Good morning from the Mercury.
“The longer someone has to wait to access care, the more expensive and logistically complex that care becomes.” - April Greene, director of the Blue Ridge Abortion Fund, which has has helped more than 15,000 people access abortions and committed $6.3 million in financial support since 1989.
A sign outside a clinic that provides abortions in Richmond, Va. (Photo by Sarah Vogelsong/Virginia Mercury)
By Charlotte Rene Woods
As Virginians prepare to reject or approve an amendment to enshrine reproductive rights into the state’s constitution on Election Day next week, new data shows more people inside and outside the state are relying on assistance to obtain abortions.
The Virginia-based Blue Ridge Abortion Fund on Monday reported an uptick in patients requesting their help to obtain the procedure amid bans in surrounding areas and rising costs of living.
Over the past year, from June 2025 to June 2026, BRAF supported 1,920 abortion seekers. According to their latest report, roughly $1.2 million in funding was disbursed among people who needed assistance to cover costs for the procedure itself and expenses like lodging or transportation.
A cup of pencils sit on top of a classroom desk in a Virginia school. (Photo by Nathaniel Cline/Virginia Mercury)
By Nathaniel Cline
A state legislative subcommittee on Monday approved a plan to hire an expert to study a new school funding formula for Virginia, with up to 24 months to complete the work.
The decision continues lawmakers' work to update the state’s 52-year-old funding formula, which determines the Standards of Quality, or funding level for public schools. A December 2023 study showed that Virginia local governments spend far more on K-12 education than the state, underscoring the need for a clearer approach.
Vicki Wanamaker, left, and Cathy Mager, right, talked in Wanamaker's Springdale, Pennsylvania, home on Oct. 19, 2026, about their opposition to a proposed hyperscale data center roughly a quarter mile away. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)
By Ashley Murray
Residents in a small southwestern Pennsylvania town are facing the prospect of a 47-acre data center facility on their doorstep.
“Right here behind this fence is where they want to put up the data center, and as you can see, there’s houses right across the street, roughly 100 feet,” said lifelong Springdale borough resident Cathy Mager, stretching her arms to show the distance from the development site’s perimeter to a line of houses across Porter Street.
“We don’t want it,” she told States Newsroom on Oct. 19.
The scenario is playing out around the United States, including Virginia. Both Democratic and Republican candidates during the heated midterm election cycle have had to navigate deep voter resentment of the massive advanced computer server farm developments that will power artificial intelligence.
By Kevin Hardy
Americans’ growing frustration over high prices has defined many political campaigns ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Rising costs of healthcare, gas and groceries during President Donald Trump’s second term have put Republicans on defense, not only in Washington, but in statehouse and gubernatorial races across the country.
NEWS TO KNOW
Our daily roundup of headlines from Virginia and elsewhere.
"Gov. Wes Moore, up for reelection in Maryland, campaigns in Virginia." | The Washington Post
"5 things to know about Appalachian Power's proposed rate increase." | The Roanoke Times
"Amazon formally withdraws data center application at GWU campus." | Loudoun Times-Mirror
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