Virginia Insider

Virginia Insider

di Uriah Kiser

Commenti di notizie Politica

Virginia: Stafford may end data-center tax breaks and NDAs

Stafford County has more than 10 data centers proposed, and the Board of Supervisors is asking whether those projects should still qualify for local economic-development incentives. Uriah Kiser reads the Fredericksburg Free Press report. At a joint meeting with the Economic Development Authority, supervisors agreed to take the question up again on October 27. The same meeting is set to discuss ending by-right data centers on heavy-industry land, so a project would need a specific board vote. They also asked staff whether the county can get out of nondisclosure agreements with data-center developers. Governor Abigail Spanberger has proposed ending NDAs with state agencies. The Free Press notes that move would not cover local governments. NDAs matter because they can hide the numbers critics ask for, including planned water use. Rock Hill Supervisor Crystal Vanuch raised the incentive question. She said data centers do not need a local tax break to build in Stafford when the state already cut a break involving a major end user, Amazon, and asked why the county would offer double incentives. She also said the rush has "kind of blown up," the county is incentivizing projects already coming, and the loophole should close. Economic Development Director Liz Barber said incentives still let the county choose, and that most data-center developers do not want the public disclosure an application requires. Falmouth Supervisor Kecia Evans pushed back. The board can still say no. Garrisonville Supervisor Pamela Yeung said a review of data-center incentives should look at incentives for other businesses too. Kiser's read puts Stafford in the statewide fight. Virginia leads the world in data-center inventory. State sales-tax exemptions for the industry run through the 2030s. A county can still decide whether to add a local break, a by-right zoning path, and a secrecy agreement on top. Comment if Stafford should drop the incentives, the NDAs, or both. Like and subscribe for the next data-center vote. Notifications on. Support Virginia Insider Become a Member → https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFRsz0wQzFOpQG6_HUwLMRA/join Source: Fredericksburg Free Press: https://www.fredericksburgfreepress.com/2026/10/01/stafford-supervisors-to-discuss-doing-away-with-incentives-for-data-centers/ Follow Virginia Insider: • YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@VirginiaInsider • X → https://x.com/virginiainsider • Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/virginiainsider • Rumble → https://rumble.com/c/c-7897060

Virginia: Manassas Airport wants an airline deal in 3 weeks

Manassas wants to be the airport you drive to, park at, and fly out of. It is not that airport yet. Washington Manassas Airport Director Juan Rivera told commissioners on September 24 he hopes commercial partner Avports will have at least one airline deal signed within three weeks. No carrier was named. No routes were announced. The commission took no vote. That is the gap in the Potomac Local News report Uriah Kiser reads on Virginia Insider. Manassas, just outside Washington, D.C., has long handled small aircraft and charter jets. City leaders want scheduled passenger service and a place in the Washington airport set beside Reagan National, Dulles, and BWI. The city renamed the field Washington Manassas Airport, a change Rivera put at about $100,000, so unfamiliar travelers would see Washington in the name. The Federal Aviation Administration awarded a Part 139 certificate, reported by Potomac Local on September 1. That is federal approval to host passenger airlines. It is not a schedule. Officials have said passenger flights are expected by the end of 2027. The city approved a 40-year agreement with Avports in 2023 to recruit airlines and build the passenger side, including terminal, parking, and ramp. The runway work and a larger terminal layout are part of the same plan. Landing fees are still ahead. Earlier coverage has pointed at possible East Coast markets, including Florida and Ohio cities such as Columbus or Cincinnati, plus talk of New York, New Orleans, and Orlando. None of those routes were announced on September 24. The airplanes, if they come, are expected to be regional and commuter jets, not jumbo aircraft. If you live in Northern Virginia, this is a convenience question. Dulles and National are a haul. Richmond has grown. Manassas would be another option only after a carrier signs, a terminal opens, and a schedule exists. Until then it is a hope with a three-week clock on a signature, not on a first flight. Like, comment, and subscribe if you want the next read when a carrier is actually named. Drop a comment if you would drive to Manassas instead of Dulles or National. Hit the bell so the next Virginia Insider cut does not pass you. Support Virginia Insider Become a Member → https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFRsz0wQzFOpQG6_HUwLMRA/join Sources: Potomac Local News: https://www.potomaclocal.com/?p=253989 FAA Part 139 report: https://www.potomaclocal.com/2026/09/01/washington-manassas-airport-earns-faa-commercial-certificate-first-flights-still-a-year-plus-away/ Follow Virginia Insider: • YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@VirginiaInsider • X → https://x.com/virginiainsider • Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/virginiainsider • Rumble → https://rumble.com/c/c-7897060

Virginia: Fredericksburg VA clinic still about 40% vacant

The Fredericksburg VA Health Care Center was sold as the nation's largest VA clinic. Uriah Kiser reads the CNN report on Virginia Insider. The building is about 470,000 square feet and about $300 million. More than 18 months after opening, CNN says veterans, providers, and members of Congress describe a clinic that still cannot staff up. VA data CNN obtained put the vacancy rate near 40 percent, more than 350 unfilled jobs. Michael Dunlap, 63, a retired Marine master gunnery sergeant, told CNN he has already had four primary care doctors in about a year and a half. He gets a form letter. The rapport resets. CNN describes empty hallways, a large parking lot, and trouble getting seen, including in urgent care. The clinic serves a corridor heavy with veterans, near Quantico, Fort Belvoir, and Fort A.P. Hill. The piece is also national. CNN ties the Fredericksburg gap to dozens of VA facilities built or updated after a Biden-era expansion of benefits, then to a workforce shortage. A VA inspector general review, as CNN reports it, found 97 percent of VA facilities reporting severe shortages of doctor candidates and 86 percent reporting severe shortages of nursing candidates. Those are hard-to-fill jobs, not a claim that every one is vacant. About half of the newer facilities had double-digit vacancy rates as of July, CNN said. VA Press Secretary Quinn Slavin told CNN the clinic has met its hiring goals, has completed more than 245,000 appointments in less than two years, and is ahead of schedule on enrolling patients. He said veterans can use this clinic, other VA sites, or community care at VA expense. He also pointed to a smaller benefits backlog in the second Trump administration. Representative Eugene Vindman, whose district includes the clinic, told CNN veterans are not getting the services they require. Kiser's read asks what, besides another roundtable, changes the vacancy number. If you use this clinic, comment with the wait you actually got. Like and subscribe for the next veterans read. Notifications on. Support Virginia Insider Become a Member → https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFRsz0wQzFOpQG6_HUwLMRA/join Source: CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/01/politics/veterans-affairs-health-centers-doctor-staff-shortage Follow Virginia Insider: • YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@VirginiaInsider • X → https://x.com/virginiainsider • Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/virginiainsider • Rumble → https://rumble.com/c/c-7897060

Virginia 5th: McGuire leads Perriello 51-45 in new poll

A Washington Post-Schar School poll has Republican incumbent John McGuire ahead of Democrat Tom Perriello in Virginia's 5th Congressional District, 51 percent to 45 percent among likely voters. Uriah Kiser reads the WSET report. WSET put the margin of error at 4.5 to 4.6 points. McGuire won the seat in 2024 by 15 points. President Donald Trump carried the district by 12 points that same year. The poll, in the field September 23-28, also has Trump at 47 percent favorable and 53 percent unfavorable inside the 5th. WSET quotes University of Lynchburg political scientist Dave Richards, an ABC-13 analyst, saying Republicans are struggling to motivate voters who are fed up with the economy, whether or not they blame Trump. Perriello, who held the seat from 2009 to 2011, is running on affordability. WSET says he does better in Charlottesville and the college towns, and McGuire holds the more conservative parts of a district that runs from Charlottesville down through Lynchburg. Virginia Public Access Project analysis in the WSET piece ranks the McGuire-Perriello race second in the state for early voting, behind the 1st District matchup of incumbent Rob Wittman and Democrat Shannon Taylor, Henrico County's commonwealth's attorney. Kiser's commentary on the air questions the poll, the early-voting calendar, and whether a Washington Post survey is built to depress Republican turnout. The numbers themselves are the WSET report of the Post-Schar poll. A 6-point lead inside a roughly 5-point margin of error is a lead. It is not a 15-point lead. Early voting is underway. Comment if you have already voted in the 5th, or if you are waiting until Election Day. Like and subscribe for the next district read. Hit the bell. Support Virginia Insider Become a Member → https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFRsz0wQzFOpQG6_HUwLMRA/join Sources: WSET: https://wset.com/news/local/5th-district-race-tightens-ahead-of-election-day-according-to-new-poll-september-2026-tom-perriello-john-mcguire-politics Schar School: https://schar.gmu.edu/news/2026-10/washington-post-schar-school-poll-shows-democrats-leading-bellwether-districts Follow Virginia Insider: • YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@VirginiaInsider • X → https://x.com/virginiainsider • Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/virginiainsider • Rumble → https://rumble.com/c/c-7897060

Virginia Early Voting Is Open. Read These 3 Questions First

Early voting opened in Virginia today. Every ballot this fall carries three constitutional amendments — on abortion, marriage, and automatic restoration of felons’ voting rights. Uriah Kiser walks through the language Democrats put on the ballot and the arguments opponents say the slogans leave out. Starting September 18, Virginians can vote early through October 31 for the November 3 midterms. On the ballot: a U.S. Senate race, all 11 congressional seats, local offices, and three proposed changes to the Virginia Constitution. Same questions in every locality. Different consequences if they pass. Question 1 would add a Bill of Rights section declaring that every individual has a “fundamental right to reproductive freedom,” covering prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, abortion, miscarriage management, and fertility care. That right could not be denied, burdened, or infringed except by a compelling state interest using the least restrictive means. The Commonwealth could regulate third-trimester abortion, but could not prohibit one a physician judges necessary to protect life or physical or mental health, or if the fetus is not viable. Opponents — including the Virginia Catholic Conference, the Virginia Society for Human Life, and former Del. Tim Anderson — call the mental-health-plus-single-physician standard late-term abortion on demand. They warn courts could strike Virginia’s parental-consent statute. Republican floor amendments for parental notice and born-alive protections were rejected. Question 2 would strike the 2006 one-man, one-woman clause and declare marriage “one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness.” The state could not deny a license to two adults based on sex, gender, or race and would have to treat lawful marriages equally. Same-sex marriage is already legal in Virginia. Opponents at the Family Foundation and Heritage Action say writing “sex” and “gender” as separate constitutional categories is the real fight — schools, sports, locker rooms, women’s shelters, family court, and custody — with no religious-liberty carve-out. Question 3 would declare a fundamental right to vote that “shall not be abridged,” restore all political rights automatically on release from incarceration with no further action required, and put murder, rape, and child-sex offenses on the same clock as nonviolent felonies. Critics including Todd Gilbert and former Del. Paul Milde say release is not completion of sentence, many felony convictions are probation-only, and automatic restoration also means the right to run for office — including school board. Kiser ties that to Governor Abigail Spanberger’s parole board, which WJLA reported is granting releases at roughly ten times the Youngkin-era rate. Like, comment, and subscribe. Hit the bell so you do not miss the next Virginia Insider report. Tell us in the comments: yes or no on each amendment — and why.

Virginia Quietly Removes Last Confederate Statues From Capitol Square

POLYMARKET: https://richmond.com/news/nation-world/article_79e5024d-b5f3-54ca-a1f2-1153b1e5e22c.html Yes. I’d make this a reusable “Potomac Local Article Social Promo” project. The goal is different from a normal thumbnail: it should look like someone is seeing a compelling portion of the actual Potomac Local News article, with enough information to understand the story but not enough to eliminate the need to click. You can paste the following directly into the project instructions: They didn’t hold a ceremony. They didn’t send a press release. On Friday, August 28, crews in Capitol Square lifted Virginia’s last state-owned Confederate statues off the grounds of the Capitol — Stonewall Jackson, William “Extra Billy” Smith, and Dr. Hunter Holmes McGuire — and hauled more than a century of bronze off the lawn. Virginia Insider host Uriah Kiser walks through what happened, how it was paid for, and why almost no one in Richmond was invited to watch. The statues came down under Budget Item 71 #1c, not a standalone vote the public could easily track. Sen. Adam Ebbin of Alexandria introduced SB636 to remove them. That bill passed the Senate on a 21-19 party-line vote and then died in House Appropriations after cost estimates approached $2 million. Lawmakers revived the project in the June appropriations package used to keep state government open. The Department of General Services confirmed the work and said the Commonwealth has gifted the monuments to the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation for battlefield display — not a melt-down like Charlottesville. This is also the unfinished chapter after 2020, when Monument Avenue came down under then-Mayor LeVar Stoney and large pieces of that collection sat for years at a wastewater plant off I-95. Visitors once came from around the world to walk those streets. The question now is what story Virginia still tells on the grounds of its own Capitol — and whether packing controversial projects into must-pass budget bills is how Richmond now makes history disappear. Sources: VPM: https://www.vpm.org/news/2026-08-28/richmond-confederate-statues-capitol-square-stonewall-holmes/ WWBT 12 On Your Side: https://www.12onyourside.com/2026/08/28/three-confederate-monuments-taken-down-capitol-square/ WTVR CBS 6: https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/richmond/removing-confederate-statues-capitol-square-aug-28-2026 Richmond Times-Dispatch: https://richmond.com/news/state-regional/article_49d25b64-090a-400e-9985-341e1170e278.html Budget Item 71 #1c: https://budget.lis.virginia.gov/amendment/2026/2/HB30/Introduced/CR/71/1c/ SB636: https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/SB636

Virginia’s Failed Gerrymander: Who Funded the 10-1 Map Push?

Virginia Democrats tried to turn a 6-5 congressional map into a 10-1 machine. The courts stopped it. Now the money trail is out in the open. Uriah Kiser breaks down new Daily Signal reporting and a Capital Research Center donor study on who bankrolled Virginia’s failed mid-decade redistricting push — and why this fight may come back in 2027. In April, Democrats in Richmond moved to sideline the bipartisan redistricting commission that Virginians approved in 2020 by about 66 percent. The goal was blunt: remove four Republican members of Congress and lock in a 10 Democrat, 1 Republican map. A referendum narrowly passed. The Virginia Supreme Court then struck the measure down as an illegal process that violated the state constitution. The maps that remain are still 6-5 Democratic. That was not enough. The Daily Signal reports the campaign exposed a coalition of House Democrat campaign groups, labor-backed nonprofits, entities linked to George Soros, and the Sunflower Services dark money network — infrastructure previously associated with Arabella Advisors. Capital Research Center president Scott Walter said unions and those networks “work together as one Borg” to benefit one party, and that the left can mobilize megadonors and tens of millions even for a project courts quickly quashed. The largest check came from House Majority Forward, the advocacy group affiliated with House Majority PAC, which gave about $39.3 million to Virginians for Fair Elections. The Fairness Project — with origins in an SEIU-affiliated California healthcare union — added nearly $12 million. Hopewell Fund and the Sixteen Thirty Fund helped feed that pipeline. Most of the groups did not respond to requests for comment. A Maryland judge has now blocked a similar Democratic redistricting push next door after lawmakers skipped their own process. Uriah walks through what that means for Virginia voters: majority power in Richmond does not erase the constitution. He also flags the host’s warning that Democrats may try again in 2027 if conservative judges are replaced and conservative turnout stays low. If you live in Virginia, this is about whether your congressional voice can be rewritten by national money when the law gets in the way. Like this video. Drop your take in the comments. Subscribe to Virginia Insider and hit the bell so you don’t miss the next statewide report. Source: https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/08/25/virginia-redistricting-fight-offers-rare-window-lefts-election-funding-machine/ Support Virginia Insider Become a Member → https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFRsz0wQzFOpQG6_HUwLMRA/join Sources: The Daily Signal — https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/08/25/virginia-redistricting-fight-offers-rare-window-lefts-election-funding-machine/ Capital Research Center — https://capitalresearch.org/article/major-donors-to-the-virgina-redistricting-ballot-measure/

Spanberger Orders Virginia Agencies to Soften Federal Benefit Cuts

Governor Abigail Spanberger just ordered Virginia agencies to fight to keep people on Medicaid and SNAP as federal rules change. Hundreds of thousands of Virginians are about to face new work requirements, extra paperwork, and tighter eligibility. The question in Richmond is simple: who stays covered, and who pays for the workaround? Uriah Kiser breaks down Executive Order 20, the “Keep Virginia Covered” directive Spanberger signed after Congress passed H.R. 1, the reconciliation law Republicans call the One Big Beautiful Bill. Of Virginia’s nearly two million Medicaid enrollees, more than 500,000 will be subject to new work requirements and yearly verification. About 5,800 lawful immigrants are slated to lose Medicaid coverage. Roughly 749,000 Virginians receive SNAP food assistance as eligibility and payment rules shift. Spanberger says keeping people covered prevents bigger hospital bills later. “We are lessening the risk that individuals may walk into a hospital with an emergency need because they haven’t previously sought medical care,” she told reporters. The order calls for plain-language outreach, inter-agency coordination, a state-level subsidy to help certain populations buy Affordable Care Act coverage, public-private partnerships, and more connections to jobs, apprenticeships, and training. The state also launched a dashboard to track health and social-services data. That is the official pitch. The political fight is over what “eligible” means after the federal law changes the rules, how much state money gets used to blunt those changes, and whether Virginia should spend taxpayer dollars to keep people on programs Washington just tightened. Spanberger has leaned on executive orders before. Critics argue this one is less about paperwork and more about preserving a benefits system the new federal law was written to shrink. This is Virginia politics with real kitchen-table stakes: Medicaid, food stamps, work rules, immigration eligibility, hospital costs, and the state budget. Watch the full breakdown, then tell us where you stand. If this kind of statewide reporting matters to you, like the video, subscribe to Virginia Insider, and hit the bell so you do not miss the next briefing. Drop your take in the comments: should Richmond backfill federal benefit cuts, or should the new work and eligibility rules stand? Source: Virginia Mercury — Spanberger orders state agencies to prepare for Medicaid, SNAP changes https://virginiamercury.com/2026/08/26/spanberger-orders-state-agencies-to-prepare-for-medicaid-snap-changes/ Governor’s office — Executive Order 20, “Keep Virginia Covered” https://www.governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/news-releases/2026/august-releases/name-1122870-en.html

ICE Asks Spanberger: Don’t Release VA Child Predator

Nine men walked into a Fairfax County sting thinking they were meeting a child. Detectives were waiting. Hours later, ICE publicly asked Governor Abigail Spanberger not to release a Mexican national in Franklin County facing more than 20 child-pornography charges. Uriah Kiser breaks down both cases and what they mean for Virginia. Fairfax County police say undercover detectives posed as juveniles online, then arrested nine men, ages 21 to 48, who believed they were traveling to Fairfax County for a sexual encounter with a minor. Police say the suspects face 20 charges combined, including solicitation of a minor, procuring a minor for prostitution, and attempted indecent liberties. The men listed addresses in Ashburn, Manassas, Springfield, Alexandria, Stafford, Woodbridge, Reston, and Statesville, North Carolina. Several were released on bond. Fairfax County Police called it a proactive Child Exploitation Unit operation. Separately, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office arrested Jorge Gilberto Zamorano-Burciaga, 36, in Rocky Mount on August 12 after a search-warrant investigation. Local and federal reports list 21 felony counts: nine possession of child pornography, six producing child pornography involving a child under 15, three reproducing or selling child pornography, two possessing obscene material using minors, and one reproducing, transmitting, or selling child pornography. He is being held at the Franklin County Jail. DHS says he is a Mexican national who entered illegally, received DACA in 2013 that expired in 2018, and has prior Franklin County arrests for DWI and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. ICE lodged a detainer and called on Governor Spanberger and local officials not to release him. Uriah also ties this to the July 2026 case of Abdulloi Toshpulodzoda, found not guilty by reason of insanity in a 2019 Fairfax County killing, then given a 48-hour pass from a state mental hospital before flying to Tajikistan. The question in the comments is the same one ICE is putting in writing: will Virginia cooperate on removal, or will sanctuary policy decide who stays? Support Virginia Insider Become a Member → https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFRsz0wQzFOpQG6_HUwLMRA/join Sources: Fairfax County sting (FOX 5): https://www.fox5dc.com/news/9-men-arrested-undercover-fairfax-county-child-exploitation-operation Franklin County arrest (WSLS): https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2026/08/12/man-arrested-on-multiple-charges-including-production-sale-of-child-sexual-abuse-material-in-franklin-county/ DHS / ICE detainer statement: https://www.dhs.gov/news/2026/08/27/ice-asks-governor-abigail-spanberger-not-release-criminal-illegal-alien-charged 7News reporting: https://wjla.com/news/local/ice-lodges-detainer-for-virginia-man-facing-more-than-20-child-porn-charges-dhs-federal-crimes

Virginia Killer Flees to Tajikistan on a Mental Hospital Weekend Pass

A man found not guilty by reason of insanity in a Fairfax County killing was given a 48-hour pass from a Virginia mental health hospital. He did not go back. He went to Dulles and flew to Tajikistan. Uriah Kiser breaks down the Fox 5 report, the Virginia law that allowed an unescorted weekend pass, and Governor Abigail Spanberger’s promise to “get to the bottom of it.” Abdulloi Toshpulodzoda was accused of killing his landlord, Mohammad Hemmatian, in Vienna in 2019. A court later found him not guilty by reason of insanity and committed him to the Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute. In June 2026, a judge again denied conditional release and said he remained mentally ill and needed inpatient treatment. Weeks later, the facility still authorized a 48-hour community pass. Court records say he left for an apartment tied to Fairfax’s Permanent Supportive Housing Program, then boarded a one-way flight from Dulles through Istanbul to Dushanbe. This was not his first trip off campus. In 2024, he was allowed an escorted visit to the Tajik embassy in Washington to obtain a passport — a request supported by the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney. DHS later said he entered the United States legally in 2009, later violated the terms of his admission, and was ordered removed by an immigration judge on June 24. On July 6, he left the country. Officials called it self-deportation. Fairfax families and police are asking a harder question: how does a committed patient walk out, get on a plane, and leave the United States? Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said his department is “completely unaware” of any process that notifies local police when these unescorted visits are granted. On August 5 — a month after Toshpulodzoda left — prosecutors asked a judge for a warrant enforceable outside Virginia. Spanberger’s office says the governor will work “aggressively” to change the system that allowed it. Uriah also puts the case in the larger Northern Virginia debate over ICE cooperation, prosecutorial decisions in Fairfax County, and whether state mental-health pass laws still match what voters expect after a homicide finding. If this is how Virginia handles a committed killer, who gets the next weekend pass? Watch the full breakdown, then tell us whether the law should change. Support Virginia Insider Become a Member → https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFRsz0wQzFOpQG6_HUwLMRA/join Sources: FOX 5 DC: https://www.fox5dc.com/news/virginia-governor-promises-change-after-accused-murderer-flees-u-s-from-mental-health-facility FOX 5 DC original report: https://www.fox5dc.com/news/accused-murderer-boards-flight-out-u-s-weekend-pass-from-virginia-mental-health-facility FOX 5 DC / Chief Davis: https://www.fox5dc.com/news/fairfax-county-police-raise-concerns-over-law-allowing-accused-killers-unescorted-community-visits WTOP: https://wtop.com/virginia/2026/08/man-found-not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity-in-fairfax-co-killing-flees-on-one-way-flight-while-on-hospital-pass/

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