NATIONAL NEWS, LOCAL IMPACT
A review of national stories this past week read by Advance staff that touch on issues of interest to the Diamond region.
By Martin Davis
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
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Redistricting Fallout
“Republican proposes giving part of Virginia back to DC after redistricting loss”
— The Hill (April 24)
Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.) on Wednesday introduced legislation to make the Virginia cities of Arlington and Alexandria part of Washington, D.C., reversing an 1846 law that returned the regions to the Old Dominion.
“A lesser threat: Redistricting referendum’s passage is nothing to celebrate”
— Virginia Mercury (April 23)
Many of us voted for the redistricting referendum in Tuesday’s out-of-season statewide general election holding our noses as we did. That we felt we had to is an indictment on the applied politics of this age.
“In Virginia Redistricting Win, Democrats Play Hardball to Thwart Trump”
— New York Times (April 22)
Democrats’ success in pushing through one of the country’s most aggressively gerrymandered congressional maps on Tuesday in Virginia represented the latest example of the party’s willingness to take the gloves off as it seeks to win back control of Congress and thwart President Trump’s agenda.
“Democrats win in Virginia but it won’t be the final say in a national redistricting competition”
— Los Angeles Times (April 23)
Democrats on Wednesday celebrated an election win in Virginia that could put them slightly ahead in the national redistricting competition that President Trump triggered in an attempt to preserve his party’s House majority in this year’s midterms, but it will not be the final round.
“Virginia’s redistricting may be the nail in Republicans’ coffin”
— The Economist (April 21)
The sun rises in the east; the other queue always moves faster; and the president’s party loses the House of Representatives in the midterms. Starting with the Democrats’ blue wave in George W. Bush’s second term, this pattern has held firm every four years. Even Republicans’ weak performance in 2022, derided as a “red ripple”, ended Joe Biden’s trifecta.
Data Centers
“Maine Governor Vetoes Bill That Would Have Paused New Data Centers”
— New York Times (April 24)
Governor Janet Mills of Maine on Friday vetoed legislation that would have blocked new data centers in the state until November 2027. The moratorium would have made Maine the first state in the nation to create such a hurdle for the booming artificial intelligence industry.
“The US needs a data center deal — not a moratorium”
— The Hill (April 21)
Texas’s grid operator is sitting on requests for more than 225 gigawatts of new electricity demand. About three-quarters of it is from data centers. The entire grid, which powers 90 percent of Texas and serves more than 26 million people, tops out at roughly 85 gigawatts.
Editor’s Pick
“Meet the Four Democratic Tribes”
— The Economist
An unpopular war started by an unpopular president: these ought to be favourable circumstances for an opposition party. As yet, though, the Democratic Party has no clear standard-bearer or set of ideas. The primaries for the 2026 midterms, which began in early March and run until September, will offer the sharpest signal yet, from millions of voters across every state, about which faction within the Democratic coalition is ascendant.
BALANCE OF STORIES
Local Obituaries
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