W-JCC schools to meet with local governments, hearing on 1,006 new homes in James City

Happy first day of December! We hope you and your loved ones had a happy Thanksgiving. For those busy with travel and family, we’re going to start with a look at top headlines from last week:

Government center injunction denied; electric bills going up

James City County government center OK to proceed.

A substitute judge denied a request by local taxpayers last week to halt preliminary work on the center until the broader question on how it is being funded could be resolved.

Substitute Judge Jan Brody set a Jan. 13 date in Williamsburg-James City County Circuit Court to hear arguments from the county that the statute of limitations on the central issue had expired.

At the center of the legal arguments is whether the bonds being used for the current work, issued by the James City County Economic Development Authority, are a long-term debt obligation of the county, which would then require a voter referendum under Virginia law.

Attorney Christopher Woodfin told the judge the EDA is not truly independent, and the use of the EDA money was an attempt to avoid issuing a general obligation bond.

County attorney Adam Kinsman responded that the EDA was established in full compliance wit…