THE THURSDAY ADVANCE: FREDLINES, READS, and STATE of the STATE
AUGUST 13, 2026. All About the Day.
FREDLINES
Eve Evans, EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
The Free Lance-Star
VRE to offer Sunday train service to D.C. in late August (paywalled)
By Scott Shenk, 08/13/2026
VRE will run a one-day Sunday service on Aug. 23 to Washington, D.C., coinciding with the Freedom 250 Grand Prix IndyCar race on the National Mall, an event expected to draw 140,000 daily visitors. The trip is a test of weekend service, which VRE aims to expand once infrastructure projects like the Long Bridge expansion are complete. It fits into VRE’s System Plan 2050, which envisions seven-day service and far more daily trips but would require operating costs to rise from $108.9 million to $748.3 million, leaving a projected $452.2 million funding gap.
Spotsylvania man found guilty of sexually abusing girl (paywalled)
By Keith Epps, 08/12/2026
Joe Phillip Giang, 48, was convicted Wednesday in Spotsylvania Circuit Court of three counts of aggravated sexual battery and one count of sodomy of a child under 13, following a bench trial before Judge Charles Sharp. Prosecutors said the abuse began in 2021 when the victim was seven or eight and continued for about three years, coming to light after she told her older sister. Giang, who denies the allegations and claims the girl fabricated them, faces up to life in prison plus 60 years at sentencing on Oct. 8; he is also reportedly under investigation for similar allegations in Virginia Beach, though no charges have been filed there.
Fredericksburg Free Press
Spotsylvania supervisors approve statewide data center moratorium resolution
By Taft Coghill Jr., 08/13/2026
The Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors voted 4-2 Tuesday to adopt a resolution urging Gov. Abigail Spanberger to enact a statewide moratorium on data center development, backing a call from state Sen. Glen Sturtevant, R-Chesterfield. Supervisors Drew Mullins and Deborah Frazier voted against it, arguing the county already has strong local controls, including a Special Use Permit requirement adopted in February, and that supporting a state-level halt is hypocritical given the board’s usual resistance to Richmond intervention. Supporters, including Chair Lori Hayes and Supervisors David Goosman and Jacob Lane, said the vote was meant to send a message about community concerns over water, electricity, noise and quality-of-life impacts, even as Hayes expressed reservations about ceding local land-use authority. The county currently has eight approved data centers and 11 pending applications.
State reviewing water withdrawal permit for Birchwood Tech Campus
By FPF staff, 08/13/2026
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality opened a public comment period Wednesday, running through Sept. 11, on a groundwater withdrawal permit for Amazon Data Services’ proposed Birchwood Tech Campus data center in King George County. The permit would let Amazon draw up to 6.4 million gallons per year from the Potomac aquifer for potable water, irrigation, building maintenance and equipment washing, and DEQ has made a tentative decision to issue it. The project is also the subject of an Amazon lawsuit against King George County, with trial set for Sept. 28.
ADVANCE READS
Eric Bonds, Phil Huber
The Main Lesson from DEQ’s Groundwater Report: Va. Must Budget To Live Within Environmental Limits
By Eric Bonds, VIRGINIA MERCURY
The timing of the release of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s report on groundwater availability last month was suspicious, given that it was completed in January but not made available to lawmakers or the public until several months after the General Assembly’s legislative session. The science presented in the report is impressive, while its findings are alarming.
***
The Dagger Behind the Star
By Phil Huber, ADVANCE COLUMNIST
Turn on the news and the script is familiar. When Donald Trump talks about the law, he rarely begins with evidence, procedure, or the hard work of governing. He begins with slogans: “law and order,” “weaponized justice,” “pure vandalism,” “election integrity.” The pattern is the same as the culture-war stars I wrote about earlier: a bright story tossed into the air to make us look one way while the real trick happens somewhere else.
But every shiny star has a partner, and it’s the one that matters. Call it the dagger. The star is the loud, easy-to-repeat phrase that grabs your eye. The dagger is what that phrase is pointed at while your eye is elsewhere—the power being moved, the money being protected, the accountability being dodged.
STATE OF THE STATE
VaNews/VIRGINIA PUBLIC ACCESS PROJECT
Spanberger dismisses calls to pause data center growth in Virginia
By BILL ATKINSON, Progress Index (Metered paywall - 10 articles a month)
Gov. Abigail Spanberger dismissed the idea of a data center moratorium in Virginia as requested by one of the Tri-City area’s state senators, saying the steps her administration has taken to make data centers pay their own way supersedes any effort to block them from being developed. “Virginia is showing what it looks like to be a national leader on making sure data centers pay their fair share for the energy they use, listen to the needs of local communities, and adhere to stricter environmental, water, and noise pollution standards,” a Spanberger spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday, Aug 11, to The Progress-Index.
Federal judge in Roanoke asked to slow state hemp law
By LAURENCE HAMMACK, Roanoke Times (Subscription Required)
After hearing how a new state law will either force the growers and sellers of hemp-derived products out of business, or turn them into drug dealers overnight, a federal judge was asked Wednesday to delay the statue’s implementation. U.S. District Judge Robert Ballou said at the end of nearly five hours of testimony and arguments that he will issue a written opinion “as quickly as I can.” Unless the judge intervenes by granting a preliminary injunction, the law criminalizing mild intoxicants — such as gummies, topical ointments and drinks infused with hemp — will take effect Saturday.
Dominion asks SCC to let it recover an additional $922M for fuel costs
By SHANNON HECKT, Virginia Mercury
Dominion Energy asked the State Corporation Commission to recover an additional $922 million in fuel costs, citing extreme power demands as well as a national rise in gas prices as reasons for the escalation beyond its original calculations. SCC staff reported that Dominion’s “actual fuel and purchased power expenses rose dramatically from approximately $1.7 billion in 2020 to $4.4 billion in 2025, an increase of $2.7 billion, or 152%, over a five-year period.” The “fuel factor” portion of monthly bills is a pass-through cost, meaning Dominion does not make a profit off the fuel expenses and can pass up to 100% of the cost to customers.
It ‘felt like a Renée Good situation,’ U.S. citizen says after ICE encounter in Northern Virginia
By JUAN BENN JR., Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)
The first frame of the video Carolina Molina posted across her social media accounts shows a masked U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement agent pointing a gun at the camera. “Yeah, you record us. You almost ran us over,” he yells. “I didn’t almost run you over,” she responds. “You’re so full of s---.” The agent threatens to arrest Molina, the footage shows, before she tells him she’s a U.S. citizen and pans the cellphone camera, capturing at least four other agents standing outside of her blue Toyota Supra wearing tactical vests that read “police” and “ERO” for Enforcement and Removal Operations.
Virginia’s vaccine recommendations, requirements won’t change after Trump order, officials say
By CHARLOTTE RENE WOODS, Virginia Mercury
After President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday to alter childhood vaccine guidance, Virginia’s Department of Health on Tuesday reaffirmed the state’s requirements and recommendations for all children to be vaccinated. VDH Commissioner Dr. Cameron Webb said that Virginia families should trust the state’s decisions to be “grounded in the best available science.” “The evidence supporting the (American Academy of Pediatrics) immunization schedule is extensive, and we remain confident that following it is one of the best ways to protect children from serious, preventable diseases,” Webb said.
***
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.
This article is published under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND. It can be distributed for noncommercial purposes and must include the following: “Published with permission by FXBG Advance.”