FREDLINES
Claire Marshall Watkins, ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Fredericksburg Free Press
Spotsylvania supervisors under scrutiny for social media posts, election filings
By Taft Coghill Jr. 09/24/2026
The Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors’ agenda was light with no public hearings on Tuesday night, but there were still plenty of fireworks.
Two members of the board came under fire during the meeting for different reasons.
Courtland District Supervisor Drew Mullins apologized near the end of the meeting for posts that he made on the social media platform X. Residents also questioned recently appointed Chancellor District Supervisor Tim McLaughlin’s character and attention to detail, alleging that he used the wrong address on his application to be considered for the position; he didn’t file conflict of interest statements before he was sworn in as required by law; and he accosted a county resident with harsh language at early voting.
City to move forward with utility billing changes
By Joey LoMonaco 09/24/2026
Fredericksburg residents could begin receiving utility bills on a monthly basis as soon as November.
Currently, the city bills utilities — which includes water, sewer and trash and recycling services — on a bi-monthly basis. But several members of City Council seemed to signal support on Tuesday night for making the change.
Getting their kicks: Fans flock to Fred City Soccer Club event
By Adele Uphaus 09/24/2026
Two and a half years ago, Jason Graham and Gilberto Baez were sitting in the basement of Baez’s home, talking about whether they could bring semi-professional soccer back to Fredericksburg.
On Wednesday night, Graham and Baez shared a stage to announce Fredericksburg City Soccer Club’s first two signings: Sammy Amorose, a former Colonial Forge High School and University of Mary Washington standout who won 2025 Coast-to-Coast Offensive Player of the Year honors; and Lorenzo Baez, a 2022 Stafford High School soccer alum who has played for Stafford Soccer League and the under-20 Puerto Rican national team and participated in trials with La Liga in Spain.
The Free Lance-Star
Planning Commission: Substations appropriate for data center (paywalled)
By Scott Shenk 09/24/2026
Before the Spotsylvania County Planning Commission held a public hearing on the proposed Crossroads Technology Campus data center at its Sept. 16 meeting, it approved a substation project related to the data center.
The Crossroads project will need three 230-kilovolt substations on the campus site.
Another data center campus coming to Spotsylvania County? (paywalled)
By Scott Shenk 09/24/2026
With the recent nod of approval from the Spotsylvania County Planning Commission, a new data center campus proposal has moved a step closer to a final decision by the county.
After a public hearing last week, the planning commission recommended approval of a special-use permit for the construction of the Crossroads Technology campus. The proposal will now go to the Board of Supervisors for approval.
Residents disagree with staff, planners on data center
Scott Shenk 09/24/2026
The public hearing for the proposed Crossroads Technology Campus data center in Spotsylvania County pitted residents against county officials.
Residents don’t want another data center built in the county. County staff and a majority of the Planning Commission said the proposal was ready to go before the Board of Supervisors.
As fall arrives, some Fredericksburg trees face final season
By Pilar Davis 09/24/2026
Oranges, reds and golden yellows begin to surround the last remnants of green on area trees as the season shifts to fall. That view is one of the more beautiful parts of living on the East Coast, and the trees that line streets in the Fredericksburg area make the city scenic year-round.
This year, the city is planting scores of new trees around town, and a few trees have reached the end of their life cycle.
Potomac Local News
Police Blotter: Fredericksburg Stabbing on Caroline Street; Stafford Fraud Reports
By Potomac Local News 09/24/2026
On Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, at about 8:48 p.m., the Fredericksburg E-911 Center received a call for a stabbing injury in the 500 block of Caroline Street. Officers found the victim with a wound consistent with a stabbing. The victim was taken to a nearby hospital and treated for life-threatening injuries.
Joseph Crawford, 64, of Fredericksburg, was taken into custody and held without bond. He is charged with aggravated assault and public drunkenness and was taken to the Rappahannock Regional Jail for processing.
Anonymous tips: text 847-411 with FPDTip followed by the tip, or use the FPD Tip app.
Toys “R” Us holiday shop slated for Spotsylvania Towne Centre (paywalled)
By PLN News 09/24/2026
A Toys “R” Us holiday shop operated by Go! Retail Group. The Spotsylvania Towne Centre shop is planned for a 7,400-square-foot bay in the Costco Concourse, with a tentative October opening. Photo courtesy Go! Retail Group.
ADVANCE READS
Claire Marshall Watkins, Dewey Turner
Dating Apps, Consent, and AI: Oh, My
Claire Marshall Watkins, ASSOCIATE EDITOR
“A” had confessed to using one of the photos from my profile––coincidentally, or maybe not, he left this message attached to a photo of me in a small, crocheted crop top––and uploading it into a generative AI server without my consent.
A few things occurred to me.
One: It could have been so much worse. He could have made a deepfake, but to my knowledge, he didn’t.
Two: If he hadn’t told me he had done this, I would never have known. Anyone can take any photo from a dating app and upload it into ChatGPT or similar platform and do whatever they want with it. I hadn’t realized that was something that could happen; I’d never thought about it. Nor, I assume, has any other decent, rational person.
Press Release Release: UMW Top 10 Again, City Rakes in the Dough, and More
Compiled by Dewey Turner, ADVANCE CONTRIBUTOR
Top 10 Again: UMW Among the Best Public Liberal Arts Colleges in U.S. News
The University of Mary Washington has once again earned a place among the nation’s top 10 public liberal arts colleges in U.S. News & World Report’s annual college rankings, coming in at number nine. UMW has ranked among the top 10 for four consecutive years, reinforcing Mary Washington’s place among the nation’s leading public liberal arts and sciences institutions.
UMW is also part of a standout showing for the Commonwealth. Three Virginia institutions rank among the nation’s top 10 public liberal arts colleges in the U.S. News “2027 Best Colleges” report, making Virginia one of only two states with three schools represented in the top tier.
STATE OF THE STATE
VaNews/VIRGINIA PUBLIC ACCESS PROJECT
Virginia legislators debate Trump’s SNAP penalties as judge blocks some enforcement
By BRAD KUTNER, WVTF-FM
In a ruling touted Wednesday by Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones, a federal judge blocked some of President Donald Trump’s efforts to penalize states for SNAP error rates. The move from the court comes as Virginia faces record food insecurity and legislators debated the president’s changes to the program Wednesday morning. Oregon U.S. District Mustafa T. Kasubhai wasn’t subtle when nixing part of the Trump administration’s SNAP cuts for working outside of administrative norms. ... Only moments earlier, Virginia Health Secretary Marvin Figueroa was explaining the penalty program to the Senate Finance committee at the General Assembly building.
High diesel prices strain Virginia school divisions
By ANNA BRYSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Subscription Required)
Just weeks into the school year, the high price of diesel fuel is putting a strain on Virginia school divisions, which largely use diesel to fill up the school buses that bring children to and from school every day. Some school systems are preparing to seek additional local funding or make cuts elsewhere if fuel costs remain high. The average price of diesel fuel in Virginia was $6.39 a gallon as of Wednesday, up 18 cents from the week prior and nearly $3 higher than a year ago, before the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran that has disrupted oil supplies from the Persian Gulf. The pressure is particularly intense in large, rural school divisions, where buses travel thousands of miles each day and regular routes cannot easily be reduced.
For hundreds of thousands, Virginia offers help with Obamacare bills
By DAVE RESS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Subscription Required)
State funds to make up for the loss of enhanced federal Obamacare credits could mean more than 159,000 Virginians will see minimal bills for coverage next year. The General Assembly this year set $150 million for an Affordable Care Act subsidy program to offset President Donald Trump’s so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which refused to extend enhanced credits.
Virginia and Maryland lawmakers fight proposed federal pay freeze
By TOM FITZGERALD, Fox 5
A fight over federal pay is heating up on Capitol Hill as lawmakers from Virginia and Maryland warn that a proposed pay freeze could hit thousands of federal workers across the DMV region. Over 100 members of Congress are calling on their colleagues to approve a 4.1% raise for federal employees in 2027 as opposed to enacting a pay plan proposed by the Trump administration that would prevent most civilian workers from getting an increase in their base pay next year. Nearly a quarter of a million federal employees work in the D.C., Maryland and Virginia region.
Federal cuts have deeply impacted residents of D.C. area, new survey shows
By GARY FIELDS AND LINLEY SANDERS, Associated Press
Sam Trumbull once wrote public assistance policy to help people receiving food assistance, then needed public assistance for her family. Amanda Nataro won’t take personal effects to her new job, after being crushed by the sudden end of her last one. Nicoletta Barbera and her husband are considering leaving the area because of rising costs and lower salaries than they once had. The women are among the thousands of federal workers and contract employees in the Washington region whose lives were upended when the Trump administration and the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency overhauled the federal workforce last year, cutting jobs and grants. A new survey released Thursday by Gallup and the Greater Washington Community Foundation shows the far-reaching impact on the nation’s capital.
How the fate of a rural hospital could help flip the House
By GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)
Pastor Eric Majette was so worried that his congregation is losing access to health care that he had a blood pressure machine installed outside the church sanctuary and set up heart-health counseling once a month. It’s not much, but anything helps as the [Franklin, Va.] community barrels toward the potential closure of its struggling local hospital. Here in one of the most competitive House districts in the country, health care is an urgent part of the affordability topic driving political campaigns everywhere ahead of this fall’s midterm elections.
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