Attorney General Jay Jones asked Virginia's State Corporation Commission on Monday to restart the review clock on Dominion Energy's proposed merger with NextEra, arguing the companies filed new commitments that "put a different deal on the table." If the SCC grants the request, it would reopen public notice and intervention windows and push the evidentiary hearing from November 17 to roughly January 19, 2027 — a two-month slip that hands ratepayers, localities, and opponents fresh room to weigh in. That matters because the fight over who pays for data-center power is increasingly being argued inside this exact docket. Watch whether the SCC agrees to the reset; if it does, expect a wave of new intervenors before the amended notice period closes.

Gov. Abigail Spanberger's Executive Order 22 is now advancing toward implementation, banning executive-branch nondisclosure agreements for proposed data-center projects of at least 25 megawatts, eliminating by-right approval for facilities above that threshold, and standing up an AI task force led by Chief Transformation Officer David Wilkinson, Counsel Matt McGuire, and Secretary of Administration Traci J. DeShazor. The governor called it the most aggressive data-center accountability framework in the country, per Cardinal News — but the teeth she wants, including shifting more grid costs onto large-load customers, require the General Assembly to act in the 2027 session. Lawmakers are already split, per WSET, and community reaction has been mixed, per WRIC. The immediate bite lands on state agencies and developers; the big land-use and utility fights stay local. Watch which legislators file the enabling bills come January — that's the tell on whether this survives contact with Richmond.

Operators' reported data-center tax benefits reached roughly $1.9 billion in fiscal 2025, up from about $1.3 billion the year before, per The Center Square. The debate has quietly flipped: it's no longer whether Virginia should court data centers, but who covers the grid upgrades, road strain, and local-service costs they generate. Spanberger's framework would push more of that burden onto the largest power users — the same shift now colliding with the merger review the attorney general wants reopened. Watch the cost-allocation study the governor commissioned; if it lands before the 2027 session, utilities and tech firms will lobby hard before a single bill is drafted.

Early voting opened statewide on September 18, launching the six-week run to the November 3 midterms just days after the U.S. Supreme Court blocked new mail-ballot restrictions sought by the Trump administration, per Virginia Mercury. Virginia officials are telling voters plainly: the blocked USPS rule "will not be in effect for the 2026 General Election." Voters will pick a U.S. senator and all 11 House members, decide three constitutional amendments protecting same-sex marriage, reproductive rights, and voting rights for former felons, and — in House District 20 covering Manassas, Manassas Park, and part of Prince William — choose between Democrat Sonia Ruth Vasquez Luna and Republican Nathaniel Fritzen, per WTOP. Watch turnout in the Loudoun–Prince William data-center corridor; a spike there could turn "safe" House seats into the races that decide control of Congress.

The U.S. Navy signed a five-year, $1.7 billion agreement with Hunt Military Communities to build or renovate 8,098 beds across Newport News, Norfolk, and Virginia Beach, per Virginia Business. More than $450 million goes to HomePort Hampton Roads 2 in downtown Newport News, where two 17-story towers will add roughly 750 two-bedroom apartments, a 1,050-space garage, and ground-floor retail. Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones called it "the largest federal investment in Newport News history." For a region where sailor housing has aged into a retention problem, the observable signal now is construction timelines — watch when the first tower breaks ground and whether the bed count holds through five years of budgeting.

Attorney General Jay Jones announced the creation of the FAIR Unit to investigate and bring civil enforcement actions against gun manufacturers and dealers, targeting sales to traffickers, prohibited purchasers, and alleged straw buyers, per Ground News. It's a state-level enforcement tool layered onto Virginia's long-running gun-policy fight, and it puts the AG's office directly into cases that used to stay federal. The decision Virginians face is whether civil litigation moves the needle where criminal prosecution hasn't. Watch for the unit's first filing — the named defendant will tell you how aggressive Jones actually intends to be.

• Prince William supervisors unanimously deny 2,000-acre Dulles South data center campus. The Prince William Board of County Supervisors voted to reject a comprehensive plan amendment for the planned Dulles South Innovation Center, a nearly 2,000-acre data center development. InsideNoVa

• Vint Hill substation upgrade draws pushback from residents and lawmakers. An $18.3 million proposal to significantly upgrade the electrical substation at Vint Hill has sparked opposition from Prince William County residents and local officials concerned about land use and infrastructure impacts. Prince William Times

• Manassas armed robbery and officer assaults reported in latest police blotter. Manassas police are investigating an armed robbery, and officers reported being assaulted in separate incidents detailed in this week's Prince William area blotter. Potomac Local News

• Worth doing / ways to get involved: Pick Up and Drive Food Pantry donations, Friday mornings only. Volunteer for about an hour on Friday mornings in Centreville, Virginia, to help with food pantry donation pickups and deliveries.

• Petersburg City Schools raises starting teacher salary to $60,000. The Petersburg school board approved a budget change lifting starting teacher pay to $60,000, a move aimed at improving recruitment and retention in the division. WRIC

• Richmond Mayor Avula says city may end its automated license-plate-reader program. Mayor Danny Avula said discontinuing the ALPR program is a real possibility, raising questions about the future of the surveillance technology in Richmond's policing strategy. WRIC

• Gas-line leak blamed for fire at Chesterfield County Fairgrounds. Fire officials determined a gas-line leak caused the blaze at the Chesterfield County Fairgrounds, highlighting infrastructure concerns at the major county event venue. WRIC

• Richmond restaurant Social52 disputes $17,000 meals-tax bill. The city told Social52 it owes approximately $17,000 in overdue meals taxes, but the owner says payments were already made, raising questions about local tax accounting and enforcement. WRIC

• Worth doing / ways to get involved: End Alzheimer’s – Become a “Do What You Love to End ALZ” Volunteer Alzheimer's Association ✨ Make calls and send emails. Richmond volunteers can make calls and send emails for the Alzheimer’s Association’s “Do What You Love to End ALZ” service opportunity.

• Newport News jury convicts Carlos Johnson Jr. of first-degree murder in deaths of Keir and Chloe Johnson. The jury found Johnson guilty in the presumed deaths of Keir Johnson and her eight-month-old daughter Chloe, who disappeared in 2017 — a notable conviction given that neither victim's remains have ever been found. WAVY

• Josiah Joel Spann sentenced to 30 years in 2025 Virginia Beach murder. Spann, 19, received the maximum sentence under his plea agreement after pleading guilty to first-degree murder and related charges stemming from a shooting and attempted robbery. WAVY

• One person dead after gas leak and suspected carbon-monoxide exposure in Hampton. One person died and two others were hospitalized following a reported gas leak, prompting a public-safety investigation into the source of the exposure. WAVY

• Hampton Roads communities debate Flock license-plate-reader cameras amid privacy concerns. Residents and law-enforcement agencies across the region are clashing over data retention and oversight of Flock automated cameras, with retention of imagery recently reduced from 30 days to seven days. WAVY

• Worth doing / ways to get involved: Special Needs Education & Care Volunteer and Internship Placement SFLIG Volunteers ✨ Support local educators and therapi. Hampton Roads volunteers can help place people in special needs education and care roles supporting local educators and therapists.

• Fredericksburg City Public Schools creates task force after James Monroe High School graduation rate falls to 82.4%. The division is forming a task force to examine ways to improve on-time graduation outcomes following the decline in the 2026 cohort's rate. Fredericksburg Free Press

• Woman charged with assaulting victim and kicking Stafford County deputy during Motel 6 arrest. Authorities say the woman faces six charges after an altercation on Warrenton Road that involved violence against another person and an assault on a Stafford County Sheriff's deputy. Patch

• Fredericksburg region awarded $531,440 to support startup and tech-business growth. The grant will fund accelerator programs, pre-accelerator cohorts and technology-focused events intended to grow the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Fredericksburg and neighboring localities. Patch

• Worth doing / ways to get involved: Administrative Assistance Community Touch, Inc.. Community Touch, Inc. seeks administrative assistance support for its service work in the Fredericksburg region.

• Staunton, Waynesboro and Augusta County voters to decide on school-construction sales tax. All three jurisdictions approved placing a dedicated local sales tax referendum on the November ballot, with proceeds earmarked exclusively for public-school construction and major renovations. The News Leader

• Route 11 widening project raises access concerns for Rockingham County businesses. An $18.3 million project is expanding South Valley Pike from two lanes to a four-lane divided highway near Harrisonburg, with nearby businesses worried about reduced left-turn access during construction expected to run through August 2028. WHSV

• Shenandoah National Park to install automated entry stations at all four entrances this fall. The park announced the upgrade, which will be funded through donations, as part of an effort to modernize visitor access. WHSV

• Worth doing / ways to get involved: Therapeutic Horsemanship Volunteers RIDE WITH PRIDE INC ✨ Lead horses and support students.. RIDE WITH PRIDE INC seeks volunteers in the Shenandoah Valley to lead horses and assist students through therapeutic horsemanship.

• Gloucester County Board of Supervisors unanimously appoints Dr. C. Scott Davis as county administrator. Davis will take over the role effective November 1, filling the county's top administrative post. Gazette Journal

• Bat tests positive for rabies in James City County; Peninsula Health District issues warning. A bat found on Norman Davis Drive in Toano tested positive for rabies, prompting a public health alert for Williamsburg and James City County residents. Virginia Department of Health

• Man dies in police custody following sexual-assault arrest in York County. A man died after being taken into custody by York-Poquoson Sheriff's Office deputies, and authorities are investigating the circumstances of his death. Williamsburg Yorktown Daily

• Worth doing / ways to get involved: Blood Drive Welcome & Support Volunteer | American Red Cross | Gloucester American Red Cross - Virginia Region ✨ Greet a. Volunteers in the Historic Triangle can welcome and support donors at the Gloucester American Red Cross blood drive.

• Roanoke Mayor Joe Cobb says Vice Mayor Terry McGuire and Councilman Phazhon Nash violated council's code of conduct. Cobb said the two officials' social-media statements opposing a proposed Wood Haven land purchase — which some believe is intended for a data center — breached the council's conduct standards, with the matter expected to go through conflict-resolution procedures. Cardinal News

• Wythe County to buy long-vacant Fort Chiswell Outlet Mall site for $1.5 million. The county government plans to purchase the 55-acre former mall property in Max Meadows near the Interstate 77/81 interchange, with no specific redevelopment plan yet approved but commercial, residential or recreational uses under consideration. Cardinal News

• Floyd County High School students help repair homes in their community. Students are lending hands-on labor to preserve and repair homes in a community where many properties need maintenance, connecting vocational training with a local housing need. Cardinal News

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

• Northern Virginia: Pick Up and Drive Food Pantry donations, Friday mornings only. Volunteer for about an hour on Friday mornings in Centreville, Virginia, to help with food pantry donation pickups and deliveries.

• Shenandoah Valley: Therapeutic Horsemanship Volunteers RIDE WITH PRIDE INC ✨ Lead horses and support students.. RIDE WITH PRIDE INC seeks volunteers in the Shenandoah Valley to lead horses and assist students through therapeutic horsemanship.