A 4.7% unemployment rate next year? Virginia could lose 32,000 jobs this year due to federal spending cuts, as a result of which the state’s unemployment rate could rise to 3.9% this year and 4.7% in 2026, according to a study by the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service. The study counts federal employees, cuts to federal contractors, and the multiplier effect of those cuts on the service economy. The analysis sees the losses partially offset by productivity gains and resilience in the private-sector economy. WTOP News has the story. As of last count, Virginia still had 228,000 job openings, which, if the skills of the newly unemployed match up, could alleviate labor shortages. Politicians are losing their lunch with worry, but I’m entirely OK with the prospect of reallocating manpower from low-value occupations to higher-value occupations.

Hampton Roads still sinking. The rate of sea level rise in Hampton Roads, afflicted by subsidence as well as global sea-level rise, is in line with past forecasts, according to the latest “sea level rise report card” from the Virginia Institute for Marine Science. “We are accelerating at a high rate compared to a lot of the rest of the country, but that rate hasn’t been changing, really,” Molly Mitchell, assistant research professor, told WHRO Public Media. Southeastern Virginia is sinking twice as fast as sea level is rising due to shifts in the tectonic plate and the drawdown of aquifers. I have one big question: When is it time to start selling waterfront property?

An incremental legal victory against terrorism. Attorney General Jason Miyares has secured a victory in Richmond City Circuit Court that will compel the American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) to comply with the AG’s Civil Investigative Demand (CID), according to a press release issued today. The organization has fought the demand in the courts for more than a year. The AG is investigating the organization to see if it is funneling funds “to support terrorists, terrorist organizations, terrorist activities, or family members of terrorists.” The AG’s office knows more than it has revealed. It makes me queasy to think that AMP might be a front group and fundraiser for Hamas.