Thanks for sharing coffee, story tips

Lots of great story tips at coffee session 

My recent one-on-one with the publisher session at One Degree Captial was a success.

I enjoyed meeting with community members and business leaders in Occoquan, as well as representatives from the Prince William County Solid Waste Division, The Prince William County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and Associates in Gastroenterology. 

We drank French press coffee (because what else do members of the press drink?) and swapped some great stories about our community. I learned a lot, and I appreciate the news tips.

I look forward to meeting you soon at another one-on-one session in January. Time and date TBD. Bring your story ideas.

Excited for the New Year

Here’s a bit of breaking news: Santa arrives in less than six days. Then the hustle and bustle of the holiday season winds down.

At Potomac Local, we’re looking forward to spending time with family and friends over the holidays. And then we can’t wait to learn what new developments 2017 has in store. The news never stops. 

Seven fire posts in one day 

We published seven posts to the site Monday about house fires. That’s very unusual.

In the case of the fire on Cosgrove Way near Dumfries, a concerned neighbor and Potomac Local community member Jacqueline Palmer sent us a sidebar post detailing information about the family who lost everything in the fire. See her post, and how you can help.

Winter begins on Wednesday (even though Saturday’s ice storm was a sure sign that it has already arrived). Please be careful when it comes to heating your home and discarding cigarettes and smoking materials. 

We’re back on winter weather watch 

Speaking of winter, how about that ice storm on Saturday? From crashes to canceled events, Old Man Winter showed up for the first time this season.

We’ll be watching VDOT and holding them accountable when it comes to pre-treating our roads. We can’t forget the bungle that was the commute from hell in January, where many people became stranded on highways and had to sleep in their cars. ‘

Dumfries Christmas Parade 

On a lighter note, I had the pleasure of announcing the 42nd Annual Dumfries Christmas Parade. Unlike years past, the performers weren’t allowed to stop in front of the reviewing stand. And, the location of the stand isn’t ideal, but none of that took away from a great Christmas tradition in our region. We posted the winners of the parade.

VRE extension prospects bleak

As we’ve been reporting, it doesn’t look good for an extension of Virginia Railway Express to Gainesville and Haymarket. It appears the cost — as much as $660 million, about $40,000 per each new rider gained between today and 2040 — outweighs the benefits.

While Prince William County leaders decide what recommendation they want to make to the VRE Operations Board (which will approve or kill the extension project), we’ll be watching this one for you. 

Wreaths Across America

And it is always fun to watch wreaths being laid at Quantico National Cemetery as part of Wreaths Across America. The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7916 in Occoquan sent us a story about their efforts to lay the wreaths, and we published it.

Thank you for your continued to support in our mission to inform our community by bringing you relevant, local news.