FREDLINES
Claire Marshall Watkins, ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Fredericksburg Free Press
‘We will not stop’: Despite concerns, city council approves updated Small Area 8 Plan
By Joey LoMonaco 11/11/2026
On Tuesday night, the Fredericksburg City Council held a public hearing that could shape the future of the city’s Mayfield neighborhood.
But first, Ward 4 Councilor Chuck Frye—a fourth-generation Mayfield resident who represents the historically-Black neighborhood—wanted to talk about its past.
Frye recounted a story told to him by an older neighbor on Harris Street, Wallace Edwards. Edwards, a Marine stationed at Quantico, was newly married and expecting a child when he learned he’d soon be shipped off. Panicked, he asked his superiors what he should do.
Spotsylvania student rep: “Prioritize student art over AI”
By Adele Uphaus 11/11/2026
In her last meeting as student representative to the Spotsylvania School Board, Cora Shields asked division staff for support.
“I would like to ask SCPS staff to consider asking art students to create their school flyers and posters,” Shields said during her comments at Monday’s school board meeting.
Shields said she and fellow students have noticed the division using “more and more” AI-generated flyers and announcements.
From cellophane to wastewater, FMC ‘was what the community needed at the right time’
By Adele Uphaus 11/11/2026
For Brian Orrock, the official decommissioning of the FMC Wastewater Treatment Plant was “bittersweet.”
“It’s kind of like a funeral, but a good funeral, if that makes sense,” said Orrock, the manager of wastewater treatment for Spotsylvania County who used to work “on ship” at the plant in a variety of different roles. “This place gave us a career and it fed our families.”
On Tuesday afternoon, elected and appointed officials and county utility staff celebrated the official decommissioning of the FMC treatment plant with a ceremonial valve closure. Wastewater treatment ended about a month ago and has since shifted to the enhanced Massaponax treatment plant as part of a $52 million project. That project will ultimately prevent 37,000 pounds of nitrogen and 600 pounds of phosphorus from entering the Rappahannock River each year.
The Free Lance-Star
Man accused of robbery indicted in Stafford (paywalled)
By Keith Epps 11/12/2026
A man accused of conspiring with a young woman to rob her “sugar daddy” earlier this year was indicted this month by a Stafford grand jury.
Isaiah Marque Jordan, 24, of Indian Head, Maryland, is charged with carjacking, robbery, burglary and using a firearm in the commission of a felony. He is being held in the Rappahannock Regional Jail.
Court records show the charges stem from a Jan. 3 incident in which four people, two armed with rifles and two with handguns, broke into a home in the 3800 block of Richmond Highway (U.S. 1). They demanded specific items, including his car keys and two clothing items, both containing $2,000 in cash. They also threatened to kidnap the victim’s girlfriend, Mary L. Nambo Ronombo, but did not.
City officers honored for last week’s dramatic rescue (paywalled)
By Keith Epps 11/11/2026
Fredericksburg’s City Council didn’t wait long to express its appreciation to two city police officers credited with saving a city woman from her burning home last week.
Officers Dylan Lawrence and Dylan Smith were among the emergency workers who responded to a house fire at 227 Hillcrest Drive the afternoon of Nov. 3. When they arrived, they were greeted by the woman’s frantic husband, who informed them that his wheelchair-bound wife was still inside the smoke-filled residence.
Smith soon heard the elderly woman’s faint voice and found her on the kitchen floor, unable to move. Smith and Lawrence picked her up and carried her out to safety, where she and the officers were treated for smoke inhalation.
Fredericksburg library assistant wins big on Jeopardy! with Daily Doubles (paywalled)
By Pilar Davis 11/11/2026
Fredericksburg resident Betty Hume is making Fredericksburg proud by showing off her impressive knowledge on Jeopardy!
Hume walked away with two back-to-back wins on Thursday and Friday of last week. Hume said getting to be a contestant on the 62-year-old game show was a dream come true.
Originally from North Carolina, Hume has lived in Fredericksburg since 1967. She attended Mary Washington College and was a teacher in Spotsylvania County for nine years. She retired from the Central Rappahannock Regional Library after working at the Porter, Howell, Salem Church, and Snow libraries.
Potomac Local News
UMW Theatre tackles loss and hope in ‘Dear Evan Hansen’
By PLN News 11/11/2026
The University of Mary Washington’s Theatre and Dance Department is staging the Tony Award-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen at Klein Theatre through Nov. 22, the Fredericksburg Free Press reports.
The show follows a lonely high-schooler who becomes the center of a grieving family’s story after a classmate’s suicide. Tickets are $40 (discounts for students, alumni, military, and seniors). Performances run 7:30 p.m. Thursdays–Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays, with a sensory-friendly performance at 2 p.m. Nov. 14.
By PLN News 11/11/2026
Stafford County Public Schools recorded an official Sept. 30 enrollment roughly 2 percent below last year, a drop of 632 students, staff told the School Board during its Nov. 10 work session.
The decline is the largest year-over-year loss in recent memory and arrives even as the county logged a record number of live births. The birth-to-kindergarten capture rate fell to its lowest level in more than 20 years, rising only 4.6 percent. Staff said the shortfall is already reshaping the division’s 10-year capital improvement plan.
Projections show the division losing about 500 students over the next five years before enrollment rebounds by year 10. The drop tracks a broader Northern Virginia trend.
Police Blotter: Fredericksburg police seek missing woman last seen Oct. 28
By PLN News 11/11/2026
Police said Morgan Painter, 27, was last seen Oct. 28, 2026, in the area of McKinney and Dixon streets. She is described as 5-foot-4, 240 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes, and has tattoos on her forearm.
Police said she is known to frequent the Mayfield area and downtown Fredericksburg. Her roommate believes she bought a bus ticket and could be in North Carolina.
Anyone who has seen Painter is asked to call Fredericksburg police at 540-373-3122 and reference report 2026-005548. Anonymous tips can be sent by texting 847-411 with “FPDtip” followed by the tip, or through the FPD Tip app.
ADVANCE READS
David S. Kerr, Donnie Johnston, Claire Marshall Watkins
Just Who Is a Veteran? The Answer May Surprise You.
David S. Kerr, SPECIAL TO THE ADVANCE
In Britain, the Sunday nearest the 11th of November—Armistice Day in the United Kingdom, our Veteran’s Day—is for many churches “Remembrance Sunday.” Church services close to Armistice Day are often focused on remembering not only those who died in defense of the nation’s freedom, but also on living veterans. It’s also not uncommon for veterans to wear their service medals to church.
It was on a Remembrance Sunday after church when talking to the Rev. McPherson while he was delighting in a cup of tea and a very large chocolate croissant, that I asked him about the medal he was wearing. The idea of this somewhat hefty, good-natured man being a soldier surprised me.
The reverend didn’t have what the armed services call a “military bearing,” and that’s why I wasn’t prepared for his answer.
Experts Are Predicting Another Snowmageddon, But What Do They Know?
Donnie Johnston, ADVANCE COLUMNIST
Suddenly, we are scanning the long-range weather forecast looking for snowflakes.
Yep! It is that time of year again. From now until the first of April—and sometimes after that—snowstorms are possible. And some of us cannot wait.
It will definitely be hard for Mother Nature to live up to weather forecasters’ expectations for this winter. In typical fashion for our times, forecasters have weaponized the current El Nino (warming waters in the eastern Pacific) to the point where massive amounts of snow are expected along the East Coast and Mid-Atlantic.
UMW on Mental Health Honor Roll, Great American Concert at the Library, World Language Money for Stafford, and More Press Release Releases
Claire Marshall Watkins, ASSOCIATE EDITOR
On Thursday, November 12, a trio of experienced professionals is presenting an encore performance of the best of the Songbook, and it is free and open to all. It is a gift to the Fredericksburg region from the Fredericksburg-Este Association, the sister city organization partnered with Este, Italy. The concert concludes the year-long sister city programming in celebration of America250.
*** On Thursday, November 12, from 6-7 p.m. in the Fredericksburg Co-op Courtyard, the Fredericksburg Area Community Supported Agriculture Project will hold one final mini-market, just in time to stock up on Thanksgiving favorites
STATE OF THE STATE
VaNews/VIRGINIA PUBLIC ACCESS PROJECT
Spanberger, Virginia Democrats pitch medical debt relief, data center limits for 2027
By MARKUS SCHMIDT AND SHANNON HECKT, Virginia Mercury
Gov. Abigail Spanberger and Virginia’s top Democrats unveiled their 2027 legislative agenda Tuesday, proposing medical debt relief, limits on classroom screen time and tougher oversight of data centers and artificial intelligence as they seek to address rising costs for Virginia families. Announced on the South Portico of the state Capitol in Richmond, the Moving Virginia Forward Agenda builds on Spanberger’s first-year affordability initiatives while adding proposals to address workers, help small businesses and crack down on AI-generated child sexual abuse material.
Mid-decade redistricting isn’t off the table for some Virginia Democrats
By ANNA BRYSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Subscription Required)
Del. Marcia “Cia” Price, D-Newport News, said Tuesday morning that she wants to pursue mid-decade redistricting legislation again during the upcoming legislative session. Virginia Democrats had sought to redraw congressional maps in favor of Democrats ahead of this year’s midterms, but the Supreme Court of Virginia overturned the voter-approved amendment. To redraw congressional maps before the 2028 U.S. House election, the General Assembly would first need to approve a proposed constitutional amendment during the upcoming session.
VPAP Visual Voter Turnout in 2026
The Virginia Public Access Project
Voter turnout in last week’s election was the second-highest for a Virginia midterm since 1998, about four points shy of the peak in 2018. See the trends in midterm turnout over time, as well as this year’s turnout in each locality compared to Virginia as a whole.
By NORI LEYBENGRUB, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
Federal prosecutors have divulged what kinds of evidence they are relying on to bring racketeering conspiracy and marijuana distribution charges against one of the state’s most powerful elected officials, as well as members of her family and former associates. They made the revelations in a Nov. 6 court filing, asking a judge to designate the case “complex,” which would allow a trial date to be scheduled beyond the 70-day deadline from the date of indictment set by federal law.
After a record high last year, Virginia’s Medicaid growth back to earth
By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Subscription Required)
A year after costs soared to a record high, Virginia’s Medicaid program has come back to earth with a new forecast of just $13.1 million in additional state funds needed in the current two-year state budget. The forecast, completed last week by the Department of Medical Assistance Services, came as a relief to Virginia budget leaders, who know that much bigger financial challenges are looming for the healthcare safety net program because of cuts in federal funding that President Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress approved last year.
Could a $4.8B clause in the proposed NextEra-Dominion deal be a windfall to Virginia ratepayers?
By ELIZABETH MCGOWAN, Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism
Consumer advocate Tyson Slocum is far from alone in urging Virginia utility regulators to deny Florida-based NextEra Energy’s proposed $67 billion acquisition of Dominion Energy. But he is the one energy expert whose public testimony points out that NextEra could be obligated to pay Richmond-based Dominion a $4.83 billion regulatory termination fee if the merger fails to secure necessary approvals. “This termination fee (is) an additional reason for Virginia regulators to reject the acquisition,” Slocum wrote in his succinct 26-page filing with the State Corporation Commission. “The nearly $5 billion can be used in a variety of ways to provide direct benefits to (Dominion’s Virginia) captive ratepayers with zero risk.”
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