Local government

The Hampton Roads Planning District Commission board approved “resilient design standards” advising local governments to factor in increases in rainfall and sea level.

The project, called an “environmental justice incubator,” is working with historically Black communities on Norfolk’s Southside.

Previous attempts to regulate data centers at the General Assembly have failed. But lawmakers are now armed with a recent report that laid out growing challenges.

The study proposes increased housing density, new development and pedestrian connectivity

The grand jury calls for property forfeiture or an undetermined monetary judgement as Chesapeake Regional Medical Center is in the middle of several improvement and expansion efforts.

The project has been on the books for more than a decade, but the city’s new sense of urgency to move forward stems from a legal dilemma over wetlands mitigation credits.

”Just like the men and women at lunch counters all around the South, these three ladies made a profound statement with a simple act of sitting down to eat,” said Hampton’s Mayor Jimmy Gray.

Chesapeake history, Suffolk’s growth and a Newport News business owner crafting state rules: Hampton Roads through the news in the past year.

Virginia Beach plans to convert about eight acres back into tidal wetlands to earn mitigation credits. The city says without those, they can’t move forward with other projects like those under the Flood Protection Program.

The plan has been the topic of public contention. One civic league leader plans to get the attorney general involved.