FREDLINES
Claire Marshall Watkins, ADVANCE CONTRIBUTOR
Fredericksburg Free Press
King George School Board settles ACLU lawsuit
By Adele Uphaus 09/15/2026
The King George County School Board and the ACLU of Virginia have reached a settlement in a lawsuit brought last month on behalf of three students who attempted to start a Genders and Sexualities Alliance (GSA) club at King George Middle School last year.
The settlement reverses the school board’s previous policy change, which prevented middle school students from being able to form non-curricular clubs.
Caroline School Board starts digging into 1% sales tax vote
By Taft Coghill Jr. 09/15/2026
When the Caroline County School Board and the board of supervisors met jointly in late July, the governing bodies discussed the new state law that allows localities to add a 1% sales tax for school construction to a referendum this November.
The school board and the board of supervisors agreed that there wasn’t enough time to properly inform residents about the referendum, so they wanted to establish a robust informational campaign in time to potentially vote on the issue in a special election in the spring of 2027.
Q&A with Stan Jones, write-in candidate for Fredericksburg School Board
By Adele Uphaus 09/15/2026
Stan Jones is running a write-in campaign for at-large representative to Fredericksburg School Board. He was appointed last month to serve as interim at-large representative until the end of this year.
Jones has worked in public education for 30 years, including as superintendent of Danville City Schools and deputy superintendent of Stafford County schools. He has also served on boards and in leadership positions at education and youth-oriented nonprofit organizations.
The Free Lance-Star
Another Spotsylvania man convicted after predator trap
By Keith Epps 09/15/2026
A trap set by a Houston-based Internet predator group has resulted in the conviction of yet another Spotsylvania County man.
Steven Andrew Devan, 27, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Spotsylvania Circuit Court to five child pornography-related offenses. In exchange for his guilty pleas, numerous other charges were dropped. Devan is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 11 and is facing the possibility of up to 55 years in prison.
Convicted murderer again facing the possibility of more time
By Keith Epps 09/15/2026
Arelatively minor traffic offense has a Virginia Beach man again facing the possibility of serving time that was suspended following his conviction for murder in Stafford in the 1990s.
Phillip Mark Wheatley, 58, was convicted of second-degree murder in 1996 as a result of the October 1995 slaying of 38-year-old Nicholas F. Evans. He pled guilty after prosecutors dropped a robbery charge and reduced a capital murder charge. He received a 40-year prison sentence with 22 years suspended.
Jeremiah Community in Fredericksburg begins to take shape
By Pilar Davis 09/15/2026
Leaders from various housing groups met with Senator Tim Kaine on Thursday at Oberle Academy to discuss how to address housing needs in the community.
The occasion also included viewing a prototype house built in only 72 hours, signifying the launch of the building phase of the Jeremiah Community, a project of Micah Ecumenical Ministries. The prototype was built across the street from Oberle Academy — a private school in Fredericksburg that offers specialized instruction and support for students with academic, social, emotional and behavioral challenges.
Five things to know on Fredericksburg’s Jeremiah Community
By Pilar Davis 09/15/2026
The project, led by Micah Ecumenical Ministries, is designed to provide permanent supportive housing for people who have experienced homelessness for more than a year. The community will place homes near the support services residents need while creating an environment focused on long-term stability and dignity.
ADVANCE READS
Steve Watkins, Theodore Blackwell, Phil Huber
Fred Flock Cameras by the Numbers
Steve Watkins, ADVANCE EDITOR
11 Number of Flock cameras officially deployed by Fredericksburg Police Department.
100s Number of Flock cameras deployed by local businesses, to which FPD can have access.
$3,000 Annual fee the city pays per Flock camera for maintenance and usage.
0 Number of physical locations of FPD Flock cameras released publicly.
Big Brother Is Watching. How Much Should We Let Him?
Theodore Blackwell, GUEST COLUMNIST
The word “panoptic” comes from the Panopticon, a prison design proposed by Jeremy Bentham. The prison would be built in a circle around a central tower. From inside their cells, the prisoners would not be able to tell whether someone in the tower was watching them. Because they could not know, they were expected to assume that they might be watched at any time.
I have been routinely reminded about the concept as Flock cameras have appeared along the roads throughout our community. The cameras are visible, but almost everything that happens behind them is not. As we pass one, we do not know whether it captured our car, whether another camera captured us later, whether those records will ever be searched, or who might eventually be able to see them. Most of the time, probably no one is actively looking for us. But we have no way to be sure when someone is.
The Kitchen Table Test
Phil Huber, ADVANCE COLUMNIST
The kitchen table is where economic policy becomes real.
It is where the mortgage statement lands beside the electric bill; where the grocery receipt competes with the prescription refill; where the credit-card balance waits beside an estimate for a broken water heater. Politicians can celebrate stock indexes, tax cuts, and applause lines. Families live somewhere else: in the narrow space between payday and due date.
The best test of an economy is not a speech, a campaign hat, or a headline unemployment number. It is a simple question: After the bills are paid, what is left?
STATE OF THE STATE
VaNews/VIRGINIA PUBLIC ACCESS PROJECT
By SARAH RANKIN, Associated Press
Power companies NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy, which are seeking approval to merge into one behemoth, announced plans Monday to sweeten the deal in Virginia, Dominion’s home base, where the proposal has faced skepticism from the Democratic governor and legislative leaders. The companies said in a news release that in “response to feedback from policymakers” and others, they would commit to a set of Virginia benefits that includes: a new shareholder-funded co-headquarters tower in the capital city’s downtown, a promise of 600 new jobs, more money toward workforce development and a doubling of previously announced residential bill credits. Amid rising voter frustration toward data centers and concerns about their impact on electric bills, the companies said they plan to extend a $10 monthly bill credit for residential customers to four years from two years.
Spanberger kills Youngkin-era transgender rule
By BRAD KUTNER, WVTF-FM
Governor Abigail Spanberger quietly ended a rulemaking process initiated in the waning days of former Governor Glenn Youngkin’s administration. The rule would have limited transgender students’ ability to play sports and use facilities. But Spanberger said over the weekend the rule is now dead. ... Spanberger told a crowd at Virginia Pridefest Saturday she was moved by the story of a transgender child and the issues their families face.
Va. revenues climb 2.8% in August, remain ahead of forecast
By MARKUS SCHMIDT, Virginia Mercury
Virginia’s general fund revenues rose by $58 million in August compared with the same month last year, keeping collections slightly ahead of the state’s forecast despite signs of weakness in Virginia’s labor market. Collections increased 2.8% for the month and totaled nearly $4.61 billion during the first two months of fiscal 2027, according to the August revenue report released by Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s administration on Friday.
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