Virginia
- Century-Old Law Gives Virginia Legislator-Lawyers Broad Power to Delay Court Cases
State law allows attorneys serving in the General Assembly to obtain continuances in court proceedings when legislative duties interfere.
- Dominion’s SCC Filing: 70 GW of Large-Load Requests — Nearly Triple the DOM Zone Peak — Feed the Transmission Fight
RICHMOND — Dominion Energy Virginia’s PUR-2026-00011 large-load connection queue application tells the State Corporation Commission that about 70,000 MW of data-center-scale delivery-point requests are advancing — nearly triple the Dominion Zone’s 24,678 MW all-time peak — with 2,000–3,000 MW more arriving most months.
- 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.
- If you enjoy Virginia’s wildlife, thank a hunter or angler
Cyrus Baird, seen here, is a lifelong Virginia hunter and conservationist who serves as a member of the Board of Wildlife Resources.
- States take action against ‘claim sharks,’ who charge veterans for disability assistance
Consultants who charge military veterans to help them file their disability claims at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs make millions of dollars each year.
- MARL Price Tag Climbs Toward $1.46 Billion After Loudoun Reroute and NextEra Cost Doubling
LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. — The Mid-Atlantic Reliability Link corridor into Data Center Alley is getting more expensive — and Loudoun’s own routing politics are part of the reason.
- NextEra and Dominion sweeten $67 billion merger with longer Virginia bill credits
The state Capitol.
- Virginia Advances Pathway for Foreign-Trained Chiropractors Under HB 1026
House Bill 1026 creates an endorsement route for qualified foreign-trained chiropractors to address workforce shortages while preserving existing licensure standards.
- Want to weigh in on the Dominion-NextEra merger? Here’s where public hearings will be held.
Virginia State Corporation Commission members hear testimony concerning Dominion Energy's proposed rate increase and plan to create a new rate class for data centers on September 2, 2025 in Richmond.
- MARL Power Line Is Generation Delivery for Data Centers, Not Grid Reliability, Filings Argue
LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. — The Mid-Atlantic Reliability Link project — the multi-state 500-kilovolt corridor also described as MARL / Gore-Doubs-Goose Creek — is being sold as a reliability upgrade.
- More Than a Dozen Southwest and Southside Schools Win State Construction Grants
The Board of Education approved more than $132 million for 34 projects statewide, including 16 in Southwest and Southside.
- Hampton Roads Voters Face November 1 Percent Sales Tax Votes for School Construction
Norfolk, Newport News, York, Portsmouth, Isle of Wight and neighboring localities put new statewide school-construction sales-tax authority on the Nov. 3 ballot with sunsets near 2046.
- Virginia Advances Uniform Licensure Path for Foreign-Trained Chiropractors
Health Professions Subcommittee reviews HB 1026 criteria requiring foreign-trained chiropractors to meet national exam and continuing education standards identical to those for domestic graduates.
- Clean Virginia: NextEra’s utility takeover attempts, alleged political moves relevant to merger case
A protester displays a sign opposing the Dominion-NextEra merger outside the Virginia General Assembly on Aug. 18, 2026.
- Seven Rural Virginia Community Colleges Receive $5.93 Million for Health Care Training
A new state grant will help seven rural Virginia community colleges expand nursing, allied health and other training programs tied to local workforce needs.
- Dental Hygienists Oppose Virginia Bill on International Dentist Licensing Path
The Virginia Dental Hygienists Association objects to HB 1036 over curriculum differences, lack of work group consensus, and reduced public input on regulations.
- Spanberger declares drought emergency to speed hay deliveries for Virginia livestock
Dairy cows graze in Stanley, Va. (Photo by Parker Michels-Boyce/Virginia Mercury) Virginia farmers struggling with drought-damaged pastures will be able to receive larger hay deliveries under a state of emergency declared by Gov. Abigail Spanberger Wednesday.
- 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.
- Data Center Fight Moves Into Greater Richmond as 17 Campuses Advance Across Eight Counties
Henrico, Chesterfield, Hanover, and Dinwiddie hearings fill with water, power, and tax-base arguments while Spanberger’s September directives and moratorium petitions set the statewide backdrop.
- Could Virginia’s new law allowing 1% sales tax for school construction need a fix?
The historic facade of Virginia's new General Assembly Building in Richmond.
- Trump administration moves to steer homelessness grants toward treatment and enforcement
A campsite is seen in Anchorage, Alaska, last year.
- Virginia Panel Advances Plan for a Licensed Nurse in Every School by 2028
School Health Services Committee backs a nurse-per-building or per-325-students rule with two-year hiring waivers; November 18 vote would send the proposal to the 2027 General Assembly.
- Names of Criminal Aliens Arlington Released Instead of Transferring to ICE
Judiciary staff detail Ricardo Castro Ramirez, Soukouly Mohammad Hashi, Johslin Ariel Lopez-Rodas, a gang member with a 57-page history, a felony hit-and-run case, and an abduction/family-assault defendant released under Democrat sanctuary rules.
- Virginia Voters Face November Ballot Questions on Abortions and Marriage Equality
Two Article I amendments ask whether abortions and baby killing decisions and same-sex marriage should be locked into the state bill of rights beyond ordinary politics.
- Line 514 Was Sold as Rusting Towers. Loudoun’s Data Center Alley Needs the Power Anyway.
LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. — Before the Golden-Mars 500-kilovolt project became the latest fight at the State Corporation Commission, another line
- Loudoun County Board Approves Temporary Pause on Data Center Applications
The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors approved a plan during its September 15, 2026, meeting to temporarily pause final action on data center and electrical substation applications requiring legislative approval.
- Jones Asks SCC to Restart Clock on Dominion-NextEra Merger After New Commitments
Attorney general says expanded bill credits, job protections and a Richmond tower create a different deal that needs fresh notice and discovery.
- Dominion Pitches Fully Underground HVDC Into Loudoun as PJM Answer to Data Center Load
RICHMOND / LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. — Dominion Energy Virginia is asking the PJM Board to greenlight a High Voltage Direct Current project the
- Republican veteran Tony Sabio is on a ‘mission’ to win Virginia’s most Democratic United States House seat
Republican Tony Sabio is vying to replace Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Don Beyer in Virginia's 8th Congressional District race.
- Henrico Faces About $5 Million Power-Cost Jump as VEPGA Rates Rise 24.9%
County manager asks employees to conserve electricity after Dominion-territory localities lock in a steep contract-year increase.
- Abigail Spanberger Urges Congress to Police Artificial Intelligence Risks to Privacy, Jobs, and Resources
The governor’s September 22 letter to House and Senate leaders seeks federal guardrails as Virginia advances Executive Order 22 and data-center accountability rules.
- Loudoun’s Data Center Loop: Democratic Supervisors Greenlit the Boom. Ratepayers and Homeowners Face the Lines.
LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. — Northern Virginia already hosts the densest cluster of data centers on the planet.
- Opioid Abatement Authority Awards $12.3 Million to 18 State Agencies
Package continues 32 projects and adds 7 new ones spanning health, corrections, courts and public universities.
- EMF Fear Still Drives Virginia Power-Line Residue Fights as Democrat-Approved Data Centers Need New Steel
RICHMOND / LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. — Electromagnetic fields are not a side conversation in Virginia’s transmission boom.
- Arlington’s Democrat Prosecutor Admits Office Weighs Immigration Status — Even in Some Child-Victim Cases
Deposition cited in House Judiciary report: Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti’s office considers immigration status, uses “lateral” DWI charges for DACA recipients, and says child-victim cases “depend on what the charge is.”
- BPA’s 1989 Transmission Review Left EMF Health Risk Unsettled — And Still Echoes in Corridor Fights
PORTLAND / RICHMOND — Decades before Virginia’s data center boom forced new 500 kV and 765 kV corridors onto the Mid-Atlantic map, the
- PJM Market Monitor Warns FERC: New Data-Center Loads Risk Customer Blackouts — Ghiorzi Backs Complaint
Monitoring Analytics’ November 2025 EL26 complaint says PJM is interconnecting large loads it cannot serve reliably; Loudoun’s Theresa Ghiorzi’s December comments tie the docket to Data Center Alley’s Democrat-built demand surge.
- Underprosecuted Then Rearrested: Report Ties Arlington Democrat Leniency to Attempted-Rape Case
Judiciary staff: after years of light handling by Democrat CA Parisa Dehghani-Tafti’s office, Guatemalan national Luzvin Orvando Garcia Moran was charged in an April 2026 Arlington attempted rape — despite prior warnings he was a danger.
- Loudoun County Supervisors Advance 12-Month Pause on New Data Center Applications
Loudoun’s Board of Supervisors voted 7-1-1 to draft a temporary pause on new data-center applications while rewriting local rules, with a final vote expected in October.
- Tim Kaine and Jennifer McClellan Say Voters Could Move Congress to Revisit House Resolution 1 Healthcare Overhaul
U.S. Sen.
- Data Center Development Could Triple Energy Demand if Unconstrained
On Monday, the Joint Legislative Audit Review Commission published its long-awaited Report about data centers.
- Attorney General Jay Jones Asks Regulators to Reset Clock on Dominion-NextEra Merger
Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones says the companies’ Sept. 14 supplemental filing is a different deal that should restart the SCC’s 180-day review, potentially pushing a decision into March 2027.
- Virginia Delegate Presses House for Car Tax Relief Amid Affordability Push
Delegate Terry Kilgore urges incremental repeal of the car tax during the 2026 legislative session, citing affordability goals and prior campaign commitments.
- Virginia Lawmakers Press for Tighter Oversight of Data Center Growth
A Virginia congressional proposal would give local governments more tools to manage data center growth, including clearer rules for electricity demand, water use and community impacts.
- Department of Homeland Security Reviews Virginia Immigration Policies After High-Profile Deportation
The Department of Homeland Security announced criticism of Virginia's immigration enforcement practices following the deportation of Marcelo Vasquez-Reyna.
- Lynchburg City Council returns from its summer break to discuss the budget and meeting rules
The Lynchburg City Council will return from its seven-week break for a Tuesday work session and a general meeting.
- Early Voting Opens Across Virginia as Mail Ballot Fight Continues
Virginia voters can cast ballots early in the 2026 election while courts continue to weigh a dispute over federal limits on mail voting.
- Roanoke City Schools Cut 148 Jobs After Budget Shortfall
The division eliminated 64 teaching posts and began the year with 127 vacancies while closing a $14 million gap.
- School Construction Sales Tax Could Raise About 1.27 Billion Over Three Years
State estimates show revenue if all 47 localities with November referendums approve a dedicated 1 percent sales tax.
- Chesapeake Bay Ospreys Endure Their Worst Breeding Season on Record
Researchers say osprey nests around the Chesapeake Bay produced fewer young than ever recorded, raising new questions about heat, drought, storms and food supplies.