The US economy added fewer jobs than expected in June, and unemployment is down because fewer people are looking for work.

Below, I report on what I heard at a small protest in Richmond yesterday against Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s vetoes.

And, I share the book I’m taking with me on vacation next week.

Note: there will be no Virginia Capital next week since I’m off. You can expect the next edition on Tuesday, July 14.

Want to get in touch, or have stories you want me to cover? Reply to this email or reach out to me directly at michaeloconnor@couriernewsroom.com.

Michael O’Connor

Reporter, Dogwood

Hassan Shabazz raises a fist at a protest in Richmond on July 1, 2026. (Michael O’Connor/Dogwood)

Yesterday, I was at Capitol Square in Richmond, where Capitol Police looked on as a small group of advocates and leftists aired concerns about some of Spanberger’s vetoes.

In my story below, you can read what I heard from a Virginia union firefighter, a criminal justice advocate, and an environmental justice advocate.

As the event wrapped up, I got to talking with Phillip Petro, a member of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 666. He said he was at the protest to support the progressive coalition pushing Spanberger to enact policies that help working people.

He gave Spanberger credit for signing legislation on paid sick leave but lamented her veto of collective bargaining legislation.

When I asked about data centers, Petro gave me a more nuanced take than you might have seen elsewhere from an IBEW member. He said there were valid criticisms of data centers related to their environmental impacts, but they’ve also created thousands of good-paying union jobs.

“We can certainly afford to leverage these data center operators for more than we’ve been getting,” Petro told me. “And they should not be getting a free ride just because they can flash a lot of money from the outset.”

An internal investigation into the conduct of Ronald “Bobby” Hathaway, the former director of facilities for Richmond Public Schools, included multiple detailed accounts that suggested a culture of “bullying and disparate treatment based on race and personal vulnerability,” Victoria A. Ifatusin at The Richmonder reports.

The United Mine Workers of America endorsed Democrat Mark Warner for reelection to the US Senate. Here’s a five-minute video of the endorsement.

“The Leesburg Town Council on Tuesday authorized a collective bargaining agreement with members of the Leesburg Police Department,” reports Norman K. Styer at Loudoun Now.

The Dominion Energy sign outside of the Electric and Fleet Operations center in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in Aiken, S.C. (AP Photo/Artie Walker Jr., File)

There are growing concerns about the proposed merger between Dominion Energy and NextEra Energy.

Angus King, an independent US Senator from Maine, has urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reject the deal.

“The combination would create the largest electric utility in the United States, concentrating an unprecedented mix of merchant generation, rate-based generation, and transmission assets in the hands of a single company with a documented record of using its market position and political resources to suppress competition that threatens its merchant revenues,” King said in a letter.

State Sen. Stella Pekarsky posted on X that King “isn’t wrong; monopolies hurt consumers.”

A cowboy hat and a flower headband adorn cacti in the courtyard of the Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Museum in the San Angel neighborhood of Mexico City, Friday, May 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)