Samuel Chisolm Jr., chairman of the Prince William County Democratic Committee (PWCDC), announced his resignation effective June 12, 2026, pointing to intense internal party divisions exacerbated by the recent loss of the Woodbridge District supervisor seat in a special election.
In a resignation letter dated June 1, Chisolm described a party fractured by self-interest, ego, and disagreements over its core mission.
The Fredericksburg Planning Commission on May 27 received a detailed overview of ongoing, upcoming, and recently completed transportation projects across the city, with particular attention to multimodal improvements that will affect daily life in southeast neighborhoods, including Mayfield.
Senior Planner Bailey Thompson presented the update during the meeting’s other business section, directing residents to two key resources for tracking projects: the FXBG Forward Comprehensive Plan’s mobility chapter and the VDOT Project Search website.
“The average person works 40 hours a week. We’re doing 56. So, if we can draw back and do 42, I mean it helps us, and it turns around and helps the community as well,” FOX 5 DC reported.
“A lot of departments are going to it because it is the best schedule for the fire department. And the fire department is here to serve the citizens, and we can do that adequately with the 56-hour workweek, but we can do it even better with a 42-hour workweek.”
Virginia State Police are investigating a fatal single-vehicle motorcycle crash that happened Sunday, May 31, 2026, on Interstate 66 westbound at the ten-mile marker in Warren County.
Tyler C. Santos, 34, of Woodbridge, was riding a 2006 Suzuki GSX-R1000 westbound when the motorcycle left the roadway, struck a guardrail, and caught fire. Santos was thrown from the bike and suffered serious injuries. He was taken to a local hospital, where he later died. He was wearing a helmet at the time.
The Fredericksburg Planning Commission held a public hearing on May 27, 2026, regarding the Area 8 Dixon Street/Mayfield Small Area Comprehensive Plan Amendment and Zoning Map Amendment.
The Commission continued the hearing without a vote, directing staff to refine the proposal based on robust community input, particularly around equity, anti-displacement measures, incentives, gateways, and implementation parity with prior plans.
“Bhatt has been denied bond twice before,” Prince William Times reported. “Irving also denied Bhatt bond once before on Sept. 20, 2024… At the time, Irving held a lengthy hearing in which prosecutors presented evidence… and said the evidence brought by the prosecutors was ‘overwhelming.’”
Naresh Bhatt, 39, has been jailed since August 2024 on first-degree murder and defiling a dead body charges in the presumed death of his wife, Mamta Kafle Bhatt, who vanished in July 2024. His public defender filed a new bond motion that will be heard Wednesday morning in Prince William County Circuit Court. No new details on changed circumstances were released.
A Stafford County grand jury on Monday, June 1, 2026, indicted Jing Sheng Dong, 48, of Staten Island, New York, on three additional felony counts of involuntary manslaughter and one misdemeanor count of reckless driving in connection with the May 30 tour bus crash on southbound Interstate 95 that killed five people.
The new indictments bring the total to five felony counts of involuntary manslaughter — one for each victim — along with the reckless driving charge. The charges relate to the multi-vehicle crash in a work zone and supplement two initial involuntary manslaughter counts filed against Dong on May 31.
Go to Stafford County Grand Jury Adds Charges Against Tour Bus Driver in Deadly I-95 Crash
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“Today the majority of State Central Committee, which essentially acts as the elected board of directors for the Republican Party of Virginia, voted to remain neutral and abstain from taking a position on the 3 horrendous amendments that will be on your ballot this November,” Virginia Scope reported. “There is no doubt everyone in the room Saturday opposes the radical constitutional amendments,” First Congressional District SCC representative David Botkins said.
Republican Party of Virginia Chair Jeff Ryer clarified in an email to members that the State Central Committee did not vote to stay neutral but instead referred the issue of the three constitutional amendments to the Resolutions Committee by a 32-30 standing vote. The committee was instructed to consult local units and report back, with the matter possibly returning as soon as the June 13 meeting.