Members of a state commission on Wednesday heard a proposal to increase transparency around how often Virginians have their electricity shut off for nonpayment. The plan would involve creating a public website that tracks information such as how many households get their electricity disconnected, how long their power stays off on average and how much money customers owe on their bills at the time of disconnection. The data would be aggregated and anonymous to avoid identifying individual customers, said Carrie Hearne, executive director of the Commission on Electric Utility Regulation.

The Richmond Sheriff’s Office is withholding information about what happened at a Turnstile concert at Brown’s Island two weeks ago when now-viral video appeared to show a deputy pepper spray a fan. To get a better understanding of what happened and why, CBS 6 filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with the sheriff’s office. FOIA allows members of the public to access government records with some exceptions. But the way Sheriff Irving responded to the requests, in which she mostly declined to provide the requested records, doesn’t fully comply with the law, according to FOIA expert Megan Rhyne with the Virginia Coalition for Open Government.

Following a nearly 90-minute closed session, Smithfield’s Town Council voted 5-2 on Oct. 8 not to pursue repayment of roughly $99,000 former Town Attorney Bill Riddick billed the town in excess of his contracted hourly rate over 17 years. Riddick, who had been the town attorney since 1993, resigned on Sept. 4, two days after the Town Council voted to authorize an external audit of his invoices dating back to 2008. That audit, according to Councilman Darren Cutler, found Riddick’s current law firm, Riddick & Pope P.C., was overpaid $99,028 from July 2008 through July 2025. Councilman Steve Bowman characterized the lack of documentation as a mistake of “omission,” not “commission,” and asserted there was no “nefarious” intent by Riddick.

The Prince William Board of County Supervisors on Tuesday opted to disband the county’s resident-led Data Center Ordinance Advisory Group after months of restructuring and recent controversy, directing the county executive to work directly with staff for future noise and zoning ordinance updates. Neabsco Supervisor Victor Angry initiated the directive that spurred the vote to disband the advisory group, emphasizing the need to “terminate” other defunct county commissions that are not currently operational.

To give residents a better idea of how Leesburg is run, the town will host twice-yearly meetings — with the first beginning at 6 p.m. Oct. 23 at Town Hall, 25 W. Market St. The “Inside Leesburg” gatherings will include information on town operations, resources and services, according to a town news release. The meetings will be run by Leesburg Assistant Public Information Officer Leah Kosin, and town staff will be on hand to answer questions during and after the meetings. Topics will include Leesburg’s permit application process and snow emergency routes.