Loudoun County's "Data Center Alley" now pulls in roughly $1.3 billion a year — about 40-45% of the county's total local tax revenue — from taxing the 250-plus server warehouses clustered around Ashburn, according to The Virginian-Pilot. But the golden goose has grown too loud, too thirsty, and too hard on Dominion's grid, and the Board of Supervisors has moved to begin the process of pausing all new applications, site plans, and substations. The formal moratorium vote is set for the September 15 board meeting — and if it passes and survives court, more than two dozen pipeline projects lose their footing at once. Watch that date: Prince William, Fauquier, Culpeper, and the Shenandoah Valley are all waiting to see whether Loudoun hands them a template or a cautionary tale.

University of Mary Washington researchers found that 25 of 31 Virginia localities with existing, approved, or proposed data centers have signed nondisclosure agreements tied to those projects. That means the deals reshaping your power bills, water tables, and skyline are being negotiated where you can't see them — a finding that lands just as Virginia became the first state to tax data centers on electricity consumption ($600 million projected next year). The signal to watch: whether this data feeds a transparency bill in the next General Assembly session, or draws the Attorney General's interest. Secrecy is a lot harder to defend once someone's counted it.

The Fredericksburg City Council takes up a zoning map amendment and special use permit for the "1500 Gateway Project" — a proposed data center on the Route 3 corridor — at its 7:30 p.m. session overnight into tonight. After the NDA scrutiny that's dogged Loudoun and Prince William, how transparently Fredericksburg handles this becomes its own kind of test. The same agenda quietly floats a first-read text amendment to Chapter 72 that would rewrite single-family dwelling and form-based code rules — the kind of infill change that shapes housing supply for years. Whether Council advances or conditions the data center tells builders and neighbors alike what posture the city plans to take.

Governor Abigail Spanberger formally intervened at the State Corporation Commission in the proposed $67 billion Dominion–NextEra merger, an unprecedented move for a sitting governor, saying she's "skeptical of the benefits this merger would deliver to Virginia." Meanwhile SCC Chair Kelsey Bagot — a former NextEra attorney — declined lawmakers' request to recuse herself, and Speaker Don Scott (who's taken nearly $4 million from Dominion over the years) is defending his neutrality, per WVTF. The deal would create the nation's largest electric utility, serving 10 million customers, and the SCC has until January to approve, modify, or block it. If opponents formally challenge Bagot's refusal to step aside, this review could slip toward November — turning your electric bill into the midterm's quietest but sharpest issue.

Virginia State Police arrested Richard T. Arriviello, 61, the owner of a Charlotte-area urgent care, after a Saturday morning shooting on Interstate 77 North in Carroll County left a 20-year-old woman and her 12-year-old sister with leg wounds. Both victims were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries; troopers stopped Arriviello about 15 miles north and charged him with malicious shooting into an occupied vehicle, malicious wounding, and use of a firearm in a felony. The Jeep's driver was cited for reckless driving. The case now moves into Carroll County's court system — a high-profile violent-crime prosecution involving out-of-state residents on one of the region's busiest interstate corridors.

David McMurry, 52, a Virginia corrections officer, was sentenced August 20 to one year in federal prison for punching a mentally ill inmate 45 times with handcuffs wrapped around his fist at Wallens Ridge State Prison in Big Stone Gap. The prosecution is rare — federal civil-rights charges against a state prison guard almost never reach sentencing — and it puts a spotlight on use-of-force and mental-health standards inside Virginia's high-security facilities. The observable next step: potential civil litigation exposure for the Commonwealth and renewed pressure on the Department of Corrections over how it handles inmates in crisis.

Virginia voters will decide a three-part constitutional amendment package this fall covering voting rights for people with felony convictions, marriage equality, and reproductive rights, per VPM. The marriage measure would define marriage as between two adults regardless of sex, gender, or race and enshrine it as a personal right — moving protection from statute and court precedent into the constitution itself. Campaigns on both sides are already mobilizing, with early voting set to begin September 18. Whatever happens, these become the rules Virginians live under regardless of what shifts at the federal level.

• Prince William County Public Schools opens 2026-27 year with 88,000 students and universal pre-K launch. The district — Virginia's second-largest — welcomed students back August 24 while beginning the first phase of a countywide universal pre-K expansion planned to roll out through the 2030-31 school year. Prince William Times

• Manassas Mayor Michelle Davis-Younger announces resignation effective September 30. Davis-Younger formally notified the city she will leave office earlier than previously planned, triggering a process for the City Council to appoint an interim mayor and organize a future special election. Prince William Times

• Late-night brawls outside Arlington bars caught on traffic cameras. Cameras captured two separate fights — one a four-minute altercation outside Ricky's Pub and Grill on N. Glebe Road, another at Clarendon closing time — resulting in police response, on-scene medical treatment, and at least one arrest following a foot chase. ARLnow

• Prince William County planning panel greenlights 321 residential units on former car dealership site. The approval advances a significant higher-density redevelopment project that would reshape land use along the commercial corridor. Potomac Local News

• Worth doing / ways to get involved: Volunteer Fairfax Aims to Mobilize Community to Pack 100,000 Meals at VolunteerFest 2026. Volunteer Fairfax. Volunteer Fairfax is organizing VolunteerFest 2026 in Northern Virginia, with a goal of helping community members pack 100,000 meals.

• Chesterfield County Public Schools adopts "back to basics" approach, cutting student screen time. The district is reducing Chromebook use and increasing paper-based and hands-on learning at the start of the school year, responding to concerns from a movement of more than 2,500 parents across Central Virginia. WRIC

• Historical marker to honor VCU students who fought for university's first LGBTQ+ organization. Virginia Commonwealth University and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources will install a marker outside the University Student Commons recognizing the 1970s founders of the Gay Alliance of Students, whose legal battle set a precedent across five states. WRIC

• Caroline County Sheriff's Office charges 18 people following undercover drug investigation. The multi-jurisdictional operation targeted methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl distribution across Caroline and neighboring localities, with arrest warrants obtained for suspects including a Caroline County business owner. WRIC

• Drones drop more than $300,000 in contraband into Sussex I State Prison. Authorities say the packages contained drugs, cell phones, and tobacco, prompting a criminal investigation into smuggling operations and raising concerns about drone use to bypass correctional facility security. WRIC

• Worth doing / ways to get involved: 2026 RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL VOLUNTEER RIFF ARTS INSTITUTE | RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL FILM FEST ✨ Assist with. Richmond International Film Festival seeks volunteers for its 2026 RIFF Arts Institute in the Richmond region.

• Norfolk Public Schools mourns sudden deaths of two Lake Taylor High School rising seniors. The district announced the losses August 23 and is coordinating counseling, psychologists, and social workers for the Lake Taylor community as students return to school. WAVY

• Retrial begins for Calvin Jackson, charged with killing Kecoughtan High School teacher Joi Brown. Jackson faces second-degree murder and related charges in the June 2023 shooting death of the Hampton health and PE teacher; a previous jury convicted him on one count but deadlocked on the murder and manslaughter charges. WAVY

• Norfolk mother seeks help after hit-and-run leaves 9-year-old son with life-threatening injuries. Shaonna Mendez says her son Shia was struck by a speeding vehicle near West 40th Street and Bowdens Ferry Road; police have charged 18-year-old Christian Tabb with hit-and-run resulting in personal injury. WAVY

• Suffolk family at impasse with Virginia Beach contractor over unfinished countertop work. Wil and Dr. Justin Gravely-Strayhorn say they paid thousands of dollars to Westcoast Kitchen/Onestop Kitchen to replace a cracked granite countertop, only to have installation dates repeatedly missed, with multiple other customers reporting similar problems. WAVY

• Worth doing / ways to get involved: Volunteer: Juneteenth Celebration at the Richard A. Tucker Memorial Library Norfolk Public Library. Volunteers are needed in Hampton Roads for a Juneteenth celebration at Norfolk Public Library’s Richard A. Tucker Memorial Library.

• Albemarle County School Board Vice Chair Allison Spillman resigns; board votes for independent investigation. The board unanimously approved hiring an outside law firm to review policies and practices around responding to allegations of sexually inappropriate conduct by staff, while accepting applications to fill Spillman's at-large seat. Cville Tomorrow

• Free Bridge encampment residents say they lack clear information as Charlottesville's September 1 clearance deadline approaches. The city has linked the encampment's closure to opening a temporary emergency shelter at 2000 Holiday Drive, but advocates and camp residents say communication and transition planning remain inadequate. Cville Tomorrow

• Town of Orange more than doubles funding for two local food pantries as demand surges. Town leaders and pantry operators describe sharply increasing need for food assistance, and the expanded support is intended to stabilize operations and keep pace with community demand. Cville Tomorrow

• Mixed-use development at 501 Cherry Avenue in Charlottesville's Fifeville neighborhood moves forward without the Charlottesville Food Co-Op. The departure of the previously planned anchor tenant raises new questions about what retail and community-serving uses will fill the project and how it will address neighborhood affordability concerns. Cville Tomorrow

• Worth doing / ways to get involved: Year-Round Occasional Program Volunteer Camp Holiday Trails. It is a practical service option for families, groups, or individuals who want to give time around Charlottesville.

• Stafford County Sheriff's Sgt. Jeremy Hurt indicted on involuntary manslaughter charge in deadly I-95 crash. Hurt was charged in connection with a fatal August 2025 crash on Interstate 95 near Quantico, in a case with direct implications for Stafford County law enforcement. Potomac Local News

• VDOT schedules overnight lane closures on I-95 in Stafford County and near Fredericksburg through August 29. Work includes pavement markings near Exit 143 in Stafford, alternating lane closures near the Rappahannock River crossing, and daytime Route 1 reconstruction near Fredericksburg. Potomac Local News

• Worth doing / ways to get involved: Administrative Assistance Community Touch, Inc.. Community Touch, Inc. seeks administrative assistance volunteers in the Fredericksburg area.

• Rockingham County activates Flock Safety license-plate reader cameras as Harrisonburg and Elkton end their contracts. The county turned on the new cameras in early August while the Harrisonburg City Council and Elkton Town Council voted last month to drop Flock, joining Staunton and Charlottesville, which ended their contracts in late 2025; county officials cite criminal investigation benefits while critics raise civil liberties concerns. WMRA

• Hot Wok restaurant in Harrisonburg to permanently close August 29. The closure marks the loss of a long-standing local dining establishment amid ongoing economic pressures on Harrisonburg's commercial sector. Rocktown Now

• Worth doing / ways to get involved: Volunteer at Harrisonburg Gift and Thrift Gift and Thrift, Inc.. Volunteers are needed in Harrisonburg for Gift and Thrift, Inc., listed among Shenandoah Valley service opportunities.

• Former Wallens Ridge correctional officer sentenced to prison for assaulting an inmate. A state senator who monitors Virginia prisons described the case as a rare instance of a guard being criminally charged, drawing attention to oversight and accountability at the Wise County facility. Cardinal News

• Washington & Lee University expands its free tuition program. The Lexington university's broadened financial aid policy is a significant development for the local higher-education landscape, affecting admissions, affordability, and the institution's regional role. Cardinal News

• Canvas learning management system returns to classrooms despite lingering security concerns after April hack. Hackers breached Instructure, the company behind Canvas, in April — knocking the system offline and exposing student data — and schools across the region, including in the Roanoke and New River Valley areas, are resuming use as the school year begins. Cardinal News

• Worth doing / ways to get involved: Hospice Volunteer Agape Care Group ✨ Provide companionship and support to patients. Agape Care Group in Roanoke seeks volunteers to offer companionship and support to hospice patients.

• Northern Virginia: Volunteer Fairfax Aims to Mobilize Community to Pack 100,000 Meals at VolunteerFest 2026. Volunteer Fairfax. Volunteer Fairfax is organizing VolunteerFest 2026 in Northern Virginia, with a goal of helping community members pack 100,000 meals.

• Richmond: 2026 RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL VOLUNTEER RIFF ARTS INSTITUTE | RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL FILM FEST ✨ Assist with. Richmond International Film Festival seeks volunteers for its 2026 RIFF Arts Institute in the Richmond region.