Author: By Shirleen Guerra | The Center Square
Virginia Beach pauses new data center permits
(The Center Square) – Virginia Beach has temporarily stopped issuing permits for new data centers while city officials work on rules for where and how the facilities can be built. City Council unanimously approved the moratorium Tuesday. It will last up to 12 months or end sooner if council adopts a data center ordinance. Data…
Prosecutors say ‘no dispute’ the 86 47 seashells could be Comey threat to Trump
(The Center Square) – “No serious dispute” is possible against an arrangement of seashells spelling out 86 47 on a North Carolina beach as a potential threat against President Donald Trump, says the U.S. Department of Justice. Former FBI Director James Comey posted a photograph from the Outer Banks on social media in May of…
Virginia Beach pauses new hyperscale data centers for one year, more headlines
• “Virginia Beach pauses new hyperscale data centers for one year.” — 13 News Now • “Spanberger administration revokes Virginia youth psych facility’s license, calls system ‘broken.’” — WTVR • “Assistant state medical examiner fired over false certification letter; murder cases she testified in being questioned.” — The Virginian-Pilot •
Violent crime in US fell at record pace in 2025
Violent crime in the United States fell by an estimated 9.3% in 2025, marking the largest year-to-year decline in the national violent crime rate since the FBI began estimating crime in 1936, according to new national data. The estimated murder and nonnegligent manslaughter rate also fell 18.1%, to 4.1 killings
Commentary: November glut of school referendums signals necessity of taxing option in Virginia
A 2021 tour of the construction of the new Highland Springs High School in Henrico, which was estimated to cost about $80 million. (Photo courtesy of Henrico County Public Schools)
USDA advances Roadless Rule repeal; advocates, lawmakers say it puts 400,000 acres in Va. at risk
The United States Department of Agriculture is nearing a full repeal of the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule that protects millions of acres of virgin forestland nationwide. In Virginia, if the rule is repealed it would open up an estimated 400,000 acres of forest, largely across the Shenandoah Valley region,
ICE still blocked from churches of Cooperative Baptists, Quakers, Sikhs
(The Center Square) – Agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are blocked from entering churches of Cooperative Baptists, Quakers and Sikhs to carry out enforcement operations unless they have a warrant, or in certain specified circumstances, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled. Upholding last year’s preliminary injunction, the appellate court’s unanimous decision…
Virginia lawmakers question utility merger review clock
(The Center Square) – Virginia regulators could reject the pending merger application of NextEra and Dominion, requiring the companies to refile and restart the state’s six-month review clock, a state senator suggested Tuesday. Sen. Creigh Deeds raised the possibility during an Energy Commission of Virginia meeting examining whether the commonwealth’s utility merger law gives regulators…
Balancing optimism and caution, Spanberger says Va.’s revenues grew $2.1 billion in fiscal year 2026
Gov. Abigail Spanberger on Wednesday highlighted Virginia’s financial wins in the fiscal year that ended in July, touting a general revenue fund that increased by $2.1 billion, record investments in public services and a new energy consumption tax lawmakers levied on data centers that is projected to add $600 million
SCC commissioner, former NextEra attorney declines to recuse herself from merger case
On Tuesday, Virginia lawmakers heard from utility regulation experts on the potential impact of the proposed merger between Dominion Energy and NextEra Energy. If approved, the merger would create the largest electric utility in the country. In the days preceding this week’s Commission on Electric Utility Regulation meeting, legislators asked
