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“BAE Systems cannot publicly release the documents because they contain proprietary information. However, the investigation concluded that while the exact cause of the accident cannot be determined, it likely resulted from a unique set of conditions, and in addition to other measures, processes were modified to prevent future occurrences.”
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The Radford Army Ammunition Plant was cited by federal safety regulators for numerous “serious” violations following a flash fire that left one worker dead and two seriously injured last year. The Roanoke Times requested the report from the U.S. Department of Labor following another fire at the arsenal on June 6. It occurred almost a year after the June 11, 2018, deadly accident, and less than an hour after Lt. Col. James Scott turned over command of the plant to Lt. Col. Anthony Kazor. BAE spokesperson Chris Finley wrote in an email last week that the company’s investigation team finished its report on the incident earlier this year but it has yet to be published and will not be available to the public when it is finalized. “BAE Systems cannot publicly release the documents because they contain proprietary information. However, the investigation concluded that while the exact cause of the accident cannot be determined, it likely resulted from a unique set of conditions, and in addition to other measures, processes were modified to prevent future occurrences,” he wrote. The Department of Labor has yet to respond to a Freedom of Information Act request verifying the arsenal’s account of its reaction to the OSHA report.
The Roanoke Times
Virginia has become the epicenter of the world’s data center business in large part because of a state tax break that appears in no danger of going away. How big is the industry in Virginia? Virginia is home to 159 data centers that have signed agreements with the state to use the exemption, which saved the industry $417.5 million in sales and use taxes from mid-2010 through mid-2017, according to estimates from the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission. A long-awaited study from the legislature’s watchdog agency offered mild recommendations Monday for tweaking the exemption that has saved nearly a half-billion dollars for data centers as a technology boom in Northern Virginia has spread to Richmond and other parts of the state. Among JLARC staff’s three recommendations to either refine or further study the data center exemption is to require more transparency in the tax benefits that data centers receive, the jobs they create and the capital investment they make. Moret supports greater transparency, although he urged JLARC to allow companies to report specific information to the state tax department confidentially, while grouping results regionally in any public disclosure to protect site and investment details.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
A Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request submitted by Mayor Patricia Dickinson has baffled other Berryville Town Council members. During last Tuesday’s council meeting, Dickinson said she submitted the request to Town Manager Keith Dalton to get as much information as possible about a plaque being developed to recognize community Veterans of the Year. Councilwoman Diane Harrison told Dickinson “it seemed kind of extreme” that a town official would submit a FOIA request instead of just asking Dalton or another administrator for the information, as is the usual practice. Dickinson said she submitted her request via her town email account on May 16 so her personal account would not be open to scrutiny under FOIA laws. She said she submitted it because she believed she would get “broader information” about the plaque’s status than if she had just asked for the details.
The Winchester Star
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