After learning about the opportunities for repurposing abandoned mine land for data centers in our 1st part with Will Clear and Will Payne, we visit with Mike Hatfield and Natalie Chapman from Wise County to expand on this conversation and take...

Listen in to Part 1 of a two-part episode recorded in Washington County, where we sit down with business partners Will Clear and Will Payne, who are investing in Southwest Virginia with a particular focus on reclaiming abandoned mine land to re...

Draft Revisions to DEQ Solar Permit-By-Rule (PBR) Regulations – HB 206This episode reviews regulations that amend the requirements for utility-scale solar installations to receive state permits to operate. Specifically, a 2022 law...

Part 2. Alex takes us on a windshield tour of examples of both land uses, and we discuss how Mecklenburg has responded in terms of planning for how these fit within their community.

Part 1. This 2-part episode was recorded on location in Mecklenburg County, which is located on the southern border with North Carolina. In Part 1, we sit down with County Administrator Alex Gottschalk to talk about the unique experience of a r...

Utility-Scale Solar – Erosion Control and Stormwater with Mike RolbandIn Part 2 of our episode on Utility-Scale Solar, Joe Lerch sits down with Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Director Mike Rolband to focus on issues r...

Utility-Scale Solar – Legislative Outlook with Dean LynchIn the first of a 2-part episode, Joe Lerch sits down with VACo Executive Director Dean Lynch to discuss the big picture on state energy policy related to solar and recent attempts...

Listen in as Joe Lerch interviews Loudoun County Vice Chair and VACo Board Member Juli Briskman. We learn how the industry has transformed their community, what steps they’ve taken in terms of planning for its growth and impacts, and what other...

Listen in as Joe Lerch takes a tour of the Equinix facility in Loudoun County. Before hitting the floor to see where all the processing and storage takes place, Chris Kimm with Equinix guides us through the various components of the power to ru...

Listen in as Joe Lerch interviews Chris Kimm, Senior Vice President of Global Customer Care and Experience at Equinix, an American multi-national corporation that builds and operates data centers. Learn about the data center business, and how t...

VACo Executive Director Dean Lynch welcomed Delegate Terry Kilgore to the County Pulse Podcast to talk about the 2020 General Assembly Session. The two Scott County natives discussed Equal Taxing Fairness, budget amendments, legislation submitt...

VACo Executive Director Dean Lynch and Lancaster County Supervisor Jason Bellows discuss the start of the 2020 General Assembly Session and issues of interest to Counties. 

VACo’s Katie Boyle talks with economist Jim Regimbal about key elements of the Governor’s proposed budget, which was presented on December 17.  VACo’s preliminary analysis of the budget is available at

VACo staff Chris McDonald and Joe Lerch discuss recent announcements and developments in the arena of water quality and renewable energy.

Access to affordable broadband is an essential component of modern life. The impacts of connecting individuals and communities to the internet range from increased economic development, improved student outcomes, and a more vibrant and engaged ...

VACo’s Angela Inglett speaks with Callan Dudley of Southern Landscape Group about the rising generation of workers. Callan shared how Southern Landscape Group is working with its local school system to inspire students with the employment possi...

In this episode, Superintendent Keith Perrigan of Bristol City Public Schools and President of the Small and Rural Schools Coalition and Jason Bellows, District 3 Supervisor for Lancaster County, member of the VACo Board of Directors and VACo R...

According to a to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Virginia’s veteran population exceeded 725,000 individuals distributed across every locality in the Commonwealth. This constitutes approximately 3.6% of the total veteran population in the ...

Frank Bossio (Former Culpeper County Administrator) and Sue Hansohn (Member of the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors) jump on the podcast to chat with Angela Inglett about workforce development and to explain why we should encourage young pe...

In this episode, we meet the recently appointed Chair of the VACo Rural Caucus: Grayson County Administrator Bill Shepley.  Bill talks to host Angela Inglett about his love for Rural Virginia, his vision for the Caucus, and his excitement ...

Katie Boyle talks with Jim Regimbal of Fiscal Analytics, Ltd., about key components of the budget adopted in 2019 and major economic factors shaping the next biennium budget.

VACo Executive Director Dean Lynch talks with Senate Finance Co-Chairman Emmett Hanger about key policy issues of interest to local governments, including transportation, broadband, and strengthening the state-local partnership.  

Meg Bohmke of the Stafford County Board of Supervisors and VACo Executive Committee and Superintendent of Stafford County Public Schools

Attorney Sharon Pandak of Greehan Taves & Pandak and CEO Darren Coffey of the Berkley Group join VACo's Joe Lerch to discuss the benefit of having a proactive land use plan. Counties routinely budget dollars for legal expenses but rarely fo...

Host Joe Lerch speaks with Gwen Kennedy, Loudoun County's Legislative Liaison, about what the Northern Virginia locality is doing to prepare for the 2020 Census approaches. This episode is sponsored by Enterprise Fleet Management - the No. 1 le...