If there’s a bustle in your hedgerow, don’t be alarmed now
It’s just a spring clean for the May Queen

— “Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin

The classic song demands some investigation. Just what is the May Queen throwing out? And why is it in the hedgerow? Is she doing this work herself or has she hired a cleaning service? And is that hedgerow in compliance with the property convenents anyway?

Inquiring minds want to know. Alas, we won’t get to the bottom of that today but I will use this opening day of May to clear out a few things from my own hedgerow.

Biden’s energy secretary backs the Mountain Valley Pipeline

One of the most curious political developments recently was the decision by U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to write a letter to federal regulators in favor of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, the natural gas pipeline from northwestern West Virginia to Chatham whose construction is held up by lots of legal complications.

On the one hand, Politico reports that “the whole Biden coalition is built around this commitment” on climate change. Yet here is the administration backing a project that critics consider “dirty energy.” What gives?

First, Biden has never been a purist on energy. When he was running in 2020, he was always mindful that he needed to carry Pennsylvania, where natural gas production is big.

As president, he has angered some on his left recently when he approved exports of liquefied natural gas from an Alaskan project. “Joe Biden’s climate presidency is flying off the rails,” claimed a spokesman for Friends of the Earth. Of course, Biden is also trying to play a complicated game of three-dimensional chess – and one level of that game is trying to increase American LNG exports to elbow out Russian exports and make it easier for countries to stop buying Russian gas while that country is making war on Ukraine.

The politics of Granholm’s support for MVP is probably much simpler than geopolitics. It’s about a more domestic brand of politics – helping out U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia. The most unreliable Democratic senator surprised many by voting for the so-called Inflation Reduction Act – also called the “climate bill” – last year. What he wanted in return was approval for the MVP and so far he hasn’t gotten it. He’s also wavering on, well, lots of things. Biden needs Manchin’s vote. He also needs Manchin, as problematic as he may be for Democrats, to get re-elected next year – and Manchin will face a strong challenge from West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice. Democrats may think Manchin isn’t much of a Democrat, but they’d sure rather have him as a senator from West Virginia than they would a Republican.

So Granholm’s letter can be read on two levels. One, the administration is trying to do a favor for Manchin. Two, it may be that the administration really does believe that the Mountain Valley Pipeline “will enhance the nation’s critical infrastructure for energy and national security.” That would not be out of line with Biden’s actions elsewhere. Politico has a good analysis of all this: “Why is Biden backing Manchin’s pet pipeline?”

It should also be noted that Granholm’s letter is mostly symbolic. Federal regulators have already approved the pipeline; it’s the courts that have held up the project. Granholm’s letter doesn’t do anything, but if sending this to regulators helps mollify Manchin for awhile, I’m sure the White House will think it’s worth it.

Speaking of Manchin, he cast the decisive vote in favor of that Inflation Reduction Act. Here’s how that’s worked out:

What kind of incentives would we have to pay for a big employer at the Southern Virginia Mega Site?

A few weeks ago, I wrote about how the Canadian province of Ontario had won out over Oklahoma for a Volkwagen electric vehicle battery plant. Oklahoma wasn’t very happy about that. While Virginia wasn’t in the running (at least that we know of), I pointed out that the lessons from that Ontario vs. Oklahoma competition that might apply here as we try to land a big employer for the Southern Virginia Mega Site in Pittsylvania. For instance, Volkswagen said one of the reason it picked the Canadian site was because Ontario has so much de-carbonized energy. VW also cited something that American conservatives have come to loathe – “high ESG standards,” the ESG standing for “environmental, social and corporate governance.” Some might say that Volkwagen picked Ontario for 2,500 manufacturing jobs because Canada is “woke.”

At the time, we didn’t know what kind of incentives Ontario had offered but I wrote that they weren’t likely the decisive factor. And they may not have been – although we now know that they were higher than Oklahoma. Oklahoma offered about $700 million in incentives. Ontario put up about $883 million (that was $1.2 billion in Canadian dollars), with most of that coming from the national government, not the provincial government. Virginia knows form its Amazon courtship that incentives aren’t the only thing that matters – other states offered far more than Virginia’s $750 million, but look who won.

That’s not the whole story, though. Canada has also announced that it’s paying $13.2 billion – that’s billion with a b – in subsidies to VW. That’s $13.2 billion in Canadian money, so a mere $9.71 million in our dough.

Canadian officials said they were forced to do this because of the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, aka “the climate bill,” that the U.S. Congress passed last year. That bill included $369 billion (in our money) of incentives for electric vehicles and other clean energy technologies. Reuters reports that the Canadian deal for VW “showcases how the U.S. green package . . . is putting pressure on other governments to ramp up financial incentives to lure investments.” Neither Europe nor Canada likes that bill for the same reason that American Democrats (and the bill passed on party-line votes) liked it: The law includes strong financial incentives for companies to locate in the United States. Prime Minister Trudeau referenced this in his announcement about the size of the Canadian subsidies: “Other parts of the world, including our neighbors to the south, were willing to put up an awful lot of money to get this project.”

Oklahoma’s governor lamented that his state had to compete with a whole country, but Canada lamented that it had to compete with a whole country, too – and a much bigger one. The lesson for us – other than to marvel at how U.S. law is forcing Canadian taxpayers to dig deeper – is about how intense the competition for electric vehicle battery plants is. As I’ve pointed out before, there are only so many of these plants that will be built. Set aside Canada’s subsidies to match the Inflation Reduction Act; just looking at the direct grants – Canada’s $883 million to Oklahoma’s $700 million – and we get new market information as to what the going rate is. For what it’s worth, these incentives for 3,500 jobs were lower than what Georgia offered in incentives for the 8,100-job Hyundai plant that passed over Pittsylvania County last year. Georgia put up $1.8 billion for that. Meanwhile that Ford battery plant that Gov. Glenn Youngkin nixed because of its partnership with a Chinese company? Michigan approved $630 million in incentives for that project. Wonder what Virginia would pay for a big employer at the Southern Virginia Mega Site?

Roanoke’s unique hockey culture

Everything is connected, even in a spring cleaning. We started with what Politico called “Manchin’s pet pipeline,” then looked at the a situation that involved how the climate bill he voted for was playing out in Canada, and now we’ll end with a local tie-in to the quintessential Canadian sport – hockey.

Tonight, Roanoke’s minor league hockey team, the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs, plays its first home game in a best three-of-five series for the championship of the Southern Professional Hockey League. (The series with the Birmingham Bulls is tied at one game apiece). I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that this team has been successful both on and off the ice – something previous minor league hockey teams in Roanoke haven’t been.

The Roanoke team had the third highest average attendance of any team in the 10-team league this year – averaging 4,449 fans per game.

I won’t dare offer a sports prediction for Roanoke’s series with Birmingham but I will point out that Roanoke has a bigger hockey fan base than the Bulls do, even though Birmingham’s metro area has four times as many people. Birmingham’s been averaging just 2,886 fans per game. It’s probably wrong to compare sports – apples and oranges, that sort of thing, but I will offer this comparison anyway. The Roanoke Valley’s minor league hockey team draws more fans than its minor league baseball team does (the Salem Red Sox last year averaged 2,719 fans per game).

The Roanoke Valley has had hockey off and on since the late 1960s – the Salem Rebels took the ice in 1967 – although there was a decade-long time-out before this current team arrived in 2016. It’s been by far the most stable hockey franchise the Roanoke Valley has seen. The persistence of hockey in the Roanoke Valley is one of those things that often mystifies – and fascinates – those who don’t know the region. Sometimes we in this part of the state moan about all the things we don’t have that the rest of Virginia does. Here’s an example of something we have that, say, Richmond doesn’t. So, yes, tonight much of Roanoke will celebrate the first days of May by watching a sport on ice.

The post Why Biden is backing the Mountain Valley Pipeline appeared first on Cardinal News.

Here’s a roundup of education briefs from around Southwest and Southside.

UVA Wise sees 204% increase in applicants

Nearly 3,300 students have applied to attend the University of Virginia’s College at Wise this fall, according to a release from the school. That’s the single largest number in nearly two decades and a 204 percent increase from last year.

A total of 1,920 Virginians applied from 122 of the Commonwealth’s 134 counties, the most ever from the Commonwealth to seek entrance to the College in Virginia’s far Southwest corner. 

Outside of Virginia, the most represented states are nearby North Carolina and Tennessee, which had 201 and 197 applicants respectively.

The Appalachian region has a big showing in the applicant pool. In 2018, the College announced a significantly reduced tuition rate for students living within the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) territory, which includes mountainous, rural counties ranging from New York to Mississippi.

This year, 533 students applied from ARC counties in North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Mississippi, West Virginia, South Carolina and Kentucky.

To date, 1,255 prospective students have been accepted, a 41 percent rise from last year’s class. Of those, 413 have confirmed enrollment, nearly a 77 percent spike from 2022. The average grade point average of students who have confirmed attending UVA Wise in the fall is 3.646 out of a 4.0 average. The average GPA of all students who were accepted is 3.531. 

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Retired engineer and alumna to speak at UVA Wise graduation

Judy Harding, a retired engineer and Clinch Valley College alumna, will deliver the commencement address to the University of Virginia’s College at Wise Class of 2023. The College’s commencement ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 13, in the David J. Prior Convocation Center. 

Harding earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from then-CVC. She then went on to receive her engineering degree from the University of Virginia. She began her career at Shell Oil in New Orleans, La.

In 1980, Harding moved to Calgary, Alberta, where she held various leadership roles as an engineer and manager, working for companies like Dome Petroleum and Talisman Energy Inc.

Before retiring, Harding became the president of Fortuna Energy Inc. and later vice president of Talisman Energy, Inc. 

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Rotary Club of Blacksburg awards scholarships

The Rotary Club of Blacksburg recently awarded six scholarships to Montgomery County High School seniors for excellence in their Math and Science studies, and in Career and Technical Education (CTE) studies. The scholarships are given annually to students who excel in their particular field of study, exhibit good personal character, and who lives the Rotary Motto of “Service above Self.” 

Students are recommended by their teachers and selected by a committee of Rotarians. Each student receives a $1,000 scholarship to the school of their choice and the Rotary Club will place a children’s book in the Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library in their honor. The students, their parents and teachers were treated to lunch at the Blacksburg Country Club and the students had the opportunity to tell club members about their plans for the future, while their teachers extolled their achievements as outstanding students at their respective schools.

Earning the CTE scholarships are Bryanna Egan, Alaina Partin and Eder Vasconcelos. 

Bryanna Egan is a graduating senior at Christiansburg High School and will study Nursing. After earning her LPN degree at NRCC, she intends to later pursue a RN degree.   

Alaina Partin is also a senior at Christiansburg High School and will study Nursing at NRCC. Continuing her education, she wants to complete master studies to become a Nurse Practitioner.

Eder Vasconcelos will be graduating from Eastern Montgomery High School, and plans to attend NRCC. Eder will utilize his CTE course work in robotics, materials science, and engineering design to pursue a career in welding.

The club also selected scholarship recipients for the Outstanding Math/Science Award. Earning that distinction is Carson Gilmore, Lilly Underwood and Evan Carson, who will all further their Math or Science education in the fall. 

Carson Gilmore is a senior at Blacksburg High School and will attend Rice University. His field of study will be Kinesiology, with plans to earn a Doctorate in Physical Therapy.

Lilly Underwood will be graduating from Eastern Montgomery High School.  Lilly is enrolled in the Virginia Tech’s engineering program. She will be majoring in Civil Engineering. 

Evan Cline is a senior at Christiansburg High School and the Southwest Virginia Governor’s School. Evan will attend Virginia Tech and pursue a double major in Mechanical Engineering and Mathematics. 

* * *

Virginia Tech names associate vice president for research computing

Dane Skow joined Virginia Tech on March 14 as the university’s new associate vice president for research computing. Skow succeeds Terry Herdman, who retired from Virginia Tech last year.

In this role, Skow will provide strategic leadership and vision, overseeing operations for high-performance and research computing infrastructure and services at Virginia Tech. He will also lead the Division of Information Technology’s Advanced Research Computing unit, which administers the university’s primary high-performance computing resources including large-scale data storage, visualization, and consulting services for the research community.

Skow brings with him over 20 years of experience in high-performance computing (HPC) in academic research settings, private industry consulting and operations, and at national laboratories including the U.S Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory and the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.

For the past 11 years, Skow has also run his own HPC consulting firm, Dane Skow Enterprises, helping clients in big data and analytics industries with HPC system design, operations, management, and collaboration. Skow led efforts at Herculesstichting, a foundation funded by the Flemish government to develop collaborative scientific infrastructure in the Dutch-speaking half of Belgium. In that role, Skow developed a strategic plan to support and expand HPC resources and held the inaugural Flemish HPC Users Day in 2014. 

* * *

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On Friday afternoon, the Charlottesville Emergency Food Network’s small distribution center was packed with dozens of food orders and families lined up out the door.

Volunteers say the demand for the small pantry’s services has nearly doubled since early March, after the federal government ended the emergency increases it had been giving to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly food stamp) recipients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re getting a lot more people,” said Dana Eastman, a volunteer food distributor. “We went from about 12 to 15 — we have 26 today.”

And the folks arriving appear ever more desperate, said Diane, another volunteer who did not give her last name. People have started showing up early for pickup, concerned that there will not be enough food — even though all customers register in advance and are guaranteed a bag with a three-day food supply.

Other area food pantries are experiencing a similar need.

It’s a sign, pantry workers say, that the emergency COVID-19 funding was addressing a need that has not gone away.

But the SNAP emergency allotments were only meant to be temporary. The increase was part of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020, which directed the U.S. Department of Agriculture to max out every SNAP receipt’s benefits “due to pandemic related economic conditions.”

During that time, businesses and schools were closing for the country-wide lockdown, causing many people to lose hours or jobs entirely.

That was certainly the case in central Virginia. Data from local SNAP offices show the number of people in Albemarle County receiving food assistance increased nearly 60% from pre-COVID February 2020 to February 2023. That’s 4,175 to 6,561 people. In Charlottesville, the number of recipients increased by about 30% during that same time period: 3,898 to 5,117.

The reasons people cited were pandemic-related job losses, reduced hours and illness. Basically more people applied due to lack of income, jobs, and/or illness, said Blair Smith, a training supervisor with the Charlottesville Department of Social Services, which distributes SNAP benefits to city residents.

While those issues are no longer as pressing, they’ve been replaced by stubbornly high inflation that brings with it higher food, housing and electricity costs.

“We needed the SNAP [emergency allotments] so badly,” said a woman waiting to pick up a three-day food supply for her family of five from the Emergency Food Network. “We are stretching our dollars for everything, not just food: rent, gas and all the other necessities. We wish [the government] can come up with something more for us. It is hard and we are struggling to make ends meet.”

The allotments also brought to light the number of people who do not qualify for enough food assistance under the normal guidelines to feed their families — and never did.

Loaves and Fishes, a large pantry near Albemarle High School, is seeing the return of people who have not visited during the last two years, said its executive director, Jane Colony Mills. She said it’s a sign that people receiving the COVID-19 allotments were able to purchase all the food they needed. And, without the allotments, they can’t.

The allotments did not affect every SNAP recipient the same. Because the program temporarily gave each recipient the maximum amount of money possible for their household size, the increases varied widely.

William Marshall, an Albemarle County resident, said his benefits dropped by about $25 per month when the allotments stopped. A Charlottesville woman waiting at the Emergency Food Network said her benefits dropped from $200 to $77. Another said her benefits went from $300 to $23.

“When I’ve asked people if they get SNAP, many times I’ve heard, ‘Yeah, $16 a month,’ which means they hardly feel it’s worth the effort to apply,” Colony Mills said.

Broadly, Colony Mills said she’s now seeing more families with small children. Smith, with the Charlottesville Department of Social Services, said households with elderly, blind and disabled recipients seemed to have larger increases in food assistance during the pandemic.

The woman whose benefits dropped to $77 is disabled and caring for another disabled adult and three children.

“I have nothing in my house right now,” she said, while waiting at the Emergency Food Network. “I am eating beans out of a can right now, trying to piece together a meal each evening using whatever we can find.”

It is impossible to predict whether the continually improving job market will enable families to become more food secure, but pantries like Loaves and Fishes and the Emergency Food Network are settling in for a long time with more people needing their help.

And they say they’re prepared to handle the new demand.

“We have a clear message: No one needs to go without food,” said Zachary Nissen, director of programs for the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, which provides food to the pantries. “We are well stocked and prepared to provide food to anyone who needs it.”

If you need emergency food, you can find operating food pantries in your area at this link.

Loaves and Fishes distributes food Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. Visit this link for more information about when and how to pick up food.

The Emergency Food Network distributes food by appointment Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Click here for more information.

Both pantries, and the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, accept donations on their websites.

Jessie Higgins contributed to this story.

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