Potomac Local News

Published August 29, 2026 at 8:56AM | Updated August 29, 2026 at 3:19PM

Dominion Energy says there were no major outages in Fairfax or Prince William counties on Friday. A system glitch made it look like thousands of customers were dark, including a false reading of 13,450 out in Fairfax, Woodbridge and Warrenton, according to Northern Virginia spokeswoman Aisha Khan.

“We had no major outages in Fairfax and Prince William Counties yesterday. However, we did have a glitch within the system that made it look like we had large outages in Fairfax, Woodbridge and Warrenton (13,450),” Khan wrote Saturday in response to questions from Potomac Local News.

Fredericksburg

At Paul’s Bakery, Dolly hats and tribute donuts draw a Friday morning crowd

By Potomac Local News

Published August 28, 2026 at 2:00PM

Customers look over the donut case Friday morning at Paul’s Bakery on Lafayette Boulevard in Fredericksburg, where staff put out Dolly Parton tribute donuts after the country star’s death Tuesday. Photo by Sue Nelson Sargent.

Our family loves Dolly Parton. We’ve been to Dollywood. So on Friday morning, on the way to taking my 5-year-old granddaughter to Hazelwild Farm, I stopped by Paul’s Bakery on Lafayette Boulevard and bought two dozen Dolly Parton donuts — some for family, some for the staff at Hazelwild’s Country Day Preschool.

I was not the only one making the trip.

Prince William

Occoquan officer honored for off-duty rescue at deadly I-95 crash

By Uriah Kiser

Published August 28, 2026 at 1:00PM

From left, Occoquan Police Chief and Town Manager Adam Linn, Vice Mayor Jenn Loges, Council member Cindy Fithian, Mayor Earnest W. Porta Jr., Officer Justin Hendrickson holding the framed resolution, Council member Theo Daubresse, Council member Robert E. Love, and Council member Eliot Perkins after Town Council honored Hendrickson on Aug. 18, 2026, at Town Hall. Hendrickson’s family joined the presentation. (Courtesy of the Town of Occoquan)

Town Council honored Officer Justin Hendrickson on Tuesday for stopping at a catastrophic Interstate 95 crash while off duty, helping pull people from a burning vehicle, and giving first aid until fire-rescue crews arrived.

The May 29, 2026, southbound crash in Stafford occurred about 2:30 a.m. and killed five people and injured more than 30. Hendrickson, hired by the Occoquan Police Department in September 2022, was heading home after a shift when he came upon the scene.

Event

2026 Ocean, River Cruises and Guided Tours Showcase

September 19, 2026 9:00 am -2:00 pm

BlackRock Center For The Arts

12901 Town Commons Dr

Germantown, Maryland 20874

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Dreaming about your next vacation? Join Cruise Planners Beth Borrego and Rod Rodriguez for an inspiring day devoted to ocean and river cruises, guided tours, luxury travel and unforgettable destinations!

Meet representatives from AmaWaterways, Collette, Oceania Cruises and Premier World Discovery. Hear informative presentations, ask questions, explore exciting vacation possibilities and discover which travel experience may be the perfect fit for you.

Police Blotter

Police Blotter: Park Death, Teacher Arrested at School

By Uriah Kiser

Published August 28, 2026 at 11:00AM | Updated August 28, 2026 at 1:01PM

[Scott Rodgerson/Unsplash]

The same roundup includes the arrest of a man charged in an August 19 sexual assault near Sudley Road in Manassas, and the arrest of a Manassas Park High School teacher accused of being intoxicated on school grounds Thursday morning.

Police also reported a man charged with assaulting an officer at the adult detention center after a disturbance near Potomac Mills Road, and a teen’s arrest in a Woodbridge smoke shop burglary. In Stafford County, deputies reported a public intoxication arrest and two fraud reports.

Manassas

Last-day pleas force Manassas to hold hearing on $11M Mathis makeover

By Uriah Kiser

Published August 28, 2026 at 10:00AM

Manassas will advertise and hold a public hearing on the Mathis Avenue streetscape after four residents asked for one on the last day they could.

Planning and Community Development Director and Assistant City Manager Matthew Arcieri said Wednesday that former City Council member Lynn Forkell Greene’s request triggered the meeting. Greene is running again this fall as an independent for one of three open council seats on the Nov. 3 ballot.

Newslinks

News Links: Man Who Killed His Landlord Leaves the Country on a Weekend Pass

By Uriah Kiser

Published August 28, 2026 at 8:00AM

Police charged men from Woodbridge, Manassas and Stafford in an undercover child-exploitation operation, a Fairfax patient committed after killing his landlord left the country on a weekend pass, and Stafford officials said next year’s budget will be especially tight.

According to FOX 5 DC, police arrested nine men ages 21 to 48 in an undercover operation targeting suspects who initiated sexually explicit online conversations they believed were with minors. Detectives said most of the men traveled expecting a sexual encounter with a child and instead were met by investigators. The nine suspects face a combined 20 criminal charges, including solicitation of a minor, procuring a minor for prostitution and attempted indecent liberties.

Spotsylvania

Beloved Farm Drops ‘Tech Campus’ Bomb, Gets Roasted

By Uriah Kiser

Published August 27, 2026 at 3:00PM

The family that has run Belvedere Plantation for nearly six decades went to Facebook this week to speak for itself.

The message was meant to be clear. The Fall Harvest Festival still opens Sept. 12. Field trips, the corn maze, and the pumpkin patch are not canceled. Nothing about this season changes. The Fulks family said it wanted customers to hear that from them, not from the rumor mill.

Stafford

Stafford Sheriff’s Office built four all-inclusive conference trips a year into a five-year dispatch contract

By Uriah Kiser

Published August 27, 2026 at 12:45PM

The MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas hosted NAVIGATOR 2026, the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch conference, April 21–24. Stafford County bought four all-inclusive packages — conference passport, three nights’ hotel and airfare — through its Priority Dispatch contract, then issued $233 county per-diem checks to the four emergency-communications employees who attended. [Photo courtesy of MGM Resorts]

Stafford County’s Sheriff’s Office sent four emergency-communications employees to a Las Vegas 911 conference this spring under a package Stafford bought with public funds — airfare, hotel and registration billed by the software vendor — then cut each of them a $233 county check for meals. Attendance, the office, and the vendor all say it is not required. The county’s quote still prices four of those packages every year for five years.

The Sheriff’s Office operates Stafford’s 911 center and contracts with Priority Dispatch Corp. — legally Medical Priority Consultants, Inc. — for the software used to triage emergency calls. A March 19, 2025, quote obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, Q-79047, is tied to existing Contract No. 21-034-3120SSB and folds four annual “Navigator All-Inclusive” packages into a five-year Emergency Police Dispatch implementation and maintenance deal.

Fredericksburg

Rising Sun Tavern: Where Washington Kin Fueled Revolution Talk

By Deen Lateef

Published August 27, 2026 at 10:00AM

A modest frame house built for George Washington’s brother offers visitors an intimate window into the taverns that helped spark American independence.

As America celebrates its 250th birthday in 2026, the Rising Sun Tavern in historic Fredericksburg stands as a tangible link to the conversations and connections that helped forge a nation. Once the private home of Charles Washington, the site now welcomes guests to experience 18th-century life through costumed interpreters and preserved spaces that buzz with stories of rebellion.