Category: Virginia Mercury

Virginia girds for data center-focused House races and more state headlines
• “Virginia girds for data center-focused House races.” — E&E News by Politico • “VDH investigating dengue virus in Northern Virginia, first-ever documented case of virus being acquired locally.” — WSLS • “Gov. Spanberger opens applications for new Virginia corrections advisory council.” — WCYB • “Petersburg area residents fight back

Virginia moves toward regulating self-driving vehicles amid safety and liability concerns
Virginia is closer to regulating self-driving vehicles, which have steadily increased nationwide despite continued concerns over safety. Despite crashes that have led to restrictions in some areas, other states, such as Arizona and Texas, have continued to permit testing and deployment. With interest in the technology growing in Virginia, lawmakers

SCC orders Dominion to develop tariff to assign more transmission costs to data centers
More of the cost to build the high-voltage transmission lines that serve as power highways across the state could soon be covered by data centers, after a recent decision by state regulators. The State Corporation Commission has ordered Dominion Energy to develop a policy to directly assign the cost of

Virginia primary voters pick Mizusawa to face Warner, finalize key US House races
Virginians cast their ballots Tuesday in an unusually-timed primary that settled a statewide Republican contest for the U.S. Senate and determined several of Virginia’s most closely watched congressional matchups for the November election. Retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Bert Mizusawa won the GOP’s nomination to challenge longtime Democratic U.S. Senator

Former Virginia Sen. Janet Howell, trailblazing Reston lawmaker, dies at 82 and more headlines
• “As $43 million for Southwest flood relief remains unspent, residents who can’t afford to fix their homes wait for help.” — Cardinal News • “Former Virginia Sen. Janet Howell, trailblazing Reston lawmaker, dies at 82.” — Patch.com • “AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Virginia’s state primary.” —

Virginia shoppers set to save as sales tax holiday returns this weekend
Virginia’s sales tax holiday begins on Friday and runs through Sunday, offering deals on qualifying school supplies, clothing and footwear sales tax. Certain emergency preparedness items also qualify. The sales tax holiday starts Aug. 7 at 12:01 a.m. and ends Aug. 9 at 11:59 p.m., and could save consumers 5.3%

DEQ study throws cold water on data center development east of I-95
Among the many environmental, energy and economic concerns about the unconstrained spread of data centers in Virginia, the impact on drinking water supplies has ranked fairly low. That changed suddenly last week, with the release of a report that the administration of Gov. Abigail Spanberger seems to have tried to

Cardiovascular health spending has tripled, but death rates are rising in major Hampton Roads cities
By Yiqing Wang/WHRO Cardiovascular care has become more advanced over the past two decades, giving doctors new ways to prevent deaths from heart attacks, strokes and other conditions. But a new national study found those advances have come with rapidly rising costs while improvements in cardiovascular death rates have largely stalled. The

Blanche nomination for attorney general advanced by US Senate panel on party-line vote
WASHINGTON — U.S. acting Attorney General Todd Blanche was one step closer to permanently leading the Justice Department Tuesday, after two skeptical Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans voted to advance his nomination given Blanche’s signed promise that President Donald Trump’s nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund is dead. Republican Sens. John Cornyn

Democratic state officials urge US Supreme Court to affirm pause on Trump vote-by-mail order
WASHINGTON — States do not have time before November’s midterm elections to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order mandating overhauls of their mail-in-voting systems, two dozen Democratic state officials told the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday. Justices should keep a stay pausing the order in place through Election Day,









