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Skill games firm to cover legal costs of stores that keep its new machines
Skill games operator Pace-O-Matic says it will cover the legal costs and any penalties that store owners might face if they keep the company’s new machines after Attorney General Jason Miyares said they are illegal. The company said its indemnification promise only applies to the new Queen of Virginia games that do not require players to insert money. Pace-O-Matic says the new Queen of Virginia devices are not illegal, since state law banning skill games includes in its description language that illegal devices require inserting a coin, currency, ticket, token or similar object ...
SCC Plans Large-Scale Electric Customer Conference
The State Corporation Commission has announced plans to hold a technical conference to explore the effects large-use retail electric customers in Virginia on the state’s utilities, ratepayers and power grid. The conference will consider current and future challenges by the growth of hyperscale users. “Large power users such as data centers could bring an ‘unprecedented’ amount of new load for electric utilities, creating complications and risks the utilities have not previously encountered,” according to the announcement.
Virginia rural newspapers are still fighting to stay alive
Since Oct. 20, 1877, The Recorder has not missed one single issue. Anne Adams is publisher of the Monterey-based weekly newspaper — which covers the neighboring counties of Bath, Highland and Alleghany — and she’s fighting to keep that streak alive. It’s no small feat. Since 2005, 1 in 4 newspapers has closed its doors. As a result, 70 million Americans live in a news desert, meaning 20% of the American population has no newsgathering agency covering their localities.
Roanoke County man sentenced to prison for his role in attack on U.S. Capitol
An Elliston man described by prosecutors as a central player in the chaos at the U.S. Capitol was sentenced Wednesday to three years and four months in prison. Jeremy Daniel Groseclose, 41, was convicted last year of civil disorder, a felony, and two misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct and illegally demonstrating at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Lynchburg candidate who lost Ward IV primary to run write-in campaign
A Lynchburg City Council candidate who lost the Republican primary for Ward IV plans to run as a write-in candidate for the ward. Peter Alexander announced at a meeting of the Lynchburg Republican City Committee on Tuesday night he is relinquishing his Republican Party membership and running a write-in campaign against the Republican nominee, incumbent Ward IV Councilman Chris Faraldi, and April Watson, the Democratic nominee for the ward.
CSX: Richmond must make safety fixes, accept liability to keep Pipeline Trail open
CSX railway has told the city of Richmond that in order to consider further recreational use of the Pipeline Trail, the city must make safety upgrades and accept all liability for its use. In a Sept. 19 letter to Richmond’s Department of Public Utilities and Department of Parks and Recreation, CSX Director of State Relations for Virginia Randy Marcus wrote that the railway’s initial agreement with the city for the walkway “was for installation and maintenance of the pipeline and did not authorize recreational or other access or use of our property.”
Dockworkers’ union suspends strike until Jan. 15 to allow time to negotiate new contract
Some 45,000 dockworkers at East and Gulf coast ports are returning to work after their union reached a deal to suspend a strike that could have caused shortages and higher prices if it had dragged on. The International Longshoremen’s Association is suspending its three-day strike until Jan. 15 to provide time to negotiate a new contract. The union and the U.S. Maritime Alliance, which represents ports and shipping companies, said in a joint statement that they have reached a tentative agreement on wages. A person briefed on the agreement said the ports sweetened their wage offer from about 50% over six years to 62%.
Former Virginia hospital worker acquitted in death of Otieno
A jury found former Central State Hospital employee Wavie Jones not guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Irvo Otieno. Otieno died on March 6, 2023 at a public psychiatric facility, Central State Hospital, while surrounded by Henrico County sheriff’s deputies and hospital staff. Otieno had been transported to the hospital by deputies while suffering a mental health crisis. Surveillance video showed hospital staff and deputies restraining Otieno on the floor of a hospital admission room for more than 10 minutes.
Coastal ports to reopen as dockworkers’ strike suspended
Ports along the East and Gulf coasts are set to reopen Friday after it appears the striking dockworkers’ union has worked out a tentative deal with port owners and carriers. Port employees represented by the International Longshoremen’s Association will return to work under a 15-week extension of its most recent contract, which expired October 1st. That will give the union time to hash out the details of a new contract. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday night the updated contract will include a 62% raise for workers over 6 years.
Friday Read The real story behind a 1974 National Mall photo remained a mystery—until now
The table was set. The pastries arranged. A white tablecloth dangled placidly in the early morning mist, surrounded by 12 golden-hued high-backed chairs. Five decades ago, a dozen friends gathered here, on the National Mall, for breakfast. They wore morning coats and floor-length dresses, dined on oysters, drank champagne and danced together as a string quartet played in the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial. The extravagant scene on July 19, 1974, drew in a Washington Post photographer, who captured the moment in an image that would ricochet around the country in newspaper reprints.