Washington Manassas Airport celebrated the ribbon cutting of its new Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) Station 41, a key step in strengthening emergency response capacity as the airport prepares for commercial passenger service.
The two-story, 4,596-square-foot facility includes a day room, dining room, full kitchen, training room, office space, and three apparatus bays for the airport’s ARFF vehicles. It is currently staffed daily from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and is designed to improve the airport’s ability to protect tenants, operations, and future travelers.
The Greater Manassas Christmas Parade will mark its 80th year on Saturday, Dec. 5, 2026, with the theme “80 Years. Still Sleighin’.” The parade steps off at 10 a.m. in downtown Manassas, sponsored by Stanley Martin Homes.
Organizers announced the theme and date in a recent post, noting Santa, Mrs. Claus and the elves are ready for the season. A new Miller Toyota Santa float, designed by a contest winner, will also debut. Details on participation, sponsorships and volunteering are available at gmchristmasparade.org.
As part of the ongoing Rappahannock Canal Trailway Improvement Project, the Canal Path will be temporarily closed Thursday, July 23, from Washington Avenue to U.S. Route 1, including Higgins Bridge on Dale Street, to allow crews to complete milling and paving after recent vegetation removal, the City of Fredericksburg announced. The work was rescheduled from the previously planned July 30-31 dates, and the detour will follow the same route used in earlier closures, with an extended path to Washington Avenue.
Crews expect to finish Thursday, though weather delays could push the closure into Friday, July 24. The temporary shutdown supports continued improvements aimed at enhancing safety and accessibility along the popular Fredericksburg trail.
The bus driver facing five involuntary manslaughter charges in the deadly May 29 crash on Interstate 95 in Stafford County was granted $25,000 secure bond on three of the counts Wednesday, but cannot be released until a second court weighs in, WTOP reported. Stafford County Circuit Court Judge Charles Clark ordered Jing Sheng Dong, who lives on Staten Island, to remain under house arrest in Virginia, surrender his U.S. and Chinese passports plus driver’s licenses, avoid alcohol or drugs, and have no contact with crash victims or their families.
Dong was driving a charter bus from New York to North Carolina when it struck a line of slowing vehicles in a construction zone near Marine Corps Base Quantico around 2:30 a.m. A bond hearing in General District Court on the remaining two charges could be scheduled as early as this week, with the trial currently set for Oct. 6.
Stafford County deputies also investigated two fraud reports involving unauthorized transactions and identity theft, plus a vehicle vandalism call. In Fredericksburg, officers arrested a tow truck driver on multiple charges after a traffic stop, including providing false identification and outstanding warrants from Stafford County.
Here is the daily police blotter roundup of incidents reported by local agencies.
A Haymarket author will sign copies of his new book about the St. Louis Cardinals’ first World Series championship from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday at Aroma II Wine, 14871 Washington St. in Haymarket.
Terry Lemons’ “The Year St. Louis Became a Baseball Town: The Cardinals, Babe Ruth, & The 1926 World Series” was published June 9 by Arcadia Publishing’s The History Press. The 192-page book examines how the Cardinals’ 1926 upset of Babe Ruth’s New York Yankees and the celebrations, radio broadcasts, and fan energy that followed turned St. Louis into a lasting baseball town. Lemons, a St. Louis native who later worked as a White House reporter and spent 25 years leading communications for the Internal Revenue Service in Washington, said the championship created traditions still felt today.
A 19-year-old Manassas man was arrested Tuesday on felony murder and related charges in connection with a June shooting death, while a Virginia State Police trooper suffered minor injuries early Wednesday in a high-speed pursuit involving a stolen vehicle that ended with a crash in Prince William County.
Prince William County police also investigated two separate brandishing incidents in Woodbridge in which a man displayed a firearm and, in one case, claimed to be a police officer.
