Good morning from the Mercury.
“It's not just dogs. It's been dogs, cats, bunnies, snakes and a horse. And all kinds of reptiles. We've learned that folks in the military really have interesting pets. In life, you don't plan for a crisis, right?” – Giselle Boretto Fetterman, development director of Operation Foster, which finds foster homes for military members' pets during deployment.
Marine Corps. Reserves Pfc. Samuel Compail of Massachusetts, with his dog Chopper. Fredericksburg resident Wendy Weldon is fostering Chopper during Compail's deployment. (Photo courtesy Wendy Weldon)
By Ian Stewart
While living alone in an apartment in Hampton Roads, about 20 minutes from his work as an E5 (petty officer, second class) at Naval Station Norfolk, David Morrow decided it was time to look for an animal companion to enrich his time off-base.
“My little dog, named Lola, (is) a very energetic lab. She's about four,” said SCA2 David Morrow. “I picked her up from the shelter in August of last year. I wanted somebody around in the house, she seemed the most comfortable with me.”
Several months ago, Morrow got word that he was about to be deployed. ... That’s when he came across the website Operation Foster.
Dominion Energy offices in Richmond, Va. (Photo by Parker Michels-Boyce for the Virginia Mercury)
By Shannon Heckt
Dominion Energy asked the State Corporation Commission to recover an additional $922 million in fuel costs, citing extreme power demands during as well as a national rise in gas prices as reasons for the escalation beyond its original calculations
SCC staff reported that Dominion’s “actual fuel and purchased power expenses rose dramatically from approximately $1.7 billion in 2020 to $4.4 billion in 2025, an increase of $2.7 billion, or 152%, over a five-year period.”
The “fuel factor” portion of monthly bills is a pass-through cost, meaning Dominion does not make a profit off the fuel expenses and can pass up to 100% of the cost to customers.
The Virginia Department of Health offices in Richmond. (Photo by Parker Michels-Boyce for The Virginia Mercury)
By Charlotte Rene Woods
After President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday to alter childhood vaccine guidance, Virginia’s Department of Health on Tuesday reaffirmed the state’s requirements and recommendations for all children to be vaccinated.
VDH Commissioner Dr. Cameron Webb said that Virginia families should trust the state’s decisions to be “grounded in the best available science.”
“The evidence supporting the (American Academy of Pediatrics) immunization schedule is extensive, and we remain confident that following it is one of the best ways to protect children from serious, preventable diseases,” Webb said.
By Jacob Fischler
The Trump administration on Wednesday renewed its request to the U.S. Supreme Court to quickly decide a case over an executive order restricting voting, a day after a Massachusetts federal judge expanded an injunction on the order nationwide.
The Tuesday order from U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani that blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order from taking effect anywhere in the country makes the administration’s request to the Supreme Court more urgent, U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote.
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