States

Virginia Supreme Court Rules Against Sentara in Chesapeake Case
2022-05-20
The state health commissioner’s office, which backed claims by hospital conglomerate Sentara against Chesapeake Regional Medical Center (CRMC), erred in rejecting Chesapeake’s attempts to start an open-heart surgery center, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled Thursday. The court’s unanimous opinion said the health commissioner at the time, Dr. Marissa Levine, erred in two ways according to… Read more »
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In Riverside’s Hospital Win, A Setback for Sentara?
2022-03-31
Sentara Healthcare has been dealt a reversal in its efforts to limit a rival’s expansion in Virginia’s Hampton Roads area. The state health commissioner overturned a staff decision and ruled in favor of Riverside Hospital’s application to build a 50-bed hospital in Smithfield. Sentara, the $7 billion health care conglomerate had opposed Riverside’s plan, claiming… Read more »
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Wind Opponent’s Claims of Economic Ruin Upended by Facts
2022-03-23
During a rally last month in Montcalm County, Mich., Dave Stevens told protesters that the last four years of his life have been “the worst of my life” since the approval of a wind project near his home of Mt. Haley Township in Midland County. “It’s only going to get worse,” Stevens told the crowd… Read more »
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Opponents of Wind Energy in Montcalm County Stage Rally
2022-02-18
With a band, local comedian, prepared signs and two candidates for governor as speakers, opponents of wind energy in Montcalm County, Mich. held a Feb. 5 rally against attempts to build a wind farm in their community. The rally was conducted at the Wildflower Schoolhouse in Trufant, Mich. and was sponsored by Montcalm County Citizens… Read more »
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Checks and Balances Files FOIA Requests In Five Jurisdictions to Track How Disinformation Became Anti-Wind Policy
2022-02-2
Checks and Balances Project (C&BP) has filed requests under Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act seeking details of how five Michigan townships developed  their anti-wind zoning ordinances. Many cite scientific research that actually undercuts the ordinances’ claims wind turbines make people sick. The FOIA requests with Casnovia, Ellington, Monitor, Pierson and Vassar townships were filed last week as… Read more »
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Misleading Ordinance Language Dates Back to 2014, Documents Show
2022-01-20
Readers might remember that we’ve been probing what happens when a rural community decides to host or reject proposed wind farms. In the course of that work, we’ve uncovered tactics and arguments that have been pushed from one community to another, leaving behind a legacy of strained neighbor relations and hard feelings, regardless of the… Read more »
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False Claims About Infrasound Sound Dominate Wind Debates
2022-01-13
Opponents of wind energy falsely claim that a type of low-frequency sound called “infrasound” harms human health. Yet, no scientific consensus exists that it does so. Misinformation about infrasound is so pervasive that it routinely appears in debates, official correspondence and ordinances in rural Michigan townships related to wind projects. Ordinances in several Michigan townships… Read more »
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