8/10/26 - Spanberger takes ‘unprecedented’ step in Dominion–NextEra merger

You're listening to the VPM Daily Newscast, the recap of today's top stories in central Virginia. From the VPM Newsroom in Richmond, I'm Danteo Pricelisco. Governor Abigail Spanberger will intervene in the State Corporation Commission's review of Dominion Energy's proposed merger with Next Era Energy. Patrick Larson with VPM News explains what that means. Abigail Spanberger says she wants to have direct access to negotiations around the proposed acquisition. She's wary of the merger's $67 billion scale and skeptical that selling to a larger out-of-state utility will be good for Virginians. And so to be able to have a seat at the table, access to the questions that others are asking, access to the answers and all of the documents filed in this case is an important priority. As an intervener, Abigail Spanberger will have the same privileges as other participants, like environmental and rate pay. protection groups, affected corporations like Google, and other elected officials. She'll be represented by counsel to the governor Matt McGuire, who will be able to ask questions, cross-examine other participants, and engage in settlement negotiations. It's not clear whether any previous governor has taken this step in cases before the commission. The regulatory body has until January 11, 27, to decide on the proposal. Patrick Larson, VPM News. The City of Richmond's effort to upgrade the Broad Street section of Shaco Bottom has reached an important milestone. The Planning Commission voted last week to approve the Shaco Valley Street's improvement project, which is eight years in the making. The project includes converting Oliver Hillway, which brings freeway traffic into the neighborhood, from a one-way to a two-way street. It also includes plans to add dedicated turn lanes, bike lanes, and sidewalk improvements. Data privacy has become a critical issue. As VPM News' Dean Mirshahi reports, artificial intelligence opens Virginia up to more cyber threats. As Virginia's chief information officer, Mike Watson runs the state's IT agency. For Watson, AI doesn't create new types of vulnerabilities, but it increases how many Virginia has to worry about. It is now more likely that someone's going to be able to chain a couple different attacks together to exploit that sort of lower risk scenario that we had before. Watson said that the possibility of more frequent attacks makes him and others nervous. But he thinks Virginia is in a good position to protect people's information, despite fears of AI making cyber attacks worse. Dean, Yershahi, VPM News. Charlottesville city officials set a September 1st deadline to clear the Freebridge encampment located near the Rivano River. VPN News's Hannah Davis-Reed explains the city's plans. People staying at the Free Bridge encampment now have less than a month before the city begins prosecuting them for trespassing in the area. The city is calling it a, quote, coordinated transition and says it will provide emergency shelter services and work on housing people long term. The plan is to turn 2,000 holiday drive, a 27,000 square foot office building bought last October, into a temporary emergency shelter.

Jennifer Grant lives in the encampment. During public comments at Monday City Council meeting, she said that the city's plans were rushed. We're not saying that we will not give the shelter a try, but we want answers to our questions. The city also installed two cameras in the encampment that record video without audio. Officials say it's a temporary measure until the encampment is fully cleared. Hannah Davis-Reed, VPM News. And the U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated 40 additional Virginia localities, including 11 in central Virginia, as drought disaster areas based on analysis by the U.S. Drought Monitor. The list, announced Thursday, includes Caroline, Hanover, and Henrico counties. Farmers in those areas are now eligible to apply for federal emergency assistance. This has been the VPM Daily Newscast. The fatal shooting of a teenager at a protest in Seattle has gone unsolved for six years. This is open in your face. How are there no answers? Our investigation has uncovered new evidence and witnesses who say they've never talked to police. Did police ever call you? Not once. Listen to We Keep Us Safe, a new true crime series on the Embedded podcast from NPR.