News from the South - Virginia News Feed

Commanders, D.C. announce new $2.7B stadium at RFK stadium property | Maryland

Published

2 days ago

April 28, 2025

www.thecentersquare.com – By Jon Styf | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-28 11:41:00

(The Center Square) – More than $1 billion in public taxpayer money is expected to be spent on the area around a $2.7 billion roofed stadium for the Washington Commanders as the team moves back to the 180 acres at the former RFK Stadium site for the 2030 NFL season, according to a deal announced on Wednesday.

The district would pay $500 million through Sports Facilities Fee with a tax capture at the stadium would be created to pay off bonds on $175 million for the parking structure. Events DC, which is partially funded through taxpayer money, will put $181 million toward parking garages on the property and D.C. will pay $202 million for utilities infrastructure, roadways and a WMATA transit study.

The D.C. Council must approve the deal. In early January, Pres. Joe Biden signed the D.C. Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act, which gave control of the property to D.C. for 99 years and stipulated D.C. may not use federal funds for “stadium purposes on the campus, including training facilities, offices and other structures necessary to support a stadium.”

The Commanders have agreed to pay the $2.7 billion toward stadium construction. The team will use an NFL loan and revenue from personal seat licenses toward its stadium funding. Teams also generally put money from stadium naming rights toward that funding as well.

The team currently plays in Maryland and will continue to play there until the new stadium is scheduled to be completed in 2030.

“What I hope has been made clear is that this is a massive investment and the largest private investment in the district’s history,” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said. “The Commanders will be committing $2.7 billion to building this stadium, so the total investment will be $3.6 billion.”

The mayor, Commanders ownership and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell claimed that the project would allow for development at the project and be an economic benefit to the community.

“We have seen throughout the country new stadiums transform communities,” Goodell said. “Since 2001, more than $32 billion has been invested in stadiums and there are at least eight more projects underway at an estimated cost of $220 billion. This will be critical in revitalizing an area that has been dormant and undeveloped for more than 30 years when the team first left.”

But economists who have studied stadiums and surrounding developments have repeatedly shown those claims are not true.

“The argument that sports stadiums stadium are economic catalysts is as ridiculous as debunked claims that vaccines cause autism,” economist J.C. Bradbury told The Center Square. “Economists have studied the economic effects of stadiums for 50 years, and the research consistently finds that sports venues have limited to no economic benefits for host communities. This is a settled question and represents the consensus opinion among economists.”

Bradbury works at Kennesaw State University in Georgia and has extensively studied stadium projects himself along with writing on the consensus of economic papers related to stadium projects and developments.

Bradbury pointed toward Commanders owner Josh Harris, his $10 billion net worth, and a deal for a new Philadelphia 76ers and Flyers arena that will include taxpayer funds.

“If his $10 billion net worth isn’t enough to build himself a nicer football stadium, then he could offload one of his other franchises,” Bradbury said.

The area around the new stadium on the RFK would include restaurants, entertainment venues, hotels, housing, green space and a sportsplex that the mayor’s budgeted $89 million.

The entire campus will have approximately 5,000-6,000 housing units, including at least 30% affordable housing. A Kingman Park District will be created to include housing, mixed-use development, open space and recreational space.

“Claims of economic benefits are nothing but a pretense for politicians to justify the wealth transfer from taxpayers to wealthy team owners and upper crust patrons who can afford season tickets, club seats and luxury boxes,” Bradbury said. “The supposed economic case for venus subsidies is nothing more than a Trojan Horse to give the well-to-do beneficiaries access to the local treasury. Any elected official advocating on behalf of such a fanciful folly should be recalled for gross incompetence.”

The post Commanders, D.C. announce new $2.7B stadium at RFK stadium property | Maryland appeared first on www.thecentersquare.com

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Center-Right

This article reflects a center-right bias by emphasizing skepticism about public funding for stadium projects, highlighting the economic criticisms commonly associated with conservative or fiscally cautious viewpoints. It frames the use of taxpayer money for the stadium as a questionable transfer of wealth to wealthy owners, aligning with typical fiscally conservative concerns about government spending and subsidies for private enterprises. While it includes diverse perspectives, the focus on economic inefficiency and critical quotes from economists suggests a cautious stance on government intervention in sports infrastructure deals.

Up Next

The Commanders are coming home. A new $3.7B stadium at RFK is set to open in 2030. | NBC4 Washington

Don't Miss

Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly won’t be seeking reelection, citing health | Virginia

News from the South - Virginia News Feed

Select D.C. area transit nearing pre-pandemic numbers | Virginia

Published

15 hours ago

April 29, 2025

Staff Editor

www.thecentersquare.com – By Sarah Roderick-Fitch | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-29 15:07:00

(The Center Square) – Transit numbers in the Washington metropolitan area are ticking back up, some nearing prepandemic levels following a return-to-office mandate for federal workers.

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Agency, which operates Metro trains and buses, reported to The Center Square that ridership increased by 37% between January and April of this year compared to the same timeframe a year ago.

Metrorail ridership is reporting that service has returned to about 89% of where it was in March 2019; however, Metrobus ridership was about 2% higher in March of this year than March 2019.

WMATA added that the agency has had increases across all lines but didn’t identify any specific lines that have seen significant increases. On June 22, WMATA said it will be adding rail service on the Red and Silver lines “to meet increased demand.”

The Virginia Railway Express operates commuter rail lines between Fredericksburg and D.C., and Manassas and D.C. The VRE reported to The Center Square that the average daily ridership in March was up 85% compared to July-December 2024.

Between January and February 2020, the VRE reported daily ridership averaged about 18,250 compared to March 2025, which averaged 11,466. However, before federal workers were required to return to their offices in late March, the daily ridership in February averaged 8,046 – up from January’s daily average ridership of 5,594. In April 2024, VRE reported a daily average ridership of 6,961.

Notably, VRE reports a shift in the rate of passenger returns between the Fredericksburg and Manassas lines. Before the pandemic, 55% rode the Fredericksburg line compared to Manassas at 45%. The gap has since expanded to 61% on the Fredericksburg lines versus 39% on the Manassas line.

The changes could possibly be attributed to the expansion of the Metro’s Silver Line, which extended rail service to Loudoun County, opening in November 2022. In addition, in September 2022, high occupancy vehicle lanes were expanded for east and west-bound traffic along I-66, extending from the Beltway to Gainesville.

The only significant transportation addition to the I-95 corridor was the expansion of the high occupancy vehicle lanes extending from the Beltway to the Rappahannock River between Stafford County and the city of Fredericksburg. Unlike the I-66 HOV lanes, the I-95 lanes are reversible, serving one direction during different parts of the day.

One of the chief complaints from Republican and Democratic leaders in D.C. and Virginia regarding the high volume of federal worker telecommuting was the cost of maintaining transportation.

In December 2023, Gov. Glenn Youngkin wrote to the Biden administration asking to end remote work to boost public transit ridership, which took a major hit since the pandemic.

As previously reported by The Center Square, the WMATA has been bogged with a $750 million budget shortfall.

“Prior to the pandemic, federal workers contributed over $100 million in annual fare revenue and 40% of the ridership to WMATA,” Youngkin wrote in a letter to Kiran Ahuja, director of the Office of Personnel Management.

Despite federal workers returning to the office, WMATA described the increased fare revenue as “good news.” However, the agency explained the revenue only represents “a small part of Metro’s overall budget.” Adding that a majority of the funding comes from “local jurisdictional subsidies.”

VRE noted that monthly fare revenues have increased by 60% to $2 million, compared to $1.3 million on average per month between July and December 2024. The current fare revenues are dwarfed by the average monthly pre-pandemic revenue of $3.5 million.

Soon after swearing in for his second term, President Donald Trump issued the executive order mandating federal workers return to the office. The mandate appears to be popular among Americans as well.

A new poll by The Center Square found 43% of people support the return-to-office mandate for all government workers, while 27% support a mandate to send “essential” government employees back to the office. Combined, 70% of voters support requiring at least some federal workers to return to the office. Only 16% oppose the mandate, followed closely by 14% who are unsure.

The Center Square was unsuccessful getting comment before publication from the Maryland Department of Transportation, which operates the Maryland Area Rail Commuter.

The post Select D.C. area transit nearing pre-pandemic numbers | Virginia appeared first on www.thecentersquare.com

Political Bias Rating: Center-Right

The article primarily reports on transit ridership data and the impacts of federal return-to-office mandates on public transportation. It presents factual information with some inclusion of perspectives from Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin and former President Donald Trump, both of whom have promoted ending remote work. The language is mostly neutral; however, referencing the Biden administration in the context of criticisms about remote work and highlighting Trump’s executive order and popular support for return-to-office mandates can suggest a subtle lean toward a center-right viewpoint. This framing emphasizes concerns about government spending and workforce productivity, issues more commonly highlighted by center-right sources. Overall, the article reports data and political stances without overt advocacy but shows a modest center-right slant through selection and emphasis of details.

News from the South - Virginia News Feed

House approves telecom legislation aimed at foreign ties | Virginia

Published

20 hours ago

April 29, 2025

Staff Editor

www.thecentersquare.com – By Shirleen Guerra | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-29 10:31:00

(The Center Square) – A Virginia congressman’s plan to uncover foreign ownership in U.S. telecommunications networks passed the U.S. House of Representatives this week with bipartisan support.

Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., introduced the Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency Act in January. The bill would require the Federal Communications Commission to publish a list of companies that hold FCC licenses and are partly owned or controlled by foreign governments considered hostile to the United States.

The proposal is part of a larger push in Congress to address national security concerns tied to foreign access to U.S. communications infrastructure. Lawmakers have pointed to companies linked to the Chinese Communist Party and other adversaries as potential threats to American data and network security.

“This legislation is a critical step toward exposing the CCP’s malign influence,” Wittman said in a statement following the vote.

In remarks on the House floor, Wittman said the bill would “shine a light on this malign influence” and called it “the first step towards a stronger action to defend our communications infrastructure.” He added that companies like Huawei and ZTE should not be allowed “unfettered access to our telecommunications infrastructure” and warned that hostile governments are using “covert equity or voting interests” to gain control of U.S. tech assets.

He added that adversarial governments are “infiltrating our telecommunications networks, our technology sectors, for the sole purpose of doing harm to the United States and its friends.”

Under the FACT Act, the FCC would have 18 months to create rules for identifying affected companies and publish them in a public database. The agency would also be required to keep the list up to date as ownership changes.

Until now, there has been no mandated public disclosure of companies with said ties, despite concerns that entities linked to adversarial governments continue to operate within U.S. telecommunications networks.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved the measure by voice vote on April 8.

Wittman’s bill was co-sponsored by Reps. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y.; Ro Khanna, D-Calif.; Thomas Kean Jr., R-N.J.; and Kathy Castor, D-Fla. It passed the House earlier this week and now heads to the Senate for consideration.

The post House approves telecom legislation aimed at foreign ties | Virginia appeared first on www.thecentersquare.com

Political Bias Rating: Centrist

This article primarily reports on the legislative action surrounding the Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency Act, introduced by Rep. Rob Wittman. It provides factual details about the bill’s passage in the House, its bipartisan support, and the goals of the legislation without taking a specific ideological stance. The language is neutral, focusing on the bill’s objectives related to national security and foreign influence in U.S. telecommunications. The article highlights the positions of both Republican and Democratic co-sponsors, further reinforcing its impartial nature. There is no evident bias in presenting the facts, with the focus being on the procedural aspects of the bill rather than promoting any specific ideological viewpoint.

News from the South - Virginia News Feed

Trump border czar defends removal of U.S. citizen children

Published

1 day ago

April 29, 2025

Staff Editor

virginiamercury.com – Ariana Figueroa – 2025-04-29 04:49:00

by Ariana Figueroa, Virginia Mercury
April 29, 2025

WASHINGTON — White House border czar Tom Homan on Monday blamed the parents of U.S. citizen children the Trump administration sent to Honduras over the weekend.

At a Monday morning press conference, Homan defended the government’s actions to remove three young children from two different families alongside their mothers who were in the country without legal authorization but participated in a program that allows otherwise law-abiding migrants to stay in their communities.

“If you enter this country illegally, it’s a crime,” Homan said. “Knowing you’re in this country illegally, you put yourself in that position. You put your family in that position.”

The children, all under the age of 10, were placed on deportation flights to Honduras on Friday after their mothers checked in with a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in New Orleans as part of the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program, which allows immigrants to stay in their communities while undergoing immigration court proceedings.

An attorney for one of the children, Gracie Willis at the National Immigration Project, said the 4-year-old U.S. citizen with Stage 4 cancer was deported without access to his medication.

Homan has argued the mothers requested to be deported with their children, but attorneys for the families argue they were “denied access to legal counsel, and swiftly deported without due process.”

Due process concerns

U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty, whom Trump appointed to a seat on the Louisiana federal bench in 2018, expressed concern that a 2-year-old U.S. citizen had been deported, despite her father’s wishes she remain in the U.S., according to court filings.

Doughty scheduled a May 16 hearing because of his “strong suspicion that the government just deported a U.S. citizen with no meaningful process.”

“The government contends that this is all okay because the mother wishes that the child be deported with her,” Doughty wrote in his order. “But the court doesn’t know that.”

Willis, from the National Immigration Project, raised concerns about a lack of due process and how the deportations have separated families.

“What we saw from ICE over the last several days is horrifying and baffling,” she said in a statement. “These mothers had no opportunity to speak with their co-parents to make the kinds of choices that parents are entitled to make for their children, the kinds of decisions that millions of parents make every day: ‘what is best for our child?’”

Homan has argued the children were deported at the request of the mothers and that the Trump administration was “keeping families together.”

“What we did is remove children with their mothers who requested their children depart with them,” he said. “When a parent says, ‘I want my 2-year-old baby to go with me,’ we made that happen. They weren’t deported. We don’t deport U.S. citizens. The parents made that decision, not the United States government.”

Wisconsin judge

Monday’s remarks from Homan come the day before President Donald Trump will mark the 100th day of his second term. His early days in office have centered on carrying out his campaign promise of mass deportations of millions of people in the U.S. without permanent legal status.

Trump will sign two executive orders on immigration late Monday: one relating to border security and another to require the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security to publicly list so-called sanctuary cities that do not coordinate with federal immigration law enforcement.

Homan also stood by the Trump administration’s decision to arrest a federal judge in Wisconsin on the grounds she obstructed immigration officials from detaining a man attending his court hearing. It marked an escalation between the Trump administration and the judiciary branch, raising concerns from Democrats.

The arrest of Judge Hannah Dugan was highly publicized after she was handcuffed in public and FBI Director Kash Patel bragged about the arrest on social media.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Fox News that the Trump administration was going to continue to go after judges who “think they’re above the law.”

“When you cross that line to impediment or knowingly harboring, concealing an illegal alien from ICE, you will be prosecuted, judge or not,” Homan said.

Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com.

The post Trump border czar defends removal of U.S. citizen children appeared first on virginiamercury.com

Political Bias Rating: Center-Right

The content presents a primarily center-right perspective, as it highlights the Trump administration’s strict immigration policies and defends actions such as the deportation of children along with their mothers. It emphasizes law enforcement’s rationale for these actions and includes comments from Trump-appointed officials, reinforcing a conservative viewpoint. However, the article also includes substantial criticism from legal experts, advocates, and a federal judge expressing concerns about due process and family separation. These critiques introduce a more balanced view, leading to a center-right bias rather than a strictly right-wing stance.