Virginia's statewide elections are now in the home stretch, with both sides pouring money into the races. The lieutenant governor contest might be the most competitive, with the race earning national attention and unexpected endorsements. The Democratic candidate joined us last week; now, Republican candidate John Reid took the mic and discussed the campaign and the issues, including reproductive rights and school gender policies. Plus, we asked Reid about turning down the temperature on political rhetoric.

Protests earlier this month prompted Prince George's County leaders to pause all data center development, with a promise to assess the impacts and gather more input from residents. The move comes four years after the Prince George's County Council voted unanimously to allow data centers to be built 'by right,' meaning for most sites, developers wouldn't need council approval. Now, leaders are reconsidering that process. We asked Prince George's County Councilmember Wanika Fisher for her thoughts. Plus, we discussed the long-delayed Purple Line and how it could accelerate economic development in the county.

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After some last-minute negotiations, the D.C. Council gave its final approval to a $3.7 billion deal to build a football complex at the RFK Stadium site and bring the Washington Commanders back to the District. Supporters hailed it as a transformative project for the city, one that will bring a domed stadium, retail, housing, and green space to a site along the Anacostia River currently occupied by what's left of the old RFK stadium. Ward 7 D.C. Councilmember Wendell Felder represents the area, and he joined the show to discuss the vote and what comes next.

We talked about the several changes councilmembers proposed before Wednesday's vote, though only minor tweaks were made in the end. Those included stricter environmental standards and stiffer penalties for missing development deadlines. Felder was able to secure an additional $60 million over the next thirty years for a community reinvestment fund. The money, he said, will help Ward 7 residents.

"The fund will go towards housing displacement prevention, revitalization of blighted and vacant units, health programs, and create more opportunities for small and local businesses."

Felder also said the stadium will serve as an anchor development for attracting investment. Plus, we also asked him about the council passing the RENTAL Act, which proponents hope will attract more investment in housing, and extending the city's youth curfew.

The Virginia statewide elections are heating up, with early voting getting underway this week. The lieutenant governor's race could be the most competitive, with both sides now pouring money into the campaign. Virginia state Senator and Democratic candidate Ghazala Hashmi joined the show to discuss the race, data centers, and advocating for public schools.

The Department of Education is threatening to withhold millions of dollars in federal funding from Northern Virginia schools due to the districts’ policies of allowing students to use bathrooms corresponding with their gender identity. Hashmi said the federal government should not be interfering.

We are very clear in Virginia that we have local authority over our school districts," she said. "And I trust our local school boards, our local administration to be making the decisions that are best for their communities." She called the “federal overreach” a distraction from the schools’ mission of student learning.

Fairfax voters this week overwhelmingly elected Democrat James Walkinshaw to succeed the late Gerry Connolly in Congress in Virginia's 11th district. Walkinshaw, who was sworn in on Wednesday, takes over for his mentor during a particularly tumultuous time for Northern Virginia. Congressman Walkinshaw joined the show to discuss the 51,000 civilian federal workers who live in the district, a potential regional recession, and the possibility of a federal shutdown. Plus, we asked him to weigh in on Virginia's upcoming statewide elections.

The House Oversight Committee advanced a series of bills this week that threaten to further undermine D.C.'s autonomy, including legislation replacing the locally elected D.C. attorney general with a presidential appointee, allowing youth 14 years or older to be tried for certain offenses, and ending cashless bail in the District. Introduced amendments also called for revoking the city's ban on right turns on red and prohibiting automatic traffic enforcement cameras. Also, this week, the federal takeover of D.C. police expired. Ward 6 D.C. Councilmember Charles Allen took the mic to discuss what comes next and why he believes the legislation would make the District less safe. We'll also asked about the upcoming second RFK stadium vote.

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