Jay Jones | ALXnow

Crackdown on vape products, underage sales planned in bill heading to Spanberger

Published March 24, 2026 at 2:45PM

Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-39, speaks to Arlington Democrats (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

More regulations on what vape products can be sold and increased enforcement of underage sales are included in new legislation heading to Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D).

In a news conference yesterday (Monday), Attorney General Jay Jones (D) highlighted the plan for increased oversight of tobacco product retailers under Del. Patrick Hope’s HB 308 and former State Sen. Adam Ebbin’s SB 620. The legislation would shift license and enforcement of liquid nicotine and retail tobacco products from the Department of Taxation to a new permitting system led by the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Authority.

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Jones text scandal, ice cream assault case lead Alexandria’s top stories

By James Cullum

Published October 10, 2025 at 3:30PM

Democrat Jay Jones speaks in Richmond during his 2024 campaign kickoff for attorney general. Jones is now facing bipartisan backlash over newly surfaced text messages containing violent remarks about a former Republican House speaker. (Photo by Markus Schmidt/Virginia Mercury)

Welcome to Friday, Alexandria! Here’s a look at ALXnow’s top stories of the week.

With less than a month until the Nov. 4 general election, this week’s most-read story is on the controversy surrounding Virginia’s Democratic attorney general candidate Jay Jones. The National Review broke the news last Friday (Oct. 3) that in August 2022, Jones sent text messages to Del. Carrie Coyner (R-75), “fantasizing about shooting then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert and his children,” according to the Virginia Mercury story posted on ALXnow.

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‘Beyond disqualifying’: Jay Jones controversy jolts Virginia’s pivotal 2025 elections

By Markus Schmidt, Virginia Mercury

Published October 6, 2025 at 7:40AM

Democrat Jay Jones speaks in Richmond during his 2024 campaign kickoff for attorney general. Jones is now facing bipartisan backlash over newly surfaced text messages containing violent remarks about a former Republican House speaker. (Photo by Markus Schmidt/Virginia Mercury)

What began as a quiet October Friday in Virginia politics erupted into a full-blown national scandal when screenshots of private, three-year old text messages showing Democratic attorney general nominee Jay Jones fantasizing about shooting then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert and his children were made public.

The National Review story revealed an August 2022 exchange between Jones — a former Norfolk delegate and one-time assistant attorney general — and Del. Carrie Coyner, R-Chesterfield. In the texts, Jones described a scenario in which Gilbert “gets two bullets to the head,” followed by a wish that the Republican lawmaker’s children “die in their mother’s arms.”

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Early voting begins Sept. 19 in Alexandria for statewide races

By James Cullum

Published September 9, 2025 at 1:30PM

A voting sign at the Alexandria Registrar of Voters, 132 N. Royal Street, in Old Town (staff photo by James Cullum)

Early voting for November’s general election starts on Friday, Sept. 19, across Virginia. Here’s what you need to know in Alexandria.

Early voting starts 45 days before election day, and the only contested elections voters can decide on in Alexandria are for the Virginia governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general.