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Howard: Republican budget has a few big winners, many losers
Government budgets are like box scores in basketball or baseball. If you study the numbers, you can tell who had a good day or bad day. The Republican budget that barely passed in the House will give millionaires a major victory. But millions of working families will be shut out. Republicans are being very selective in the budget numbers they highlight. They claim that almost all Americans will receive a tax cut. ... Under the House budget, the poorest 20% of Virginians, earning less than $31,000, would get an average tax cut of $100 next year. The middle 20% would get a tax cut of almost $2,000. But the richest 1% of Virginians, with incomes greater than $843,000, will benefit to the tune of $78,000 each.
Andryszak and Hallam: A reliable power grid requires more pipelines
Over the past few weeks, alarms have sounded about potential grid reliability shortfalls and increased energy prices this summer. These warnings come as states across the U.S., particularly in the Northeast, face rapidly growing demand projections, making it clear: The integrity of our electric grids must be prioritized. ... At the center of this challenge is natural gas. The U.S. cannot reliably meet growing demand if we cannot expand our natural gas pipeline network to ensure the adequate energy resources needed to generate the reliable, affordable power American homes and businesses expect and deserve.
Frederick County quashes two data center proposals
The Frederick County Board of Supervisors rejected via a consensus vote the further study of two Comprehensive Plan amendment applications for potential data center facilities during a joint work session with the Planning Commission on Wednesday night. One application was for a 644-acre data center campus called Meadow Brook Technology Park between Valley Pike (U.S. 11) and Hites Road just south of Stephens City. The other was for Winchester Gateway 2, which proposed a 105-acre data center development at the southern corner of Va. 37 and Middle Road south of Winchester.
Gibson, Letiecq and Heinecke: Under Youngkin, Miyares, academic freedom is under assault
When the governing boards of the University of Virginia, the Virginia Military Institute and George Mason University next meet, Virginia could surpass Florida as the most dysfunctional public university system in the country — unless Attorney General Jason Miyares decides to set aside partisanship and follow the law. At the heart of the crisis is a power struggle between the Virginia General Assembly and Gov. Glenn Youngkin. When a Senate committee recently rejected a list of eight of the governor’s recent appointments to university boards, the General Assembly declared that these appointments failed and the appointees must step down immediately.
Prince William Digital Gateway, county lawyers move to dismiss residents’ lawsuit
A lawsuit that could undo Prince William County’s approval of one of the largest data center developments in the world might end Friday if a judge dismisses the case as requested by lawyers representing the county and the two data center companies behind the Prince William Digital Gateway. During three days of trial, several of the plaintiffs, who include 11 residents who live near the Digital Gateway and the Oak Valley Homeowners’ Association, testified about how the projects’ 37 data centers will disrupt their lives if the development moves forward.
Democrats in Virginia have a hefty fundraising advantage heading into November general election
Democrats in Virginia have built up a hefty fundraising advantage for their effort to reclaim the governor’s mansion in a November election that is seen as a bellwether for the party in power in Washington ahead of the 2026 midterms. Democrat Abigail Spanberger, a former CIA spy turned congresswoman, has a more than 2-to-1 fundraising advantage over her GOP opponent for governor, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, who has struggled to draw support from her fellow Republicans.
Judge facing bribery charge allegedly sought pay raises for court staff
A Fredericksburg-area judge facing a felony charge of bribery of a public official did not attempt to enrich himself, the special prosecutor handling the case said. Richard T. McGrath, the chief judge of the 15th Judicial District of Virginia, which includes the Fredericksburg region, was indicted on June 2. The Mechanicsville resident’s next appearance in Spotsylvania County Circuit Court is scheduled for July 7. He is represented by Richmond-based defense attorney Craig Cooley, who did not return a phone call seeking comment. “What I can share is he was charged with soliciting a bribe, not offering a bribe,” said Special Prosecutor Nate Green, the Williamsburg Commonwealth’s Attorney. “He basically was asking someone to give money, not to give him money.”
UVA professors ask university board to halt DEI dismantling
A group of University of Virginia professors is asking the school’s Board of Visitors to suspend any further actions to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programming until the legality of those programs is settled in federal or state court. As VPM News has previously reported, there’s nothing currently in federal law that explicitly prohibits DEI offices and initiatives. Regardless, Virginia’s public universities have been swift to do away with these initiatives in the wake of anti-DEI executive orders from President Donald Trump. The UVA chapter of the American Association of University Professors, an organization primarily dedicated to protecting academic freedom and shared governance in higher education, sent the request to the UVA board in a June 5 letter.
Virginia doesn’t have statewide data center regulations. Localities are making their own rules.
Virginia is home to over a third of the data centers worldwide. These energy hungry facilities have brought business to the commonwealth, but communities are seeing the impact of the electricity and water usage hit their utility bills. Now, many localities are debating how to balance the opportunities and challenges data centers present, and grappling with how to regulate them.
Unreleased report cites millions in Richmond tax overpayments that weren’t refunded, ‘confusion’ in process
Three years after the Richmond Inspector General's Office began investigating a complaint regarding the finance department's handling of tax credits and refunds, no formal report on the matter has been published. However, CBS 6 obtained a draft report that outlined what investigators characterized as a confusing process for returning money to overpaying business owners and millions in excess taxes that were never credited back to taxpayers.