Dec 13, 2024, 13:07
by
Hannah Jane Costilow
Welcome to FIVE FOR FRIDAY: A weekly roundup of public policy issues and headlines from around the Northern Virginia Region, the Commonwealth, and Capitol Hill.
by Danielle Finley, Associate Director of Political Engagement
Welcome to FIVE FOR FRIDAY: A weekly roundup of Public Policy Issues and Headlines. In this Issue: 1. Progress on inflation stalled in November as prices rose 2. Report confirms: Data centers in Virginia pose enormous power demands 3. JBG Smith Plans to Develop More Than 750 New Housing Units in Potomac Yard 4. Fairfax County leaders press state legislators to increase K-12 education funding 5. A new version of Missing Middle zoning changes may be studied.
By ANDREW ACKERMAN, The Washington Post
Inflation remained stubborn this fall, signaling a potentially bumpy road to vanquishing higher prices, which could complicate President-elect Donald Trump’s policy ambitions. The consumer price index increased 2.7% in November from a year earlier, according to Labor Department data released Wednesday, hotter than a 2.6% annual rise in October, although in line with what economists expected. It was also above September’s 2.4% year-over-year rise.
By WHITNEY PIPKIN, Bay Journal
If the data center industry continues to grow at an unconstrained pace in Virginia, the state will struggle to supply enough power to meet local energy demands, and ratepayers will help foot the bill for the new infrastructure the industry’s buildout requires.
By MAGGIE ROTH, Northern Virginia Magazine
Developer JBG Smith has submitted new plans to the City of Alexandria to develop a mix of multifamily homes, townhouses, and affordable housing units in Potomac Yard. Altogether, the plan would create more than 750 new housing units in the neighborhood where the failed Monumental Sports arena was once proposed.
By SCOTT MCCAFFREY, Ffxnow
By the Fairfax County government’s math, residents are being shortchanged nearly $570 million annually in education funding by the state government. Facing a $292.7 million gap between expected revenues and expenses projected for the coming fiscal year, county leaders would like their state lawmakers to leave from Richmond next year with some of that funding in hand.
By SCOTT MCAFFREY, Arlnow
The Arlington Housing Commission is considering whether to study possible ways to revive Missing Middle zoning changes. The Expanded Housing Option is currently off the books following a circuit court judge’s ruling this summer. The Arlington County Board is appealing that decision, but has argued that adopting a revised ordinance “is not feasible … based on the legal construction and substance of the judge’s ruling.”