AG Jones Opens Firearm Industry Enforcement Unit

Attorney General Jay Jones announced a Firearms Accountability & Industry Responsibility (FAIR) Unit on Tuesday to enforce a new firearm industry law that took effect July 1. 

The FAIR Unit sits inside the office’s Civil and Criminal Justice & Public Safety divisions and will investigate manufacturers, sellers, distributors, and marketers, then bring civil cases under House Bill 21 and Senate Bill 27.

The statute requires industry members to keep “reasonable controls” over how firearm-related products are made, sold, distributed, and marketed, and bars knowingly contributing to a public nuisance. 

The attorney general; a county, city, or town attorney; or a person injured by a violation may sue for injunctions, restitution, compensatory or punitive damages, and attorney fees. Jones can also issue civil investigative demands on reasonable cause.

Targets may include improper sales, marketing practices, known product risks, or conduct that diverts guns to illegal buyers.

Nearly 400 VA Schools Win State Security Grants

Almost 400 schools across Virginia will share $12 million in state funding this year for safety and security upgrades. 

The money flows through the School Security Equipment Grant program, run jointly by the Virginia Department of Education and the Department of Criminal Justice Services, which has sent roughly $126 million to divisions since 2013. 

For the 2026-27 cycle, VDOE fielded applications from 770 schools in 124 divisions and awarded 399 schools in 91 divisions. Individual schools could seek up to $250,000 and must stay open for at least five more years to keep the award.

Southwest Virginia landed a sizable share, with recipients in Roanoke, Salem, Franklin County, Giles County, and the Alleghany Highlands.

Hay Shortage Triggers Statewide Emergency

Gov. Abigail Spanberger declared a state of emergency Wednesday over a drought-driven hay shortage that has left Virginia livestock producers short on winter feed. 

Executive Order 21 grants over-width waivers to trucks hauling hay, opens emergency funding and activates price-gouging protections. The order runs 45 days, and the trucking waiver starts Oct. 1 for 30 days, with weight limits unchanged.

Officials put the shortfall at 500,000 tons—roughly 1 billion pounds—with yields down 35% statewide and as much as 70% in spots, according to the Virginia Cooperative Extension. 

Bare pastures pushed farmers into their winter reserves early, feeding hay at least 30 of the grazing season’s first 90 days. Northern Virginia cattle farmer and Delegate Michael Webert, a Republican, said his yields fell 42% and credited Spanberger for listening. 

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➤ Statewide: Housing Forward Virginia, the Virginia Housing Alliance, and Locus Impact launched an interactive dashboard this month mapping apartments whose federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit terms are running out. (More)

➤ Fairfax County: Public school guidance for the 25th anniversary of 9/11 directed teachers to identify al-Qaida as responsible but not to “associate the 9/11 attacks with Islam or Muslims.” The guidance drew criticism, and Superintendent Michelle Reid said the materials are under review. (More)

➤ Richmond: CSX has determined that a July derailment that dropped three grain-filled cars from a Shockoe Bottom railway bridge into the Kanawha Canal was caused by a heat-induced track misalignment, and the rail has since been adjusted. (More)

➤ Norfolk: The public school system held community meetings this week at four elementary schools set to close after the 2026-27 year—Granby, Lindenwood, P.B. Young, and Tarrallton—telling staff it aims to move teachers into other schools rather than cut jobs as enrollment declines. (More)

➤ Newport News: The Navy and the Office of the Secretary of War announced a $1.7 billion agreement Wednesday to overhaul unaccompanied housing for sailors in Hampton Roads, with new housing and retail amenities replacing aging facilities like downtown’s Huntington Hall. (More)

➤ Bristol: Angela Sue Conley, 60, the longtime bookkeeper for a Bristol business, pleaded guilty to federal wire and mail fraud after admitting she siphoned $205,889 from her employer over five years, including 474 Amazon purchases. The company has not been identified. (More)

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➤ The Washington Commanders released the first interior renderings of their planned stadium on the former RFK Stadium site. The 70,000-seat, nearly $4 billion venue is targeting a 2030 opening. (See Photos)

➤ ESPN’s First Take talk show will broadcast live from Virginia State University on Oct. 9 as part of the show’s annual HBCU tour. The stop coincides with the school’s homecoming week in Petersburg. (More) 

➤ William & Mary women’s soccer player Zeta Kromah, a Liberian native, launched youth sports and leadership clinics in her home country over the past year. The program has reached more than 400 young people in underserved communities around Monrovia. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: NFL | NCAAF | MLB | WNBA | Golf | Soccer

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➤ Virginia’s Cannabis Control Authority released draft regulations for the recreational marijuana retail market set to launch July 1, 2027, laying out license fees and application procedures for retail stores, cultivators, and other cannabis businesses. (More)

➤ Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality ordered Microsoft to pay about $2.5 million after the company’s Leesburg facility ran 62 backup generators for seven days during a 2025 substation failure, exceeding its emissions limits. (More)

➤ Perdue Farms donated 33,000 pounds of chicken to the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia in Norfolk during Hunger Action Month as part of $1 million worth of protein the company is donating to seven food bank partners during September. (More)

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➤ Truckloads of sand from Currituck County have been dumped at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront for the International Sandsculpting Competition at the annual Neptune Festival Sept. 25-27, when locals reclaim the beach after summer’s tourists are gone. (More and See Festival Details)

➤ Ospreys on the Chesapeake Bay posted their worst breeding season on record, according to the Center for Conservation Biology at William & Mary, with the share of birds laying eggs down 20% to 30%—a steeper drop than during the DDT crisis of the 1970s. (More)

➤ Shenandoah National Park will host its two-day Art in the Park at Big Meadows Wayside Sept. 25-26, featuring workshops, demonstrations, and performances by local artists. (More) 

➤ A short film by filmmaker Kendra Louka called No Grace, shot in Virginia Beach, will screen at the Horror Film Fest at Tackett’s Mill in Woodbridge on Oct. 16. (More)

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The following stories are featured exclusively on The Flyover Podcast—a daily show that gives you the most important headlines in under 15 minutes. 

➤ New research revealed just how many Americans are carrying medical debt despite having health insurance. (Listen Now)

➤ Princess Diana’s brother took aim at King Charles in a new memoir that has drawn a rare rebuttal from Buckingham Palace. (Hear Story)

➤ Uber was ordered to pay $40 million to the family of a woman killed after her driver abandoned her on a freeway. (Hear Details)

Do you like horror movies?

1. Love them
2. Hate them
3. Tolerate them

Yesterday’s Results:

Have you ever tasted a pawpaw?

1. Never had one: 43%
2. What’s a pawpaw? 38%
3. Once or twice: 12%
4. Yes, love them: 7%

Who came up with the idea to create the Virginia Beach Neptune Festival?

Show me the answer