This isn’t a political statement. Just an observation about politics: If the second Trump presidential term has taught us anything, it’s that government institutions can turn on a dime. … FOIA is written not just for today’s government employees and officials but for the ones who come next. It’s OK to believe in the goodness of the current government workforce, but a future DOGE-like cut here in Virginia could completely change the landscape. Or a new governor with different cabinet secretaries. Or the retirement of a dedicated public servant. Or the new hire of someone calculating how to lay hands on easy taxpayer dollars.

Governor Abigail Spanberger is considering a bill that would reveal the identity of parents who put their children up for adoption. People who were adopted often struggle with wanting to know more about where they came from and who their parents are. Now, members of the Virginia General Assembly are sending a bill to the governor that would unseal adoption records. … Senator Emily Jordan is a Republican from the Isle of Wight who was adopted, and she says she’s fine with unsealing information about hospitals and locations. But she says unsealing names is a bad idea.

The removal of three members of Virginia’s parole board on the cusp of Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s inauguration has left the agency in gridlock, according to a former member and several others familiar with the situation who asked not to be identified. The board, which seats five members, now has just two: Chair Patricia West and member Samuel Boone. Three board members were removed in January in an email sent by then-Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s former chief of staff, according to one of the members. … Lloyd Banks, a board member appointed by Youngkin in September 2023, said he was fired in an email received on the Friday evening before Spanberger’s inauguration. He said the email came from Youngkin’s chief of staff, John Littel. … “Essentially, I worked right up until I was fired,” said Banks. Banks said his understanding was the decision to remove several members came from Spanberger’s transition team, even though the board’s termination letters came from Littel.

The Shenandoah County Sheriff’s Office has an open criminal investigation into whether school board member L.M. “Mike” Scheibe II provided false information on the document he filed to run for office. Sheriff Tim Carter said his office became aware of the issue on Nov. 4, Election Day, and opened a case the following morning. Scheibe’s opponent in the November campaign was Brent Wilson. … On his Certificate of Candidate Qualification, filed March 2025, Scheibe was asked: “Have you ever been convicted of a felony or any other crime that would preclude you from holding office?” He checked “No.” A line for the date of his restoration of voting rights was left blank. A three-judge panel found earlier this year that Scheibe’s attorney conceded during a Dec. 29 hearing that Scheibe had been convicted of a felony in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Court records show Scheibe pleaded guilty on Aug. 30, 2004, to felony criminal trespass and misdemeanor possession of instruments of crime.