 27, 2023   

Despite extensive opposition, the Virginia Reliability Project is moving forward.

This month, the state's Marine Resources Commission issued a wetlands permit for the project, although 175 Virginia residents submitted comments, all in opposition. The Virginia Reliability Project calls for constructing compressor stations and expanding a gas line which has been operating since the 1950s with a larger-diameter pipeline.

Anne Havemann, general counsel and deputy director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, said the project does not line up with Virginia's climate goals, and a report from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission appeared to confirm it.

"In the final Environmental Impact Statement that FERC has to issue, it clearly said, 'This project will increase Virginia's climate emissions by 2%,'" Havemann reported.

She added legal action is being considered to halt the project. Some have voiced concern over locating part of the pipeline extension near Hillpoint Elementary School. Others cite safety concerns, after a pipeline explosion in July in Strasburg. The utility company, T.C. Energy, said the pipeline upgrade is needed for safety and energy efficiency.

A compressor station for the project would be built in Petersburg, which is already considered an environmental justice community. The Public Interest Network noted a new methane gas leak is reported about every 40 hours.

Charles Brown II, Hampton Roads organizer for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, said it is common for projects with environmental risks to be built in majority-Black communities.

"You look at Petersburg being on the forefront of this kind of stuff," Brown observed. "Then you look at areas like parts of Suffolk and Chesapeake, where the residents have made it clear they don't want these projects because of the health impacts of construction, or just it being a methane pipeline."

Petersburg is ranked as the least healthy area in the state on the University of Wisconsin's County Health Rankings and Roadmaps.

Disclosure: The Chesapeake Climate Action Network contributes to our fund for reporting on Climate Change/Air Quality, and Sustainable Agriculture. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
Past legislation, like the Promoting Offshore Wind Energy Resources Act, has pushed Maryland toward its clean energy goals of 8.5 gigawatts of wind energy production in the next few years. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

As President Donald Trump rolls back clean energy initiatives at the federal level, states like Maryland are pushing ahead with their own energy …


Environment

play sound

Texas would be one of five states to suffer the most if the Trump administration repeals the Inflation Reduction Act, according to a report from the …

Environment

play sound

A local nonprofit with a mission to advance regenerative agriculture is hoping its new video can open up an untapped world of science to a younger aud…


An intergenerational dialogue held on Jan. 29 brought together participants from ages 8 to 82 to discuss important issues, post-election. (Ed Ritger)

Social Issues

play sound

In these divisive times, nonprofit groups are stepping up to boost civic engagement by facilitating intergenerational dialogue. The Creating …

Social Issues

play sound

By Angela Hart for KFF Health News.Broadcast version by Suzanne Potter for California News Service reporting for the KFF Health News-Public News Servi…

Roughly 150 cities in 32 states have passed homelessness ordinances, according to the National Criminal Justice Association. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Next month, the city of Morgantown, West Virginia, will ask residents to vote on whether to keep or eliminate a city ordinance banning camping on …

Social Issues

play sound

Some 29 Arkansas Medal of Honor recipients will be recognized Tuesday as the National Medal of Honor Museum opens in Arlington, Texas. The museum is …

Social Issues

play sound

There are only 26 affordable housing units in Colorado for every 100 low-income households, according to a new report listing Colorado as the sixth …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021