FREDLINES
Claire Marshall Watkins, ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Fredericksburg Free Press
Fredericksburg Planning Commission asks staff to look at residential parking minimums
By Adele Uphaus 09/28/2026
The Fredericksburg Planning Commission is asking staff to take another look at a series of proposed amendments to the development code that are meant to encourage new housing types — specifically stacked townhomes, which are built on top of each other rather than next to each other.
Commissioners want planning staff to consider whether the amount of required parking spaces can be reduced for this kind of development.
First Virginia food insecurity survey finds that hunger is ‘an urgent and growing threat’
By Adele Uphaus 09/28/2026
Forty percent of families in the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank’s service area were “food insecure” this year.
That’s according to the first-ever, Virginia-specific survey of food insecurity, which is defined as lacking consistent access to enough food to support an active, healthy lifestyle. The survey was conducted in May, using a method established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to measure rates of hunger, according to a press release from the regional food bank.
The Free Lance-Star
Woman gets 6 years for sexual abuse of a child in Stafford (paywalled)
By Keith Epps 092/28/2026
A Stafford woman who helped sexually abuse a girl was ordered Monday to serve six years in prison.
Danielle Nicole Tinnermon, 49, was sentenced in Stafford Circuit Court to a total of 20 years with 14 years suspended. She had previously pleaded guilty to four counts of taking indecent liberties with a child.
One teen cleared; Stafford jury unable to reach consensus on other (paywalled)
By Keith Epps 09/28/2026
Mekale A. Burns, 17, of Stafford, and Tyrese W. Day, 18, of Spotsylvania, were both charged in connection with the July 15, 2025, slaying of 19-year-old Brian Riley. Riley was shot eight times on Kendrick Court in the England Run area of Stafford.
Burns was aquitted of murder and nine related firearm charges and convicted of a misdemeanor of posessing a firearm while under the age of 18. Days was convicted of the same, but jurors were unable to reach a unanimous decision on the murder or any of his firearms charges. A hearing is scheduled for November, during which a new trial date is expected to be set for Day. Both teens were juveniles at the time of Riley’s slaying but were tried as adults.
Potomac Local News
NO CLASS OFF ON VETS DAY — Stafford draft blanks the holiday when Nov. 11 lands on a weekend
By Potomac Local News 09/28/2026
Stafford calendar draft skips a Veterans Day holiday when Nov. 11 falls on a weekend.
Stafford County’s draft school calendars would not give students and staff a Veterans Day holiday in 2028-29, when Nov. 11 falls on a weekend, Chief of Staff Dr. Amanda Schutz told the School Board on Sept. 8.
ADVANCE READS
Charlotte Rene Woods, Phil Huber, Kit Carver
Survey Finds That More Than Half of Virginia Families with Children Face Food Insecurity
Charlotte Rene Woods, VIRGINIA MERCURY
The Federation of Virginia Food Banks, the Virginia Department of Social Services and No Kid Hungry Virginia commissioned a statewide survey that found 51 percent of families with children were food insecure.
The survey picked up where the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s annual survey to assess hunger left off. The final federal survey, which ended in 2025 after nearly three decades of publication, found 42 percent of Virginia respondents were considered food insecure over the past year.
Why I Vote Early
Phil Huber, ADVANCE COLUMNIST
There is a perfectly good reason to vote early, and it has nothing to do with partisan advantage, election anxiety, or getting a gold star for civic virtue.
It is simply the sensible way to vote.
For Fredericksburg residents, early in-person voting is already under way at the City Office of Voter Registration and Elections, on the fifth floor of FXBG City Center, 601 Caroline St. It begins on September 18 and continues weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. through October 30, with additional Saturday and Sunday opportunities before it ends at 5 p.m. on Saturday, October 31.
Medicaid Cuts: A Family’s Story
Kit Carver, SPECIAL TO THE ADVANCE
Our son Jake was injured 21 years ago in a motorcycle accident. As a result, he has a spinal cord injury at the level of Cervical spine 3-5. That means he has no normal function from the nipple line of the chest down. His arms are able to just move enough to control his power wheelchair. He activates the modes of the chair—lift, recline, or tilt—through switches in his headrest. He lives on his own in an apartment in our house.
Jake is able to stay there because of the amazing technology at his disposal for operating the computer, phone, lights, and locks. He also achieves this independence through Medicaid, and the tremendous assistance of the Medicaid waiver program. For 20+ years he has received 70 hours of in-home services a week from caretakers paid each day to come to his apartment.
STATE OF THE STATE
VaNews/VIRGINIA PUBLIC ACCESS PROJECT
At least three state legislators want to ban Flock cameras. What happens next?
By SAMUEL B. PARKER, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Subscription Required)
Del. Charlie Schmidt, D-Richmond, is well aware of the advantages that Flock cameras offer. “In a lot of ways, it’s been revolutionary,” the rookie delegate said of automatic license plate reader technology. “I don’t disagree that the use of technology, as has been shown, can vastly increase our safety.” But to Schmidt — the former civil liberties attorney turned state legislator — the more important question is this: What is he willing to give up in service of safety? ... That’s why Schmidt plans to back Sen. Lashrecse Aird’s bid for a statewide ban on automatic license plate readers.
Attorney General Jones seeks larger share of money from Meta deal
By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Subscription Required)
A political turf battle is brewing over a proposal by Attorney General Jay Jones for his office to keep one-third of the money that Virginia will receive under a $17 billion settlement with Meta Platforms Inc. over its practices targeting youth on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. The state will receive at least $353 million over 10 years, with the first $35.4 million installment due this month and the next in January. ... “Our office’s view is that 100 percent of the Meta funds should be used for remediation,” Chief Deputy Attorney General Travis Hill said in an interview on Friday.
By JIM MORRISON, WHRO
New Kent County has been the state’s poster child for speed camera citations, issuing more than 71,000 in work and school zones last year. At $100 per ticket, that adds up to more than $7.1 million for the county in just five months of a new work zone camera campaign. For violators of speed zone cameras in New Kent and across the state, the infraction does not add points to their driver’s license, nor is their insurance company notified. But there’s another statistic that’s gotten little attention: 35,000 of New Kent’s citations — which would account for $3.5 million in fines — went unpaid, and the county didn’t pursue the deadbeats in court.
Youth advocates warn higher marijuana fine could deepen racial disparities
By MARKUS SCHMIDT, Virginia Mercury
Youth advocates are urging Virginia lawmakers to reconsider stiffer penalties for public marijuana use before the state opens its legal adult-use market next summer, warning that the changes could place a disproportionate burden on young people, their families and Black communities. The maximum civil penalty for consuming or offering marijuana in public is set to rise from $25 to $250 on July 1, 2027, the same day retail sales are scheduled to begin. A second offense also carries a $250 fine and requires substance-use education or treatment, or both, if available, while a third or subsequent offense is a Class 4 misdemeanor.
The state has made some changes to high school graduation requirements. Here’s what to know.
By MEGHAN MANGRUM, Cardinal News
Starting this school year, Virginia students have more options for fulfilling certain graduation requirements and earning a standard or advanced studies high school diploma. The expanded options come after the Virginia Board of Education updated its list of approved courses this fall and clarified some graduation rules that schools must follow. Some of the updates are based on legislative efforts while others are informed by state education leaders’ efforts to expand how students can meet high school graduation requirements.
Virginia calls Trump’s proposed arch ‘grossly incompatible’ with national cemetery
By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Subscription Required)
President Donald Trump’s proposed triumphal arch would be “grossly incompatible” with Arlington National Cemetery and the view between the Lincoln Memorial and the former home of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources informed the National Park Service on Friday. The state agency’s blunt assessment came a day after an advisory council dominated by Trump appointees cut off consultation with Virginia and the District of Columbia after concluding that further discussion “was unlikely to result in an agreement” on identifying and minimizing harm to historic resources.
The AI Bros Are Partying to Counter National Backlash Against Data Centers
By MARA HOPLAMAZIAN AND EMILY KENNARD, The Washington Sun (Subscription Required)
The Loudoun County Iced Tea, an homage to Virginia’s “data center alley,” was peach-forward and watery, with a flat finish. The “SMR-tini,” a play on the abbreviation for small nuclear reactors, was a very good espresso martini, The Washington Sun can confirm. And the “Closed Loop Spritz” — made with prosecco, elderflower and soda — sold out before these reporters could conduct any research. One bartender declined a tip and offered assurance they were more than well compensated for the event. On Saturday, PubKey, the cryptocurrency-themed bar in downtown D.C., hosted hundreds — a thousand RSVP’d to the Partiful invite — for a celebration of data centers. It was a party planned on the defensive, counterprogramming what the invite described as a “bipartisan psychosis” over data centers.
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