Northern Virginia
- Public hearings for the NextEra-Dominion merger have begun. Here’s what you need to know.
Dominion Energy offices in Richmond, Va. (Photo by Parker Michels-Boyce for the Virginia Mercury) Public hearings in the case to decide the fate of the proposed merger between Dominion Energy and Florida-based NextEra Energy begin this week at the State Corporation Commission.
- Education secretary says department is investigating Fairfax County schools, according to DOJ report transcript
Education Secretary Linda McMahon said at a June DOJ roundtable that her department is investigating Fairfax County Public Schools, according to a transcript in a new federal report.
- Law enforcement agencies’ use of license plate reader data faces fresh scrutiny
A view of an automated license plate reader in Northern Virginia.
- Warner wins fourth term , Luria ousts Kiggans in VA-02 as 2 U.S. House races remain undecided
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner speaks to Virginians at his re-election celebration in Alexandria on Nov. 3, 2026.
- Data centers and AI: a rare and raw issue in Virginia for this midterm election
An aerial view shows a data center situated near single-family homes in Northern Virginia.
- Governor Spanberger Announces Auria to Establish East Coast Headquarters in Fairfax
RICHMOND, VA — Governor Abigail Spanberger today announced that Auria — a national security and aerospace defense company — will invest $1.8 million to establish its East Coast headquarters in Fairfax County.
- Virginia votes Tuesday: Everything you need to know about the 2026 primary elections
Voters on Tuesday will choose nominees for U.S. Senate and congressional races across the commonwealth.
- Data center backlash set to sway midterm elections
An aerial view shows a data center situated near single-family homes in Northern Virginia.
- House report blames shutdowns for unpaid DHS staff as it targets Fairfax policies
The House Judiciary staff report on Fairfax County opens by saying shutdowns in 2025 and 2026 left many Homeland Security employees unpaid.
- Stephanie Minter's mother tells House panel 'a system failed my daughter'
Cheryl Minter, whose daughter was stabbed to death at a Fairfax County bus stop in February, testified to a House subcommittee and is working toward a recall effort against Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano, a new report says.
- Here’s where doctors diverge on Va.’s pending reproductive rights constitutional amendment
Medical professionals and medical students in opposition of abortion hold signs at the 2026 Virginia March For Life in Richmond, Va. on April 22, 2026.
- Spanberger’s EO 22 Rewrites Virginia’s Data-Center Rules Without Declaring a Moratorium
The order bans new state NDAs, curbs VEDP help for big new loads, pushes noise and water reviews, and tees up 2027 legislation—while leaving local zoning fights intact.
- The amendment that could permanently protect killing babies in Virginia
- Virginia Pastors Release Open Letter Opposing Constitutional Amendments
A coalition of Virginia pastors has published an open letter at virginiapastors.
- Virginia Governor Proposes Large-Scale Solar Expansion on Agricultural and Forest Lands
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger has advanced a proposal calling for the development of 277,000 acres dedicated to solar panel installations throughout the state.
- Vindman faces crowded field and economic pressures in Virginia’s 7th District Congressional race
Pictured from left are candidates for the seventh congressional district race in Virginia: U.S. Rep. Eugene Vindman, D-Woodbridge, Republican Douglas Ollivant and Libertarian Taner Lopez.
- Governor Spanberger Announces First-Ever Director of Outdoor Recreation
DANVILLE, VA — Governor Abigail Spanberger today announced Virginia’s first-ever Director of Outdoor Recreation — a position focused on growing the outdoor recreation economy, supporting communities that rely on tourism, and increasing economic development across the Commonwealth.
- Governor Abigail Spanberger Urges Congress to Set National Artificial Intelligence Guardrails
Letter to House and Senate leaders follows her Sept. 18 Virginia AI task force order; Spanberger warns jobs, privacy, and public resources cannot rely on company self-regulation alone.
- Burial Is Proven Elsewhere as Virginia Debates Dominion’s Line
RICHMOND — Dominion’s underground HVDC pitch into Northern Virginia did not invent the technology.
- Loudoun Schools Prepare Artificial Intelligence Classroom Pilot as Device Costs Surge Past 70 Percent
Board members split over Gemini Notebook trials at seven middle and high schools while Chromebook and staff laptop prices jump on chip shortages.
- Cumberland county residents split on proposed gas plant, slated to be second largest in the nation
Cumberland County residents meet Aug. 31, 2026 to discuss the proposed Dominion Cumberland Energy Center.
- Prince William Supervisors Vote Unanimously to End By-Right Data Center Development
An 8-0 board vote advances Tom Gordy’s 90-day grace framework, shrinks the 2016 overlay, and leaves residential and school setbacks for later Planning Commission action.
- Dominion unveils route changes for Valley Link Transmission line
The proposed Valley Link Transmission Line's Route 2 option with variations, which Dominion Energy has shared with nine Virginia counties that the line could cross, if approved.
- Virginia localities weigh 1% sales tax for school construction as voters decide on expansion
A view from the front entrance of the renovated Gloucester County High School, which opened in September 2025.
- Bull Run Mountains Preserve inducted into the Old-Growth Forest Network
BRMNAP becomes the 14th forest in Virginia to be inducted into the network, and the second in Prince William County.
- 41,085 Declined ICE Detainers Nationwide — Arlington Held Up as Democrat Sanctuary Case Study
House Judiciary: sanctuary jurisdictions declined at least 41,085 ICE detainers Oct. 2022–early 2026 and 17,864 in Trump’s first 12 months back; Arlington’s Democrat Trust Policy is the Virginia deep dive.
- Virginia Data Centers Point Past 60 GW as Bills, Water, and Diesel Costs Mount
Statewide impact study cites ~1,300 possible facilities, Dominion bill path toward $315, Loudoun’s billion-plus gallons, 8,910 generators, and PJM transmission skewed to data-center load under Democrat-era growth policy.
- Attorney General Jay Jones Asks Regulators to Reset Clock on Dominion-NextEra Merger
Jones says September supplemental filings — including four-year residential bill credits — create a different $67 billion deal requiring a fresh 180-day State Corporation Commission review period.
- Attorney General Jones Permanently Blocks Federal SNAP Penalties Targeting Virginia
A federal judge in Oregon made a multi-state injunction permanent, shielding Virginia from steep SNAP fines and clarifying food aid for certain lawful permanent residents.
- Lawmakers Eye Fix for 1% School Construction Sales Tax as 47 Localities Head to Voters
Newport News officials warn the 20-year sunset may not line up with bond issuance; Simonds and Rasoul open to more flexibility.
- Virginia Education Press Needs intense Support
You can forget about any humility you might have expected after the Virginia education media falsely claimed for months that 70+ Virginia
- UCS: Data-Center Grid Hookups Put $4.3B on PJM Customers in 2024 — Virginia Alone Near $2B
Union of Concerned Scientists brief says transmission-level campus taps are socialized through FERC and state rates; Virginia’s 60 tracked projects total about $1.988 billion under the rules Democrat-era load growth exploited.
- Loudoun: 55% of Cited Data Centers Sit Within 200 Feet of Homes
Unconstrained Demand’s Fairfax proximity stats — 55% within 200 feet, 70% within 500 feet — show how Democrat land-use permissions put industrial campuses into residential buffers statewide.
- Central Virginia Lined Up for 290+ Data Centers — Spreading Loudoun’s Fight Down the I-95 Corridor
Unconstrained Demand says Central Virginia expects 290-plus campuses that would rival Northern Virginia’s hubs, with statewide tallies near 1,300 facilities and 390 million square feet as Democrat recruitment goes statewide.
- Virginia’s Data-Center Boom Runs on Water and Diesel: Loudoun’s Billion Gallons and 8,910 Generators
Unconstrained Demand tallies Loudoun data centers above 1 billion gallons of water in 2023, statewide use above 2.1 billion, and 8,910 mostly Tier 2 diesel generators permitted for up to 500 hours a year.
- Dinwiddie Residents Grill Haven Oak Data-Center Developers on Water, Power, and Battlefield Land
Tract’s ~1,000-acre campus proposal draws sharp Q&A at VSU as the company pivots to closed-loop cooling and drops buildings over a Civil War battlefield core.
- Virginia Warned in 1999 That Power-Line Easements Leave Landowners Paying for Residue Damage
RICHMOND — Long before Data Center Alley turned Northern Virginia into a magnet for 500 kV and 765 kV corridors, the General Assembly already knew what transmission easements do to private land.
- Meeting Unconstrained Virginia Data-Center Power Demand Will Be “Very Difficult” — Households Face Rising System Costs
December 2024 JLARC Report 598 finds unconstrained demand could double Virginia power need in a decade, new build rates look unachievable, and Dominion residential customers could see $14–$37 more per month in generation and transmission costs by 2040.
- Mike Turner 2026 Deck: Loudoun Data-Center Load Hit 5.33 GW — Planned Adds Still Short of 14–20 GW Path
Ashburn supervisor’s June 15, 2026 paradigm slides and strategy paper put 53M sq ft built, 60M in pipeline, and microgrid/SMR/HVDC scenarios against a Democrat-board boom that March 18 only partly closed.
- Democrat Trust Policy Bars Arlington Police From Calling ICE — Even for Violent Felons, Gangs, and Terrorists
House Judiciary report: Democrat-run Arlington County Board Trust Policy blocks ACPD from contacting ICE for violent felons, gang members, traffickers, or terrorists; ACSO honored only 2 of 310 ICE detainers (0.65%).
- Kimley-Horn to Loudoun: Data-Center Pipeline Implies ~8,190 MW — More Transmission Than PJM Had Approved
County-commissioned September 2024 due diligence tallies ~117 pipeline buildings at ~70 MW each and urges corridor mapping, undergrounding, collocation, and reconductoring as Democrat-led Loudoun faces the grid gap it helped create.
- Airport leaders in the region seek to expand service from Dulles airport to Asia
Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority officials attended an event in Taipei (via MWAA).
- Warner, Kaine and Local Candidates Push to End NDAs on Data Center Deals
Senators urge voters to put officials on the record as secrecy surrounds projects like Wood Haven Technology Park.
- Prince William Supervisors Unanimously Block $300M Vint Hill Switching Station
Board denies Dominion special use permit after residents and supervisors say the utility failed to clarify data-center loads near Braemar and Vint Hill housing.
- Ghiorzi Family Tells SCC to Reject Dominion’s IRP: Co-Locate Generation or Make Data Centers Pay for Underground HVDC
LOVETTSVILLE, Va. — In April 2025 comments on Dominion’s 2024 Integrated Resource Plan (PUR-2024-00184), Theresa Ghiorzi and relatives urge the SCC to reject the plan, require campus co-located baseload, and stop socializing ‘multi-driver’ 500/765 kV extension cords from West Virginia coal across 13 PJM states.
- Virginia’s Democratic Trifecta Passes 49 Election Bills as Felony Voting Rights Head to November Ballot
Ballotpedia counts a 250 percent jump in election measures; ranked-choice voting is now permanent, Virginia joined the National Popular Vote compact, and automatic rights restoration awaits voters November 3.
- Virginia confronts $1.7 billion shortfall in highway maintenance funding
Construction work along the Dulles Connector in Northern Virginia, with roadwork equipment and activity visible along the roadway.
- State Corporation Commission Orders Three In-Person Hearings on NextEra-Dominion Merger
Commissioner Samuel Towell cites unprecedented public interest as the SCC adds regional witness sessions beginning November 5 in Richmond atop telephonic testimony days.
- NextEra and Dominion sweeten $67 billion merger with longer Virginia bill credits
The state Capitol.
- PJM Shortlists Dominion’s Heritage-to-Mosby Underground HVDC as Southern Backbone for Northern Virginia Load
RICHMOND / LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. — PJM’s 2025 Window 1 southern-cluster shortlist puts four Dominion +/- 525 kV HVDC variants from Heritage to Mosby — about 185 miles and roughly $4.8–$5.0 billion — against cheaper 765 kV and 500 kV overhead portfolios, with proposal 275 leading incremental transfer into NOVA.