THE TUESDAY ADVANCE: READS, FREDLINES, and STATE of the STATE
AUGUST 4, 2026. All About the Day.
ADVANCE READS
Steve Farnsworth, Special to The Advance, Dewey Turner, ACLU
BREAKING NEWS
Families Sue King George School Board for Blocking LGBTQ+ Student Organization
American Civil Liberties Union
The ACLU of Virginia and Potomac Law Group have filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of two students who were denied the opportunity to form a Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) at King George Middle School (KGMS) even as other noncurricular student groups were allowed to operate.
“King George County Schools cannot move the goalposts to prevent an organization that promotes respect and equality for LGBTQ+ students from existing just because school board members disagree with its message,” said ACLU-VA Staff Attorney Julia Kahn. “The First Amendment and Equal Access Act protect all students, and the school board cannot pick and choose who the rules apply to. Why this club, and not others?”
When students at KGMS followed the official process to start a student club during the 2025-2026 school year, the King George County School Board tried to block the GSA by proposing new rules to make it harder to form a club. After the ACLU of Virginia sent a letter to the school board warning that such a policy would violate federal law, the school board adopted a new policy banning all “noncurricular organizations” from forming at the middle school level – effectively barring the GSA from KGMS.
Yet despite the policy’s passage, King George County Schools have continued to allow multiple noncurricular student groups to operate at the middle school level, including an outdoor club that has students making fishing lures and skinning squirrels. In fact, KGMS has attempted to define “curricular” to encompass every single club but the GSA club.
“Student clubs help students build community, find belonging, and thrive, and when schools offer those opportunities, the law requires that they be available on equal terms to all students,” said Mary Rohmiller, partner at Potomac Law Group. “But King George County Schools appears to be applying a double standard to the GSA at its middle schools. The students at the heart of this case are not asking for special treatment – they’re asking for equal treatment.”
“There’s nothing more important to us than our child’s wellbeing, safety, health, and education, and GSA clubs have positive impacts on every one of those,” said plaintiffs and parents of Z.J.W., Teresa Catoe and John Wheeler. “If a club gets students excited about school and makes them want to participate and do their best, then we want that club to exist, and that’s why we gave our permission for our child to participate. Why wouldn’t the school board want to offer kids the opportunity to join groups where they feel included and supported rather than singled out?”
“I’m not interested in the culture wars fueling the King George County School Board’s decision – I’m interested in what’s best for my child,” said plaintiff and parent of A.A.P., Susan Park. “And what’s best for my child is to feel valued and supported at school by participating in a club that follows every rule set out for it. I would expect the school board to be just as interested in that as I am.”
Z.J.W. v. King George School Board was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, and asks the court to issue forthcoming preliminary and permanent injunctions requiring the district to allow the GSA to form and operate on the same terms as other student organizations, as well as to prohibit the district from enforcing club policies that discriminate against student groups based on their viewpoint or retaliating against anyone who supported the GSA club.
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Virginia Belongs at the Front of the Democratic Presidential Primary Line
By Stephen J. Farnsworth, ADVANCE COLUMNIST
Virginia has tentatively been offered sixth place in the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination calendar: an improvement over its usual Super Tuesday location, but far less than it deserves. Virginia should be first in line.
Why should Virginia move ahead of the other proposed early states of South Carolina, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico and Michigan? Let me count the ways.
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Goolrick’s To Reopen Friday After Four-Year Restoration
SPECIAL TO THE ADVANCE
Goolrick’s, home to America’s longest-running soda fountain, reopens Friday, Aug. 7, after a four-year restoration of the 1808 building at 901 Caroline St. Goolrick’s has served Fredericksburg since 1869 — through fires, floods, and rebuilds. Its lunch counter returns with the original tin ceilings, hand-laid tile, and a chef who came from Michelin-starred restaurants in Chicago to head the kitchen at a 157-year-old institution.
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Book Signing by Advance Columnist to Be Landmark Occasion at Local Tap Room
By Dewey Turner, ADVANCE LITERARY CORRESPONDENT
In an historic first, J. Brian’s Tap Room at 200 Hanover Street has agreed to host author Drew Gallagher for the first book signing in the 32-year history of the Fredericksburg landmark restaurant on Friday, August 7t from 5-6:30 p.m.
Gallagher will be selling copies of his recently published Funny for Nothing, a collection of dozens of award-winning-adjacent humor columns from the FXBG Advance.
FREDLINES
Eve Evans, EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
The Free Lance Star
Fredericksburg area near top in Virginia data center growth
By Scott Shenk, 08/04/2026
Richmond has 132 approved or planned data centers, the second-most in Virginia, while Northern Virginia’s Sterling (88) and Manassas (63) also outpace the Fredericksburg-area market’s 59, according to Datacentermap.com, which groups Fredericksburg with Stafford, Spotsylvania, Caroline and King George counties. Fredericksburg has an agreement with STACK Infrastructure and The Silver Companies to build 8-12 data centers by right in its Technology Overlay District. Spotsylvania has approved several large projects, including the 1.9-million-square-foot Cosner Tech Campus and up to 2.6 million square feet at Carters Store, while Stafford’s approved projects include the 5.8-million-square-foot Stafford Technology Campus and several smaller campuses along Centreport Parkway and U.S. 1.
Ruther Glen man who killed teen sentenced to 10 years
By Keith Epps. 08/04/2026
Kenneth J. Watson, 20, of Ruther Glen was sentenced Monday in Spotsylvania Circuit Court to 10 years in prison (25 years with 15 suspended) after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter, unlawful wounding and two firearms charges. Watson fired a shot at another teen during a scuffle at a September 2024 party on Spotswood Furnace Road, missing his target but killing 19-year-old bystander Christian Whalen, who was acting as a peacemaker. Judge Ricardo Rigual’s sentence exceeded state guidelines, which recommended a maximum of about four years, though Whalen’s family said the punishment still felt inadequate.
Other Local News
Fredericksburg City Public Schools Increase Driver Pay, Institute New Safety Initiative
Fredericksburg City Public Schools has announced they’re hiking bus-driver pay to match Stafford County’s starting rate, which is $24.26 an hour. The City is also launching a new student transportation badging system for the 2026-2027 school year. Students will scan their school-issued ID badges when boarding and exiting school buses, providing drivers with an accurate, real-time record of student ridership while helping improve route efficiency, accountability, and student safety. The system also provides additional support for substitute drivers by securely displaying student identification information when needed. FCPS is currently accepting applications for school bus drivers. For more information go to www.fxbgschools.us/careers.
STATE OF THE STATE
VaNews/VIRGINIA PUBLIC ACCESS PROJECT
Proposals to move Virginia’s odd-year elections die in surprise vote
By DAVE RESS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Subscription Required)
In a surprise move, a General Assembly move to align Virginia’s odd-year elections with federal presidential and congressional votes has died. The joint House of Delegates and state Senate panel charged with studying the issue could not agree on whether to recommend any action to the General Assembly. “I was surprised. I was a touch surprised,” said state Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Henrico, the joint subcommittee chair.
Virginia girds for data center-focused House races
By KINNIA CHEUK AND AMELIA DAVIDSON, E&E News
Virginia lawmakers defending their House seats this fall face growing pressure to weigh in on the growth of data centers in a state with the highest concentration of them. Concerns over energy affordability and water resources are mounting, and House candidates in Virginia who once punted the issue of data center construction to state governments and localities are being asked to take a clear stance on how to control their costs and environmental impact. “Most things in America, you’re trying to build a new road, it takes six or eight years. Data centers are going up in a matter of months, and that’s freaking people out,” Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) told POLITICO.
Vindman: State should reject Dominion-NextEra merger
By PETER CARY, Fauquier Times
U.S. Rep. Eugene Vindman is calling on state regulators to reject Dominion Energy’s proposed merger with Florida-based NextEra Energy, claiming the move would hike electricity bills and reduce Virginians’ trust in their utility. The Woodbridge Democrat sent a letter to the Virginia State Corporation Commission, which regulates public utilities, listing his concerns over what he called a “backroom deal” and imploring the agency “to do everything in your power to block this merger.” “I’m strongly opposed to the merger between NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy,” Vindman said in an interview Friday. U.S. Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, whose 10th District includes Fauquier County, voiced concerns about the merger in May.
The hidden cost of Trump’s Dulles overhaul
By CUNEYT DIL, Axios
One of the biggest unanswered questions about President Trump’s $22.5 billion remake of Dulles Airport is how it’ll be financed. Industry experts say airlines could pass at least some of the project’s costs on to travelers. One figure already stands out: the airport’s projected cost per enplanement — the average cost airlines pay the airport for each departing passenger. Currently, Dulles’ is around $10. But according to the renovation plan, acquired by D.C. travel writer Edward Russell, that figure jumps to $90.64 by project completion in 2035.***
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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