Across Virginia
According to the latest numbers released this morning by The Virginia Department of Health there are 55 new confirmed or probable coronavirus cases ,and 1new hospitalization being attributed to the Roanoke Valley. State health officials are reporting 42 new cases in Roanoke City, 10 new cases and one new hospitalization in Roanoke County, 2 new cases in Salem, and 1 new case in Botetourt County.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The executive director of a Virginia economic development commission bent rules to forgive a six-figure grant to a politically connected developer whose planned biofuel project didn’t pan out, documents obtained by The Associated Press show.
The Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission’s Evan Feinman did not recoup $210,000 Chuck Lessin owed the state, according to a report from the Office of the State Inspector General. Feinman instead allowed Lessin’s unrelated work as a member of the Virginia Israel Advisory Board, which also promotes economic development, to count toward the money he owed when his Appalachian Biofuels project fell through.
In an interview, Feinman defended the decision, saying Lessin took an “adversarial approach” to repayment and, ultimately, beleaguered Russell County where the project was supposed to locate would have been on the hook or facing litigation if the grant wasn’t forgiven.
Lessin, who runs a bingo hall in suburban Richmond and is a Republican political donor, did not respond to requests for comment.
The episode is the latest in a series of questionable business deals made by the commission created more than two decades ago to spend Virginia’s portion of the national tobacco settlement. Infrequent state reviews have found persistent problems with how money is spent and tracked. And AP’s review of the program that funded Lessin’s venture found tangled repayment situations have played out time and again across the poorest parts of the state.
The commission gives performance-based grant or loan money to local governments through the Tobacco Region Opportunity Fund. The money then flows to developers at the beginning of a project. But if the project doesn’t meet its promised goals, localities can be left holding the bag if the private companies don’t repay them.
Since the inception of the program, the commission has sought to recoup about $22.9 million through the places it’s meant to help, with about $1.6 million currently outstanding from 14 localities, records provided to AP in September show. The commission does not track how much of that money was effectively repaid by the developers or the locality, likely with taxpayer money.
Multiple state audits have found the commission’s efforts to recover opportunity fund money have been inconsistent. An investigation published earlier this month by the legislature’s watchdog agency also found the program has not met job creation and capital investment goals, and “a high percentage of projects did not materialize.”
Examples from across Virginia show the difficulty localities can face when a project falls through or fails to meet required goals.
In 2014, Danville had to sue two companies and their executives in an effort to recoup two grants. The city has been subject to clawbacks of nearly $7 million from 14 projects, according to records provided to AP.
In Martinsville, one clawback triggered a complicated fight after a medical school venture fell apart. In 2017, the commission ordered that the grant be repaid. When the developer said he didn’t have the money, it became the city’s problem, the Martinsville Bulletin reported.
The city conducted an investigation into the project and how the money was spent, and then asked authorities to consider legal charges.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Andrew Hall, who reviewed the city’s files, said he found no evidence of criminal intent. But he said it was clear the project was a stretch.
“I don’t see how this was ever going to work,” he said.
Martinsville still owes $312,000, according to commission records.
Tracy Gee, the administrator of rural Lunenburg County, said the board of supervisors had “learned some lessons” after having to repay at least one grant in the past and now requires strict performance agreements with developers.
The program’s money is often doled after discussion that takes place out of public view — as was recently the case with a $4 million grant and $4 million loan approved for a code-named Project Red in Pittsylvania County — and AP’s reporting also raised questions about the commission’s bookkeeping.
Documents initially showed that the biggest single outstanding recall was $1.4 million for a call center in Wise County. When AP asked for details, the commission backtracked, saying the project had met its goals and no repayment was due after all. The commission also lists $341,000 due from the Grayson County Economic Development Authority for two projects approved in 2015, but Deputy County Administrator Mitch Smith said he’s never heard from the commission about it.
In the case of Lessin’s project, documents show the commission was notified in 2016 that the project wasn’t advancing, but negotiations over repayment dragged on for years.
Appalachian Biofuels spent $210,000 on project-related costs but stopped using the grant money after a drop in oil prices, according to commission documents and the watchdog report. The company provided a list of expenses to the tobacco commission that show significant spending on travel or lack much detail.
The inspector general’s report said there were valid business reasons for not taking legal action to pursue repayment from Lessin. But it said Feinman’s compromise agreement lacked the required approvals.
Previous activities of the commission, which has doled out more than $1 billion on a wide range of projects since its inception, have attracted law enforcement attention, including the arrest of a former commissioner who stole millions. At least one grantee is currently under criminal investigation, according to the inspector general’s office.
Democrats, in charge of the legislature this year for the first time in a generation, recently replaced many longtime Republican commission members and have pledged to institute changes in how it operates. One proposal: more loans instead of grants.
The Virginia Commonwealth Games announced the 2020 Athletes of the Year and this time it all had to go a little differently. WFIR’s Rob Ruthenberg has more.According to the latest numbers released this morning by The Virginia Department of Health there are 57 new confirmed or probable coronavirus cases ,and 5 new hospitalizations being attributed to the Roanoke Valley. State health officials are reporting 29 new cases, 3 new hospitalizations in Roanoke City, 21 new cases and 2 new hospitalizations in Roanoke County, 5 new cases in Salem, and 2 new cases in Botetourt County.
According to the latest numbers released this morning by The Virginia Department of Health there are 119 new confirmed or probable coronavirus cases ,2 new hospitalizations and 4 new deaths being attributed to the Roanoke Valley. State health officials are reporting 56 new cases, 2 new hospitalizations and 3 new deaths in Roanoke City, 42 new cases in Roanoke County, 18 new cases in Salem, and 3 new cases and 1 new death in Botetourt County.
MGN
We are getting closer to peak fall foliage season, albeit a few weekends away from the best of it, and a Virginia Tech expert expects this year’s colors to be especially vibrant. Professor John Seiler is a tree physiology expert, and he says it is not so much if weather is dry over the course of an annual leaf cycle but when, and this year, with adequate summer rainfall and plenty of sunny and mild September and October days, the foliage outlook is especially promising. As for the best leaf viewing, Seiler believes the last two weekends of this month are the ones to plan on. WFIR’s Evan Jones has more:
The time is nearing when police will be able to enforce a new Virginia law banning use of hand-held cellphones while driving, but AAA says we shouldn’t let our guard down either when using hands-free devices. WFIR’s Evan Jones has more:
A law that went into effect July 1st outlaws hand-held cellphone use while driving, but it does not authorize police enforcement until January 1st.
According to the latest numbers released this morning by The Virginia Department of Health there are 72 new confirmed or probable coronavirus cases and 5 new hospitalizations being attributed to the Roanoke Valley. State health officials are reporting 25 new cases and 2 new hospitalizations in Roanoke City, 31 new cases and 2 new hospitalizations in Roanoke County, 11 new cases and one new hospitalization in Salem, 5 new cases in Botetourt County.
According to the latest numbers released this morning by The Virginia Department of Health there are 39 new confirmed or probable coronavirus cases and one new hospitalization being attributed to the Roanoke Valley. State health officials are reporting 27 new cases in Roanoke City, 5 new cases and one new hospitalization in Roanoke County, and 7 new cases in Salem. Numbers in Botetourt County remain the same.
NEWS RELEASE: RICHMOND, VA – This morning, the Department of Elections was made aware that six outdoor mail collection boxes were broken into sometime between Saturday afternoon and this morning. At this time, the United States Postal Service is investigating. Neither the Department nor USPS has any information about whether any election mail was contained in the boxes.
Anyone who dropped mail in the boxes at the post offices between 3 p.m. Saturday and 7 a.m. this morning should contact a USPS hotline at 877-876-2455 to report it. Voters can track their ballot online to see if it has been received by going to “check my registration” at elections.virginia.gov/voterinformation. If a voter needs a new ballot issued, they should contact their local general registrar’s office at elections.virginia.gov/localGR. The following post offices were affected [all are in the Richmond area]:
Henrico:
- 4990 Sadler Place
- 2000 Starling Drive
- 2100 E. Parham Road
Chesterfield:
- 7510 Lady Blair Lane
- 1201 Sycamore Square Drive
Richmond:
- 805 Glenburnie Road