FREDLINES
Claire Marshall Watkins, ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Fredericksburg Free Press
Stafford officials celebrate a new nature preserve in Widewater
By Jonathan Hunley 09/25/2026
The Northern Virginia Conservation Trust worked with county officials and the Marine Corps to purchase the land from property owner Joyce Arndt so it wouldn’t be developed.
Arndt agreed to sell the tract for $159,000, its assessed value, even though she had offers from developers for twice that price, and the trust raised $205,000 to pay for the purchase and to prepare it as a preserve protected by easement.
Rock Out Knock Out Homelessness drive returns for 15th year in Spotsylvania
By Adele Uphaus 09/25/2026
The event takes place Oct. 2 and 3, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Southpoint Walmart. Members of the public can either shop at the store on those days and then donate the items, or bring items from elsewhere.
The Free Lance-Star
Spotsylvania teacher cleared of wrongdoing in incident (paywalled)
Massaponax High School teacher has been cleared of any wrongdoing following an investigation that began earlier this month after she reported receiving sexually explicit images from a juvenile student.
According to court records, the teacher received images and a video showing the teen masturbating. She also reported receiving calls and messages on her phone from the boy. Her phone and laptop are connected, so messages sent to the phone also showed up on the laptop, court records state.
Potomac Local News
Rapes on Plank Road prompt Fredericksburg review of massage-parlor rules
By Potomac Local News 09/25/2026
At-Large Councilor Dr. Will B. Mackintosh thanked her. He said illegitimate massage businesses have been tied to sexual assault and rape reports in the community and noted that his husband is a licensed massage therapist.
Mackintosh asked City Manager Timothy J. Baroody and City Attorney Kelly Lackey to review options. He said Spotsylvania requires criminal background checks for every practitioner and Fredericksburg does not, calling that possible low-hanging fruit.
ADVANCE READS
Phil Huber, Steve Watkins
If Data Centers Want a Green Light, Start with Community Compatibility
Phil Huber, ADVANCE COLUMNIST
Virginia helped build the modern data-center industry. Northern Virginia became a global internet hub because the Commonwealth and its localities welcomed an industry that brought investment, jobs and tax revenue.
But success has come with growing strains: enormous demand for electricity, new power lines and substations, pressure on water systems, generator noise and emissions, more traffic and the conversion of land near homes, schools and historic places. Too often, neighbors learn the full scale of a project only after key decisions have been made.
A Pound of Water
Steve Watkins, ADVANCE EDITOR
A few days ago I did a Don Draper and announced that The FXBG Advance will no longer take money from data centers or anyone who represents them. The post was headlined FXBG Advance Retreating on Data Centers, and you might want to pause here and read it if you haven’t already.
After explaining why we made the decision, I pivoted to the broader issue of funding, and wrote,
THE ADVANCE still needs money—
STATE OF THE STATE
VaNews/VIRGINIA PUBLIC ACCESS PROJECT
Trump officials sideline Va., D.C. historians in arch review
By IAN M. STEVENSON AND HEATHER RICHARDS, Politico
An independent federal council helmed by Trump appointees on Thursday abruptly cut off historic reviews with local governments for the president’s planned 250-foot tall arch along the Potomac River. The rarely used move comes after historians for the District of Columbia and Virginia refused to sign off on the National Park Service’s attempt to finalize a plan mitigating the arch’s expected harm to historic properties. The historians pressed to hold off on the plan until the project’s impacts are better understood.
Nearly 235K Virginians should never have been disenfranchised, state says
By DEAN MIRSHAHI AND JAHD KHALIL, VPM
Nearly 235,000 Virginians are being notified that their felony convictions should have never kept them from voting and they can now register in time for the 2026 general election, according to the Department of Elections (ELECT). ELECT told VPM News mailers were sent out to 234,852 people after a landmark federal court ruling mostly struck down Virginia’s automatic disenfranchisement rule for anyone convicted of a felony. The notifications come after months of confusion on who are now eligible voters, and as early voting is underway in the 2026 general election.
Virginia health committee considers mandating licensed nurses in every school
By NATHANIEL CLINE, Virginia Mercury
Virginia schools could be required to have a licensed nurse in every building starting in 2028, under a legislative proposal introduced Wednesday. The measure is designed to close healthcare gaps by placing experts in schools to manage complex medical conditions. Virginia permits school divisions to employ nurses, but state law doesn’t require it. About 8% of Virginia’s schools operate without a nurse. At the School Health Services Committee’s Wednesday meeting, speakers and committee members supported the proposal. As written, it offers districts facing nurse shortages two-year waivers if they can show they made a good-faith effort to hire.
By ELIZABETH BEYER, Cardinal News
As a young, single mother, Kira Lowe had struggled to find childcare for the first of her three daughters. She was in her early 20s when she had her first child, Keri, and Lowe relied on her grandmother for childcare so that she could work to support her daughter. But after her grandmother was diagnosed with cancer, Lowe had to seek help elsewhere. She had a difficult time finding care for Keri because the little girl was not yet potty trained. Then she learned about Head Start, a free program that provides childcare and other services for low-income families. That program was crucial for Lowe in her ability to support Keri, now 8, and her second daughter, Brooklyn, now 5. ... The Trump administration announced in August an effort to cut federal costs for Head Start and free up childcare slots in the program, but advocates in Virginia fear those changes could lead to a decrease in services in rural areas.
Friday Read A Black Jefferson Descendant Is Buried at Monticello for the First Time
By JENNIFER SCHUESSLER, New York Times (Metered Paywall - 1 to 2 articles a month)
One Saturday this month, three people gathered in the cemetery at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s hilltop estate in Virginia. After opening up the earth, they placed a container of ashes into the ground, along with family mementos and a photograph of a baby cradled in his mother’s arms. It was a simple, poignant burial for Cedric Jessup Jr. of Washington, who died in 2020 from complications of Covid-19. But it was also a historic moment: the first burial of a Black descendant in the Jefferson family graveyard. Jessup was not a descendant of Sally Hemings, the enslaved woman whose relationship with Jefferson has been a subject of debate for more than 200 years. He was descended via a great-great-grandson. But the burial comes as new DNA research from the Smithsonian Institution offers what its researchers say is “extraordinary proof” that Jefferson fathered children with Hemings.
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Articles from newspapers throughout the Commonwealth and Washington D.C. Firewalls will block you from reading some, but you’ll at least have some idea about what’s going on from the headlines and summaries. CLICK HERE.
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