(Charlottesville, Va.) — A judge in Virginia says a lawsuit over Charlottesville’s plans to remove a Confederate statue should go forward.

Judge Richard Moore ruled against the city’s request to drop the lawsuit.

A group of plaintiffs sued after Charlottesville’s City Council voted earlier this year to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. Among other things, they say doing so would violate a state law that protects memorials for war veterans.

Controversy over the statue sparked an August rally of white nationalists that descended into violent chaos. Charlottesville has since shrouded the monument with a black shroud as a symbol of mourning for the woman who was killed.

The city council has also since voted to remove another statue of Confederate Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson.

(Richmond, Va.) (AP) — Facebook plans to build a massive new data center in Virginia.

The social media giant announced Thursday that it selected a spot in Henrico County, just outside Richmond, to build a new $750 million foot data center.

Company officials said it would be one of the most advanced and energy-efficient data centers in the world.

Facebook is partnering with electric utility Dominion Energy to offset the energy used by the data center with power produced by new solar installations around the state. Dominion said it will file a new energy rate with state regulators later this month.

Facebook will be eligible for millions of dollars in state and local tax breaks for the new project, which officials said will create thousands of construction jobs and 100 full-time employees when complete.

(Halifax, Va.) – A Halifax man has been sentenced to 63 years in prison following his conviction on nine child pornography charges.

But Jessie Randall Coates had to be found before the sentence could be meted out.

The 42-year-old disappeared during a lunch break at his trial in Halifax County Circuit Court Tuesday afternoon. Sheriff’s investigators learned that Coates had fled to Indiana, where he was staying with family members.

The trial continued in his absence, and the jury convicted Coates on nine felony counts and recommended a 63-year sentence.

When he failed to return to the courtroom Tuesday, the judge issued a capias order for his arrest. Yorktown Police and the U.S. Marshal Service found him in Indiana, where Coates was arrested without incident.

Coates is being held without bond pending extradition to Halifax County.