Good morning from the Mercury.
In an Aug. 19, 2026 address to the Virginia legislature’s joint money committee, Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger highlighted fiscal gains and challenges in the state. (Photo by Charlotte Rene Woods/Virginia Mercury)
Balancing optimism and caution, Spanberger says Va.’s revenues grew $2.1 billion in fiscal year 2026
By Samantha Willis
Gov. Abigail Spanberger on Wednesday highlighted Virginia’s financial wins in the fiscal year that ended in July, touting a general revenue fund that increased by $2.1 billion, record investments in public services and a new energy consumption tax lawmakers levied on data centers that is projected to add $600 million to the commonwealth’s coffers in the next year.
The state also saw significant impacts from federal shifts, the governor said, most notably a loss of 43,600 jobs, primarily in the federal government and professional and business services sectors.
A forest in Highland County during a prescribed burn by the Virginia Department of Forestry in 2021. (Photo by Sarah Vogelsong/Virginia Mercury)
USDA advances Roadless Rule repeal; advocates and lawmakers say it puts 400,000 acres in Va. at risk
By Shannon Heckt
The United States Department of Agriculture is nearing a full repeal of the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule that protects millions of acres of virgin forestland nationwide. In Virginia, if the rule is repealed it would open up an estimated 400,000 acres of forest, largely across the Shenandoah Valley region, to development.
The Trump Administration has touted the move as a way to expand wildfire management and economic development to public lands.
A 2021 tour of the construction of the new Highland Springs High School in Henrico, which was estimated to cost about $80 million. (Photo courtesy of Henrico County Public Schools)
COMMENTARY
By Roger Chesley
If you wondered whether localities across Virginia desperately need another way to raise money to build new schools, take a look at the dozens of communities that will hold voter referendums in November.
Cardinal News recently reported that more than 40 localities plan referendums this fall seeking a 1% sales tax increase for school construction and major renovations. Many of those school divisions are small and rural. Some are urban like Norfolk, Portsmouth and Newport News.
By Amanda Watford
Violent crime in the United States fell by an estimated 9.3% in 2025, marking the largest year-to-year decline in the national violent crime rate since the FBI began estimating crime in 1936, according to new national data.
The estimated murder and nonnegligent manslaughter rate also fell 18.1%, to 4.1 killings per 100,000 people — tying the lowest rate recorded since national estimates began. The rate matches those recorded in 1955 and 1956, according to the FBI.
NEWS TO KNOW
Our daily roundup of headlines from Virginia and elsewhere.
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.