A Spotsylvania man was sentenced to 12 years for torturing his wife, Arlington Bishop Michael Burbidge urged Catholics to vote no on a Nov. 3 abortion amendment, and Fairfax officials moved to restore high school crossing guards.
Spotsylvania Man Sentenced to 12 Years for Torturing Wife
According to The Free Lance-Star, Jason Louis Robbins, 42, of Spotsylvania was sentenced Friday to 62 years in prison with all but 12 years suspended after pleading guilty to child endangerment and three counts of malicious wounding. Judge Sarah Deneke called his conduct “horrendous” and said “the cruelty goes beyond anything I’ve seen in recent years.” The active term exceeded state sentencing guidelines, which capped the recommended prison time at just over seven years.
Prosecutor Wendy Harris said deputies went to a county home on June 1, 2025, after a neighbor reported loud screaming. The victim said Robbins had punched her and beaten her with a pipe; she had a bleeding nose and severe bruising and later was found to have rib fractures and a scalp hematoma. She told investigators that for about two months he beat, strangled and burned her in front of their children, ages 1 and 5, used a butane lighter to leave more than 20 burn marks, pulled out her hair and took her phone so she could not call for help.
Burbidge Urges Catholics to Vote No on Abortion Amendment
According to The Daily Signal, Catholic Bishop Michael Burbidge asked priests across the Diocese of Arlington this weekend to read a letter at Mass urging Catholics to vote no on a proposed abortion amendment on Virginia’s Nov. 3 ballot. A second amendment on the same ballot would change the state’s definition of marriage. The diocese includes 70 parishes and more than 430,000 Catholics in Northern Virginia. Burbidge called the measures “two dangerous ballot initiatives.” Early voting begins Friday.
The letter follows an August joint statement with Richmond Bishop Barry Knestout. Burbidge asked parishioners to pledge to vote at CatholicsVoteNo.com, cast ballots early and encourage family, friends and colleagues to oppose the amendments. At Sunday Mass at St. Leo the Great Catholic Church in Fairfax, he said Ballot Question 1 “fails to protect the life of the unborn, the health of women, and even fails to respect the rights of parents in the lives of their children,” and that Ballot Question 2 “fails to respect the sanctity of marriage as Jesus taught, the sacred union of one man and one woman.” He told parishioners, “We must vote no to those questions and say yes to truth.”
Fairfax Deputy Executive Urges Restoring High School Crossing Guards
According to FOX 5 DC, Fairfax County Deputy Executive Tom Arnold recommended in a Friday memo that the county restore funding for high school crossing guards and add traffic-safety measures near high schools. The Board of Supervisors is expected to take up the recommendations at its Sept. 15 meeting. High school crossing guards were cut in May to save an estimated $1.9 million; elementary and middle school posts were not affected.
Calls to restore the program grew after students returned in late August and intensified after a student was struck by a car near a high school. Guards were temporarily put back at 10 high schools. Supervisors had directed the county executive to work with Fairfax County Public Schools on problems created by the cuts. The memo says 11 positions, at an estimated $707,908, could cover the work even though 13 positions were originally eliminated.
Amazon Withdraws Potomac Aquifer Permit for King George Campus
According to the Virginia Mercury, Amazon Web Services withdrew an application to renew a groundwater permit that would have allowed withdrawals of up to 6.4 million gallons a year from the Potomac aquifer at its planned Birchwood Drive data center campus in King George County. The 869-acre site could host more than a dozen data centers. The water would not have been used for cooling, but for employee use, grounds management and other purposes. Sen. Richard Stuart, R-King George, had urged the Department of Environmental Quality to deny the application after a DEQ report warned that groundwater east of Interstate 95 faces declining availability and cannot support major new withdrawals.
Stuart said the county has already been directed to shift drinking water to the Rappahannock River and argued Amazon should not draw from an aquifer that residents need. An Amazon spokesperson said the company takes community concerns seriously, plans to seek alternate sources as advised by DEQ and invests in reclaimed-water infrastructure. Lawmakers have asked Gov. Abigail Spanberger to call a special session on aquifer protection; she has not publicly responded. Portions of the King George project remain in court.
Pentagon 9/11 Memorial Breaks Ground on Visitor Education Center
According to NBC Washington, the Pentagon 9/11 Memorial Fund broke ground Saturday on a $100 million Visitor Education Center next to the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial, a project more than two decades in the making. Board member Karen Maude told News4 the center grows more important as time passes because “there’s just too many people who don’t have a memory of that day.”
Founding board chairman Jim Laychak, whose brother Dave was killed while working at the Pentagon, said the goal is for visitors to remember what happened there, the people who died and the response that followed. The National Park Service this week designated the memorial as an affiliated area of the National Park System and awarded it a $2 million grant.
Fairfax Schools Tell Teachers Not to Link 9/11 to Islam
According to 7News, Fairfax County Public Schools issued six-page guidance directing teachers not to “associate the 9/11 attacks with Islam or Muslims” and not to “center the extremists or the acts of the extremists.” The guidance, reported Friday on the 25th anniversary of the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people, also tells teachers to “design instruction around your students’ needs and experiences.” FCPS is Virginia’s largest public school district.
Former Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares criticized the instructions. He told 7News the approach would be like teaching Pearl Harbor without mentioning the Japanese Empire, called it “not education” and said educators should “explain the realities of what happened on that day and the impact that we’re still dealing with today.” The attacks were carried out by al-Qaeda hijackers.
Slave Dwelling Project Holds Voices of the Past Weekend in Fredericksburg
According to the Fredericksburg Free Press, the Slave Dwelling Project held a Voices of the Past weekend of events Saturday in Fredericksburg and Falmouth. Founder Joseph McGill spoke at Falmouth Beach, where a guest speaker named Yvonne led a libation ceremony with drumming and prayer. Period actors Denise and Terry James interpreted kitchen work and open-fire cooking at the Mary Washington House, and David Muraca, director of archaeology at George Washington’s Ferry Farm, spoke at an opening event.
Displays of period artifacts, literature and brickmaking tools were set up at the Mary Washington House, the James Monroe Museum and Ferry Farm. Educator Rodney Prioleau demonstrated brickmaking and showed indentations and fingerprints left by original brickmakers. Food historian Michael Carter Jr. spoke on African American foodways at St. George’s Episcopal Church. An appearance by period actor Dorrette Stephenson as Eliza Gwinn was canceled because of weather.
Two Dead After I-81 Crash Triggers Oxygen Tank Explosion
According to 7News, two people were killed Thursday night in a multi-vehicle crash on Interstate 81 in Frederick County that ended in a fire and an oxygen-tank explosion. Virginia State Police said the chain of crashes began about 8:17 p.m. Sept. 10 when a car entering I-81 southbound from an on-ramp failed to yield.
A semi struck the car, crossed the median and hit a northbound truck carrying oxygen tanks. The tanks exploded and sent up a cloud of black smoke. State police said the blast also damaged a Frederick County sheriff’s vehicle.
Montclair Scout Raises Funds to Improve Rescue Dog Trail
According to a GoFundMe campaign, 17-year-old Kennett “Ken” Nowlin, a Life Scout with Scouting America Troop 189 in Montclair, is raising money for his Eagle Scout service project at SFC Virginia Animal Rescue, a 501(c)(3) in Spotsylvania. The campaign says the rescue has helped save more than 13,000 animals. Nowlin plans to improve the existing walking trail by building three benches on paver patios, installing three solar-powered LED lights and adding a permanent dog-waste station, and to organize volunteers to do the work.
The fundraising goal is $3,000, with the project estimated at about $2,700. The campaign says the upgrades are meant to give the dogs a safer place to exercise and spend time with volunteers and potential adopters. Donations and the project page are at gofundme.com/f/help-ken-build-a-better-trail-for-rescue-dogs.
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