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All Access
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State
New regulations taking effect next January will shine more light on how much water data centers use in Virginia — though information on specific facilities is still protected as a trade secret. And a state budget amendment seeks to add more reporting requirements. Instead of ordering data centers to report their individual monthly water usage, the new law requires waterworks operators to categorize their monthly sales reporting data. Operators will have to split it up into usage by data centers with state air permits, domestic users, industrial and commercial users and all other non-categorized purposes. That usage will be split into potable and non-potable withdrawals.
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Local
At least one man has been charged and four others are now under investigation in connection with an alleged fraud ring that saw five co-conspirators allegedly embezzling nearly $3 million from City Hall through fictitious companies, according to court records and transaction documents obtained by The Times-Dispatch through the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. The Times-Dispatch previously reported that officials were investigating millions of dollars’ worth of transactions facilitated by Reginald Thomas, a former procurement analyst for the Richmond Fire Department. Invoices, purchase orders and credit card transactions showed Thomas spent the public funds at one company registered to his own Henrico County home, as well as two other firms registered to the Northern Virginia home of a woman he met while serving in the U.S. Navy in the 1990s. Now, prosecutors say at least two more companies — one of which is registered in Georgia — were involved in a money-laundering scheme related to the alleged embezzlement that somehow evaded officials’ detection for eight years.
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Local
The Strasburg Town Council has issued a statement defending town employees amid criticism tied to data centers and Project Tallmadge. The statement says recent public discussions have included criticism directed at individual staff members over town decisions and processes. “While we respect the right of residents to ask questions, express concerns, and disagree with decisions, it is important to understand that local government is a collaborative process,” the statement says. The document bears the names of Mayor Brandy Hawkins Boies and all eight council members. … Mayor Brandy Hawkins Boies said town employees have handled a significant volume of emails, phone calls, social media comments, public inquiries and Freedom of Information Act requests related to the project. “Most interactions have been respectful and appropriate,” she said. “However, there have also been instances where staff members have been personally criticized, accused of improper motives, and subjected to unfounded allegations regarding their conduct rather than discussion of the issues themselves.”
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A former state senator now running for Petersburg City Council is suing the former legislative aide of a colleague for $1.35 million for slander per se after the aide accused him of raping an underage employee in a social media post. Joe Morrissey filed the suit in October 2024 in Petersburg Circuit Court days after Arlington County resident Kevin Saucedo-Broach responded to a post on X, formerly Twitter, in which he never mentioned Morrissey by name. The case is set to go to trial in late July.
The Progress-Index
The future of the Augusta Correctional Center has been debated and unclear since the Virginia Department of Corrections shuttered the 40-year-old facility in the summer of 2024 but officials have not revealed details, but residents can expect an announcement later this summer. Augusta County has confirmed the 840-acre property is under contract for a sale, but it did not disclose the buyer or use, which has led to public speculation on the site’s future, including the controversial possibilities of a federal detention facility or data center. According to a Freedom of Information Act request by The News Leader submitted this month, records show the county will close on the property around Aug. 1. The date was confirmed by the Department of General Services, which is managing the sale for the state.
News Leader
“Democracies die behind closed doors.” ~ U.S. Circuit Court Judge Damon Keith, 2002
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