FREDLINES
Claire Marshall Watkins, ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Fredericksburg Free Press
Vindman visits Empowerhouse to hear about programs, funding challenges
By Adele Uphaus 10/23/2026
Every five days, a Virginian is killed by domestic violence, staff told Vindman.
Yet funding challenges, including federal funding cuts, are making it more difficult for advocates to provide the help and resources survivors need.
Empowerhouse, which serves Fredericksburg, Stafford, Spotsylvania, Caroline, and King George, received 6,500 domestic-violence related hotline calls last year and served 4,000 individuals.
Free Lance-Star
Venture X coworking space set to open in Stafford County (paywalled)
By Pilar Davis 10/24/2026
Husband-and-wife business duo Richie and Charissa Parsons are bringing Venture X, a franchise coworking space provider, to Stafford County next year. The Virginia residents have signed a lease to occupy the entire 20,000 square feet of the 5th floor at 475 Aquia Towne Center. The space will serve as a coworking environment with over 90 private offices and four meeting rooms for businesses and professionals in the area.
Spotsylvania man charged in another massage parlor robbery (paywalled)
By Keith Epps 10/23/2026
Elijah Thomas Deane, 22, of Spotsylvania, is accused of robbing the Ashland Massage in Hanover County. He is already being held without bond at the Rappahannock Regional Jail on charges in at least two local jurisdictions.
Two arrested on child pornography charges in Caroline (paywalled)
By Keith Epps 10/23/2026
Two men were arrested this week as a result of child pornography investigations in Caroline County, police said.
Caroline Sheriff Scott Moser said both investigations began as a result of tips received through the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) program and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Caroline is a member of ICAC.
Potomac Local News
VDOT lists Fredericksburg District lane closures for Oct. 25–31
By PLN News 10/23/2026
VDOT listed scheduled lane closures for road work in the Fredericksburg District for Oct. 25–31, weather permitting, the agency said.
On I-95, mobile single lane closures to clean and wash bridges run Monday–Friday, 7 p.m.–6 a.m., between Exit 104 (Carmel Church) and Exit 148 (Quantico) in Caroline, Spotsylvania, and Stafford Counties.
Cashless bail considered to man accused of sledgehammer attack on Quantico Iwo Jima statue
By PLN News 10/22/2026
A General District Court judge granted cashless bail to the Stafford man accused of using a sledgehammer to damage the Iwo Jima statue near Quantico, even after a magistrate had ordered him held without bond. After the commonwealth attorney objected, the general district court Judge stayed his own release order until a higher court could hear the bail objection.
ADVANCE READS
Steve Watkins, Phil Huber
Save the Sturgeon, Nominate a Tree, Vote for the Kid, and Other Press Release Releases
Steve Watkins, ADVANCE EDITOR
The League of Women Voters of the Fredericksburg Area will meet this Monday, October 26, at 6:00 p.m. at Curitiba Art Cafe, 919 Caroline Street, for their next Community Conversations event.
The topic is Immigration & Detention in Our Community, with Dr. Eric Bonds from UMW and Jorge Mendez from Virginia Organizing. They’ll discuss what is happening in our region, including local facilities like the Rappahannock Regional Jail and the Caroline Detention Facility, how local families and communities are experiencing these issues, and what we can do as a community.
Democracy Needs More Than Outrage
Phil Huber, ADVANCE COLUMNIST
Outrage is understandable. Despair is tempting. Neither is a plan.
For Americans alarmed by the Trump administration’s conduct, Common Cause and the American Civil Liberties Union are offering something more useful: an accounting of abuses and proposals to prevent their recurrence. Their work deserves attention, not only for what they oppose but also for what they seek to build.
STATE OF THE STATE
VaNews/VIRGINIA PUBLIC ACCESS PROJECT
Virginia state Sen. L. Louise Lucas indicted in connection with marijuana business
By PERRY STEIN AND SALVADOR RIZZO, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)
The Justice Department indicted Virginia state Sen. L. Louise Lucas, one of the most powerful Democrats in the commonwealth, as part of a long-running corruption investigation involving a family-run marijuana business. The indictment, which was returned by a federal grand jury in Virginia last week and unsealed Thursday morning, alleges that Lucas and her relatives set up a business to sell marijuana before the substance was legalized for recreational sales in the commonwealth.
Va. lawmakers: Lucas entitled to presumption of innocence
By KATE SELTZER, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
The state legislature’s Crime Commission met in Richmond Thursday at noon, as scheduled. Commission staff called the roll, as usual. “Senator Lucas,” someone called. There was silence. Lucas was in federal custody, having turned herself in earlier that morning ahead of an appearance in federal court at 1 p.m. Federal prosecutors charged her with heading a criminal cannabis enterprise and using her position as a legislator to enrich herself and her family. Her absence went unacknowledged.
U.S. House Pre-Election Reports
The Virginia Public Access Project
Candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives have filed their final campaign finance reports due before Election Day. See their latest fundraising amounts and how much cash they still have on hand.
U.S. Senate Pre-Election Fundraising
The Virginia Public Access Project
The final campaign finance reports due before Election Day are now available for U.S. Senate candidates.
Outside donors bankroll Virginia’s campaigns for Congress
By KUNLE FALAYI, Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism
Donors outside Virginia have contributed more than $3.6 million to the four major-party candidates competing in the state’s hotly contested 1st and 2nd congressional districts, compared with nearly $4.2 million from Virginia, according to a VCIJ analysis of campaign finance reports. The balance differed sharply by candidate. In the 2nd District, about 58% of Democrat Elaine Luria’s individual contribution dollars in the analyzed records came from outside Virginia, compared with 39% for incumbent Republican Rep. Jen Kiggans. In the 1st District, Democratic challenger Shannon Taylor received about 43% from beyond Virginia, compared with 38% for Republican Rep. Rob Wittman. Both races are rated toss-ups by the Cook Political Report.
Friday Read Whether ‘stringing’ or ‘looping,’ tobacco is the tie that binds many North Carolina farm families
By ALLEN G. BREED, Associated Press
When Sophie Sunday told her schoolmates she was taking off halfway through the school day, they couldn’t wait to find out why. “I’m going to loop tobacco at the fair,” the seventh grader told them. “And they’re, like, ‘What?’ They don’t have a clue.” To be fair, most people don’t. At 12, Sophie was the youngest contestant in the North Carolina State Fair’s annual tobacco stringing contest, which pays homage to a way of life that was already largely past when her parents were kids.
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