FREDLINES
Eve Evans, EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
Potomac Local News
Police Blotter: Fatal Crash, Sexual Assaults Reported
By Uriah Kiser 09/03/2026
A passenger was killed in a vehicle fire after a 3:30 a.m. crash Wednesday in Stafford on Richmond Highway, and a suspect, Cesar Mario Torres Juarez of Spotsylvania, is being sought in connection with two sexual assaults at massage businesses on Plank Road. Police say Juarez is also wanted on charges of rape, forcible sodomy, object penetration, abduction with intent to defile, and strangulation in Fredericksburg in addition to other rape and assault charges in Spotsylvania.
The Free Lance Star
Shooting reported at Westwood Hills Elementary in Waynesboro (paywalled)
By News Leader Staff 09/02/2026
All students, teachers and staff were safely evacuated Wednesday morning after a shooting at Westwood Hills Elementary School in Waynesboro, which Augusta County officials said was contained and secured. Children were bused to nearby Westminster Presbyterian Church to reunite with families, while a large law enforcement response, including Waynesboro police, Virginia State Police, the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office and the ATF, remained at the scene into the afternoon. Augusta Health confirmed the incident was a shooting and offered support to the community, and Gov. Abigail Spanberger said she was monitoring the situation and thanked first responders.
The Fredericksburg Free Press
Judge rules in Caroline’s favor in taking of farmer’s land for water intake project
By Taft Coghill Jr. 09/03/2026
Caroline Circuit Court Judge Dennis Hupp ruled Wednesday against farmer Cory Garrett’s motion to invalidate the county’s eminent domain taking of 11 acres of his land for a water intake facility along the Rappahannock River, finding the county did not act arbitrarily or fraudulently. Hupp determined water supply is a legitimate public use, rejected arguments that the project was speculative when the county filed its certificate of take in July 2024, and found the county’s $78,400 offer and notice procedures complied with Virginia law. Garrett’s attorney may still file a response within 21 days, and separate legal challenges from the Rappahannock and Mattaponi tribes over the water withdrawal project remain pending.
ADVANCE READS
Ranjit Singh, George Solley, Phil Huber
Don’t Believe Your Eyes. Get Closer.
By Ranjit Singh, ADVANCE ENVIRONMENTAL COLUMNIST
Take a look at the picture above. I took it a while back on a really old Samsung smartphone.
What do you see? Gray corduroy pants? A field of grain, taken from an airplane window? A pattern detail from an ancient pottery sherd? A bit like a fingerprint, too, but too linear and orderly.
I love the intrinsic beauty and elegance of this pattern. Longitudes, with a slight overlay. Nothing seems random; there’s an intentionality here. Some might even say a consciousness.
Yes, Mr. President. You’re On the Ballot.
By Phil Huber, ADVANCE COLUMNIST
Donald Trump went to Myrtle Beach on Friday, August 21, to campaign for Lindsey Graham’s sister and he did something new. He asked for something. Nicely.
“So, what I really want you to do is pretend, please, that I’m on the ballot,” he told the crowd. “Just come and vote.” (NBC News)
Please. The man said Please.
Mr. President, I accept. Motion granted. In November I will walk into my precinct here in Fredericksburg, look down the ballot, and see your face on every line. You have my word.
‘We Must Recover the Sense of the Majesty of the Creation’
By George Solley, SPECIAL TO THE ADVANCE
I was saddened to learn of the death this week of Wendell Berry—poet, writer, teacher, agrarian, and vocal proponent of keeping a strong and intimate relation to the land.
I met him many years ago, when I was a graduate student in English at the University of Kentucky and he taught creative writing there. His office was just down the hall from a couple of my classrooms, and I frequently met him walking to class or the library—a tall, quiet, kind, and invariably polite man, older than I but still young.
STATE OF THE STATE
VaNews/VIRGINIA PUBLIC ACCESS PROJECT
Virginia bishops instruct Catholics on abortion, same-sex marriage amendments
By ELIZABETH BEYER, Cardinal News
At the Basilica of Saint Andrew in Roanoke on Sunday, a priest read a letter to the congregation at the end of Mass from Virginia’s two Catholic bishops that condemned two constitutional amendments before voters this fall. The priest was met with a round of applause. But the language used in the bishops’ letter, which was sent to hundreds of Catholic churches across the commonwealth, does not accurately convey the effects of the reproductive healthcare constitutional amendment, according to the patron of that amendment.
UVa forecast predicts loss of 18,050 jobs in Va. this year
By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Subscription Required)
Virginia is likely to lose 18,050 jobs this year as the state’s labor supply continues to shrink, even though the unemployment rate has stayed relatively steady, according to a new report by the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service. The new quarterly forecast shows modest improvement in the outlook for economic productivity, driven by investments in artificial intelligence and the data centers to support it, but it also sees “a substantial contraction in Virginia’s labor force.
Judge holds Virginia Beach School Board in contempt, orders fines after students’ records aren’t amended
By NORI LEYBENGRUB, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
A Virginia Beach judge found the city’s School Board in contempt for its failure to comply with a months-old order to nullify the disciplinary actions taken against three Kellam High School students in 2025. “I apologize if it seems that the Court is somewhat taken aback by that, but I am,” Circuit Court Judge Stephen Mahan told attorneys for Virginia Beach School Board according to a transcript of the hearing. “I am astonished.”
As sports betting surges, Virginia weighs how to curb gambling harms
By MARKUS SCHMIDT, Virginia Mercury
As college football season gets into full swing over Labor Day weekend, sports betting companies, public health experts and Virginia lawmakers are confronting a question that has grown more pressing since wagering moved into smartphones: How can the industry keep gambling from becoming an addiction? Representatives from those groups gathered Wednesday at the Hilton Richmond Downtown for a Responsible Gaming Roundtable hosted by the Sports Betting Alliance, an advocacy organization representing bet365, BetMGM, DraftKings, Fanatics and FanDuel — five of the nation’s largest online sports betting operators. ... The industry has expanded rapidly in the commonwealth since Virginia lawmakers legalized sports betting in 2020.
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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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