OUR WEEKLY READER
THE SATURDAY, AUGUST 8, 2026 ADVANCE
Four City Council Members Say Hard No to 1500 Gateway Data Center in Fredericksburg
By Steve Watkins, ADVANCE EDITOR
The majority of Fredericksburg’s City Council members have announced that they oppose the Penzance Development company’s recently announced plans to seek permits for a million-square-foot, two-building, 75-foot-high data center at 1500 Gateway Boulevard in an 84-acre wooded area in the city known as the Hylton Tract.
“Simply put, it’s the wrong location for a project such as this,” Ward I Council Member Matt Rowe said in an email to The Advance. “It’s too close to existing residential development, and the power lines that would be necessary to accommodate this project would need to be routed just behind Hugh Mercer ES or loom over all of Cowan Boulevard from Route 1 to 1500 Gateway.”
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Virginia Belongs at the Front of the Democratic Presidential Primary Line
By Stephen J. Farnsworth, ADVANCE COLUMNIST
Virginia has tentatively been offered sixth place in the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination calendar: an improvement over its usual Super Tuesday location, but far less than it deserves. Virginia should be first in line.
Why should Virginia move ahead of the other proposed early states of South Carolina, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico and Michigan? Let me count the ways.
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The Corporate Environmental Blame Game
By Ranjit Singh and Eric Bonds, ADVANCE CONTRIBUTORS
Philosophically, Thoreau is as American as it gets. We’re all taught from childhood about the power of the individual to effect change. Curiously, when analyzing how big corporations speak to us, one might well think that they, too, swallowed Thoreau’s Essay on Civil Disobedience whole.
Case in point: Remember the “carbon footprint calculator?”
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Advance Editor on Vietnam War Literature, Journalists as Heroes, Mary Washington College, and the Writing Life.
Steve Watkins (with hosts Megan Samples, Cori Blanch, and Shaun Kenney)
SEGMENTS
(54 minutes)
· Introduction of New Editor of The Advance
· How Vietnam War Literature Class Connected Families
· Adapting Teaching After 9/11: Trauma and Healing
· From “The Blab” to Civil Disobedience: Early Journalism
· How Journalism Has Changed Over the Last 30 Years
· Deep Dives and Multi-Partisan Journalism at The Advance
· Why Accountability and Community Involvement Matter in Journalism
· The Art of Storytelling: Details, Research, and Authenticity
· Learn Your Craft: Patience and Persona in Journalism
· The Debate: Mary Washington College vs. University Status
· Guests Share What They’re Reading
This article is published under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND. It can be distributed for noncommercial purposes and must include the following: “Published with permission by FXBG Advance.”