Good morning, Virginia. It is Sunday, and early voting is open today in localities across the state, ahead of Election Day on Tuesday, November 3. Early voting runs through Saturday, October 31. Check your local registrar for today’s hours and locations. Here is what neighbors across the state are talking about today.
VIRGINIA TOP STORIES
1. Gas in Virginia: $4.06 a gallon, still well above last year
Virginia drivers are paying $4.06 a gallon for regular gas, according to AAA figures dated October 24. That is below the national average of $4.30, and down from $4.24 a month ago. It is still far above the $2.88 Virginians paid a year ago. Diesel sits at $6.27 a gallon in Virginia. For a 14-gallon tank, a regular fill-up runs about $57 at today’s state average.
2. Your electric bill is at the center of the Dominion-NextEra merger fight
The proposed $67 billion merger of Dominion Energy and NextEra Energy is still before Virginia’s State Corporation Commission, and the fight over what it means for household bills is heating up. The companies now offer residential customers a $10 monthly credit for 48 months. An expert speaking for Gov. Abigail Spanberger told regulators that is not enough, and asked for a six-year residential base-rate freeze plus a $29 monthly credit for four years. The Sierra Club, in testimony filed October 21, urged the commission to reject the deal, warning it risks higher costs for families. Supporters of the deal point to jobs and investment; opponents say a temporary credit does not cover the rate hikes families expect. Public telephone hearings are set for November 5, 9, and 10, with written comments due in November. A decision is expected in January.
3. Arlington sues to keep armed federal agents away from the polls
Arlington County filed a federal lawsuit October 20 asking a judge to block armed federal agents, including ICE and FBI officers, from operating at polling places, early voting sites, drop boxes, and curbside voting spots. The county points to a Civil War-era federal law that bars armed personnel at election sites unless they are needed to repel armed enemies of the United States. County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti said threatening to send armed agents to polling stations is unlawful and meant to stoke fear. Federal officials have said agents would only be at polling places to respond to a threat or serve a warrant, and a Homeland Security spokesperson said ICE is not planning operations targeting polling locations. The complaint does not identify a specific deployment planned for Arlington. Early voting is open today, so this case lands while Virginians are already casting ballots.
4. Offshore wind off Virginia’s coast can restart, a judge rules
A federal judge in Virginia ruled Friday that Dominion Energy Virginia can resume construction on Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, the big wind project off the coast, while its lawsuit against the Trump administration moves forward. The administration had suspended leases for five East Coast offshore wind projects for at least 90 days, citing national security concerns without giving specifics. Judges this week also let two other projects resume, in New York and Rhode Island. Dominion says the project is worth about $11.2 billion and would power roughly 600,000 homes. The White House did not immediately comment on the ruling.
VIRGINIANS / GENTE DE VIRGINIA
5. A Reston couple’s scholarship fund just hit its 100th award
Gil and Liz Blankespoor started the Reston Scholarship Fund ten years ago after one conversation with a hardworking Reston family whose daughter wanted college but could not afford it. The fund has now awarded more than $860,000, sending area students to Northern Virginia Community College or George Mason University, and this year it gave its 100th scholarship. The couple received the 2026 Individual Community Leadership Award from the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia at its Raise the Region Gala on October 16, which raised more than $130,000. Inova Health received the foundation’s first Organizational Community Leadership Award.
6. Northern Virginia schools fill the state’s top-10 lists
Northern Virginia schools took eight of the top 10 spots among Virginia elementary schools and six of the top 10 among middle schools in U.S. News & World Report’s 2027 rankings, reported October 20. Haycock Elementary in Falls Church ranked No. 2 among elementary schools, and Mary G. Porter Traditional in Woodbridge ranked No. 2 among middle schools. Other top schools include Sangster Elementary in Springfield, Jamestown Elementary in Arlington, Pennington Traditional in Manassas, and Williamsburg Middle in Arlington.
REST OF VIRGINIA / EL RESTO DE VIRGINIA
7. Newport News lawmaker revives a bill to make moldy landlords pay up
Del. Cia Price of Newport News is rewriting a bill that would let Virginia renters sue landlords over mold exposure, after an earlier version failed last year. Under current law, landlords must try to prevent mold and fix it when told about it, and must offer a comparable unit or hotel room for up to 30 days. Price’s bill would add clearer guidance and let tenants recover losses, medical bills, property damage, and attorney fees if they can show the mold came from a landlord’s gross negligence or willful misconduct, such as ignoring requests or painting over mold instead of removing it properly. The bill is due for debate in the 2027 General Assembly session.
8. Hampton Roads: a judge’s wind ruling is also a jobs story for the coast
The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind restart matters most in Hampton Roads, where the project is staged and built. Union leaders welcomed this week’s rulings, which let workers return to job sites, and Dominion has said it wants to restart construction safely so the project can start delivering power. The case is still being litigated, so the judge’s order is a preliminary step, not a final ruling on the suspension.
WORLD TENSIONS / TENSIONES MUNDIALES
9. Iran: a disputed Hormuz report, and tanker claims that are still unconfirmed
Iranian media on Sunday rejected a Saudi-owned outlet’s report that Tehran offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for the United States lifting its naval blockade, calling the report false. Iran’s foreign minister has said Tehran’s seven-point plan remains its stated position. Separately, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claims two tankers struck mines near the strait early Saturday; no maritime authority has confirmed that claim. Brent crude settled near $116.72 in recent reporting. For Virginia, the link is direct: disrupted oil shipping keeps pressure on fuel prices, with Virginia diesel at $6.27 and regular gas at $4.06, and Hampton Roads and Quantico military families watch every escalation closely.
AROUND THE WORLD / POR EL MUNDO
- Brazil: Brazilians vote today in a presidential runoff between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, after Bolsonaro led the first round on October 4 with 47.03% to Lula’s 45.16%. Polls put the race close.
- Serbia: Serbians vote today in snap parliamentary elections, with a student-led movement challenging longtime leader Aleksandar Vucic after almost two years of protests that followed the 2024 Novi Sad station canopy collapse that killed 16 people.
- France: Nearly 1,000 people were arrested Saturday as cost-of-living protests spread across France, with officials estimating 410,000 demonstrators and unions estimating about 800,000. Police used tear gas and water cannon in several cities.
- Europe: Student and cost-of-living protests also spread over the weekend to Albania, Italy, Spain, and Portugal, with clashes reported in Tirana and Brussels.
SOURCES / FUENTES
AAA Virginia gas prices, gasprices.aaa.com, data dated October 24, 2026; Utility Dive, Sierra Club Virginia testimony (October 21, 2026), and MLex on the Dominion-NextEra merger and the governor’s expert; Fox 5 DC, Public Rights Project, and Democracy Docket on the Arlington lawsuit (filed October 20, 2026); Associated Press via Times-Standard and Bloomberg via EnergyNow on the offshore wind ruling; Northern Virginia Magazine (October 22, 2026) and the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia on the Reston scholarships; Northern Virginia Magazine (October 20, 2026) on U.S. News school rankings; Warren County / Fredericksburg Free Press reporting and the Virginia bill fiscal statement on Del. Price’s mold bill; Tasnim News via LatestLY/ANI and Straits Daily Brief on Hormuz, with the tanker-mine claim noted as unconfirmed; Reuters on Brazil (October 25, 2026) and Serbia (Reuters via WNCY); BBC/France reporting via the New York Post, IANS, and Bytes Europe on France. All stories above were cross-checked against at least two sources except where a claim is explicitly attributed to one outlet or noted as unconfirmed.
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