The VPM Daily Newscast contains all your Central Virginia news in just 5 to 10 minutes. Episodes are recorded the night before.
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Here’s a recap of the top stories on the morning of Sept. 27, 2024:
Hanover County votes to deny 1,500-acre solar development
Reported by VPM News’ Lyndon German
Hanover supervisors unanimously struck down a proposal Wednesday to develop what would have been the largest solar farm in the county.
The project would have rezoned almost 1,500 acres of timber land in the Beaverdam District, adjacent to the North Anna River, for a solar farm that would produce up to 72 megawatts of electricity — enough to power over 20,000 homes for a year.
Hanover approved a proposal for a new data center campus in the district in March. Beaverdam resident Billie Raines said she’s against any more major developments that would disturb the county’s natural resources.
“I just hate to think that anything on the river would be threatened,” Raines said. “I’m just begging you: Please, please don’t do this to us. We really don’t want it.”
Sound of Richmond streaming service highlights local music
Reported by VCU Capital News Service
Shockoe Records hopes its local music streaming service will spotlight the region’s talent — and possibly garner money for the featured musicians.
Carlos Chafin, the label's managing partner, and folk band Høly River birthed the idea for the project. There are likely more than 500 Richmond bands that write and produce original music in every genre imaginable, he said.
But it can be difficult for these bands to grow their fanbase or get paid, even with the wide array of concert venues in the area.
A song posted to Spotify will not become eligible for royalties unless it reaches 1,000 streams within the first year, according to the streaming service.
In other news:
- Twenty Years of Folk: An expanded oral history of the Richmond Folk Festival on its anniversary (Style Weekly)
- U.S. Senators, Richmond housing expert discuss how to ease nation’s affordable housing crisis (Virginia Mercury)
In case you missed it:
- Harrisonburg City Council approves park plan for downtown (Daily News-Record)*
- Attorney General says new version of skill game still illegal (Richmond Times-Dispatch)*
- Overdose deaths are falling fast in Virginia (Axios Richmond)
*This outlet utilizes a paywall.
