One of the biggest points of political tension in Virginia — the rapid growth of data centers — appears headed toward a General Assembly compromise. It looks like an effort to rein in any impact on Virginians’ power bills while declining to step on the brakes to stop or slow data center development. … Bills aimed at another big issue — whether Virginia can avoid blackouts and brownouts by slowing or stopping the pace of data center development — had less luck. … Legislators also tabled a bill requiring data centers to report whenever they turn on their backup generators, and a measure requiring water companies to report how much water data centers use.

The ongoing verbal battle between Hopewell City Council and residents over a $17,000 coucil retreat last year in Williamsburg took quite a nasty turn during the Feb. 10 council meeting, with speakers accusing city administration of lying about the need for the event and one of them telling the mayor to “keep your piehole shut.” The tense exchange happened during the council meeting’s public-comment period. Traditionally during that period, residents get up and say their piece about a non-agenda topic while councilors remain quiet. At previous council meetings, residents have criticized the Williamsburg retreat as unnecessary for a financially strapped city such as Hopewell when it could have been held in Hopewell for far cheaper. They also claimed that their repeated attempts to contact interim City Manager Michael Rogers for more information about why Williamsburg was chosen over Hopewell were going unasnwered.

Warrenton is reviving its transparency commission after finding an interim town attorney. At its meeting Tuesday, the Town Council voted 5-2 to task the Commission on Open and Transparent Government to work with town staff to come up with a new establishing resolution. The commission was established over a year ago to review land-use cases over the past six years, with particular attention to the Amazon data center, redevelopment of Warrenton Village Center and the annexation of the Arrington development. … The commission was paused in November when the Town Council openly questioned its progress and even discussed disbanding it altogether. … At the time, the commission had cost the town nearly $60,000, according to records obtained by the Fauquier Times. Mayor Carter Nevil said it has about $18,000 remaining in allocated funds. The resolution adopted Tuesday requires the commission to provide a presentation to the council at its March meeting outlining a refined charter, updated procedures for review of town records, its plan for a report and the funding needed for its work.

Data center developers and landowners seeking to rezone their properties for data centers continue to pad Prince William County supervisors’ campaign coffers with cash. Over the last six months of 2025, the supervisors collectively raised nearly $300,000 in campaign contributions, much of it from data center interests – far surpassing the contributions collected by supervisors in surrounding counties, according to the most recent campaign finance reports filed with the Virginia Board of Elections. … Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington, said the contributions tied to data center projects could be the result of growing opposition to data centers.

The town council meeting had reached the point on the agenda where the public could speak on any topic, and emotions, to put it mildly, were a tad raw. “It’s not too late to resign!” a woman shouted at the lawmakers, four of whom, including the mayor, are the focus of a recall campaign. … Small towns often are known for their quirky, insular intrigue, but the drama unfolding in Purcellville, a Virginia exurb that’s a 50-mile drive west of Washington, is a brass-knuckled version of quaint. … The civic discourse has grown so uncivil that a police officer stands guard by the dais during council meetings, as was the case Tuesday. The meeting went on for more than five hours and drew a crowd large enough to fill Town Hall, including some who brought bags of popcorn to snack on. More than a thousand people watched online.

The Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors is set to vote Tuesday evening on censuring Tim Dudley, a move that removes him from board-appointed committees and commissions. Dudley, 61, of Hurt, is charged with shoplifting at an Altavista business in late November. He appeared in Campbell County General District Court on Feb. 3 for the charge, which was continued in what’s known as a deferred deposition. … According to the resolution — posted Friday evening as part of the meeting’s agenda packet — Dudley violated state law and the board’s code of ethics.

South Carolina’s college sports programs are one step closer to being able to shield the money they’re paying student athletes from public scrutiny after the S.C. Senate Judiciary Committee voted to send a bill to the floor that exempts those payments from the state’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Supporters say the bill, which passed the S.C. House 111-2 last month, is necessary to protect the state’s major sports programs — particularly USC and Clemson football — from disclosures that would allow other teams around the country to outbid them for their own players.