VACo County Pulse Podcast
Guests share the legislative pulse of Virginia Counties with Host Dean Lynch.
Episodes
39 episodes
Energy Landscape of Virginia Episode 6 | Legislative Outlook Update - Proposals to Preempt County Authority on Siting of Solar Facilities
Joe Lerch and VACo Executive Director Dean Lynch provide an update on solar industry lobbying efforts to preempt local authority on siting of utility-scale facilities and what VACo and its members will be doing to ensure this does not happen.
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Season 4
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Episode 6
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25:23
Energy Landscape of Virginia | Episode 5 | Reclaiming the Landscape of Southwest Virginia for Energy | Part 2
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...
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43:29
Energy Landscape of Virginia | Episode 5 | Reclaiming the Landscape of Southwest Virginia for Energy | Part 1
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...
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Season 4
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Episode 5
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58:53
Energy Landscape of Virginia | DEQ Solar Permit-By-Rule Regulations – HB 206
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...
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Season 4
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Episode 4
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44:39
Data Centers and Utility-Scale Solar – Mecklenburg County | Part 2
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.
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34:30
Data Centers and Utility-Scale Solar - Mecklenburg County | Part 1
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...
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Season 4
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Episode 3
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34:27
Energy Landscape of Virginia | Utility-Scale Solar | Part 2
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...
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Season 4
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Episode 2
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44:20
Energy Landscape of Virginia | Utility-Scale Solar | Part 1
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...
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Season 4
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Episode 2
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21:03
Energy Landscape of Virginia | Data Centers | Part 3
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...
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Season 4
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Episode 1
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38:59
Energy Landscape of Virginia | Data Centers | Part 2
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...
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Season 4
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Episode 1
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17:44
Energy Landscape of Virginia | Data Centers | Part 1
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...
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Season 4
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Episode 1
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34:40
General Assembly Legislative Briefs | Episode 2 | Delegate Terry Kilgore
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...
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Season 3
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Episode 2
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22:17
General Assembly Legislative Briefs | Episode 1
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.
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Season 3
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Episode 1
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9:44
A First Look at the Introduced Budget
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
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Season 2
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Episode 19
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24:25
Funding the Chesapeake Bay Cleanup and an Update on Utility-Scale Solar
VACo staff Chris McDonald and Joe Lerch discuss recent announcements and developments in the arena of water quality and renewable energy.
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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29:26
Connecting the Commonwealth – Expanding Broadband Access in Virginia
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 ...
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40:54
The Future of Work
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...
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Season 2
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Episode 16
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28:02
K-12 Public Education | Small and Rural Schools
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...
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Season 2
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Episode 15
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21:12
Virginia’s Veterans – Innovative Partnerships to Serve Those Who Served Us
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 ...
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Season 2
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Episode 14
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26:52
Another Option
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...
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Season 2
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Episode 13
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31:45
A Breath of Fresh Air: Life in Rural Virginia
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 ...
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Season 2
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Episode 12
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18:47
A Conversation about Economic Trends with Jim Regimbal
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.
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Season 2
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Episode 11
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24:25
Commonwealth Conversations - Senator Emmett Hanger
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.
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Season 2
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Episode 10
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27:32
Communication and Community – A View from Stafford County on Best Budgeting Practices for K-12 Education
Meg Bohmke of the Stafford County Board of Supervisors and VACo Executive Committee and Superintendent of Stafford County Public Schools
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Season 2
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Episode 9
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42:15
An Ounce of Prevention - Making a Case for Proactive Land Use Planning
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...
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Season 2
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Episode 8
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21:41