By JENNIFER McDERMOTT, Associated Press

A federal judge ruled Friday that work on a Virginia offshore wind project could resume, the third project this week to successfully challenge the Trump administration in court.

The administration announced last month it was suspending leases for at least 90 days on five East Coast offshore wind projects because of national security concerns. Its announcement did not reveal specifics about those concerns.

Developers and states sued in an effort to block the order. Dominion Energy Virginia, which is developing Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, was the first.

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In federal court in Virginia on Friday, a judge said he was granting the Richmond-based company’s request for a preliminary injunction, according to the record from the hearing. This allows construction to resume while Dominion Energy’s lawsuit challenging the government’s order proceeds.

In federal court for the District of Columbia, judges ruled this week that construction could also resume on the Empire Wind project for New York by Norwegian company Equinor, and the Revolution Wind project for Rhode Island and Connecticut, by Danish company Orsted.

Large, ocean-based wind farms are the linchpin of plans to shift to renewable energy in East Coast states that have limited land for onshore wind turbines or solar arrays. Orsted is also suing over the pause of its Sunrise Wind project for New York.

The fifth paused project is Vineyard Wind, under construction in Massachusetts. Vineyard Wind LLC, a joint venture between Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, joined the rest of the developers in challenging the administration on Thursday. They filed a complaint in District Court in Boston.

Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind has been under construction since early 2024. It will consist of 176 offshore wind energy turbines providing enough electricity to power about 660,000 homes.

Dominion Energy argued that the government’s order is “arbitrary and capricious” and unconstitutional. It said after the hearing that it will now focus on restarting work to ensure the project can begin delivering critical energy in just weeks. It says the project is essential to meet dramatically growing energy needs driven by dozens of new data centers.

President Donald Trump has dismissed offshore wind developments as ugly, but the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project is about 27 miles off the shores of Virginia Beach.

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

By PATRICK AFTOORA-ORSAGOS, Associated Press

Columbus, OHIO (AP) — An Ohio grand jury has indicted a man in the double homicide of his ex-wife and her husband who were killed in their Columbus home last month.

Court records show a Franklin County grand jury charged Michael David McKee on Jan. 16, with aggravated murder and aggravated burglary while using a firearm suppressor.

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McKee, 39, a vascular surgeon who was living in Chicago, is charged in the shooting deaths of 39-year-old Monique Tepe, from whom he was divorced in 2017, and dentist Dr. Spencer Tepe, 37, in their home on Dec. 30.

No attorney for McKee was listed on court documents.

Authorities apprehended McKee in Rockford, Illinois, last weekend. The hospital where he worked — OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center — has said it is cooperating with the investigation. He is currently being held after he waived his right to an extradition hearing Monday. His next hearing in Winnebago County, Illinois, is scheduled for Jan. 23.

Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant said in an Associated Press interview Wednesday that authorities now believe McKee was the person seen walking down a dark alley near the Tepes’ home in video footage from the night of the murders. His vehicle has also been identified traveling near the house, and a firearm found in his Illinois residence also matched evidence at the scene, she said. Authorities have not disclosed what type of firearm was used in the slaying.

His arrest Saturday attracted national attention, capping off nearly two weeks of speculation surrounding the mysterious killings. No obvious signs of forced entry were found at the Tepes’ home. Police also said no weapon was found there, and murder-suicide was not suspected. Nothing was stolen, and the couple’s two young children and their dog were left unharmed in the home.

Byrant said police are encouraging the public to keep the tips coming. She said emails, phone calls and other messages left with CPD helped them to gather enough evidence to make an arrest.

“We want to thank our community specifically for stepping up, reaching out, giving us the information and being open to sharing that with us,” she said. “It has been tremendous.”

A veteran production manager who has more than 40 years in the entertainment business has been hired to be the new manager of the Washington County Fair.

Paul Hendrickson (Courtesy of Paul Hendrickson)

Paul Hendrickson, 71, of Norwalk, Iowa, previously worked at TMS in Omaha and Insane Impact in Des Moines and served as operations manager of Reliant Park in Houston.

“I’m bringing a lot of experience and industry contacts, which obviously will be very helpful,” said Hendrickson, who also has worked at state and county fairs in California and Washington.

Hendrickson, a member of the International Association of Fairs and Expos, said he is a big fan of the Washington County Fair, which is located in Baytown Township and typically held in late July to early August.

“It operates well,” he said. “It’s a mini version of the Minnesota State Fair is what it is. It’s just easier to get around and obviously closer to parking. Can it grow? Absolutely. They have a lot of open land where the Fair can expand and become bigger, that’s for sure.”

Hendrickson was one of three people who applied for the part-time position.

The Washington County Agricultural Society’s search committee unanimously recommended him to the society’s executive board, said Margot Rheinberger, a member of the board of directors and the search committee. “We hit the jackpot,” she said.

Hendrickson is the father of Beth Thurmes and father-in-law of Ben Thurmes, who is a member of the Washington County Agricultural Society’s executive board, Rheinberger said. Ben Thurmes abstained from the hiring decision.

The previous fair manager, Dorie Ostertag, who also served as treasurer, resigned from both positions on Oct. 21 at the annual meeting of the Washington County Agricultural Society in Baytown Township.

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A bankruptcy court judge approved the sale of a troubled portfolio of rent stabilized units to Summit Properties after their bank made additional funds available for repairs. Tenants and Mayor Mamdani had pushed to delay the sale or find a buyer who would preserve the affordable housing.

Mamdani touring an apartment at a Brooklyn building previously owned by the Pinnacle Group earlier this month. (Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

A troubled portfolio of over 5,000 rent stabilized apartments will be sold to a new private landlord, a bankruptcy court judge ruled Friday afternoon after lawyers for the Mamdani administration, the New York Attorney General, and organized tenants had intervened to try and stop it.

Residents of the 90-plus building portfolio owned by Pinnacle Group had been pushing a judge to delay Pinnacle’s bankruptcy sale and give the city a chance to vet the buyer and put together a competing offer.

Judge David Jones approved the sale to Summit Properties early Friday afternoon over the city’s objections about the buyer’s ability to resolve thousands of outstanding housing code violations in the buildings.

“I am going to approve the proposed sale,” said Judge David Jones.“I am satisfied that the purchaser… has described a serious and reasonable sounding plan to rectify violations and poor conditions at the properties at issue.”

Zohar Levy, the chief executive officer of Summit, had testified that Summit intends to remedy half of the outstanding violations in the first 60 days of ownership and promised $10 million for repairs in the first year as part of an “immediate action plan.”

The approval was a blow to Mayor Zohran Mamdani and tenants who had hoped to further delay or stop the sale. But if a goal was to bring their future landlord to the negotiating table, they might find a silver lining.

In a packed federal bankruptcy court in lower Manhattan Thursday, lawyers for the city and the prospective new landlord sparred for nine hours over whether the new regime could protect tenants.

Summit is a limited partner in a portfolio of rent stabilized properties in New York City owned by Chestnut Holidings—a 3,000 unit portfolio with over 4,000 open code violations—that also happens to be owned by Jonathan Weiner, brother of Pinnacle owner Joel Weiner.

Eric Snyder, of counsel to the Legal Aid Society, called it “meet the new boss, same as the old boss.” To fund repairs, he called on Summit to commit “money that’s going to be there and not just promises.”

In a somewhat unusual move, Summit’s lender, Flagstar Bank, offered to make a $3 million dollar line of credit available to Summit should they need additional capital to fund repairs in any of their buildings.

Matt Talubas, a Pinnacle tenant from Northern Manhattan, said he came to court Thursday with little hope that tenants could stop the sale.

“We were hoping for even more conditions, if perhaps not a guarantee—some explicit instructions that they would be beholden to,” said Talubas.

The fight may be a sign of what’s to come for a new administration that has promised to flex its power to hold bad landlords accountable.

“The city’s action makes very clear it’s committed to these tenants,” said Judge Jones in court Thursday.

Levy estimated the buildings needed $30 million in investment over the next five years.

He said that was an estimate, not a cap. “If it doesn’t cover it… we will be there,” Levy testified, saying that they could put in more equity, seek a loan, or get bridge financing from Summit if repair needs exceeded expectations.

Summit also said that it would find two new property managers for the portfolio.

The Mamdani administration took office while the bankruptcy case was already progressing, leaving scarce time for their objection.

The mayor’s office and Summit did not immediately respond with comment.

When delaying the sale further proved unfeasible Thursday, lawyers for the city pivoted to securing assurances for tenants in an approval.

“The hope is that there’s more eyes on it, right? And sometimes more eyes means hopefully more accountability,” added Talubas.

To reach the reporter behind this story, contact Patrick@citylimits.org. To reach the editor, contact Jeanmarie@citylimits.org

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