VMI awards highest honor to leader who resigned and more Va. headlines

The state Capitol. (Ned Oliver/ Virginia Mercury)

• Virginia Military Institute is awarding its highest honor to Gen. J.H. Binford Peay III, the former leader who resigned in 2020 amid accusations the school had done little to address racism and sexism on campus.—Inside Higher Ed

• Former coal mining sites in Southwest Virginia would be turned into an “energy technology testbed” under an initiative Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Tuesday. “No other project like it exists in the United States,” the governor said.—Cardinal News

• Col. Steve Pike, who has led Virginia’s Capitol Police force for more than a decade, is retiring at the end of the year.—Richmond Times-Dispatch

• The U.S. Interior Department will require thousands of law enforcement officers under its purview to wear body cameras, a change that comes after U.S. Park Police faced scrutiny over the absence of cameras in the 2017 killing of an unarmed motorist in northern Virginia.—Associated Press

• Metro is cracking down on nonpaying riders after a pandemic-era rise in fare evasion.—Washington Post

• The Virginia Department of Corrections is trying out a “Cool Down” room program to de-escalate aggressive behavior.—Richmond Times-Dispatch

• State wildlife officials denied a request for a no-wakesurfing zone at Smith Mountain Lake.—Roanoke Times

• A Virginia man jailed for his alleged participation in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack asked to be moved to Guantanamo Bay.—Staunton News Leader

by Staff Report, Virginia Mercury

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