Rich Anderson issued his first statement as Chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia.
He called for the resignation of Virginia State Senator Louise Lucas, of Hampton Roads, after she was charged with a felony following the toppling of a statue in downtown Portsmouth on June 10 that severely injured a fellow protestor.
“Virginians demand leadership from their elected officials. Senator Lucas’s behavior is far from what leaders of our Commonwealth should strive for. Felony charges leveled against a sitting State Senator are to be taken seriously, and should not be sought out for political gain. It is for that reason that the Republican Party of Virginia calls for Senator Lucas to turn herself in. Immediately.”
The state senator whose been in office since 1992 has issued no public statement via Twitter in response to the call for her resignation.
Anderson was elected chairman in a statewide party canvass on Saturday. He replaces Jack Wilson, defeating him and Michael Schoelwer in a three-way race.
The retired Air Force Colonel served in the Virginia General Assembly from 2010 to 2017, representing the 51st House District, which encompasses the majority of Prince William County. In an interview with PLN on July 29, he outlined a plan to level the political playing field in the Democrat-controlled state.
Anderson issued this statement following his win:
“I thank the delegates to the 2020 Republican Party of Virginia State Convention for placing their trust in me to serve as their state chairman. On behalf of RPV and our 126 local Republican units, I also express our appreciation to Chairman Jack Wilson for his devoted service in multiple leadership positions at the unit, district, state, and national levels.
I am especially grateful to those who offered themselves as candidates and congratulate those who were today elected to positions of senior leadership in our party. With party elections behind us, we now turn our full energies to re-electing President Trump, electing Daniel Gade to the U.S. Senate, and electing 11 great Republicans to the U.S. House. We are at a critical crossroads in the life of our Commonwealth and country, and it is imperative that Virginia Republicans elect and send these outstanding leaders to Washington next January.”
Cynthia Maureen Johnson departed this earthly life on August 18, 2020 at Prince William Hospital at the age of 61. She was born to the late William “Billy” Jackson and Irene Johnson Kendall on October 23, 1958 at the Manassas Clinic in Manassas, VA. She graduated from Gar-Field Senior High School in Woodbridge, VA in June 1977.
Cynthia dedicated her life to the Lord at an early age and was baptized by Reverend Augustus T. Gaskins at First Mount…
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Starting today, a new round of Staford County businesses can apply for financial relief from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
More in a press release:
The Stafford Economic Development Authority (EDA) CARES Act funded grant applications open today. John Holden, Director of Economic Development & Tourism, notes that “this is ‘Round Three’ of grants for Stafford businesses impacted by the Coronavirus.”
In mid-March, the Stafford EDA immediately went into action after anticipating local business impact due to the health crisis, and assembled a COVID-19 Grant program using EDA funding. The demand was tremendous, and the EDA issued a “Round Two” of grants soon after, adjusting the grant eligibility and criteria based on what was learned in Round One.
In total, over $450,000 of limited EDA funds were granted to over 120 Stafford businesses.
“I think it is important to understand,” said Holden, “those first round of grants were funded through the Stafford EDA, using limited funds it has to support economic development in Stafford.” Rounds One and Two were based on the maintenance of employment and payroll levels. The EDA had a rigorous application grant review process developed in conjunction with the EDA Board and staff.
The grants that launch today are designed to broaden eligibility for critically impacted business sectors and includes grants for nonprofits. The funds for these grants were provided to the EDA by the Stafford County Board of Supervisors CARES Act allocation.
These new grant programs, while available to a broader range of operations, still require documentation by the business showing their impact by the Coronavirus documenting eligible expenses, as per the CARES Act.
Holden said, “The bottom line is, Stafford County and the EDA, want to support our local business community. While we must follow a process, we have had the opportunity to fine-tune our process so that we can get assistance to our business community as efficiently and effectively as possible”.
Grant applications will be reviewed for completeness and in the order received. A committee of the EDA will then review them for approval.
Information and applications are online.
Jury trials will begin again in Stafford County.
The Virginia Supreme Court approved a plan to allow court officials and defense attorneys to resume their pursuit of justice following a temporary halt of jury trials that began in with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in March.
One of the three courtrooms has been converted in order to allow trails to continue. Plexiglass is now installed in the jury box, creating safe barriers between the 12 seated jurors for felony cases, and seven jurors for misdemeanors.
Plexiglass also now separates the judge from the person sitting on the witness stand. The modifications to the courtroom come with increased safety precautions at the court entrance, where everyone has their temperature taken to ensure they’re not running a fever, and where everyone is checked to ensure they’re wearing a facemask.
Representatives from the Stafford County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, the public defender’s office, and the clerk of the circuit court four weeks ago devised a plan for the modifications that would allow for trials to resume. That plan was submitted to the Virginia State Supreme Court in Richmond and later approved this past week.
The Stafford County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office remained open during the pandemic, so people could access court records, real estate transactions, wills, marriage certificates, and other documents.
“In the beginning, we tried to set appointments to meet with everyone one-on-one, but we couldn’t set enough appointments, so we opened everything back up to the public,” said Stafford County Circuit Court Clerk Kathy Sterne.
Stafford County never stopped mailing jury duty notifications despite the pandemic and the fact that no trials were occurring. Potential jurors were asked to call into an automated recording to learn if their case was proceeding to trial or not.
“It kept us in practice,” said Sterne.
In the General District Court, all cases between March 17 and May 17 were continued, with the exceptions of arraignments, video bond hearings, and protective orders.
The Stafford County Courthouse is located at 1300 Courthouse Road and is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
While Virginians are easing back into everyday life following the coronavirus shut down, some residents don’t have access to essential personal protective gear necessary to shield them from the virus.
In response, Manassas has been working with Virginia’s Health Equity Task Force Program to increase access to essential supplies in underserved and disadvantaged communities, many of which have been disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus.
Volunteers and city staff packed bags containing four masks, hand sanitizers, and public health materials that will inform residents on how to stop the spread of the virus. With a total of 5,000 on hand, so far, over 1,000 of these bags have been distributed.
The taskforce identified those in need and are working to deliver the protective equipment door-to-door. The city is not currently accepting requests for protective equipment.
“The Equity Leadership Task Force is excited to partner with the City of Manassas for our health equity reform and PPE distribution program,” stated Dr. Janice Underwood, Chief Diversity Officer to Governor Northam in a press release.
“COVID-19 cases are still increasing throughout the Commonwealth; therefore, it will take all of us wearing a mask, using appropriate hygiene practices, and staying home when we can to protect each other. Under-resourced communities have disproportionately carried the burden of COVID-19, but collaboration with localities like the City of Manassas highlight Virginia’s commitment to local-state partnerships that promote an equitable response and recovery from this deadly disease.”
To date, the commonwealth has partnered with 35 localities and over 500,000 cloth masks and 420,000 bottles of hand sanitizer have been delivered to localities across the state.
Realtors in Prince William County sold more homes in July than they did a year ago.
A limited number of available houses on the market and the desire for more space has created the perfect opportunity for anyone looking to sell a home.
“It’s not just Arlington or Alexandria anymore. If you’re in Stafford or Prince William, we’re seeing three to four offers on a home,” said CC Bartholomew, a Prince William County-based Realtor. “So many people are trying to buy a house right now.”
After weeks in the coronavirus lockdown working from home, most of those people are looking for more space than what they had before. Most are looking for a larger condo, townhouse, or single-family home, if they can find one.
To move in faster, many people are waiving home appraisals and that is driving up prices, Bartholomew adds. Low-interest rates are also encorgang sales, and existing home refinancing.
A total of 906 homes were sold in July 2020, a favorable increase of 16.5 percent compared to July 2019 at 778. The number of contracts pending saw an increase of 8.3 percent year-over-year, from 962 to 1,042, according to the Prince William Association of Realtors.
New listings also showed an increase year-over-year, with 979 new listings, as opposed to 885 in July 2019. There were also noticeably fewer active listings available this year with 415 active listings in July 2020, compared to 1,046 in 2019. The median sold price of homes saw a rise in July, increasing 9.1 percent to $420,000 as compared to $385,000 last year.
With so many people working from home, few, if any of Bartholomew’s buyers are asking about commute times. This could lead to deflation of commercial Real Estate values in the region, she adds.
Five Stafford County firefighters have been displaced after mold was found at the station.
More in a press release:
On Thursday, August 13 , the Stafford County Fire and Rescue Department (SCFR) was made aware of the presence of mold at Fire Station 8 located in Rock Hill, which presents an environmental health concern for the personnel assigned to the station. A contractor will be at Fire Station 8 on Friday, August 14, to evaluate the situation and recommend mitigation action.
As a precaution, personnel and the units assigned to Fire Station 8 have been relocated to neighboring stations in Garrisonville and Mountain View to allow them to continue to provide service to the Rock Hill community.
“The health and safety of our personnel is our most important priority. Their work environment must be safe in order for them to continue providing an excellent level of care and service to Stafford County,” explained Stafford County Fire Chief Joseph Cardello.
No personnel have reported any illness related to the presence of mold.
The Rock Hill Fire Department is located at 2133 Garrisonville Road. The firehouse was built in 1976.
Vergie Katherine Harris Barbour, 99 of Chantilly, VA departed on August 14, 2020. Born December 3, 1920 in Floris, Va. Vergie is survived by her sister Lillian Newman, four step-sons, Allen, Ray, James and Glen; two step-daughters Margaret Diamond and Carolyn Scriber; four daughters-in-law Sarah, Martha, Edith and Felicia; one son-in-law Melvin Pope; a host of grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives and friends. Although,…
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William Edward Skinner was born on January 30, 1955 and passed away on August 14, 2020. William was a resident of Dumfries, Virginia.
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