Yesterday, Gov. Abigail Spanberger floated a compromise on the debate over how to tax data centers, but as of Thursday afternoon, state lawmakers remained at an impasse.

Special session here we come?  

Below, I report on what I heard at yesterday’s strong display of solidarity from workers in Richmond. 

And it’s official: Richmond’s falcon family is expecting.

Workers chanted and sang songs in support of collective bargaining on Wednesday in Richmond. (Michael O’Connor/Dogwood)

Not all rallies are the same, and the one yesterday evening in Richmond was a special one. 

Electricians and grocery store workers who’d won union contracts through collective bargaining stood shoulder to shoulder with home care workers and campus workers banned from exercising the same rights to urge state lawmakers to end the disparity. 

Richmond electrician Scott Durbin told me it was “criminal” that hundreds of thousands Virginians are banned from collective bargaining. 

“ Collective bargaining is workers standing together to assert their rights against the employer on the job on issues like conditions, like wages, like everything else in the world,” Durbin explained. “We got it and they don’t.”

But home care workers like Athena Jones are hoping, demanding really, that lawmakers come around to the idea that there needs to be a change. She spoke with fire about the absurd unfairness of denying workers living wages and paid sick time and urged workers to “demand and command” what they deserve. 

Not just because it’s the fair thing to do, or that it’s best for the workers involved, but because it contributes to the greater good. 

“The reality is if home care workers get it, if office workers get it, if healthcare system workers get it, if college (workers) get it, all of Virginia benefits,” Jones said of securing collective bargaining rights. 

• Charlotte Rene Woods at the Virginia Mercury reports on the five-year journey to establish a Prescription Drug Affordability Board in Virginia, which reached a new milestone this week.

• The Faculty Senate of Old Dominion University overwhelmingly cast a vote of no confidence against the university’s president, provost, and vice president, John Buzbee at The Virginian-Pilot reports.  

• Hundreds of Molson Coors workers in Elkton are unionizing. 

The Virginia State Capitol on March 11, 2026. (Michael O’Connor/Dogwood)

Gov. Abigail Spanberger is sounding a note of caution about the economy. 

She announced today that February state revenue grew 4.1% compared to the previous February. The growth has been fueled by strong individual income tax and sales tax receipts, while corporate income taxes have lagged, according to a release. 

Despite state revenue being ahead by 2.5% when compared to the official forecast assumed in the amended budget, Spanberger says that, “Caution must be the watchword when looking out over the next twelve to twenty-four months.” 

“Significant portions of our growth stem from volatile revenue sources such as nonwithholding and refunds,” Spanberger said in a statement. “Considering the rising global instability and this month’s anemic national jobs report, it is clear that macroeconomic headwinds are certainly present for the next biennium.”

(Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources)

What will happen first: Virginia Democrats pass a budget or a Richmond falcon lays an egg? 

According to the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, there could be a new falcon egg in the next week. 

You can try to catch it live on the Richmond Falcon Cam. 

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