FREDLINES
Claire Marshall Watkins, ADVANCE CONTRIBUTOR
Fredericksburg Free Press
A taxing night: Business owners stay up late to help bury BPOL in Stafford County
By Jonathan Hunley 09/16/2026
At a meeting that started at 5 p.m. Tuesday and lasted until about 1 a.m. Wednesday, the vote failed 5-2, with only Supervisors Pamela Yeung and Kecia Evans supporting an ordinance that would have instituted the levy.
Business owners and executives generally despise the tax, which is common elsewhere, and Stafford — the largest county in Virginia that doesn’t charge it — has historically shied away from putting it in place.
The sticking point for opponents of the tax is that it is determined by a business’ prior year’s total gross receipts, not net proceeds or net income. It would be like an income tax that was based on a person’s gross income without allowing deductions for, say, home insurance or a mortgage.
Departure of City Schools’ chief financial officer means delay in review of travel report
By Adele Uphaus 09/16/2026
Fredericksburg School Board Chair Katie Pomeroy had intended for the draft report on a review of school board members’ travel during fiscal year 2025 to be presented and voted on at Monday’s board meeting.
“However, due to some unforeseen staff departures, we did not have the ability to present that,” Pomeroy said during the “unfinished business” portion of Monday’s school board meeting. “It is my sincere hope and plan that it will be presented at the October meeting.”
Chief Financial Officer Amber Obeng, who was appointed in March of this year, resigned effective Sept. 9, according to the personnel packet approved by the board this week.
Fredericksburg Free Press wins LION Publishers’ Financial Health Award
By FPP Staff 09/16/2026
The Fredericksburg Free Press was honored for its success in building a strong financial foundation for its news operation at the recent LION Publishers Sustainability Awards during this year’s Independent News Sustainability Summit in San Diego.
The Free Press won the 2026 LION Publishers’ Financial Health Award, with judges praising its work in growing revenue and subscribers through outreach and community events. The judges noted that those efforts, along with efficient budget management and pursuit of new revenue streams such as publishing public notices from localities it serves, helped the Free Press increase newsroom staffing.
The Free Lance-Star
King George man to serve 20 years for molesting child
By Keith Epps 09/16/2026
A King George man who repeatedly molested a child over at least a four-year period was ordered Wednesday to serve 20 years in prison.
Michael Randolph Reed, 43, was sentenced in King George Circuit Court to a total of 120 years with 100 years suspended. Under the terms of an agreement worked out by prosecutor Mason Husby and defense attorney Dennis McCarthy, 20 years was the maximum time he could have received from Judge Bruce Strickland.
Reed had previously pleaded guilty to 10 felonies, including object sexual penetration, three counts of aggravated sexual battery, possessing and producing child pornography and taking indecent liberties with a child. Numerous other charges were dropped.
Fredericksburg man accused of brutally assaulting woman
By Keith Epps 09/16/2026
A Fredericksburg man is facing multiple serious charges after he allegedly broke into a neighboring home and brutally attacked a woman, police said.
City public information officer Jessica Carter said police went to Ivanhoe Court about 6:24 a.m. Wednesday, after receiving a 911 call about a woman suffering from serious injuries following an assault. The woman was transported to a local hospital, where she was in serious condition and receiving treatment as of Wednesday evening.
According to police, the suspect and the victim are in a relationship and share a residence on Roffman Road, which is in the same general area as Ivanhoe Court off Fall Hill Avenue. Police said the man walked to the home where the woman was, broke a glass door to get inside and forcibly removed the woman from an upstairs room.
UMW men’s soccer head coach Jason Kilby earns 300th win
By Alex Murphy 09/16/2026
University of Mary Washington men’s soccer coach Jason Kilby had no clue that he had just recorded his 300th win as a head coach following Saturday’s 3-1 win over Washington College (Md.).
Kilby came into the 2026 season with 296 combined wins between North Carolina Wesleyan and the Eagles, 176 of them coming in Fredericksburg.
A 3-0 start for UMW took him to 299 career victories ahead of Saturday and once the final whistle sounded, the milestone was reached, though Kilby didn’t realize it until the news was relayed to him from his assistant coaches.
ADVANCE READS
Rebecca Rubin, Donnie Johnston
How Private Lands Can Contribute to Fredericksburg’s Conservation Collage
Rebecca Rubin, ADVANCE CONTRIBUTOR
There are relatively few things that I know for certain. One is that my daughter’s room is a testimony to controlled chaos. The second is that I will sorely miss that chaos when she heads to college. And the third is that there are unlikely to be long-term solutions for land conservation at a scale large enough, in any city, without private landowners taking steps to contribute to the overall conservation mosaic.
“Private lands” doesn’t only mean vast lands—although, those are good too. Think instead of a back, front, or side yard of any size, whether owned or rented. Decks, porches and community gardens also pull their own weight.
Our Election-Fraudster-in-Chief
Donnie Johnston, ADVANCE COLUMNIST
What would happen if I stood out in front of my election precinct door and offered each voter a specific amount of money to vote for my candidate?
I’d be arrested, of course. It is called election fraud, buying votes and it is—at least I thought it was—illegal.
Yet Donald Trump, the president of these United States, can stand up at the Republican Mid-term Convention in Texas and promise every adult American a $5,000 check if the GOP candidates win in November.
STATE OF THE STATE
VaNews/VIRGINIA PUBLIC ACCESS PROJECT
Ballots already in the mail: Local registrars didn’t wait on high court decision
By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Subscription Required)
Absentee ballots were already in the mail to voters in the Richmond area before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled late Monday against a request by President Donald Trump to allow the U.S. Postal Service to impose new requirements on absentee voting by mail. Early voting begins on Friday in Virginia for the congressional midterm elections. ... Six justices ruled that the administration was likely to lose the argument over the postal service’s authority to set rules for state and local elections. ... “The Commonwealth of Virginia runs free, fair, and secure elections,” said Attorney General Jay Jones, who joined a coalition with 23 attorneys general and one governor to challenge the postal service’s authority to carry out its plan.
September Campaign Finance Reports
The Virginia Public Access Project
VPAP has posted all campaign finance disclosures filed by local candidates running for offices on the November ballot, referendum committees seeking to pass or defeat initiatives on the November ballot, and political action committees. These reports cover activity through Aug. 31. We rank each group by amount raised and cash on hand. If you’re interested in a specific candidate or committee, you can drill down for a sortable list of donors and expenditures reported during the filing periods.
Virginia shrinks list of disenfranchising crimes, complying with federal ruling
By DEAN MIRSHAHI, VPM
Virginia has implemented a landmark federal court order and now no longer strips someone’s voting rights away over any felony conviction except three: murder, voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter. It is the latest, and likely final, step in the King v. O’Bannon federal lawsuit that started in 2023. In January, U.S. District Court Judge John Gibney partially struck down Virginia’s felony disenfranchisement policy when he ruled it violated a Reconstruction-era federal law and could only be applied to 11 common-law felonies as recognized in 1870. But not all of those were still crimes, as Gibney reaffirmed in August, when he disagreed with the office of Attorney General Jay Jones that the list of 11 could apply to 284 modern-day crimes.
Va. Attorney General creates unit to enforce new firearm industry law
By ANNA BRYSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Subscription Required)
Attorney General Jay Jones announced Tuesday he has created a new unit within his office: the Firearms Accountability & Industry Responsibility Unit. The unit will investigate and bring civil enforcement actions against firearm industry members who violate a new law passed this year that requires them to implement business practices aimed at preventing giving a gun to a firearm trafficker, someone who is at risk of using a gun to harm someone, or a “straw purchaser” — someone who legally buys a gun to give it to someone who is prohibited from owning a gun.
Virginia faces $1.7 billion gap in highway funding
By DAVE RESS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Subscription Required)
Virginia is facing a gap of more than $1.7 billion between available funds and what it needs to spend on maintaining highways to keep them safe and in relatively good condition over the next six years, the state’s top transportation officials say. The reason is a decision last year to shift money from maintenance work to construction projects, even though maintenance costs have roughly doubled in the past decade.
By EMILY SCHABACKER, Cardinal News
The heat rolled out of the house as soon as the door opened. A developing storm had cooled the air outside, but inside Elizabeth Fitzgerald’s small brick home, the temperature was stifling. “Why is it so hot in here?” Keith Carroll asked as he stepped through the front door. Carroll leads the community paramedicine program at the Danville Life Saving Crew. He has already worked with the city of Danville and the Southern Area Agency on Aging to make several repairs to Fitzgerald’s house. This time, the air conditioning had stopped working. Carroll jotted a note on his hand and said he would check around town for someone who could help Fitzgerald fix the problem.
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