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A source tells Potomac Local a replacement for Laquan Austion could be Jeffery Dove, who is now running for congress.

Austion today dropped out of Virginia’s Hosue District 2 race in Prince William and Stafford counties. Dove is running against Democrat Gerry Connolly (D-11 Fairfax, Prince William) who has held the job since 2009.

Dove is running against Democrat Gerry Connolly (D-11 Fairfax, Prince William) who has held the job since 2009. He has yet to comment for this story.

Last year, Dove took to Twitter and showed interest in the House District 2 seat, which serves residents in Prince William and Stafford counties.

From Dove’s Twitter page:

Virginia House of Delegates District 2 will be up for grabs next year. That sounds interesting.

— Jeffery A Dove Jr. (@JefferyADoveJr) August 26, 2016

Virginia District 2 had @MarkDudenhefer run unopposed in the Republican Primary. Next year that may not be the case….

— Jeffery A Dove Jr. (@JefferyADoveJr) August 27, 2016

If Dove becomes the candidate, he would face Democrat Jennifer Carroll Foy in the House District 2 race. Foy is a public defender and professor at Northern Virginia Community College. 

She issued a statement Friday afternoon after Austion dropped out of the race. 

“I would like to thank Laquan Austion for stepping up to run. I will continue to work to earn the votes of all of my neighbors in the Second District. I will fight to expand Medicaid to 400,000 more Virginians, protect funding for Planned Parenthood and women’s health care, end the school-to-prison pipeline, and find solutions to our broken transportation system. I have devoted my entire life to public service — fighting for the voiceless as a public defender and foster mother — and hope to serve all of the Second District as Delegate.”

The HD2 race has been an eventful one this year. Republican Mark Dudenhefer in January made a surprise announcement stating he would not seek reelection for the seat.

In June, Democrat Josh King requested a recount following a close Primary race with fellow Foy, who won the recount by 12 votes.

Updated: 

Jeff Dove will stay the course in the 11th Congressional District race. 

He sent Potomac Local this statement: 

“While I am honored that the many Republicans have put my name into the mix for this seat,  I am currently laser focused on making life better for the people of the 11th Congressional District.”

STAFFORD — Republicans in Stafford and Prince William counties are looking for a new candidate for House District 2.

Laquan Austion dropped out.

“Laquan Austion is withdrawing his candidacy for the Second House District effective today. We appreciate his willingness to run for office and serve. We have already started the process of recruiting a strong candidate that will give voters a clear choice in November.”

Austion came under fire this week when the Richmond Times-Dispatch learned the candidate provided false information to voters on his LinkedIn page, and to Potomac Local about his education. Austion claimed to have a Masters Degree from The George Washington University that he didn’t possess.

The report also stated Austion purchased an Audi automobile but never made a payment, A court case in this matter, as well as another debt were dismissed because Austion was not able to be located, according to the Times-Dispatch story. (more…)

DUMFRIES — Dumfries residents have until September 3 to pay their unpaid parking tickets without facing additional fines.

An ordinance passed unanimously this month by the town council allows police to tow or install a boot on any vehicle that has three or more unpaid parking tickets. It also allows police to tow a vehicle or semi-trailer that has been idle for 10 days sitting private or public property, without the consent of the vehicle or property owner.

The ordinance sets fines for parking tickets at $25 to $100 and imposes an additional $200 fee if the payment is not postmarked and mailed to the town treasurer’s office within 10 days of police issuing the ticket. If the 10th day falls on Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday, no penalty is imposed until the next business day, according to town documents (PDF).

Dumfries Police Chief Nicholas Esposito said there are 1,476 unpaid parking tickets in the town. That adds up to over $100,000 in lost revenue for the town, according to Mayor Jerry Foreman. The lost revenue has had an impact on the town’s budget.

“I’m proud to say that, while I’ve been mayor, we’ve lowered property taxes,” said Mayor Jerry Foreman. “The next thing we are going to talk about is raising taxes because we’re not collecting the fees.”

A total of 176 of those are repeat offenders with three or more parking tickets, added Esposito. (more…)

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY — A new fire station will be built next to the Coles District Fire and Rescue Department.

A groundbreaking for the 21,400 square-foot replacement fire and rescue station on Route 234 on 13712 Dumfries Road near Independent Hill will be held at 10 a.m. Aug. 14. When it opens, the new station will house a heavy rescue, tanker, a basic life-support ambulance, and a truck to battle brush fires.

The Prince William County Fire and Rescue Department will continue to operate its HAZMAT unit from the new Coles station, too. The new building will feature expanded office space, sleeping quarters, more suitable apparatus areas, and hazmat storage, according to the county’s capital improvement plan.

The current building sits on nine acres of land and is assessed at $1.4 million. It will be torn down after the new fire station opens in fall 2018.

The area on which the old station sits will be used for training first responders for HAZMAT situations, said Coles District Supervisor Marty Nohe. He said there was no discussion on selling the land on the busy Route 234 corridor to the private developer after the new fire station opens.

When viewing the current building from the front, the new station will be built to the left of the existing structure. The new station is slated to cost $10.7 million. (more…)

WOODBRIDGE — A voter office in Woodbridge could once again be headed for the chopping block.

The Prince William County Electoral Board is prepared to be hit once more with rent fees from the Virginia DMV.

In March, the state asked for 14 years of back rent in the amount of $31,200 for a voter registration office inside the Woodbridge DMV Customer Service Center on Caton Hill Road. The office is also used as an absentee in-person voting center in the weeks leading up to November General Elections.

“We’ve been there rent-free for years,” said Prince William Electoral Board Secretary Keith Scarborough.

After the March notice, there were fears the only voter registration office on the eastern side of Prince William County would close. The closure was averted when DMV officials backed off, and county officials were told they had at least one more year to operate in the building.

“I think the call for rent was a ‘get out’ message,” said Electoral Board Chairman Robin Williams.

If it was, the election officials have few places has few places to go. The Board on Wednesday wrangled not only with finding what to do about the Woodbridge DMV site but also to find a new site to serve the western end of Prince William County in the growing Haymarket and Gainesville areas. (more…)

WOODBRIDGE — Dominion Energy today donated another $35,000 to the Living Shorelines Project at Leesylvania State Park.

Company officials joined Chief Park Ranger Karen Lambey on the Potomac River shoreline in Woodbridge to present the check.

“This project is very important to us, and anytime we have an opportunity to help with these environmental projects, we like to do so,” said Deborah Tompkins Johnson, with Dominion.

The latest donation brings Dominion Energy’s contribution effort to about $100,000, she added.

So far in the $500,000 effort to preserve the shoreline, two and a half large stone sills have been built off the shoreline of Leesylvania State Park to protect the land, plants, and aquatic life from waves, boat wake. The sills also stop beachline erosion and allow native grasses to take root and grow to better hold in place the shoreline.

A small area of standing water separates the shore from the rock sills.

“We’ve seen fish lay eggs, and find safety from predators in the standing water areas,” said Lambey.

One and a half more sills still need to be installed for a total of four for the project to be complete. The encompasses 25 feet of shoreline and will be completed two years from now.

Over the past 20 years, Leesylvania has seen 25 feet or more of erosion on its shoreline.

“There’s a drop off here where there wasn’t one before,” said Lambey, while standing on a trail overlooking the river at the park’s Potomac Beach picnic area.

(more…)

Mission BBQ will bring back it’s red Amercian Hero’s cup this late summer.

When diners purchase a drink in the cup for $3.99, a total of $2 of the purchase will go to a charity chosen by local fire and police departments. Customers may keep the cup and bring them back for discounted refills.

Funds from cup purchases in Stafford County will go to Operation Warm: Coats for Kids, according to Stafford County Fire Chief Mark Lockhart.

The promotion runs Aug. 11 through Sept. 11.

Mission BBQ has locations in North Stafford at 267 Garrisvonville Road, and a soon-to-open location on Prince William Parkway in Woodbridge. A company spokeswoman was unable to provide us with information about the opening of the Woodbridge location.

The Stafford County Animal Shelter as a furry friend waiting for his forever home. 

Here’s what they had to say: 

His name is Reggie. He’s about 2-3 years old! Very energetic and playful!

Gets along great with other dogs, but we aren’t sure about kitties. He is neutered and up to date on his vaccines. He was found as a stray so we aren’t sure if he is housebroken or not.

Reggie also does better with older children as he can get a little rough with little ones when he plays

You can visit the animal shelter’s website for more information, as well as see operating hours so you can visit Reggie and other animals in Stafford County.

WOODBRIDGE — Elections officials in Prince William County are warning of continued long lines at voting precincts due to population growth, according to public documents.

The Board of Supervisors this month denied a request to set a public hearing to allow for the creation of five new voting precincts and corresponding polling places, as well as shift precinct boundaries. By law, the changes would have needed to have been made by September 8, enough time (60 days) before the November 7 General Election.

In this off-year election when, traditionally, lines are shorter, voters will head to the polls to select a new governor, candidates for the Virginia House of Delegates, and municipal offices in Manassas and Manassas Park.

After the Presidential Election of Barack Obama in 2012, long voter lines in Prince William County got congressional attention.

None of Prince William County’s 92 voting precincts may have more than 5,000 registered voters, according to state law. Four precincts were found to have more than 4,000 voters as of July 1: (more…)