Tobacco commission grants can leave communities on the hook

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia’s watchdog agency has found that the executive director of a state economic development commission bent the rules when he forgave a six-figure grant that should have been repaid by a politically connected developer. According to a report from the Office of the State Inspector General, the Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission’s Evan Feinman did not recoup $210,000 Chuck Lessin owed the state. Feinman instead allowed Lessin’s unrelated work