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Vol. 37, No. 17 | Richmond Suburban News | August 4, 2021
New partnership aims at comprehensive County monitoring rise in COVID cases internet access for Hanover County By Jim Ridolphi for The Mechanicsville Local
H
anover County Ad m i n i s t r at o r John Budesky announced last week a new public/private partnership designed to provide internet service to areas that are underserved or have no service at all. All Points Broadband was selected to identify those areas of Hanover that are underserved or lack internet service, and it will work with county officials, Dominion Energy Virginia and Rappahannock Electric Cooperative to develop and implement a plan to deliver broadband access with minimum upload/download speeds of 100 Mbps. “Our businesses and residents expressed a need and interest, and the Board of Supervisors and staff heard you,” Budesky said. “Today, we are
Jim Ridolphi for The Mechanicsville Local
Hanover County Administrator John Budesky announced a new broadband initiative called Connect Hanover at a press conference held last week. The new plan partners the county with Dominion Energy of Virginia, Rappahannock Electric Cooperative and All Points Broadband to provide broadband service to underserved areas. Budesky is flanked by Board of Supervisors chair Sean Davis and State Sen. Ryan McDougle.
here to announce a solution.” Last year, a broadband committee that was formed to search for solutions to the access problem recommended that the county seek private partnerships to fill gaps in coverage. They also suggest-
ed accessing state grants that could provide financial assistance for the project. Many Hanover residents currently must rely on satellite, DSL, cell phones or mobile hot spots to access the internet, but those services do not provide
adequate speed and data for comprehensive access. Budesky said the new partnership will enable those underserved residents to access full coverage by 2026. “We are committed to working with our private partners to get those residents access,” Budesky said. He said lack of internet access is the number one concern expressed by county residents, and last week’s announcement is the first step to a solution. Officials from All Points Broadband began evaluating and mapping county residences and their internet connectivity; they will continue that process through August. Citizens are urged to share input regarding internet service during the upcoming month to make sure all areas of unserved residences are cataloged. Supervisors will consider a
Delta variant propels increase By Jim Ridolphi for the Mechanicsville Local For the past several months, Assistant County Administrator Jim Taylor has provided COVID-19 updates at each board meeting, and officials hoped that this month’s report would be a wrap-up of the county’s efforts to combat the pandemic. “Our community, like many communities, is seeing a rise in cases, specifically with the Delta variant,” county Administrator John Budesky told supervisors at last week’s meeting. “We do need to be vigilant. We’re going to look at policies for our employees and families here and continue to monitor the situation.”
see INTERNET, pg. 8
Jim Ridolphi for The Mechanicsville Local
Hanover resident Chris French encouraged board members to require masks in schools at last week’s meeting. Assistant County Administrator Jim Taylor said school officials are still considering the latest guidelines before reaching a decision on a mask policy.
Gov. Ralph Northam’s COVID mandates expired July 1, and Budesky said he will confer with the county see COVID, pg. 9
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