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 March 4, 2025:
Virginia Democrats pass proposal to incentivize small solar projects
Reported by VPM News’ Patrick Larsen
Though a proposal intended to increase the commonwealth’s buildout of utility-scale solar farms failed this year, another that could incentivize smaller projects fared better.
The bill, sponsored by Del. Katrina Callsen (D–Charlottesville) and state Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg (D–Henrico), avoided much of the controversy around the other proposal by alleviating some of the need for rural land, according to the patrons.
It would accomplish that by instead increasing buildout of smaller, or distributed, solar resources. Think rooftops or land belonging to homeowners, schools, hospitals and more.
“This gets more solar to the places that everyone agrees that it should go,” Callsen said in a committee hearing on the bill.
DPU chief presents water crisis draft report to Richmond councilors
Reported by VPM News’ Dean Mirshahi
Anthony “Scott” Morris, head of the city’s Department of Public Utilities, shared findings from an “after-action report” detailing January’s water crisis with a City Council committee on Monday.
Morris and a representative from HNTB — the engineering firm commissioned to conduct the investigation — answered questions from councilors about the review’s scope, past budget decisions and potential costs to help address ongoing issues.
During the meeting, councilor Kenya Gibson said the public is “hungry” for details on the systemic issues within DPU and that the after-action review might not give them the “full picture.”
News you might have missed from around the commonwealth
- All 3 Richmond-area hospital systems plan to expand (Richmond Times-Dispatch)*
- Patawomeck Tribe reclaims ancestral land (Bay Journal)
- Proposed new zoning districts unveiled at ‘Code Refresh’ open houses (The Richmonder)
- One year in, Henrico CARES has provided students more than 400 mental healthcare appointments (Henrico Citizen)
*This outlet utilizes a paywall.
