Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration is not providing Virginia legislators or the public details of hundreds of millions of dollars of paused federal grants, according to records requests and documents acquired by VPM News and WAMU. The absence of the figures means voters and candidates for office cannot consider potential policy responses to the cuts ahead of Election Day, even though the numbers will eventually become public when Youngkin proposes his budget in December. Youngkin is far from unique in using the working papers exemption to protect records from public view, according to Megan Rhyne, the executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government. But she said it was unusual to see the exemption applied to the status of federal grants — which are themselves public. The exemption is meant to cover papers prepared for the governor’s “personal or deliberative use,” but Rhyne suggested the fact that Cummings referenced them in presentations to lawmakers contradicts that description: “Because these grants ultimately benefit the public, I think the public should be aware of when they might be in jeopardy.”

Sands Anderson attorney Cullen D. Seltzer shared correspondence on behalf of the Southampton County School Board (SCSB) late Monday evening, Oct. 13, in which the board requested the Southampton County Board of Supervisors (BOS) provide the complete investigation report into Southampton County Public Schools (SCPS) that the attorneys hired by the BOS recently produced. He stated that for the purposes of clarity, he was requesting the complete report and any and all records related to it, including, but not limited to, the following: 1.) The complete and unredacted report. 2.) All notes, memoranda, and other documents and records related to witness or other interviews related to the subject matters in the report. 3.) All documents referenced in the complete report. 4.) All documents considered in preparation of the report but not referenced in the report. 5.) All communications, including communications internal to your respective law firms, related to the report or preparation of it. 6. Billing records, from law firms, consulting experts, or others, related to preparation of the report.”

The Warrenton Town Council voted 4-3 Tuesday to terminate Town Manager Frank Cassidy’s contract. The motion to end Cassidy’s employment was introduced by At-Large Councilmember Paul Mooney after the council returned from a closed session held to discuss personnel matters.

Less than a year after Warrenton Town Council fired its town attorney and hired Chap Petersen to represent the town – and just hours after firing town manager Frank Cassidy – council members announced they are considering firing Petersen too. Council members voted 3-2 Tuesday night to schedule a special meeting in the coming week to discuss Petersen’s employment. Council member Eric Gagnon added that Petersen is not always prepared and does not listen to council members’ instructions. Vice Mayor William Semple disagreed. “It just seems like it’s stalled and we don’t know why,” Kovalik said. “I thought we would be much further in the process.” Kovalik was referring to the work by the Commission on Open and Transparent Government, formed by the new town council earlier this year and outfitted with its own legal representation: former town attorney Whitson ‘Whit’ Robinson.

Heated exchanges erupted Oct. 7 at the Henrico School Board’s third and final redistricting town hall about a controversial school board proposal that would redistrict 11 schools. But unlike the previous town halls, the discussions did include some direct dialogue with the school board. School board members previously had refrained from responding to parents during each town hall’s main discussions, when attendees are divided into separate classrooms to discuss their opinions with HCPS staff, but have visited different rooms to listen. Board members also allow a half-hour period after the main meetings for parents to speak with them individually.

Eight of nine Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority commissioners resigned Tuesday in response to a demand from Mayor Alyia Gaskins and City Council that they step down by today’s deadline or face formal removal proceedings. The mass resignations, delivered through attorney Ugo Colella of the law firm Colella Zefutie, came hours before Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, where Gaskins announced the departures after members emerged from a closed executive session.

As expected, suspended Hopewell City Councilor Dominic Holloway will appeal his July 29 conviction for using a city-owned credit card to pay for an event that was not city-sanctioned.

With cell phones more and more integral to everyday life, Richmond officials are finally allowing members of the public to take phones into city courthouses. Phones still can’t be used in the buildings, however. Under the new rules, they have to be stored away in Yondr pouches, a type of lockable bag used to create phone-free spaces. That allows courthouse visitors to keep their phones on them as they pass through security, then unlock the pouch and retrieve their phone on the way out. “This initiative aims to enhance security, privacy, and attentiveness during court proceedings, while maintaining appropriate access to information for legal purposes,” Sheriff Antionette Irving said in a written statement.

Fox News, the former employer of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, has joined a near-unanimous outpouring of news organizations rejecting new rules for journalists based in the Pentagon. Fox signed on to a statement with ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN saying they would not agree to Hegseth’s new rules, saying “the policy is without precedent and threatens core journalistic protections.” So far, only the conservative One America News Network has said its reporters would follow the new regulations. The Pentagon has said the rules establish “common sense media procedures” and want news outlets to sign a statement acknowledging them, even if they don’t agree with them. The news outlets have said that they are concerned, however, that their reporters will be subject to expulsion if they simply try to report news not approved by Hegseth.