Drayage Brokersin Portsmith, VA

Portsmouth Circuit Court Judge Douglas Ottinger didn’t mince words in expressing his frustration with state prosecutors for their seeming inability to ready their case against two plaintiffs charged with embezzling money from Rivers Casino.

Rivers Casino Portsmouth opened on Jan. 23, 2023. The casino made history by being the first licensed, permanent casino to open in the Commonwealth.

Law enforcement said its investigation determined that Baker and Thompson pocketed some of the cash during their shifts. Court records show prosecutors believe the duo stole nearly $14K in cash from the casino.

The state brought charges against Baker and Thompson in July. Each has been charged with a single felony count for embezzlement of funds worth more than $1,000.

Frustrated Judge

During Wednesday’s preliminary hearing on Baker and Thompson’s cases that are being tried together, attorney Lynette Hill, who is representing the state in the Portsmouth General District Court, told Ottinger that the commonwealth is struggling to assemble witnesses.

Ottinger said he received a letter from one of the state’s witnesses who said she was afraid to testify in the case. The witness reportedly told the judge her calls to Hill weren’t returned.

Who would blame her? You have to do better than this,” Ottinger told Hill, as first reported by WAVY News. “This blows my mind as a former prosecutor. Don’t you have investigators?”

Ottinger said there’s no reasonable explanation for Hill’s shortcomings.

“We know where the witnesses are. It’s two exits down the highway from here,” the judge said of the casino.

Hill is a deputy attorney in Portsmouth Commonwealth Attorney Stephanie Morales’ office. Morales issued a statement in response to Ottinger following the Wednesday preliminary hearing.

This office has very clear directives for attorneys and support staff that are strictly adhered to regarding communication with witnesses in all cases. Multiple attempts were made to reach the witness, but they were unsuccessful. Still, our efforts have not ceased,” the statement read.

“This office remains committed to prioritizing justice by holding individuals accountable while protecting witnesses and ensuring the safety of our citizens,” the release concluded.

Case Postponed

Ottinger is giving the Portsmouth prosecutors about two months to assemble their witnesses against Baker and Thompson. The lawsuit’s next preliminary hearing is now slated for Jan. 5, 2024.

Baker and Thompson were both released on their personal recognizance.

Rivers Casino Portsmouth has won about $183.7 million off of gamblers this year. As of September 30, the casino offered 1,461 slot machines and 81 table games. Rivers additionally has a BetRivers Sportsbook.

Chicago-based Rush Street Gaming has been named by officials in Portsmouth, Virginia, as the preferred company to build, own, and operate a casino resort in the Hampton Roads city.

Last month, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) signed off on the state legislature’s wishes to allow five economically distressed towns to welcome one casino resort each, so long as residents of the area approve of such a project through a local ballot referendum during the November 3 election.

Rush Street has four casinos, all which use its Rivers Casino branding. They are located in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Des Plaines, Illinois, and Schenectady, New York.

Now, it’s poised to enter the recently liberalized Virginia commercial casino market.

Project Scope

The state gaming legislation requires a minimum investment of $300 million. Rush Street has also agreed to pay the city at least $10 million to acquire the proposed development land located at Victory Boulevard and Cavalier Boulevard just off Interstate 264.

Rush Street Gaming, led by Neil Bluhm and his team, has a great national reputation, and they have an impeccable track record of more than 20 years in the gaming industry,” said Portsmouth Mayor John L. Rowe. “They understand Portsmouth’s vision for the Entertainment District beyond the mere presence of the casino.”

Rivers Casino Portsmouth, as the complex would be known, calls for a casino, numerous restaurants, convention space, hotel, and event lawn. An independent consultant forecasts the casino will pay Portsmouth more than $16 million annually in taxes, and pump over $200 million each year into the local economy.

The casino is expected to create 1,400 construction jobs, and 1,300 permanent positions.

Portsmouth, like the four other cities that qualify for a casino – Bristol, Danville, Richmond, and Norfolk – met the criteria of having an unemployment rate of at least five percent in 2018, a 20 percent or higher poverty rate in 2017, and a minimum population drop of 20 percent between 1990 through 2016.

Nearby Competition

Portsmouth and Norfolk are neighboring cities, separated by the Elizabeth River. Norfolk officials approved partnering with the Pamunkey Indian Tribe last night for its casino resort.

Norfolk has long been aligned with the Native American group. The tribe says its plans call for a $500 million resort featuring a 300-room hotel, several restaurants, and 2,500-seat entertainment venue.

Though Norfolk has partnered with an Indian tribe, the casino would operate as a commercial enterprise. The casino is targeting a 13.4-acre parcel of vacant land east of the Harbor Park baseball stadium.

The Pamunkey Indian Tribe is a small Native American community consisting of only a couple hundred members. Its reservation, located some 25 miles East of Richmond, measures 1,200 acres. But several state lawmakers, including Del. Barry Knight (R-Virginia Beach) and Sen. Lynwood Lewis ( D-Accomack), have led the fight in Norfolk partnering with the tribe in order to allow them to establish an economic enterprise that can secure their sovereignty for years to come.

To help offset concerns regarding its lack of gaming experience, the Pamunkey Tribe has brought in billionaire Jon Yarbrough, founder of Video Gaming Technologies. His former company, which he sold to Aristocrat Leisure for $1.3 billion in 2014, developed, manufactured, and distributed Class II bingo-based gaming machines to Native American casinos.

“I have worked with countless tribes and I know what it takes for a project like this to be successful,” Yarbrough said in January.

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — A facility promised to bring more than 300 jobs and wind turbine blade “finishing” manufacturing to Portsmouth will no longer be happening.

The Port of Virginia confirms the estimated $280 million-plus project that was first announced in 2021 was nixed by the Germany-based Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy.

In a statement, Siemens Gamesa spokesperson said the decision was made after “development milestones to establish the facility could not be met.”

Dominion Energy, the state’s largest energy provider that is planning the largest offshore wind farm to date in the U.S., says the news does not inhibit their project.

Former Gov. Ralph Northam announced the project to much fanfare in October 2021, saying it would bring not only more than 300 new jobs to the region, but would included an added investment for buildings and equipment at the Portsmouth Marine Terminal.

While Siemens Gamasa did sign a lease agreement with the Port for 90 acres that sits South of MLK Freeway South, right before the entrance into the Midtown Tunnel, Joe Harris, a spokesperson for the Port of Virginia, said they did not exercise their option to renew.

The news may be considered a crushing blow as the Portsmouth Marine Terminal is trying to become primary logistics center for Mid-Atlantic’s growing offshore-wind energy industry.

Just last week the the Department of the Interior gave its formal blessing to Dominion Energy’s 2.6 gigawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind commercial project that will install 176 wind turbines about 27 miles off the Virginia Beach coast.

Siemens Gamasa, based in Germany, was selected as the project’s preferred turbine supplier in 2020. At the time Dominion Energy said Siemens Gamasa was selected “as the optimal supplier based on a combination of cost, performance, and proven track record as one of the world’s leading suppliers.

Jeremy Slayton, a spokesperson for Dominion’s wind energy project, said the partnership is still ongoing.

“We were disappointed to hear that the blade facility has been cancelled. But in regard to our Costal Virginia offshore wind project it remains on time on budget. So this news in no way impacts our project.” Slayton said.

Slayton added the blades will be manufactured in Europe and shipped to Virginia.

Siemens Gamasa, as well as the larger renewable energy industry has faced a rough few months.

On June 23, 2023, Siemens announced it was withdrawing its profit guidance for fiscal year 2023 due to a “substantial increase in failure rates of wind turbine components” at newly acquired Siemens Gamesa.

Last week Ørsted, the Danish wind energy developer said this week it’s scrapping its Ocean Wind I and II projects off southern New Jersey due to problems with supply chains, higher interest rates and a failure to obtain the amount of tax credits the company wanted.

Doug Smith, president and CEO of the Hampton Roads Alliance, the overarching economic development organization for Hampton Roads said he doesn’t think the announcement will be a death blow.

“As the offshore wind industry shifts its focus from Europe to the United States, changes in the scope of emerging projects brings with it changes in supplier demand,” Smith said. “Just last week, however, Dominion was granted approval to build the largest offshore wind farm in America off the coast of Hampton Roads. In addition, the City of Norfolk was awarded a $39 million grant to work with the Miller Group to turn Fairwinds Landing into an offshore wind logistics facility. These announcements put Hampton Roads in a better position than ever to serve as America’s East Coast offshore wind logistics and manufacturing hub and to create thousands of jobs over the next decade.”

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — During her November election effort, Portsmouth State Sen. Louise Lucas (D) put on boxing gloves and said she was “ready for the fight.”

Today, the political gloves are back on for a new fight, which includes sizable toll relief at the Downtown and Midtown Tunnels.

Virginia has already approved and given toll relief in the past, but Lucas is looking for more.

Posting on her X account:

“Anyone who thinks I am going to approve an arena in Northern Virginia using state tax dollars before we deliver on toll relief … must think I have dumba** written on my forehead.”

Lucas, known for her direct demeanor, can’t be any more direct than that.

“What I have said is, I am not going to commit any state dollars to large projects until we do something in Hampton Roads,” Lucas said, “and in particular, the elimination of those tolls. We need to do something to bring those tolls down.”

In Richmond, Lucas dodged reporters’ questions on whether she supports Northern Virginia’s efforts to build sports arenas for professional franchises, but she didn’t dodge 10 On Your Side in an exclusive interview.

“No toll relief for Portsmouth tunnels, no arena in Northern Virginia — period,” Lucas said. “I said when I got re-elected and I became chair of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee [that] it is time for Hampton Roads to get its fair share, and I want to start with those tolls, plain and simple.”

Former Portsmouth Del. Stephen Heretick said the political landscape has changed, and it appears Lucas is planning for the future.

“I think she makes a good point — if Northern Virginia plays this game of give me, give me, give me, then at some point, they will have to realize Hampton Roads does exist,” Heretick said, “and that Portsmouth is being uniquely burdened by these tolls. Quite frankly, Northern Virginia hasn’t had to care because they have not had to.”

As for tolls and other issues, Heretick said Portsmouth has a trifecta of opportunity.

Consider this:

The incoming Speaker of the House of Delegates is Portsmouth Del. Don Scott (D-Portsmouth) and is the new power center — “he will control a significant portion of the state budget,” Heretick said.

Lucas, too, returns as President pro-tempore of the Senate.

“She will assume chair of the Senate Finance & Appropriations Committee, and we also have a third player in Secretary of Transportation Shep Miller, who is from Virginia Beach,” Heretick said. “I think he understands as well as we do and appreciates the burden these tolls put on our region economically and Portsmouth specifically.”

How much is Lucas seeking to reduce tolls at the Downtown and Midtown tunnels? 10 On Your Side asked.

“Senator Lucas … we owe about $2 billion. Do you think it is feasible to get a chunk as large as something like $500 million?

“It does not hurt for me to start asking for it and to start working towards that end,” she said, “and that is exactly what I plan to do — working towards that end.”

10 On Your Side pushed her for more details, and she responded.

“There are a lot of ways we can do it,” Lucas said. “We can do it through bonds. We can also ask for some help through the federal government to make sure we can buy down these tolls, and that is my goal. I finally have an opportunity to do something about it, and I’m not going to let go until I do. … What that translates to in regard to support from other areas of Virginia we don’t know.”

What is clear is that reducing tolls with state money, once off the table, is now not only back on the table for Lucas, it’s time to start eating.

Heretick summed the current toll situation this way:

“This is going to plague not only us, not only our children, but our grandchildren,” Heretick said. “It seems like now is the time to do something about this finally.”

Said Lucas: “It’s like starting all over again, and I am going to work as hard as I can to bring some relief to the people in Portsmouth and Norfolk and the surrounding areas in the downtown Portsmouth and Norfolk areas.”

The Downtown Tunnel was built as a toll facility in 1952, and the Midtown Tunnel came about in 1962. In 1986, tolls at both tunnels were removed after public debt used to build the tunnels were fully paid.

Tolls resumed in 2012 amid efforts to rehabilitate the existing tunnels, building a new Midtown Tunnel to double its capacity and extend the Martin Luther King Freeway.

The Downtown and Midtown tunnels are to be tolled for 58 years, from 2012 through 2070, according to Brittany McBride Nichols, district communications manager for the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Hampton Roads District. She said there is no set amount to be paid off.

“There is not a calculated remaining balance to be repaid for the project,” McBride Nichols said. “The Concessionaire has various forms of debt outstanding and invested equity and toll revenues to pay for the project’s construction. The term of the concession includes all ordinary and major maintenance for the assets and tolling operations over the 58-year term to be paid for by the Concessionaire.”

The $200 million facility was originally planned to be at Portsmouth Marine Terminal and would produce turbine blades supplying offshore wind projects.

PORTSMOUTH, Va. — A planned offshore wind turbine blade facility in Portsmouth that was expected to create hundreds of new jobs will not be moving forward, more than two years after it was first announced.

A spokesperson for the Port of Virginia confirmed to 13News Now Friday that the Spanish manufacturing company Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy backed out of the project about a month ago, adding that no reason for the cancelation was shared.

The $200 million facility was originally planned to be at Portsmouth Marine Terminal and would produce turbine blades supplying offshore wind projects in North America. Former Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced the project in October 2021, saying it would have created 310 new jobs, roughly 50 of which would support Dominion Energy's Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project.

The cancelation comes after the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project, located more than 20 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach, was approved by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in October.

RELATED: Federal government approves massive windfarm project to be built off Virginia Beach

The project aims to build 176 turbines to generate enough electricity to power up to 660,000 homes once fully constructed. According to Dominion Energy, it will be the largest offshore wind farm under development in the country.

Jeremy Slayton, a spokesperson for Dominion, said Siemens Gamesa's decision won't affect the project and the company will manufacture the turbines.

"Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind remains on time and on budget," Slayton wrote in a statement. "This announcement in no way impacts our project. Due to the timing of our project, the proposed factory was not scheduled to manufacture our blades. They will be manufactured in Europe, as planned."

13News Now reached out to Siemens Gamesa for comment but didn't get an immediate response by the time this article was published.