FREDLINES
Claire Marshall Watkins, ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Fredericksburg Free Press
Early voting in the state and region has surpassed 2022 levels
By Adele Uphaus 10/30/2026
As of Oct. 28, Virginians have cast 1.3 million early ballots in the 2026 midterm elections, surpassing the 976,160 total votes that were cast in the 2022 midterms.
Turnout in all 11 of Virginia’s congressional districts is up over 2022, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. The greatest number of early votes — 169,000 — have been cast in the 1st District, in which incumbent Republican Rob Wittman is being challenged by Democrat Shannon Taylor.
Fredericksburg weighs retail marijuana restrictions
By Grace Wagner 10/30/2026
Fredericksburg City Council is considering how far recreational marijuana retailers should be located from schools, daycares and other institutions, with city staff warning that strict distance requirements could limit where businesses can open, particularly downtown.
During an Oct. 27 work session, Community Planning and Building Director Ray Cash presented options for reducing the state’s baseline 1,000-foot separation requirement. Council members also discussed security requirements, store appearances and whether the city could restrict certain products sold at marijuana retailers.
The Free Lance-Star
Murder-for-hire crime halted by Stafford detectives
By Keith Epps 10/30/2026
A Stafford man already facing more than 30 charges for allegedly sexually abusing a child over a number of years is now accused of trying to arrange the victim’s death from jail.
Christopher L. Tinnermon, 51, was charged Wednesday with criminal solicitation to commit murder-for-hire and attempted aggravated murder-for-hire. He remains in the Rappahannock Regional Jail under no bond.
Overnight bridge work to impact U.S. 1 in Stafford
By Scott Shenk 10/30/2026
Overnight delays are planned this week for a section of U.S. 1 near Quantico between Wednesday and Friday, the Virginia Department of Transportation said.
Scheduled lane closures are related to U.S. 1 over Chopawamsic Creek bridge replacement, near the county line between Stafford and Prince William. Crews will be installing new bridge beams during the lane closures.
The highway will be reduced to two lanes for traffic, between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. beginning Wednesday evening and ending Friday morning.
City police arrest suspected super stalker on 27 charges
By Keith Epps 10/30/2026
A man accused of harassing a Fredericksburg woman from coast to coast over the past dozen years is in jail, charged with 27 criminal offenses, court records show.
Belal Ahmad Yunus, 34, who has listed addresses in California and New Jersey, is charged with 22 counts of violating a protective order, making a harassing phone call, two counts of stalking, making a threat in writing and attempted breaking and entering. The latter two charges are felonies.
Ghostly legends of Fredericksburg’s historic sites live on
By Carrie Sidener
Fredericksburg is a city with a rich history, so it only seems fitting that there might be a ghost or two roaming around some of its historic homes and sites.
To get in a delightfully spooky mood for All Hallows’ Eve, The Free Lance-Star dug through its own historical archives and researched area legends to bring you the tales of hauntings in the region.
Potomac Local News
Stafford waits on December tax payments while disabled-veterans relief costs rise $400,000 a month
By PLN News 10/30/2026
Early FY27 numbers show the county is still waiting on the large property-tax payments that will reflect the higher rate supervisors set in April, while the same unfunded disabled-veterans mandate that drove that increase continues to grow by about $400,000 a month.
Stafford County Budget Director Jeff Stamp presented first-quarter FY2027 results to the Board of Supervisors on Oct. 20. The general fund adjusted budget for total revenues and other financing sources is $509.8 million. First-quarter collections were $21.1 million, or 4.1 percent of the adjusted budget.
ADVANCE READS
Ranjit Singh, Bruce Saller, Phil Huber
My White Whale
Ranjit Singh, ADVANCE ENVIRONMENTAL COLUMNIST
Despite appearances, it isn’t always easy being a magazine’s “Environmental Columnist.”
Yes, there are the obvious perks: Invitations to exclusive parties, fancy clothes “comped” by famous designers, never having to pick up a bar tab, etc. But the psychic costs really add up.
Before you hate me, I enter into evidence the object above.
That’s is my mother’s pickup truck on our family farm in Stafford County. It is either a 1994 or ‘95 Nissan (I’m afraid to open the glove box and find out; see below). She bought it used maybe 20 years ago because she is frugal and resists new cars. I should note that my mother vividly remembers World War II, and lived under both Hitler and Stalin. Nowadays, her pickup is used primarily to haul garbage to the local dump. I drive it there regularly.
Plug-in Solar Legal in Virginia Starting January 1. Here Are Some Options
Bruce Saller, ADVANCE CONTRIBUTOR
A new Virginia law allows electric customers to install plug-in (or balcony) solar systems producing up to 1200 watts beginning January 1. A solar system facing South will generate 1.5 kilo-watt hours per year for each system watt. So, a 1200-watt system will produce 1800 kilo-watt hours, or 15 percent of a typical customer’s usage, saving $324 per year.
Plug-in solar systems consist of solar panels, an inverter that converts the panels’ direct current output to alternating current, cabling, and possibly a mounting structure. The inverter has a plug that goes into a standard wall outlet. The solar panels can be installed on a roof, hung from a balcony, installed on a ground structure, or leaned against a wall.
“Trump Being Trump” Is No Excuse
Phil Huber, ADVANCE COLUMNIST
“This is Trump being Trump.”
That familiar excuse asks Americans to stop expecting the president to tell the truth—or answer for what he does. Falsehoods become exaggerations. Insults become jokes. Divisive statements prove he “tells it like it is.” Whatever he does, defenders explain it away.
But presidential conduct is not a personality quirk. Judge Donald Trump by what he says and does with the power entrusted to him.
STATE OF THE STATE
VaNews/VIRGINIA PUBLIC ACCESS PROJECT
Va. attorney general briefs law enforcement before election
By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Subscription Required)
Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones had already sparked the ire of the U.S. Department of Justice by advising local election officials on how to handle a potential federal presence at polling places on Election Day, but he followed that on Thursday with a new bulletin to state and local law enforcement agencies to remind them of the state laws they help enforce at polling places across the state. The new, four-page bulletin lists more than a dozen state laws to deal with misconduct at election polling places, but the attorney general’s office doesn’t raise particular concerns about a potential federal presence at the polls ...
Portsmouth police chief warned Lucas against potential ‘criminal behavior’ years before indictment
By NATALIE ANDERSON, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
Portsmouth Police Chief Stephen Jenkins warned Virginia Sen. Louise Lucas several years ago that selling marijuana could get her in trouble one day. The interaction and warning is detailed in the federal grand jury indictment of Lucas and six others — including her two daughters — related to suspected marijuana drug trafficking and money laundering. Prosecutors accused the group of selling marijuana illegally from Lucas’ licensed CBD shop — The Cannabis Outlet on High Street in Portsmouth — and conspiring to rig the state’s marijuana licensure process so they would financially benefit.
College towns expect to see near-presidential election numbers for same-day voter registration
By ELIZABETH BEYER, Cardinal News
Registrars in college towns across Southwest and Southside Virginia are expecting same-day voter registration to reach near presidential election numbers during the 2026 midterm. Radford, Charlottesville, Lynchburg and Montgomery County registrars have said that they expect same-day voter registration to be near the numbers they saw in the 2024 presidential race. The four localities have large student populations and have seen efforts by colleges and universities to get out the vote.
With thousands newly able to vote, a Va. ballot measure could unlock voting rights for more
By CHARLOTTE RENE WOODS, Virginia Mercury
Nov. 3 will be Seychell Williams’ first time voting, a civic duty she said she’s excited to experience. Despite advocating for criminal justice reform laws at the state Capitol over the years, she’s been unable to vote herself due to a past felony conviction for which she served five years in prison. She chose to skip the early voting or mail-in options to savor the experience in person. “It’s my first time so of course I want to be out on Election Day,” she said. Williams is among more than 200,000 Virginians who regained their voting rights after a court ruled earlier this year they never should have lost them based on a Reconstruction Era law.
Data center boom: What Virginia communities should ask before saying yes
By PAT SIMON, WSET-TV
A constant hum. Massive industrial buildings rising beside homes and schools. Billions of dollars flowing into local government budgets. Across Northern Virginia, the data center boom is bringing economic opportunity and a growing debate over what communities must give up to get it. As data centers spread across Virginia, the decisions local leaders make today could affect residents’ electric bills, neighborhoods and quality of life for years to come. For Greg Pirio in Loudoun County, the problem is difficult to ignore. “Yeah, it’s just a constant irritation,” Pirio said. ... According to Loudoun County government figures for 2026, the county has 233 data center buildings in operation, with another 171 planned.
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