Nick Minock

09/23/2026

Prince William County, Virginia is getting significant tax revenue from data centers, but residents aren’t getting significant tax cuts.

09/23/2026

New: Brittany Dunn-Pirio, a Fairfax County native and career prosecutor, launched her campaign for the Democratic nomination for Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney against Steve Descano.

Story: https://wjla.com/news/local/brittany-dunn-pirio-run-against-fairfax-prosecutor-steve-descano-democratic-primary-commonwealth-attorney-immigration-policies-doj-investigation

09/22/2026

🚨Fairfax County Supervisor Andres Jimenez who was clocked driving 104 mph in a 70 next to a school bus got a great deal in court.

His reckless driving criminal charge, which carried potential jail time, was reduced all the way down to an improper driving traffic infraction. Improper driving is several steps below reckless driving and carries no jail time.

For comparison, in 2014, Washington Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth was convicted of reckless driving and sentenced to 10 days in jail for driving his Porsche over 100 mph on the Capital Beltway (Source: ESPN). Fairfax County General District Court Judge Penney Azcarate said at the time that the jail sentence was appropriate given the excessive speed.

WATCH BELOW: Video shows a Virginia State Trooper pulling over Fairfax County Supervisor Andres Jimenez for reckless driving. The video shows him driving fast next to a school bus.

The officer tells Jimenez he clocked him driving 104 mph in a 70. Jimenez said he wasn’t paying attention, apologized, said he was on his way to work and that the board meeting started in 20 minutes.

09/22/2026

Did Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger rush to announce a data center plan last week so she had something to talk about during Climate Week in New York City?

That’s what some Virginia political insiders believe—so that Spanberger can say she has the most aggressive data center plan in the country this week.

That claim, by the way, is extremely questionable.

Other states have paused data center development and issued moratoriums. Spanberger has not. And all the local community groups in Northern and Central Virginia I’ve spoken to say Spanberger’s data center plan is weak and insufficient.

Chris Miller, the Piedmont Environmental Council president said, “There are some positive elements in the framework, but it does not address the immediacy of this crisis or bring adequate oversight and accountability. It largely addresses standards on new data centers and does not deal with what’s already built and in the pipeline, along with the ongoing impacts piling up in communities now.
A moratorium – a pause on all development and new applications – should be the first step so we can fully address the many impacts on the state and residents. The Governor’s approach is an ambitious framework to develop a plan, most of which is subject to legislation, regulation, budget and actions of localities and the private sector. It does not address the continued connection of data centers to the grid, despite inadequate power and the many impacts on air quality, water supply, electric bills, and people and communities. Not to mention the hundreds of miles of proposed transmission lines, solely to support data centers, that threaten our natural and historic resources, wildlife habitat, and will take private lands by eminent domain across the state. There is already over 280 million square feet of data center development in the pipeline, largely approved locally, and 53.8 GWs in energy contracts held by Dominion Energy. The scale of the explosive growth of data centers in Virginia, and the wide reaching impacts on communities, our electric bills, and the environment requires a pause to work out the complex details of implementation. The industry has operated without sufficient oversight and accountability for far too long. Communities need a pause and real protection, not just a framework to guide the 2027 legislative process. If the Governor is really serious about this, then call a special session of the General Assembly and deal with this now.”

09/22/2026

ICE says they arrested illegal immigrant Diego Lopez-Castro in Alexandria, Virginia. ICE said Lopez is the subject of foreign arrest warrants issued by El Salvador for aggravated r**e of a minor or incapacitated person and illicit groupings.

09/22/2026

New: The Coalition to Protect Prince William County is not impressed with Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s executive order on data centers.

Some excerpts from the group’s new statement:

“Imagine your house is on fire. You dial 9-1-1, and instead of a legion of firetrucks coming down your driveway to save your home, your family, all you own and care about... They show up with a spray bottle, and an 'ACTION plan' that won't be implemented for 6 months to two years.

Well, that's how we view this executive order.

We are concerned the Governor is NOT reading the available data about our grid crisis -- the CRISIS we are CURRENTLY IN and HAVE BEEN IN FOR SOME TIME. A crisis which is solely due to the unprecedented number of electrical contracts Dominion Energy has irresponsibly signed with the data center industry.

Here is what we want to say in response to this executive order:

Dear Governor Spanberger,

You appear to not fully grasp the urgency of the moment.

While your executive order and framework can be applauded for some aspirational goals, our house IS ON FIRE NOW.

Indeed, none of your initiatives address the suffering residents are feeling right now, whether it is:

The diesel generators turning on and then we are choking on access to clean air
The gas turbines increasing emissions next to homes and making life unlivable due to the high-pitched frequency and noise 24/7
The skyrocketing electricity bills
The forfeiture of homes, small businesses, and property to the massive transmission highways stealing the dreams of Virginians
Clearly millions of Virginia residents are being exposed to risks. And your 6-month to 2-year timeframe for action is simply not acceptable.

Our question to Governor Spanberger and the Speaker of the House Don Scott is:

What are YOU willing to sacrifice for this industrial data center build out?
Your home?
Your clean air?
Your children's clean air?
Are you willing to trade homes with any of the people forced to risk all they have, their biggest financial investment, their quality of life, their health, for the energy needs of one private industry........?
We need a statewide Data Center Moratorium NOW.”

09/21/2026

The Spotsylvania County Planning Commission voted 4-2 to recommend approval of an Amazon data center mega site on more than 550 acres.

Story: https://wjla.com/news/local/spotsylvania-planning-commission-mega-data-center-complex-55-acres-amazon-web-services-data-center-county-mega-crossroads-technology-campus-wildlife-trees-substations-noise-generators-residents-land-property-taxes

09/21/2026

New: An illegal immigrant was sentenced for a child s*x crime in Virginia. DHS says Fairfax County previously released the Guatemalan national and ignored ICE's detainer.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced that Roni Mendez-Escobar, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, was sentenced to six ye

09/21/2026

We had another great trip to the Mara Triangle! This was our fourth time visiting for safari. It’s one of our favorite places.

09/18/2026

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger says she’s holding data centers accountable and insists she’s setting the most aggressive data center standards in the country.

But lawmakers on both sides of the aisle disagree and say she’s not going far enough. Gov. Spanberger is not pushing for a moratorium or a pause on data centers like other states and she’s not supporting a repeal of data center tax cuts. Her proposals don’t stop transmission lines from ripping through homeowners property and farmland to power data centers.

Plus, for all her tough talk on data centers today, the data center industry doesn’t appear concerned about her proposals.