Tad Dickens

‘You could never count’ the amount of digital information stored in data centers The cloud isn’t really a cloud. It’s servers inside data centers, many of them in Virginia. And all of our cat videos and medical records and purchasing data take up billions of bytes o…

‘You could never count’ the amount of digital information stored in data centers cardinalnews.org/2025/08/22/y...

What is 'Google Zero' and what could it mean for the web? Online publishing depends on web traffic. With the rise of Google AI Overview and other AI-powered tools, fewer and fewer are clicking links. This is all leading to what some are calling Google Zero, ...

Just in case y'all didn't know, google ai summaries are mostly bullshit. That's my frequen personal experience, anyway. If you prefer to be misinformed, don't click through to actual news. www.npr.org/2025/07/31/n...

Effort to bring high-speed internet to rural America has a new wrinkle: a push toward Starlink The Trump administration has changed broadband expansion rules to shift away from fiber-optic cable and toward low Earth orbit satellite systems such as Elon Musk’s Starlink. The two technologies h…

Effort to bring high-speed internet to rural America has a new wrinkle: a push toward Starlink cardinalnews.org/2025/07/22/e...

Alpha-gal syndrome is gaining recognition in Virginia. For those who have the tick-borne illness, it’s long overdue. Virginia will begin tracking alpha-gal syndrome, a tick-borne illness that causes red meat allergies, after anecdotal reports suggest cases are on the rise.

Ticks, man! I've never seen as many as this spring in Rocky Mount. It's crazy. Be careful, and read this really good article. cardinalnews.org/2025/06/13/a...

Grants funded by your car insurance pay for surveillance tech in Virginia A fund created in the 1990s to reward car theft tips now provides over $1 million a year for surveillance tech for police.

Grants funded by your car insurance pay for surveillance tech in Virginia cardinalnews.org/2025/06/03/g...

Makes me wonder if FedEx would have soured on "Redskins" if the team had been good.

Virginia Supreme Court, examining new law, rules in railroad's favor against internet provider The court found in favor of Norfolk Southern against Cox Communications, saying that a recent state law meant to streamline broadband expansion unconstitutionally allows privately owned cable provider...

Interesting little constitutional issue here, centering on eminent domain. cardinalnews.org/2025/05/23/v...

4 things Virginians need to know about the Medicaid decisions the U.S. House just made Statewide, about 480,000 people could be affected by the new work requirements and 147,000 could be affected by new copays for certain services, according to one estimate.

4 things Virginians need to know about the Medicaid decisions the U.S. House just made cardinalnews.org/2025/05/15/e...

Damascus, hit hard by Helene, is now ready to welcome hikers again The Washington County town annually holds its "Trail Days" celebration for hikers on the Appalachian Trail. Despite last fall's flood, some think this year's festival might be the biggest yet.

It's not all bad news all the time ... cardinalnews.org/2025/05/15/d...

Virginia Tech researchers look to tackle clean hydrogen production Drawing hydrogen from methane emits carbon dioxide pollution. A project funded by the Appalachian Regional Commission aims to turn the carbon into a usable solid.

A future with hydrogen fuel is tantalizing. Now, how to make it happen without polluting ... cardinalnews.org/2025/05/14/v...

Pulaski company's $1.3 million poultry poop proposition MOVA Technologies, based in Pulaski, Virginia, is one of nine companies in the commonwealth working to keep pollutants out of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. MOVA could earn as much as $1.3 million from...

Wish I could take credit for this headline. My boss, Jeff Schwaner, is a gem for it. cardinalnews.org/2025/05/14/p...

Science funding cuts would come at 'devastating cost' to Virginia economy These funds are critical not only for funding research at institutions of higher education but also for driving economic development, shoring up the STEM workforce and ensuring national security by en...

Had the pleasure of getting to know Ryan King in the course of recent reporting. He wrote this op-ed for Cardinal. cardinalnews.org/2025/05/09/s...

Carilion receives state approval for a kidney transplant program in Roanoke The health system will now need to apply to the United Network for Organ Sharing, or UNOS. It expects to start transplant surgeries in 2026.

Carilion receives state approval for a kidney transplant program in Roanoke cardinalnews.org/2025/05/09/c...

Luna Innovations, former executives agree to $7.3 million settlement with shareholders A lawsuit filed in April 2024 claimed that the Roanoke-based company and its executives inflated share prices, which fell precipitously after Luna announced that those statements were unreliable.

Luna Innovations, former executives agree to $7.3 million settlement with shareholders cardinalnews.org/2025/05/07/l...

‘If it’s something we can stop, we need to stop it': State investigates potential cancer cluster in Scott County amid cases of pediatric cancer The LENOWISCO Health District is asking parents of children diagnosed with cancer in the last 10 years to fill out a survey and schedule an interview, as the state begins gathering data to determine i...

‘If it’s something we can stop, we need to stop it': State investigates potential cancer cluster in Scott County amid cases of pediatric cancer cardinalnews.org/2025/05/06/i...

EPA cancels $20 million grant for Southwest Virginia projects The grant was slated to pay for energy-efficient housing, child-care center improvements and identifying safe locations for when natural disasters strike, among other projects.

EPA cancels $20 million grant for Southwest Virginia projects cardinalnews.org/2025/05/05/e...

Early voting in the primaries starts today. Here are 10 things to know. Our updated Voter Guide is now live. We sent questionnaires to candidates and have published their responses.

Includes link to the Cardinal voter guide ... cardinalnews.org/2025/05/02/e...

Wise County native is leading an old-school internet company into a new era Onetime dial-up behemoth EarthLink has reemerged in the 21st century under the leadership of Glenn Goad. The Atlanta-based company has opened a call center in Norton, for marketing and customer servic...

Wise County native is leading an old-school internet company into a new era cardinalnews.org/2025/04/30/w...

Volvo layoffs to affect up to 350 at New River Valley plant " data-medium-file="https://cardinalnews.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/NRV-Site-Aerial-300x169.jpg" data-large-file="https://cardinalnews.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/NRV-Site-Aerial-1024x576.jpg" /> Volvo currently employees about 3,400 people making heavy-duty trucks at the Pulaski County location. The post Volvo layoffs to affect up to 350 at New River Valley plant appeared first on Cardinal News.

Volvo layoffs to affect up to 350 at New River Valley plant

City, restaurant owners clash over proposed meals tax increase The meals tax would be 7% with the proposed change, which is expected to bring in an extra $6 million in revenue to address some of the city’s most pressing needs, City Manager Valmarie Turner said.

Hot topic in Roanoke these days. cardinalnews.org/2025/04/21/c...

Senator, biotech leaders gather in Roanoke to brainstorm in face of government cuts Sen. Mark Warner floated the idea of rebates to taxpayers on profits that come from university research.

Senator, biotech leaders gather in Roanoke to brainstorm in face of government cuts cardinalnews.org/2025/04/18/s...

Mount Rogers Health District lays off 13 employees amid COVID grant cuts; overall impact to Southwest Virginia remains unclear The laid-off Mount Rogers staff provided vaccination education and supported outreach clinics to help rural residents access flu, COVID and school required immunizations.

Mount Rogers Health District lays off 13 employees amid COVID grant cuts; overall impact to Southwest Virginia remains unclear cardinalnews.org/2025/04/18/m...

Roanoke's RAMP introduces new tech startup cohort Six startups introduced their tech products last week, while businesses who have been through the program explain how it helped them.

Roanoke's RAMP introduces new tech startup cohort cardinalnews.org/2025/04/16/r...

New FEMA review process muddies the timeline for disbursement of Helene recovery funds A memo sent by the Virginia Department of Emergency Management to localities affected by Hurricane Helene outlined a lack of communication from the federal agency to the state.

>The town of Damascus, which was hit particularly hard by Helene-related flooding, did not receive the memo until Monday, when it was provided to town officials by Cardinal News for review. cardinalnews.org/2025/04/16/n...

Food banks brace for continued USDA funding cuts Feeding America Southwest Virginia, which works with more than 300 local programs, relies on the USDA for almost a third of its food.

Food banks brace for continued USDA funding cuts cardinalnews.org/2025/04/11/f...

Energy demand will outstrip supply in Virginia as data centers proliferate Data center-driven demand is expected to double in a decade and continue rising. Experts are raising the alarm.

Rolling blackouts in your future due to data centers? Could be. cardinalnews.org/2025/04/11/e...

New Music + Technology Festival bringing programming to Taubman Museum of Art; more ... UVA Wise to host Southwest Virginia Economic Forum. Blacksburg nonprofit hopes to provide prosthetics for amputees in Ukraine. Virginia Humanities announces grants, sponsorships.

The rare occasion for me to write a little about music. cardinalnews.org/2025/04/01/n...

Dozens of community projects halted after federal funding was omitted from Congressional stop-gap spending bill Congress passed a continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown in mid-March, amid a partisan fight over federal spending. That continuing resolution left out tens of millions of dollars in fun...

Dozens of community projects halted after federal funding was omitted from Congressional stop-gap spending bill cardinalnews.org/2025/04/01/d...

I can’t believe this has to be said, but: You cannot tell the story of Jackie Robinson—as a ballplayer, serviceman, or human—without discussing our country’s history of racism.

From Around the Horn: