I’m happy to share I won three Emmys last night, including one for Daily News Reporter! Thank you to my wife and family, God, our loyal viewers, my sources, my team at WJLA, and the judges! More information on the Emmy wins: 🏆 Talent: Reporter - Daily News ⁃Stories that were judged: My coverage of Loudoun County Public Schools and Superintendent Aaron Spence and how Spence handled student overdoses, my coverage on the Fairfax County and Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, and my coverage on Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano. 🏆 Politics/Government News ⁃Stories that were judged: “Uncovering Local Politicians' Lavish International Travel” My reporting showed viewers how Loudoun County Chair Phyllis Randall and Supervisors Juli Briskman, Koran Saines, and Sylvia Glass spent tax dollars on lavish trips. My reporting also showed how the elected officials spent their time during taxpayer funded trips. 🏆 Business/Consumer News ⁃Stories that were judged: “Exposing Bogus Job Claims from Elected Officials” Loudoun County Chair Phyllis Randall claimed her lavish taxpayer funded international sister city trips brought a significant amount of jobs and investments to Loudoun County. My reporting showed viewers that was not true.

🚨New: Fairfax County Chairman Jeff McKay spent more than a quarter million tax dollars to build a COVID memorial and the Board of Supervisors voted to spend nearly a million tax dollars for the planning of an arts hub with few details on how it would benefit the community. The Taxpayers Protection Alliance said this is not where taxpayer money should go, especially since county leaders couldn’t find the money for crossing guards at local high schools and have continued to raise local taxes year after year. In fact, Fairfax County now has one of the highest property tax rates in Virginia. And the Board of Supervisors, led by McKay, also recently implemented a food tax despite voters shooting it down twice.

Gas prices are high in Michigan. But Michigan gas prices are higher than states like Virginia because Gov. Gretchen Whitmer raised the state gas tax from 31 cents to 52.4 cents per gallon this year.

🚨New: One of the most infamous criminals in modern Virginia history could soon be released from prison, even though a state investigation found the rapist should not be eligible for parole. One of the man’s victims told me she’s terrified Gov. Abigail Spanberger's new parole board will let him out, even though he was sentenced to over two hundred years in prison. In the late 1980s, the serial rapist terrorized multiple women in Hampton Roads. Anthony McGaha was dubbed the “Ocean View Rapist.” McGaha was convicted of breaking into the homes of six different women and raping them. To the shock of his surviving victims, he has a parole hearing next week and he could be released. “It was four in the morning and I was sleeping,” one of the victims told me. “Safe and sound in my home, and I was woken up by someone on top of me with a knife to my throat.” “And your child was in the other room?” Minock asked. “Yes,” she replied. “A piece of me died that day. There's a piece of me I will never get back.” “If he gets out of prison, I firmly believe, and I'm not the only one that thinks that, that he will rape again,” she said. Former Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares sent a letter to the parole board urging them not to release McGaha. “The record on McGaha's dangerousness and lack of remorse could not be clearer,” said Miyares. “He told investigators he 'wasn't raping' his victims; he was 'making love to them,' while separately admitting he did not have their consent. At sentencing, Judge Robert W. Stewart specifically noted McGaha's utter lack of remorse and his belief that he was 'invincible.' That combination of predatory calculation, total absence of empathy, and a self-image of invincibility is precisely the profile of an offender who remains a threat to public safety today, regardless of his age or time served.” A WJLA investigation found Spanberger’s parole board is approving significantly more parole requests than former Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s parole board

New: Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger's parole board is considering whether or not to release the "Ocean View Rapist" from prison. The serial rapist broke into the homes of six different women and raped them. wjla.com/news/local/spanberg…

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger ended a rulemaking that would have prevented biological males from competing in girls’ sports and using girls locker rooms and bathrooms.

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

🚨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. "I have spent my career fighting for the most vulnerable people in our community – victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and child sex abuse – at every level of Virginia’s court system," said Dunn-Pirio. "Most recently I was a federal prosecutor, and I resigned from the Justice Department because I couldn’t stomach propping up a system that gave pardons to the well-connected while prosecuting average Americans for the same conduct.” "The way I've always worked is simple. Listen to the victim. Listen to the witnesses. Listen to the defense attorney. Try to figure out the truth and do the right thing in every case. And know the difference between someone who deserves a second chance and someone who needs to be held accountable, because that judgment is most of this job.” "Now I look at our county, and I see headline after headline – botched sexual assault cases, prosecutors missing deadlines, and victims not being spoken to. We need a Commonwealth’s Attorney who can make this office work," Dunn-Pirio said. "Every person in Fairfax should feel safe, and every person in Fairfax should be able to trust the office that's supposed to protect them."

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.” #ClimateWeekNYC

🚨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.

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

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 rape of a minor or incapacitated person and illicit groupings.

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.”

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.”

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

New: An illegal immigrant was sentenced for a child sex crime in Virginia. DHS says Fairfax County previously released the Guatemalan national and ignored ICE's detainer. wjla.com/news/local/roni-men…

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.

Statement from Nicole Riley, Director of Virginia Government Affairs, Data Center Coalition    “The Data Center Coalition and its members share Gov. Spanberger’s goals of ensuring that Virginia can compete for the significant economic opportunities presented by responsible data center development while protecting the interests of residents, communities, and ratepayers across the Commonwealth.   “We await further details on how these policy goals will be implemented by Governor Spanberger and the General Assembly, and are ready to engage with policymakers to ensure workable, balanced policies that keep Virginia competitive and honor prior commitments by the Commonwealth and its localities. Virginia’s data center industry provides transformative economic benefits to the families whose livelihoods are connected to it, and directly to the communities hosting these facilities as well as the robust supply chain of manufacturers and other businesses that support it. If done right, there is a path for continued job creation, responsible investment, and clean energy deployment that protects ratepayers and delivers benefits for families and communities. However, significant and abrupt policy changes without meaningful stakeholder engagement could prove unworkable and jeopardize the real tangible benefits this industry can create. We hope the implementation of this process will be based in fact and evidence, and account for the tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars of economic activity connected to digital infrastructure.   “The fact is, Virginia’s electric rates are below the national average and other states in our region, and numerous studies have found that data centers pay their full cost for electric service without driving up residential bills. The governor, legislature, and State Corporation Commission have taken actions and adopted policies to ensure data centers continue to pay their own way and that residential ratepayers continue to be protected moving forward. Water usage is about 0.5% of state withdrawals according to JLARC, and backup generator emissions are only a fraction of what is allowed.    “Data centers take compliance and accountability seriously, building only where and operating only how they are authorized to do so under local, state, and federal rules and regulations. Our members will continue to work with communities, local officials, and policymakers across Virginia to ensure the sustainable use of water, energy, and other natural resources, while promoting the responsible development of this important 21st-century industry.”

Statement from Senator Louise Lucas “The Governor is finally feeling the heat but still ignoring the fire. Her proposal does not end the $2 billion in sales tax exemptions provided to data centers. I look forward to moving substantial and effective legislation that Virginians’ demand. And, I hope the Governor will be on the same page for the 2027 Session. And to every Virginian who keeps showing up, speaking out and fighting for the place we call home, thank you. You are the reason we’re seeing movement. We’ve got a long way to go, and I’ll keep fighting right alongside you.”

New: Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger announced a new “data center accountability framework.” Gov. Spanberger is proposing: -A ban of non-disclosure agreements for commercial data center projects -Eliminate by-right approval and require local approval of any data center more than 25 megawatts of power -Remove future large data centers from Virginia’s fast-track permitting process -Set water use standards -Expedite the new state noise regulations for data centers -Allocate a more equitable share of electric transmission and generation costs to data centers and other large load users -Accelerate clean energy deployment -Limit the amount of electricity data centers can generate from on site natural gas generation -Make it easier for data centers to bring their own clean power "My administration is also taking action to respond to the risks being posed to Virginians by the rapid development of AI technology. Today's Executive Order will create a new Al Task Force to address several of the top concerns I've heard across the Commonwealth," said Governor Abigail Spanberger. "With the Trump Administration failing to listen to the growing concerns of Virginians, we are going to do everything in our power to make sure that the technology around Artificial Intelligence is developed safely and responsibly."