FREDLINES
Claire Marshall Watkins, ASSOCIATE EDITOR
The Free Lance-Star
Data centers, substations proposed along Rappahannock River (paywalled)
By Scott Shenk 10/13/2026
A group of proposals could bring 11 million square feet of data centers to an area along the Rappahannock River near Ferry Farm in Stafford County.
More details about the proposals would have been learned at the scheduled Wednesday public hearings with the Stafford Planning Commission, but the hearings have been canceled, as has the meeting itself.
Sergeant assaulted by mother and daughter in Bowling Green (paywalled)
By Keith Epps 10/13/2026
The deputy was trying to get the woman under control when she began hitting and biting him while trying to flee, Scott said. The deputy used his taser to help get the woman under control, and she was taken to the ground.
While he was still dealing with that woman, Scott said, her mother approached and kicked the deputy in the head. The sergeant was later treated at a local hospital for injuries that included bite marks, abrasions and injuries resulting from blows to his head.
Temporary overnight shutdowns of Route 17 scheduled (paywalled)
By Scott Shenk 10/14/2026
Traffic on the highway will be briefly stopped several times near Lendall Lane and Solomon Drive between 10 p.m. Thursday and 5 a.m. Friday. Each traffic stoppage will last approximately 15 minutes.
Fredericksburg Free Press
Spanberger hails ‘transformational next chapter’ as M.C. Dean proposes Caroline expansion
By FPP Staff 10/13/2026
On Tuesday, Gov. Abigail Spanberger announced that M.C. Dean — a privately owned technology engineering firm — is proposing to invest $412.5 million to expand production capabilities at the company’s Modular Mission Critical manufacturing campus based in Caroline County. The investment is expected to create 1,950 new jobs.
King George school board and community spar over public comments, ACLU lawsuit
By Adele Uphaus 10/13/2026
The board called a meeting on Sept. 11 at 8 a.m. to vote on a policy change allowing students to organize and participate in extra-curricular organizations at the middle school with proof of parental permission. As part of the public comments portion of that meeting, board vice chair Carrie Cleveland read aloud a letter from county resident Martha Sheffield.
Potomac Local News
Fredericksburg’s Still Making History campaign wins VML communications award
By PLN News 10/13/2026
The Virginia Municipal League presented the City of Fredericksburg with its 2026 Innovation Award in Communications on Sunday for the “Fredericksburg: Still Making History” tourism campaign.
The award was presented at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott during VML’s annual conference. Fredericksburg was one of seven Virginia localities honored.
ADVANCE READS
Lynda Allen, Stephen J. Farnsworth, Phil Huber
A Lesson in Contrasts
Lynda Allen, ADVANCE CONTRIBUTOR
Do you ever have times in your life when the universe keeps sending you the same message over and over? I’m going through one of those times right now. I see the message, but I’m not clear on why I need it repeated so frequently. Maybe the universe thinks I’m a slow learner. It’s more likely that I’m seeing it clearly in one area of my life, but am not applying it to another. I’ll be pondering that possibility.
The message I’ve been receiving lately is about contrast. The past few weeks have been a lesson in stark contrasts. On the autumnal equinox, our dear friend Debby passed away. She was a year younger than me. She’d been dealing with cancer in various forms for four years. There were brief times we thought she was in the clear. It was an impossibly difficult journey for her and her husband. Yet from what I could see, Debby dealt with it with an amazing amount of grace, creating spaces for family and friends to gather and share memories.
Canada Learns a Lesson—But not the one that Trump Wanted
Stephen J. Farnsworth, ADVANCE CONTRIBUTOR
What the president mainly wants from Canada is capitulation, an agreement to revise U.S.-Canada trade agreements in a direction far more favorable to the United States. To achieve this, Trump increased tariffs on Canadian goods again last month and banned the importation of a range of Canadian products, including molasses, alcohol, motorcycles, and dairy products. These hits to the cross-border economy follow Trump’s frequent suggestion that Canada becomes the 51st U.S. state.
Instead of acquiescing to the latest round of one-sided demands from Washington, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney noted the president could not be relied upon to negotiate fairly—or even to stick to previously reached trade agreements that he once praised. Rather than try to pacify Trump, Carney redirected Canada toward tighter ties with the European Union and with Asian nations, including China.
Succession
Phil Huber, ADVANCE COLUMNIST
The trouble began when someone brought a calendar into the White House. It was an ordinary calendar, except that January 20, 2029, had been circled. Trump pointed at the date. “What’s that?”
“The end of your term, sir.”
“Who approved it?”
The aide explained that the date followed from the Constitution. Trump instructed him to have legal look at it. Within minutes, the calendar had been removed, the messenger had been reassigned, and a meeting had been called to discuss continuity of leadership. Nobody used the word “succession.”
STATE OF THE STATE
VaNews/VIRGINIA PUBLIC ACCESS PROJECT
Sen. Mike Jones proposes sweeping ban on NDAs in local government
By DAVE RESS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Subscription Required)
Elected local government officials would no longer be allowed to sign agreements to keep what they’re doing secret when carrying out their official duties under a bill sponsored by state Sen. Mike Jones, D-Richmond. The bill says such nondisclosure agreements are against public policy and that nondisclosure agreements reached after July 1, 2027, would be void and unenforceable.
Spanberger blames Trump for Virginia cutting Medicaid coverage for transgender youth healthcare
By BRAD KUTNER, WVTF-FM
Governor Abigail Spanberger’s administration is ending Medicaid coverage of transgender healthcare for Virginians under the age of 19. The move comes after rulemaking from the Trump administration eliminated support for such treatment and is said to have forced the governor’s hand. The rollback of Medicaid coverage for transgender healthcare for those 19 and younger comes after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the federal government was ending “federal taxpayer funding for sex-rejecting procedures on children.” The change in Virginia was issued by the Department of Medical Assistance Services, or DMAS, in late September and is set to kick in this week.
The Virginia Public Access Project
Enter a Virginia address to see what’s on the ballot in the upcoming elections on Nov. 3, including congressional candidates, local offices, and state and local referenda.
AG Jones creates Voter Protection Section
By ANNA BRYSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Subscription Required)
Attorney General Jay Jones has created a new section within his office, this one dedicated to what he described as protecting voter rights. The Voter Protection Section, launched Tuesday, will focus on protecting Virginians’ right to register, vote and have their votes counted. Jones’s office said he created this section in order to “address the continued erosion of the federal Voting Rights Act, (President) Donald Trump’s relentless attacks on our democracy and its fundamental institutions, and his administration’s efforts to impede access to the ballot.”
Former Va. governors blast Trump diesel deal with Russia
By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Subscription Required)
Former Virginia Gov. George Allen has plenty to say about President Donald Trump’s proposed deal to buy diesel from Russia, and none of it is good. Allen, a Republican who also served one term in the United States Senate after his term as governor, denounced Trump’s decision as “desperate, delusional, disgusting, dangerous and disappointing” in an email on Sunday. ... Criticism of Trump’s proposed diesel deal is coming from both sides of the political aisle, with four former Virginia governors — two Republicans and two Democrats — joining the chorus.
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