Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) today removed Rector John Rocovich from the Board of Visitors at Virginia Tech over allegations of ethics violations.

You can read Spanberger’s brief letter to Rocovich here.

Below, I report on what I heard and saw in Richmond yesterday at a bill signing ceremony focused on legislation to address the high cost of childcare.

And I share the jazz artist I recently saw perform in Alexandria.

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

Gov. Abigail Spanberger gives remarks at yesterday’s bill signing ceremony in Richmond. (Michael O’Connor/Dogwood)

Yesterday, I made the trip down I-95 to the VCU Health Child Development Center in Richmond for a bill signing ceremony with Spanberger.

Spanberger signed House Bill 18 and Senate Bill 3 to create a new Employee Child Care Assistance program, which is meant to encourage companies to help their workers pay for childcare.

She also signed House Bill 1208 and Senate Bill 134 to make sure the state is accurately tallying and reporting the costs of early childhood care and education services in Virginia. And the governor signed House Bill 211, which directs the state to create a report on Virginia’s Head Start and Early Head Start programs.

The cost of childcare boggles the mind and is a major financial burden on families.

My wife and I daydream about the “raise” we’ll get once our daughter (who turns two on Sunday!) is out of daycare. Our daycare bill each month is almost as much as our monthly mortgage in Alexandria.

A report from The Wall Street Journal last year found that the median cost for five years of child care—from infancy through preschool—is nearly $147,000 in Arlington, the highest in the country. Statewide, the average cost of care is $16,796 a year, or $1,400 per month, according to the First Five Years Fund, a childcare advocacy group.

At yesterday’s event, Spanberger acknowledged the reality that for many Virginia families the cost of childcare equals or exceeds what they pay for college tuition, car payments, or housing.

And that reality has broader implications for the rest of society, she said.

“It is not sustainable,” Spanberger said. “And frankly, not acceptable.”

Aaron Regunberg at The New Republic argues New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) has delivered more in his time in office than Spanberger and looks at what that could mean for Democrats in the midterms.

The ACLU of Virginia published a new section on its website to help people better understand their rights when protesting, voting, or interacting with ICE agents and police.

Jezebel has a roundup on the Norfolk “MAGA brewery” that, as the headline puts it, “Wants $50 Million from Its Haters in a Lawsuit over Hurt Feelings.”

Cars drive past data centers that house computer servers and hardware required to support modern internet use, such as artificial intelligence, in Ashburn, Virginia, July 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)

Yesterday, I tried asking Spanberger when she thinks the state should end its tax break for data centers.

She didn’t respond to me, but today I got an answer by way of Dwayne Yancey at Cardinal News.

Yancey reports: “Spanberger says she’s open to discussions about whether the tax break continues past 2035, but she draws the line on ending it early.”

That’s despite the growing public opposition to their proliferation in Virginia.

Last night, Hanover County’s Board of Supervisors voted 4-3 to deny a rezoning request for a 430-acre data center campus. The official rejection of the project comes after the public raised concerns about environmental impacts, traffic, noise, and water usage.

A new investigation from The Washington Post is likely to add to the public concerns about how these massive structures are impacting our communities.

The Post found that, “the 10,500 generators attached to data centers in Virginia produce enough pollution to harm public health even if used rarely.”

Spanberger’s defense of the tax break for data centers puts her at odds with Virginia Senate President L. Louise Lucas (D) who criticized the governor on X this week.

“The Governor should be honest and tell the public what she won’t do,” Lucas posted. “She won’t tax billion dollar corporations to provide long term revenue to help pay for K12 and public safety and to backfill the federal cuts from Trump.”

Lucas is referring to the disagreement between her and Spanberger about the state budget. Lucas wants to get rid of the data center tax break, which adds up to $1.9 billion a year. Spanberger wants to keep it.

The governor and state lawmakers have until the end of June to reach a deal before the start of a new fiscal year.

“I’m confident the House & Senate will reach an agreed budget when the Senate returns on June 22,” Virginia Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D) posted on X today. “Virginians expect us to ensure everyone is fairly contributing to our state budget so we can grow our economy, create jobs, preserve our probusiness reputation and AAA bond rating.”

Marcus Miller performs at The Birchmere in Alexandria on Saturday. (Photo by Andrew Metzger)

Over the weekend, I got the chance to see bass legend Marcus Miller at The Birchmere in Alexandria.

Miller wrote music and played with Miles Davis, who would have turned 100 years old on Tuesday. Miller, who has a great radio show SiriusXM, dedicated his performance to Davis and shared stories about their time together.

He was on stage with a drummer, keyboardist, saxophonist, and a trumpet player. It was a magical show.