(Danville, Va.) — Averett University laid off 11 employees this week and reduced one full-time employee to part-time status.

Cassie Jones, Averett’s Director of Marketing and Communications, confirmed the decision.

The layoffs happened on Monday afternoon and were blamed on a decrease in enrollment by adult students in Averett’s Graduate and Professional Studies program and an increase in higher-achieving students.

Jones said the decision was painful but is part of an effort to reorganize and make the university more efficient. The cuts represent a 2.5% reduction in the overall budget.

She said that half of the affected employees worked in the GPS program and rest are spread throughout the campus.

 

Bergdahl judge weighed complex leniency factors

(FORT BRAGG, N.C.) (AP) — Legal experts say Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s brutal captivity by Taliban allies carried significant weight in a judge’s decision to spare him prison time for leaving his post in Afghanistan.

Criticism by President Donald Trump also appeared to push the judge toward leniency.

Army Col. Jeffery Nance didn’t explain how he formulated his sentence that also included a dishonorable discharge. But the judge had to consider complex arguments for and against leniency.

Prosecutors unsuccessfully fought for a prison sentence. They cited soldiers who were injured when they searched for Bergdahl. But the defense argued that Bergdahl had suffered enough. He spent five years as a captive of the Taliban and also suffered from mental illnesses.

Former Army lawyer Eric Carpenter says an unusual amount of factors were in Bergdahl’s favor.

President Donald Trump called the sentence “a disgrace.”

 
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Facebook to locate data center in Henrico County

(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.

 
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