FREDLINES
Eve Evans, EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
Potomac Local News
Stafford Planning Commission recommends Accokeek Center data campus, 4-3
By Uriah Kiser 09/01/2026
The Stafford County Planning Commission voted 4-3 on separate motions to recommend approval of the Accokeek Center data center campus in Falmouth, following an overnight hearing that drew 44 speaker cards and ran past midnight. The 121-acre proposal near Route 1 and I-95 calls for two data-center buildings totaling 590,000 square feet and a substation, down from an earlier three-building design, after developer Falmouth Tech LLC redesigned the project to increase buffers and tree preservation; staff estimated about 64 jobs and peak annual tax revenue near $15.5 million. Most public speakers opposed the project, citing requested setback waivers, an unresolved transmission-line route, and inconsistency with the site’s mixed-use future land-use designation, while dissenting commissioners cited similar concerns. The recommendations now head to the Board of Supervisors for a final decision.
News Links: Supervisors Face Data Center Overlay as Dominion Warns the Grid Is Strained
By Uriah Kiser 09/01/2026
This roundup covers several regional stories: Prince William supervisors are set to vote Sept. 22 on ending by-right data center development, with Supervisor Yesli Vega undecided on a grace period; separately, Dominion Energy has contracted 51 gigawatts of power for data centers as Virginia’s grid faces peak strain, prompting new SCC oversight and higher rates for large-load customers starting 2027. Voters in 47 Virginia localities, including Stafford County, will decide in November on a 1% sales tax for school construction and NoVa transit funding. Other items include OmniRide’s new 16-vehicle fleet unveiling, Labor Day travel guidance (I-95/395 Express Lanes staying northbound, VDOT lifting most lane closures), a Fredericksburg breast cancer walk set for Oct. 10, and $122 million in new federal rural health funding for Virginia.
Police Blotter: Fatal Crash, Armed Robbery Reported
By Uriah Kiser 08/31/2026
Prince William police identified 18-year-old Tyler Paul Graybill of Haymarket as the driver who died after running a stop sign and crashing into trees on Aug. 27; speed is believed to have been a factor. Other incidents in the county’s report include an armed robbery at a Woodbridge AutoZone, a home struck by gunfire on Royal Court, and a driver accused of brandishing a gun on Richmond Highway. Elsewhere, Fredericksburg firefighters responded to a structure fire on Stafford Avenue with no injuries, Manassas police are seeking information on a July 4 shots-fired incident, Spotsylvania deputies made two arrests after a Wawa stop turned up narcotics and firearms, and Stafford County’s report covered a stolen-vehicle stop, a bar fight, and other weekend arrests.
The Fredericksburg Free Press
Humana, Mary Washington Healthcare reach agreement
By Adele Uphaus 09/01/2026
Mary Washington Healthcare and Humana reached an agreement Monday allowing Humana Medicare Advantage members to remain in-network with the healthcare system’s physicians, hospitals and outpatient facilities, avoiding a lapse after their contract was set to expire Aug. 31. Both parties said the deal protects access to care without disruption for patients. The agreement comes amid a broader trend of health systems dropping Medicare Advantage plans nationwide, including several in Virginia, such as Valley Health, Centra Health, and Sentara Health, along with local examples like VCU Health’s coverage changes.
Stafford voters to take up referendum on sales tax for school construction
By Adele Uphaus 08/31/2026
Stafford County voters will decide this November whether to approve a 1% local sales tax dedicated to school construction and major renovation projects, the only Fredericksburg-area locality with such a referendum on the ballot this year. County staff estimate the tax could generate $13 million to $20 million annually, or $349 million to $537 million over 10 years, though officials stress that approving the referendum wouldn’t automatically approve any specific projects. The school division’s $1.9 billion, 10-year capital improvement plan includes 17 unfunded projects, with top priorities including rebuilding the nearly 100-year-old Rising Star Early Childhood Center and constructing a new elementary school; if approved, a public hearing and potential adoption would follow in January, with funds available starting July 1.
Kalahari contractors accused of wage theft in federal lawsuit
By Taft Coghill Jr. 08/31/2026
Three construction workers filed a federal class action lawsuit Aug. 13 alleging that general contractor Hensel Phelps Construction Company and subcontractor Pillar Construction, Inc. denied them overtime pay and unlawfully misclassified them as independent contractors while building the $900 million Kalahari Resorts and Conventions in Spotsylvania County. The workers, paid $23 to $26 an hour through labor broker Denise’s Drywall, claim they worked up to 58 hours a week without receiving overtime; the suit seeks to represent at least 80 misclassified workers and 60 who worked overtime hours. Plaintiffs’ attorney Mark Hanna argues the practice let the companies skirt tax and labor laws despite the project receiving public subsidies, including a $74 million commitment from Spotsylvania County, and a construction trades council leader noted both companies have faced similar wage theft lawsuits before. Neither Hensel Phelps nor Pillar responded to requests for comment, and their answer to the complaint is due Oct. 16.
The Free Lance Star
Two charged with child pornography in area arrests (paywalled)
By Keith Epps 08/28/2026
Two men were arrested this week in separate Virginia investigations that both began with tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. In Spotsylvania, 24-year-old Kenynin M. Burgess was charged with electronic solicitation of a minor and four counts of possessing child pornography after a search warrant was executed; authorities said he contacted underage girls online and coerced them into sending explicit images, and they’ve identified multiple victims ages 11 to 17, with more believed to exist. In Caroline County, 39-year-old Aaron Jacob Brooks, an employee in a non-instructional maintenance role for Henrico County schools, was charged with 11 counts of possessing child pornography after investigators traced illegal activity to his home internet address; officials said there’s currently no evidence the case involved Henrico students or school systems. Both men are being held without bond.
Child molester gets 5 years, still facing many more (paywalled)
By Keith Epps 08/28/2026
Robert Elliott Jones, 43, of Surry, was sentenced this week in Spotsylvania Circuit Court to 20 years with 15 suspended after being convicted in May of attempted forcible sodomy and aggravated sexual battery against a 12-year-old girl in 2024. He now faces a separate trial Wednesday on two counts of having sexual intercourse with a child under 13, tied to a second victim who says she was raped by Jones in 2011 and 2016; those charges carry mandatory life sentences if he’s convicted. Court records show the second victim’s case was initially not pursued by a detective no longer with the Spotsylvania Sheriff’s Office, but was later reopened, leading to the new charges.
Teen pleads guilty in attack on mother in Spotsylvania (paywalled)
By Keith Epps 08/31/2026
Catlin J. Cahill, 17, pleaded guilty Monday in Spotsylvania Circuit Court to aggravated malicious wounding and was convicted of misdemeanor domestic assault after attacking her mother in February; she was tried as an adult and faces up to life in prison at her Nov. 17 sentencing. Prosecutors said Cahill became enraged after learning her mother had been scammed out of about $170,000, money Cahill believed was meant for her education, and attacked her mother in bed, choking, scratching and biting her before stabbing her in the cheek; her father stopped the attack by wrestling away the knife. Cahill later told police she intended to kill her mother and then herself, and the victim, who is deaf, didn’t receive medical treatment until three days later.
Murder trial postponed yet again in Fredericksburg (paywalled)
By Keith Epps 08/31/2026
A joint trial for three suspects charged in the December 2024 shooting death of 23-year-old Tyler Lee Jones outside a Fredericksburg nightspot has been postponed for at least the fourth time. Judge Gordon Willis granted a continuance Monday after defense attorney Richard Quitiquit said the defense had recently received over 300 pages of records and 19 hours of video it hadn’t had time to review, over prosecution objections that the material was largely transcriptions of evidence already provided. Eric Costley and Daquan Warren face first-degree murder charges, while Izaiah Daniels is charged as an accessory after the fact; a fourth suspect, Elijah Musgrove, faces a separate murder charge and remains held in West Virginia on unrelated charges. Willis said a new trial date will be set Thursday and told both sides the case must go to trial by year’s end.
OTHER REPORTS
Fredericksburg Fire Department Responds to Structure Fire
At approximately 7:05 a.m. on August 31, 2026, the Fredericksburg Emergency Communications Center received a report of a structure fire in the 1200 block of Stafford Avenue.
Fire units arrived shortly after the call and firefighters quickly deployed multiple hose lines to extinguish the fire completely.
At the height of the incident, the Fredericksburg Fire Department, along with Spotsylvania County Fire, Stafford County Fire and Rescue were on scene. No injuries were reported. The structure was occupied at the time of the fire, and all occupants self-evacuated. A secondary search was done, verifying that no residents were found inside.
The Fredericksburg Fire Marshal’s conducted a routine origin-and-cause investigation. The fire resulted from improperly discarded rags that had been used to apply linseed oil to a surface. Rags containing linseed oil and other oily substances can generate heat and spontaneously combust if they are not properly handled and disposed of.
ADVANCE READS
Claire Marshall Watkins, Dewey Turner, Hank Silverberg
VCU Health Gains Sizable Foothold on MWHC Turf (and Other News Drops)
Compiled by Dewey Turner, ADVANCE HELPMEET
VCU Health is opening a new location in Fredericksburg to increase access and expand services for patients in the area. The location, VCU Health at Lee’s Hill Medical Plaza, will open on Sept. 3.
VCU Health is nearly four times the size of Mary Washington Healthcare, with almost $4 billion in total operating revenue and more than 10,000 employees.
VCU Health at The Park at Snowden, which currently offers specialty heart care, colon and rectal care, liver, transplant, and urology services in Fredericksburg, will close on Aug. 27 and relocate its services to the larger space at Lee’s Hill Medical Plaza, 10401 Spotsylvania Ave.
A Rotten Harvest
By Claire Marshall Watkins, ADVANCE CONTRIBUTOR
Harvesting memories for over 40 years!
That’s what it says on the Belvedere Plantation website. But maybe not for much longer, as the Fulks family, which has owned the property since 1968, announced last week that they’ve “begun working with a very reputable organization that is looking to properly site a technology campus on this property.”
Belvedere, located off Route 17 southeast of Fredericksburg, is 645-acres, and at least for now most notable for its pumpkin patch….
The Swine Speedway is Belvedere’s official name for its pig races, which for some reason were always my vegetarian-self’s favorite part of visiting every fall as a kid. The pig I chose never came in first, so I never won the plastic pig-nose reward, but I had fun nevertheless.
Scams, Scams and More Scams
By Hank Silverberg, ADVANCE CORRESPONDENT
The call comes when you are at home relaxing. The person on the other end says he’s a Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Deputy, and he has a federal arrest warrant for you because you missed a federal court date. They will be coming to arrest you unless you pay a cash bond of $9,000 through a pay service like Venmo or CashApp right away.
It happened to one local resident, who didn’t believe it and went to the Sheriff’s department in person to check it out. Most people would be suspicious of such a call, but some people fall for it. It’s an old scam with a new twist, and it’s been circulating again in the Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Fredericksburg region.
STATE OF THE STATE
VaNews/VIRGINIA PUBLIC ACCESS PROJECT
Spanberger looks near, far as she appoints revenue teams
By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Subscription Required)
Gov. Abigail Spanberger is looking near and far for members of her advisory teams on revenue estimates as she prepares this fall for her first opportunity to reshape the state budget. Spanberger retained Chris Chmura, a longtime Richmond economist and consultant, on the Joint Advisory Board of Economists, but also looked north for advice from David Farkas, deputy director of revenue estimates for Maryland, which shares concerns with Virginia about the future of the regional economy around Washington, D.C.
Federal judge temporarily blocks Virginia law regulating how local law enforcement participate in ICE activities
By RYAN NADEAU, WRIC-TV
A new law regulating how Virginia’s local law enforcement agencies participate in immigration enforcement alongside U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge. Multiple new laws regulating ICE enforcement in Virginia have faced legal challenges from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in recent months. On Monday, Aug. 31, a federal judge granted an injunction temporarily blocking a law involved in one such lawsuit. This injunction will keep the law from being enforced as the legal process plays out.
Virginia Democrats reiterate call for special session to review proposed Dominion, NextEra merger
By TAYLOR BROKESH, WVEC-TV
Multiple state Democrats wrote a letter to Gov. Abigail Spanberger on Monday, asking her to call a special session of the General Assembly so lawmakers can review the potential merger between Dominion Energy and NextEra Energy. The lawmakers wrote on Monday that, under current state law, the State Corporation Commission must make its determination to approve or deny the merger within 180 days of a completed application. “A transaction of this magnitude cannot be meaningfully examined on that schedule,” the lawmakers wrote.
Virginia education board updates graduation requirements, expands course options for students
By NATHANIEL CLINE, Virginia Mercury
The Virginia Board of Education has approved updates to its list of approved courses, clarifying expanded graduation requirements for schools. The measure spells out graduation rules that schools must understand and follow, building on legislative efforts to expand how students can earn a standard or advanced studies diploma by meeting graduation requirements in math, science, history and social studies, economics and personal finance. These new standards give certain students more ways to satisfy requirements, such as in history and social sciences.
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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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