Stephen Kent for Manassas City Council

19/06/2025

One of the most important and underdiscussed issues of life in any community. Trees and shade. "Whether a built space feels functionally dead or alive often comes down to trees. People generally associate intense development and dense housing with desolate expanses of concrete and pavement." You don't get many kudos campaigning for office and talking about the economy of shade, but more candidates should do it.

Perhaps essential

12/06/2025

The attitude of the majority on the Manassas City Council remains "You should be grateful". We are not.

Manassas City Council on Monday approved a $511.8 million budget for fiscal 2026 that keeps the real estate tax rate flat but will still result in higher tax bills and utility costs for most residents starting July 1.

09/06/2025

The next few decades' worth of digital infrastructure is going to be in Northern Virginia. It was great to interview John Kuzin of Qualcomm, Chris Sharp of Digital Realty, and Grace Koh of Ciena about data centers, energy, and the future of connection.

05/06/2025

I stand by this 100%. This coming extension for TikTok would be President Trump's third extension without involving Congress, as the law requires. It's an incredible breach of the rule of law, and it remains shocking that the administration is content to leave the data of Americans on TikTok vulnerable to the predations of Beijing.

What I told USA TODAY

“The deadline for Trump to follow the law passed 135 days ago. It is shocking that a bipartisan-backed law, signed by the former president and upheld by the Supreme Court, is being treated like a mere suggestion by the White House."

The next deadline for the TikTok ban extension is June 19.

29/05/2025

It's all fine and good that property tax revenue is strong out in Leesburg in relation to data centers. The trick is making it worthwhile for the people who live here and whose views are now giant concrete blocks on the horizon. Data is the emerging "natural resource" of the DC area, and it should help make citizens' lives more comfortable.

The Town of Leesburg collected more in property tax revenues than expected this far into fiscal year 2025, a result of last year’s annexation that brought data center into the

28/05/2025

Big thanks to the Prince William Committee of 100 - PW C100 for this event on the future of journalism. It was fun to speak to you alongside Bruce Potter of InsideNoVA.com and Uriah Kiser of Potomac Local News.

23/05/2025

Our coverage today of the Trump Administration's latest clash with Harvard, now over their ability to enroll foreign students.

09/05/2025

Get ready for July 4th in Manassas and outsource decorating. RHD Seasonal has a fantastic service for Manassas and NoVA residents.

25/04/2025

My latest in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, in favor of a compromise in Virginia on social media regulation.

"State Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Henrico, first introduced the time-limits bill as a ban on algorithmic feeds like Youngkin clearly preferred, but its shortcoming was that algorithms are both the problem and the solution for negative content online. The same technology that allows social media companies to serve a steady stream of extreme political content to users based on what they typically engage with is the same tech that allows them to curate mostly kid-friendly content. No algorithm means a chronological feed filled with whatever has been posted most recently, appropriate or not.

Virginia lawmakers want to help parents take the reins on how their kids use devices. The latest research shows that children who spend more than three hours a day on social media experience significantly higher rates of mental health struggles, and a 2023 Gallup poll shows that teens spend almost five hours a day on these apps."

Teen mental health has undeniably been in free fall for much of the last decade, leaving parents, advocates and lawmakers looking for direct causation and a solution. Cutting down on teens’ online time has been a popular policy prescription.

24/04/2025

America dropped on the World Happiness Index this year. Why? Niall and I discuss on 'Rising' and get into the weeds of how Americans think about "happiness" versus other parts of the world.

28/02/2025

A litle snippet of our coverage last week at NewsNation and The Hill, regarding Elon Musk's tit for tat with astronauts about the situation at the International Space Station. Elon claims Biden left astronauts behind for political reasons.....we discuss.