An environmental group is being allowed to challenge a state decision that aided plans for a much-debated reservoir in King William County. A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals of Virginia has overturned a 2007 Richmond Circuit Court decision that barred the group, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, from pursuing the challenge. The Richmond court said the group did not have the legal right to mount the challenge. The appeals court said the group did.

An environmental group is being allowed to challenge a state decision that aided plans for a much-debated reservoir in King William County. A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals of Virginia has overturned a 2007 Richmond Circuit Court decision that barred the group, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, from pursuing the challenge. The Richmond court said the group did not have the legal right to mount the challenge. The appeals court said the group did.

NEWPORT NEWS Turn off State Park Road into this community of beachfront houses and you can see what makes life in the Grandview section of Hampton so attractive. Elevated on pilings high over the sandy soil, virtually every home commands impressive views of the Chesapeake Bay shoreline or the surrounding tidal creeks—and that means tons of strategically placed windows.

Within three years, Northrop Grumman Newport News may be constructing the components necessary to hold nuclear fuel for a new generation of power plants. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine announced yesterday a partnership between the shipbuilder and the French nuclear vendor Areva that will create 540 jobs and bring $363.4 million in investment to Newport News.

Governor Timothy M. Kaine this afternoon announced a joint venture between the French company Areva and Northrop Grumman that will bring 540 jobs to Newport News. AREVA Newport News LLC will manufacture equipment and pressure vessels for nuclear industry and provide nuclear engineering services. Northrop Grumman operates the sprawling shibbuilding yard in Newport News.

Chuck Rosenberg, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia since 2006, is stepping down from the job this month. Spokesman Jim Rybicki said Rosenberg informed President Bush of his intentions in a Sept. 30 letter. Rosenberg’s last day on the job will be Oct. 22. Rybicki said an acting U.S. attorney likely will be appointed until a replacement is nominated by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.