Wednesday, October 9, 2024

Good morning! On this day in 1864, two Confederate divisions were outflanked and forced to retreat at the battle of Tom's Brook in the Shenandoah River valley.

Thank you for reading The Virginia Flyover, where we cover the Commonwealth from the Blue Ridge to the blue crab. If you see something we should be writing about, please hit reply and let us know.

We're flying today with our sponsors GoDonut, the only device stand you’ll ever need.

Blue Crab Harvest Cancelled

Virginia will maintain a ban this year on winter dredging for blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay. The goal is to rebuild the crab population by allowing female blue crabs to overwinter undisturbed.

Commonwealth lawmakers also set aside $207 million in their current two-year budget to invest in reducing farm-based pollution, a significant contributor to water quality problems in the Bay.

The Chesapeake Executive Council will vote in December on whether to adopt an updated draft program aimed at improving water quality and aquatic life in the Bay after the current plan expires in 2025. The Council includes Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, as well as leaders from Pennsylvania, Maryland, D.C., and elsewhere.

Scientists grade the health of the Bay as a C-plus, a low score but the highest mark since 2002 and a sign that the watershed's health is on the upswing.

Smithfield Ham Now a Museum Piece

Smithfield Foods is no longer making its signature brand of Virginia ham and has donated the last such slab of meat it produced to the Isle of Wight museum.

The final Genuine Smithfield Ham, which is still dripping, will be displayed in racks alongside the oldest known ham (more than 122 years old) and the largest known ham (65 pounds).

A Smithfield spokesman said the company will keep producing plenty of ham, just not the famous type that (according to state law) must cure for several months in salt.

The museum is not the only place where the final Smithfield Ham is preserved: students at VCU digitally scanned the museum's collection to make it available online.

VA's Safest and Most Dangerous Cities

A survey ranks Virginia Beach as one of the country's ten safest places to live, in part because it boasts the fewest assaults per capita. Chesapeake (13), Newport News (87), and Norfolk (98) also made the top 100 on the safest list.

Those cities also have safer-than-average roads, as each location scored below the national average in road fatalities per 10,000 residents. Drivers are less safe in the state capital, where Richmond drivers suffer 1.4 fatalities per driver, higher than the national average.

There are plenty of near-misses on Commonwealth roads as well.

Northern Virginia Families for Safe Streets reported 151 close calls in the last two years, including "a lot of incidents where drivers are not slowing down or not giving the pedestrians or the cyclists that benefit of right of way,” the organization's founder said.

No matter where you live, please be careful out there.

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➤ Vienna is the wealthiest city in the Commonwealth, according to a survey, with a median household income of $215,556, more than double the nationwide median income. (Details)

➤ Leesburg: Volunteer pilots plan to make as many as 50 flights to deliver donated supplies to Hurricane Helene victims in North Carolina. (Details)

➤ Richmond: The city unveiled RVA Stay, three programs aimed at providing targeted tax relief to homeowners and renters. (Details)

➤ Albemarle County: A federal grant will allow the county to hire and train seven full-time firefighters. (More)

➤ South Boston: The town unveiled a statue of Henrietta Lacks, the cancer patient whose cells have helped researchers battle polio, AIDS, cancer, COVID-19, and HPV. (Details)

➤ Hampton Roads: Anti-violence organizations hosted two vigils to mark Domestic Violence Awareness Month. (More)

➤ The Washington Wizards opened the NBA preseason with a loss against the Raptors in the annual Canada Series. (Details)

➤ Two Olympic swimmers spoke with future stars at an indoor pool facility in Henrico County. (More)

➤ The 2024 ACC Tipoff runs through October 10 in Charlotte. (Details)

➤ Yesterday's Results: MLB | NBA | NHL | WNBA

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➤ Reston-based CACI International is buying cloud, data, and cybersecurity company Applied Insight, its second purchase in a month. (Details)

➤ Three Virginia CEOs made the Forbes list of the 100 Most Powerful Women in Business. (Details)

➤ Canon Virginia, Inc. will expand its manufacturing facility in Newport News. (More)

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➤ A Virginia jeweler wants to know whether Taylor Swift is wearing a necklace she designed. (Details)

➤ UVA’s Blandy Experimental Farm in Clarke County is hosting Junior Naturalist programs on the third Wednesday of every month through December. (Learn More)

➤ A volunteer firefighter in Goochland County is restoring a century-old firetruck, piece by piece. (See the truck)

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