Good morning from the Mercury.
“The (Dominion Energy-NextEra) deal in its current form is not nearly good enough for Virginia or for Virginians.”- Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger
Dominion Energy offices in Richmond, Va. (Photo by Parker Michels-Boyce/ For the Virginia Mercury)
By Markus Schmidt
Gov. Abigail Spanberger on Tuesday warned that Virginia regulators should reject the proposed $67 billion merger between Dominion Energy and NextEra Energy unless the companies agree to freeze residential base-rate increases for six years and nearly triple their promised monthly customer credits.
Her demands came after State Corporation Commission staff recommended Monday that the deal as proposed be rejected, citing financial risks and inadequate protections for Dominion’s Virginia customers. Attorney General Jay Jones also spoke out against the merger Tuesday, joining Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi’s opposition to the deal.
By Charlotte Rene Woods
In the final stretch before the pivotal midterm elections on Nov. 3, Democrats at the local, state and national level are ramping up their engagement with voters in Virginia’s 1st, 2nd and 5th Congressional Districts and eyeing potential partisan flips in the competitive contests.
At a rally with the Democratic candidates in the three districts on Monday, former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said that the road to shifting the U.S. House of Representatives from red to blue runs through Virginia.
Burkhart Ridge in Howell Township, Mich., is the kind of manufactured home community that some experts say can be expanded with a new federal law that allows such homes to be built without a chassis. Some 30 states may need to update their laws, though, and mobile home park operators say the industry still faces major zoning and financial speed bumps. (Photo by Jon King/Michigan Advance)
By Robbie Sequeira
For decades, manufactured home builders have been working to shed the old image of boxy trailer homes reserved for the outskirts of cities and suburbia. Now, a small change in federal regulations could open the door for architecture welcomed in more neighborhoods.
This summer’s sweeping housing bill, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, removed a 1974 mandate that required every manufactured home to be built on a nonremovable steel frame, known as a chassis. Experts and home producers think the change could help unlock thousands more affordable housing options around the country.
By Jacob Fischler
Democrats have used President Donald Trump’s unpopularity to expand the midterm map, and analysts project the party carries momentum heading into the final two weeks of the election cycle, even as Democrats are expected to flip fewer U.S. House seats than wave elections this century.
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter predicts Democrats will gain a net of 10 to 20 House seats in the Nov. 3 elections, Erin Covey, the top House analyst at CPR, said Monday during a panel discussion hosted by the Brookings Institution.
NEWS TO KNOW
Our daily roundup of headlines from Virginia and elsewhere.
"Calls for local Virginia GOP leader to step down in light of website revelations." | Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO
"Former Va. governor says Trump owes explanation on Russia." | The Richmond Times-Dispatch
"‘A Virginia treasure’: Susan Clarke Schaar announces retirement after 52 years serving the Senate." | The Zebra
Thanks for reading Virginia Mercury. Did you know our weekend digest is also free? Sign up here. And if you enjoyed today’s edition, please forward to a friend. Increasing our readership helps us cover more news.