FREDLINES
Claire Marshall Watkins, ADVANCE CONTRIBUTOR
Fredericksburg Free Press
By Adele Uphaus 09/22/2026
That desire for knowledge and the chance to talk face-to-face with neighbors about data centers was what drove many area residents to Curitiba Art Cafe on Monday for LWV’s program.
Many said they feel like data centers have come to dominate local and national news with such speed that the average busy person hasn’t been able to catch up.
“There is so much stated information about data centers, and it only seems to come from people who are for them or against them,” said Fredericksburg resident Lawrence Lefkiewicz. “We need straightforward information.”
Spanberger presses Congress for AI guardrails as states forge ahead
By Markus Schmidt, Virginia Mercury 09/22/2026
Gov. Abigail Spanberger on Tuesday called on Congress to set national rules for artificial intelligence, warning that its rapid development could threaten jobs, privacy and public resources if oversight remains largely in the hands of the companies building it.
In a letter to congressional leaders, the Virginia Democrat urged federal action while pledging to pursue measures within the state’s authority. She sent the letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
The Free Lance-Star
More felony charges for suspect in former stepdaughter’s disappearance
By Keith Epps 09/22/2026
A Spotsylvania man who has been named as the main suspect in the case of a young woman who went missing nearly 11 years ago was charged with 13 more felony counts on Monday.
James Robert Branton, 46, was indicted by a Spotsylvania grand jury on 13 counts of possessing child pornography. Branton has been in jail since April on charges that include aggravated sexual battery, indecent liberties with a child, child cruelty and indecent exposure of a child.
Teen indicted in 2 shootings in which same person was shot
By Keith Epps 09/22/2026
A Spotsylvania teenager was indicted on multiple charges Monday stemming from incidents in 2024 during which three homes were shot into, and the same person was shot twice.
Ja’Qualin Devon Banks, 18, is charged with two counts of malicious wounding, two counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony and three counts of shooting into an occupied home. Banks was 16 at the time the offenses occurred, but is being prosecuted as an adult.
Virginia authorities indict man in human smuggling case
By Keith Epps 09/22/2026
A Spotsylvania County man is accused of forcing an undocumented woman to assist him in a human smuggling operation, court records show.
Misael Alvarez Puentes, 38, is charged with abduction, conspiracy to commit abduction, racketeering, assault and two counts of obstructing justice. He was indicted Monday by a Spotsylvania grand jury.
Criminal charges filed against three for child abuse acts
By Keith Epps 09/22/2026
Three people accused of having illegal sexual contact with teenagers in Spotsylvania were indicted this week by a county grand jury.
Vladimir Ortiz, 60, of Brentwood, New York, is charged with aggravated sexual battery and sodomy. He is accused of molesting a boy who was 16 when Ortiz came to Spotsylvania in February 2024 for a visit.
Pablo Enrique Rosa Garcia, 41, of Spotsylvania, was indicted on charges of object sexual penetration and indecent liberties with a child for offenses alleged to have occurred between late May and July 31 of last year.
The third suspect, 30-year-old Rachelle N. Suttles of Colonial Beach, was a counselor at a youth center in Stafford. According to court documents, Suttles is accused of touching a boy’s penis on multiple occasions during outings away from the center.
Spotsylvania County road to remain closed for pipe work
By Scott Shenk 09/22/2026
A section of Catharpin Road in Spotsylvania, which closed last week for drainage pipe repairs, will remain closed most of this week, the Virginia Department of Transportation said Monday.
Three pipes were repaired last week. Crews will be working on more pipes this week.
The section of road between Corbin Lane and Bluff Hill Way will be closed from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. beginning Monday and continuing through Thursday.
Driveways in the work zone will remain open for residents.
ADVANCE READS
Ranjit Singh, Steve Watkins
That Tree
Ranjit Singh, ADVANCE ENVIRONMENTAL COLUMNIST
Many of us who hike and explore our environs share a secret relationship with a special tree. That is, a tree that has personal meaning to us.
A tree that we first met perhaps many years ago, and that we bonded with. That we return to for comfort, habit, or merely for its presence. And a tree that we therefore feel in some way partnered with, even if logic tells us that the connection runs a bit one-way.
But we’re not talking about the logical mind or rationalism here. Rather, we’re talking about a core reason why we hike and enter nature.
FXBG Advance Retreating on Data Center Ads (and a Few More Updates)
Steve Watkins, ADVANCE EDITOR
The previous editor of The FXBG Advance solicited ads and other forms of financial support from data center companies and the minions who represent them. You may have seen their “sponsored content” on these pages in the past. Some of those ads, under long-term contract, are still running and will continue until the financial commitments end.
That said, I’m writing to let our readers know that The Advance won’t be taking any more ads from data center companies, or from anyone promoting or representing them, going forward. Our writing over the past four months about data centers’ harmful financial, environmental, and aesthetic impacts on the community should make it clear why we’ve come to this decision—most recently my Sunday, Sept. 20 post “Wedding Day.”
STATE OF THE STATE
VaNews/VIRGINIA PUBLIC ACCESS PROJECT
‘A different deal on the table’: AG Jay Jones asks SCC to reset the clock on Dominion-NextEra merger
By SHANNON HECKT, Virginia Mercury
Attorney General Jay Jones told state regulators Friday that they should reset the 180-day review time period for the $67 billion Dominion Energy-NextEra Energy merger proposal, after the companies unveiled expanded conditions of the deal last week. On Sept. 14, Dominion and NextEra jointly filed supplemental documents to the State Corporation Commission outlining new additions to the proposal, including extending residential customers’ bill credits to four years instead of two. The companies also pitched five-year job protections for Virginia staff working on the project, instead of 18 months, and a promise of a new office tower in downtown Richmond.
Trump administration pushes back on critics of voter probe
By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Subscription Required)
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is defending its search of what it called “publicly available data” in personal voting records in Virginia and other states, even though Attorney General Jay Jones said the federal actions may violate state law. A spokesperson for the department called the “Unlawful Voter Initiative” a necessary response to prevent non-citizens from voting in U.S. elections, but did not directly address a letter that Jones sent to Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin last week to determine whether federal homeland security employees had posed as targeted voters or their authorized representatives to view personal voting records.
Could Virginia’s new law allowing 1% sales tax for school construction need a fix?
By NATHANIEL CLINE, Virginia Mercury
A new state law allowing localities to raise revenue for school construction has opened opportunities but also raised questions, with some local leaders and lawmakers asking if it could create funding shortfalls for localities that approve the measure. Right before the July 1 deadline, Virginia passed a budget that included language allowing localities, pending voter support, to raise a 1% sales tax primarily to cover school construction due to unprecedented costs.... The tax cap will last for 20 years after local leaders pass a resolution. The resolution must specify the tax’s expiration date or, if the projects are financed through bonds or loans, when the borrower must repay those obligations. This can make the timeline harder to manage when financing happens later.
VPAP Visual Early Voting by Congressional District
The Virginia Public Access Project
Early voting has begun for Virginia’s November elections. Check back for daily updates showing the number of ballots cast by congressional district. For more data, including comparisons to past years, and locality results, see VPAP’s early voting dashboard.
Va. Senate race taking place outside national spotlight
By HUGH LESSIG, Cardinal News
Several U.S. Senate races have captured national attention during the 2026 election season, but Virginia isn’t one of them, at least so far. The contest between Democratic Sen. Mark Warner and Republican challenger Bert Mizusawa has taken a back seat to political dramas in Texas, Michigan, Maine, South Carolina and a handful of other states. Warner and Mizusawa don’t care that they’re flying under the radar. It’s the one thing they have in common.
Food insecurity soars in Virginia, study shows
By DAVE RESS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Subscription Required)
Roughly half of Virginia families with children didn’t have consistent access to enough food for a healthy life at some point over the 12 months ended in May, a new survey found. Overall, roughly four in 10 Virginia households were food insecure, a huge jump from the 10% figure the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported last year before it stopped issuing its state food insecurity data, a survey commissioned by Virginia food banks, the state Department of Social Services and No Kid Hungry Virginia found.
Amid Cuts, Rural Diabetes Clinic Struggles to Provide Care
By KUNLE FALAYI, Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism
Dr. Dana Stallings sat at a small desk in her consultation room, looking at charts and records on a computer when her next patient, John Hoofnagle, arrived with his wife of 50 years, Joann. Once pleasantries were out of the way, Stallings looked at Hoofnagle’s blood sugar readings and quickly dipped her hand into a drawer and came out with a fistful of assorted crackers. “Start munching,” she said, in an effort to prevent the symptoms of low blood sugar like shakiness, dizziness, or weakness. “At this point, you have 3% low blood sugar. I’m not happy with that.” Moments like this are the cadence of this day in early August. Stallings, a doctor of nursing practice, opened Southside Diabetes in Franklin four years ago with a specific promise: people around this small Southside Virginia town would not have to travel hours for specialized diabetes care.
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