Claire Marshall Watkins, ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Fredericksburg Free Press
In Bowling Green, building community is child’s play
By Joey LoMonaco 11/1/2026
Carpentry class looked a bit different for Tyler Schiebel and approximately 30 of his fellow Caroline High students on Friday.
While it’s typically a hands-on curriculum — the class helped build a house for a veteran earlier this year — Schiebel and his peers arrived at Bowling Green Town Park around 7:45 a.m. ready to lay a literal foundation of fun for future generations.
They were among more than 75 volunteers who took part in the final day of a three-day playground construction project, the result of a partnership between the Town of Bowling Green, Amazon, and KABOOM!, a nonprofit that helps communities build playgrounds.
NAMI Rappahannock back to full capacity after coming close to death
By Adele Uphaus 10/31/2026
In 2021, when Kristy Stonehill’s daughter was 20 years old, she experienced a psychotic break.
Terrified for her daughter and feeling isolated by the stigma still attached to mental illness, especially when it comes with delusions and hallucinations, Stonehill remembers frantically Googling for any kind of local resources and support.
One of those searches led her to NAMI Rappahannock, the Fredericksburg-area affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. The local group was founded in 1984 to provide free resources and peer-led support to individuals navigating mental illness and their families and guardians.
The Free Lance-Star
Ellie’s Elves seeks referrals for the Care to Share Program (paywalled)
By Pilar Davis 11/1/2026
As the holiday season approaches, the charitable nonprofit Ellie’s Elves is preparing for its 2026 Care to Share Christmas Program and is asking the public’s help to identify local families who may need clothing, household items and toys for Christmas due to a recent, unforeseen crisis.
Ellie’s Elves Christmas trees are found around town during the holiday season, filled with name cards and gift wishes of families needing help with Christmas gifts each year. This year, the organization is asking the public to help them find families in need.
Fredericksburg unveils logo for upcoming 300 celebration (paywalled)
By Keith Epps 11/1/2026
The logo for Fredericksburg’s 300th anniversary celebration was unveiled at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
The logo, designed by local artist Pete Morelewicz, will be featured as part of a series of events scheduled for 2028, when the city celebrates its 300th anniversary. A Blue Ribbon steering committee was appointed by the council in the fall of last year, and Mayor Kerry Devine said the group has already had more than 80 meetings and community presentations as part of the ongoing process.
Stafford man jailed after stabbing woman during dispute (paywalled)
By Keith Epps 10/31/2026
A 79-year-old Stafford County man is facing a serious felony charge after allegedly stabbing a woman during a domestic dispute last month, court records show.
Ramon Aquilar Rodriguez is charged with aggravated malicious wounding, a charge that carries the possibility of up to life in prison. He is also charged with domestic assault.
George Washington Foundation names Adam Kane its new CEO (paywalled)
By Pilar Davis 10/31/2026
The George Washington Foundation announced a change of the guard with the impending retirement of president and CEO William E. Garner in December.
Garner ends 23 years of service to the organization, which led the preservation of George Washington’s boyhood home at Ferry Farm and Historic Kenmore. Garner is credited with helping to shape the foundation’s historic sites, archaeological discoveries, educational programs, and long-term sustainability.
Potomac Local News
Firefighter hurt, three displaced in Stafford house fire on Basalt Drive
By PLN News 10/31/2026
Stafford County Fire and Rescue units responded just after 2:45 p.m. Friday to a structure fire on Basalt Drive near Stafford Village Parkway. First-arriving crews found heavy fire and smoke at the front and rear of a two-story single-family home and brought the blaze under control in about an hour.
One person was home and self-evacuated before firefighters arrived. Three occupants were displaced and are receiving help from the American Red Cross. One firefighter went to the hospital for evaluation of non-life-threatening injuries.
ADVANCE READS
Steve Watkins, Drew Gallagher, Phil Huber
Is Data Center Money Bankrolling Conservative-Leaning Statewide Tech Publication?
Steve Watkins, ADVANCE EDITOR
The original plan was for Davis to draw a salary from the STACK Infrastructure financing/contribution/sponsorship for launching and running the new tech publication, while then-Managing Editor Adele Uphaus took over the reins at The Advance and used what had been Davis’s Advance salary—from advertising, paid Substack subscriptions, and other donations—to pay more part-time contributors and fill the content void left by Davis’s shift in focus.
None of that happened.
Instead, Davis took the money and ran, sort of—announcing his resignation as Advance editor-in-chief back in May and joining forces with another Advance co-founder and advisory board member, Republican operative Shaun Kenney, the newly-hired executive director of the Jefferson Forum, a small, Virginia conservative think tank with ties to the Heritage Foundation. The two moved quickly to start The Virginia Free Press, a new and altogether separate 501(c)4 nonprofit corporation with no connection to The Advance.
Raiding in Reading
Drew Gallagher, ADVANCE COLUMNIST
Halloween evokes many memories from my Norman Rockwell boyhood in Eastern Pennsylvania. I remember the costumes my mother would make by hand, attending the King Frost Parade in nearby Hamburg, and which neighbors gave out full size candy bars and which gave out apples because that was the healthier choice.
In that bygone time, we somehow managed to finish elementary school without a graduation ceremony or an awards night. But in our neighborhood, once you stopped riding the elementary school bus, it was time to hang up the Halloween masks and begin the seasonal work of vandalizing the cars and homes of our neighbors—especially those who handed out apples. We called it “raiding,” which was not the official name of the charges we would have faced if we were ever caught by the seasoned police officers who patrolled our tree-lined streets on this one night of the year.
Your Neighbors Are Not on the Ballot
Phil Huber, ADVANCE COLUMNIST
In my family, we generally avoid politics. Not because we agree, but because we don’t.
Our family includes Republicans and an independent, with differing views that do not fit neatly into political labels. Some are willing to discuss politics. One daughter would rather not discuss it at all. Usually, we leave the subject alone, although it comes up when someone wants to talk.
We have not resolved our differences. We have simply chosen not to make political agreement a condition of being family.
As November 3 approaches, I think that distinction belongs beyond our family, too. Our neighbors are not on the ballot. We are choosing people to hold public office, not deciding who still belongs in our lives or our community.
Second Child Death in Three Years Reported at Fredericksburg Anti-Abortion Group’s Shelters
Steve Watkins, ADVANCE EDITOR
Fredericksburg Police say they are “actively investigating” an incident that required CPR and, according to neighbors, involved the death of a child in the city’s Elmhurst neighborhood at a duplex owned and operated as a refuge house by the local anti-abortion/pregnancy support organization Mary’s Shelter.
Police haven’t confirmed the death, but released a 911 call log from the Pelham Street address with an entry that read, “10/28/2026 03:11 CPR in Progress (active case).” Neighbors reported overhearing a Mary’s Shelter resident standing in the parking lot in front of the duplex talking about the overnight death there of a child, sparking concerns about child safety given the death of an infant in another nearby Mary’s Shelter home three years ago.
STATE OF THE STATE
VaNews/VIRGINIA PUBLIC ACCESS PROJECT
What to expect in Virginia on Election Day
By CAMILLE BAKER, Associated Press
In Virginia, two incumbent Republicans are fending off tough Democratic challengers in U.S. House races in a difficult midterm climate for the GOP. Voters will also decide whether to reelect their Democratic U.S. Senator to a fourth term and decide a ballot measure that would codify reproductive rights in the state constitution. A Democratic win in either congressional race could push the party closer to regaining control of the chamber. Democrats need to win three more seats than in 2024 to claim the majority and see President Donald Trump’s plunging approval rating as an opportunity to score wins in competitive districts.
Gov. Spanberger sends letter to Virginia college presidents on sexual violence protocols
By HAYDEN ROBERTSON, WSET-TV
Governor Abigail Spanberger has sent a letter to all Virginia universities and colleges on keeping students safe in the wake of several recent stories regarding rape allegations and investigations on some campuses in the state and nation. The governor’s letter comes as Radford University is investigating multiple allegations of sexual assault and as investigations continue into Cornell University over the same issues.
Virginia Republican senator calls for General Assembly investigation of Sen. Louise Lucas
By NATALIE ANDERSON, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
A Republican Virginia senator is calling for a General Assembly investigation into the recent allegations lobbed against Sen. Louise Lucas, a Democrat from Portsmouth. In a statement Friday, Sen. Bryce Reeves announced that he filed a Senate Resolution requesting the Committee on Privileges and Elections to investigate recent allegations outlined in a federal indictment against Lucas. The grand jury indictment of Lucas and six others — including her two daughters — relate to suspected marijuana drug trafficking and money laundering. ... Reeves’ request calls for an investigation into a potential breach of the General Assembly’s Conflicts of Interest Act and to consider expulsion.
Dominion projects higher electric bills, continued reliance on fossil fuels in 20-year plan
By DENIEL DOOKAN, WRIC-TV
Dominion Energy customers could see their monthly electric bills climb by more than $100 over the next two decades as the company prepares for growing electricity demand across Virginia. Dominion’s latest Integrated Resource Plan outlines its long-term strategy for meeting Virginia’s future energy needs, including plans to expand its power generation as demand continues to grow. According to the report, the average residential customer currently pays about $180 per month for 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity. By 2046, the company projects that bill could increase to more than $280. That’s a roughly 57% increase.
Data centers still rushing in to Virginia but pace slows
By DAVE RESS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Subscription Required)
The rush of data center developers seeking to plug into Virginia’s grid continued over the summer, but at a somewhat slower — yet still rapid — pace, Dominion Energy reported. Data centers and developers seeking enough electricity to power all the households in Chesterfield and Henrico counties combined joined the queue of firms wanting to build in Dominion’s territory during the quarter of July through September. But the additional 1,100 megawatts they want to draw from Dominion’s system is less than the pace set in the previous quarter - April through June - of 2,900 megawatts ...
Surprise on the Potomac River: a fragile oyster bonanza
By TIMOTHY B. WHEELER, Bay Journal
As dawn painted the sky over the Potomac River, Ed Arnest began another day of oystering. He dropped a small, steel-toothed dredge called a hand scrape into the water. After towing it along the bottom for a few minutes, the Virginia waterman hauled it up so loaded with bivalves that his workboat tipped slightly to that side. ... The Potomac is brimming with oysters this fall, most notably a 10-mile stretch of the river above the U.S. 301 bridge where salinity levels have been so low for decades that oysters couldn’t survive, let alone grow and reproduce. Dozens of workboats like Arnest’s are reaping the surprising bounty there, the byproduct of a rare confluence of natural conditions.
***
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.
This article is published under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND. It can be distributed for noncommercial purposes and must include the following: “Published with permission by FXBG Advance.”