Welcome to Saturday - September 7, 2024
Crossword Puzzle, Data Point of the Week, Stories of the Week by Area
By Martin Davis
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
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Crossword Puzzle
Data Point of the Week
Dwayne Yancey at Cardinal News in Southwest Virginia wrote a fascinating analysis of what Northern Virginia’s population loss means to the commonwealth (Hint: It’s not good, even for our region). However, that same data shows Our region exploding. It’s a trend that has been ongoing for some time, with Spotsylvania and Stafford counties ranked fourth and fifth, respectively, in terms of the number of people added to the population.
Left unnoticed is that Fredericksburg city is losing people (down 271 residents from 2020 to 2023, a 1% decline). The numbers themselves are difficult to interpret because these are the COVID years, so it remains to be seen if this is a quirk of the pandemic, or a worrisome trend. The city’s runaway housing costs, looming financial difficulties, and underperforming school system, however, may finally be catching up with it. The Advance will be keeping an eye on these numbers. To gain some perspective on population growth and decline across Virginia, see the map below. Both map, and the data above, are courtesy of the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia.
Best Stories of the Week
Fredericksburg
How Much Demolition and Infill is Going on in City Neighborhoods?
Spotsylvania
The Future of Energy Is in Spotsylvania
Stafford
Stafford Holds First of Three Community Meetings About Upcoming High School Redistricting
Regional
King George Community Can Provide Feedback on Proposed Library Book Order
Opinion
Health Coverage Is Kitchen-Table Issue
Local Obituaries
To view local obituaries or to send a note to family and loved ones, please visit our website at the link that follows.
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