When a computer fix-it-shop dedicated to solving its customers' problems needed some help of its own, it hired a set of new employees with a much-needed set of skills.

The uBreakiFix in Gainesville accepts cracked and damaged cell phones and tablet computers and makes them like new again. Owner Brenda Johnston, a former pediatric nurse at Fort Belvoir Hospital, turned entrepreneur, opened her first uBreakiFix in 2016 and quickly expanded to three stores.

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There are new several new places to chow down in Woodbridge -- all under one roof.

On Saturday, June 19, The EPIQ Food Hall welcomed hundreds of visitors for a grand opening celebration complete with a live DJ, face painting, a raffle, and the unmistakable aroma of food from all over the globe. Customers packed the venue to get a taste of the new food hall, a new business that seeks to bring a unique culinary experience to Woodbridge.

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Prince William County has been through a political transformation over the last four years. A majority of suburban voters chose to elect Democrats in every competitive House of Delegates district in the county.

Many blamed President Donald Trump for being the driving factor.

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When most people decide to run for office, it's usually because of a personal political cause.

Whether it is just to give people a choice on Election Day or represent an issue, most candidates merely talk about a subject.

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Republican Ben Baldwin is hoping to shake things up in the Virginia House of Delegates. 

Baldwin, 35, lives in the Hope Hill subdivision in Woodbridge, campaigns to represent the 31st House District, which includes a portion of eastern Prince William County and a portion of Fauquier County. 

Since 2018, the District has been represented by Delegate Elizabeth Guzman (D), a progressive Democrat who this year fought and won state-funded medical care for undocumented residents in Virginia. Baldwin says that he felt called to serve after seeing hyper-partisan legislation come out of Richmond over these last two years. 

“Virginians are pragmatic folks, especially in Northern Virginia. We are looking for workhorses, not show horses. Polarization has amplified things, but people just want the government to work and not be embarrassed by their leaders,” stated Baldwin. 

Guzman was part of that shift in political control when she beat Republican Scott Lingamfelter in 2017. Guzman announced this year that she would be running for her party’s nomination for lieutenant governor and then later announced she would run. The initial announcement prompted Democrats Rod Hall, Kara Pitek, and Idris O’Connor to declare their race’s candidacies. A competitive Democratic Primary will occur in June to decide who the Democratic nominee will be. 

The Virginia Access Project labels this District as “competitive,” as, in 2019, Republican D.J. Jordan bearly lost to Guzman by 5.4 points.

Last year’s electoral contests show that both counties are miles apart politically, though. In 2020, Prince William County, where 78% of the voters in the 31st District reside, voters overwhelmingly chose President Joe Biden by 24 points. Fauquier County voters chose President Donald Trump by 14 points. 

For the past two years, Democrats have had complete control over the state government’s legislature and executive branches. With that change in political power, significant legislation regarding voting procedures, abortion, environmental regulations, and many other areas has marked this direct progressive shift in political philosophy. 

“Democrats believe in the power of the state having ultimate authority, and thus they want it to have as much power as possible. Conservatives believe in the individual and that rights come from God,” acknowledged Baldwin. 

Baldwin believes the overreach of the one-party rule will help him in November. “Nothing animates Republicans more than the overreaching policies of the left that don’t make sense. It is not who we are as Virginians”.  

Baldwin believes voter integrity is one of those issues that Democrats have overreached on. “I want as many people to vote as possible, but the process needs to be open, fair and it needs to be trusted. Not requiring an ID, allowing ballot harvesting, and multiple methods of turning in ballots can leave room for error,” said Baldwin.  

Baldwin also wants schools to be open five days a week. He sees parents across the political spectrum united. As a parent, Baldwin knows his son’s difficulties with virtual learning and the stress it puts on parents and teachers. 

He cites Catholic schools as an example of institutions being open five days a week safely. Prince William County Public Schools have opened to all grade levels. Students may now attend school in person two days a week while being virtual for the other days. 

According to the school division, only 40% of the division’s 89,000 students chose to go back to school in person.

Baldwin is from Centreville. After graduating from Virginia Tech, Baldwin served in the U.S. Marine Corps for 10 years. His primary military occupational specialty was as a F/A-18D Weapons Systems Officer. 

For now, Baldwin is the only Republican in the 31st House of Delegates District. If another GOP candidate emerges, a nominee will be chosen in a May convention.

Baldwin lives with his wife, Nikki, and their 7-year-old son. He currently works as a financial advisor helping people plan for their financial futures.

For more information about Ben Baldwin’s campaign, please go to benbaldwinva.com.

Some Prince William County residents are part of the millions of people that need food to get through this holiday season.

On Saturday, November 21, Lake Ridge Rotary did its annual “Done-In-A-Day” food drive outside of a Safeway grocery store at Tackett’s Mill in Lake ridge, ACTS, and Lake Ridge Fellowship House be part of the solution.

Over a dozen civic group members donned masks and gloves to safely pass out shopping lists with requested items to shoppers who went into the store throughout the day. Items included canned vegetables, canned tuna, soups as well as hygiene items like toothpaste and deodorant.

Shoppers could deposit their items on two large tables covered with Rotary table clothes on their way out. Multiple individuals gave cash, which was used to buy more expensive items like denture adhesive.

The day started at 9:30 a.m. with two empty tables, but as the day wore on, individuals would bring both small and large donations to members to place on the table. At the end of the day, a tower of donated items stooks on the tables.

According to former Club President Allen McBride, over 1,600 pounds of food and hygiene items were collected — twice as much as was collected last year. Over $200 was collected as well to help purchase needed items.

“We have all been cooped up for a long time, and there is a lot of need out there, so it just feels good to give back,” said Lake Ridge Rotarian Diana Gulotta, who donated groceries to the effort.

Half of the donations went to the food pantry at the Lake Ridge Fellowship House, a subsidized senior living community for low-income seniors, located right next to Tackett’s Mill shopping center. The other half of the collection was donated to Action in the Community Through Service (ACTS), a local non-profit located in Dumfries. According to ACTS, they have been distributing, on average, around 60,000 pounds of food per month during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Thank you to all of the residents who donated to our food drive. The community really showed up to support those in need.  I am proud of our Rotary Club members giving of their time to help make Done-In-A-Day a huge success,” said Lake Ridge Rotary Club President Ben Hazekamp.

Lake Ridge Rotary was founded in 1988 and is part of the Club of Rotary International, which has a global network of 1.2 million members who work to unite people to make lasting change.

Lake Ridge Rotary has several annual service projects, which include Done-In-A-Day, bell ringing for the Salvation Army, and putting up flags near the McCoart complex. The Club meets weekly on Wednesday mornings at 7:30 a.m. in person at Tall Oaks Community Center, located at 12298 Cotton Mill Drive, and virtually on Zoom.

Some Prince William County residents who live in the Brentsville District, the most rural area of the county, weighed in on future plans to develop the region.

Increased development was a common point of dissatisfaction among many residents. Loss of green space, increased congestion, and overcrowded schools were cited reasons for why many oppose new development in the county.

Residents also said there was a lack of places for young people to congregate, as well as a lack of support for education, was brought up among other things topics but land use dominated the conversation.

“We need the county to commit to keeping the rural area rural and stick to what is allowed in the zoning,” said Brentsville District resident Tammy Spinks.

The majority of Prince William residents live in the heavily-populated eastern side of the county. For more than 20 years, development on a tract of land between Quantico and Manassas Battlefield National Park known as the Rural Crescent has been used to curb development on the western side of the county. New homes must be built on 10-acre lots, and sewer and water lines are prohibited without the permssion from the Board of County Supervisors.

The comments came during a virtual community conversation hosted by Brentsville District Supervisor Jeanine Lawson, focused on the future of Prince William County as directed by the Strategic Plan —  community-based document that is supposed to reflect the community’s desired future for the county.

First approved in October 1992, the plan focuses on items like improving transporation, public safety, and the economy.

Over 50 people joined Lawson’s Zoom call, which featured opeening remarks from the Supervisor, and comments from the county’s Strategic Plan Coordinator Kaye Wallace, as well as the Brentsville Strategic Plan Team representative Tahari Johnson.

The conversation was guided by the five questions below. Attendees were allowed to write their answers into the Zoom chat if they did not want to speak on the call.

The five questions were:
1. What do you like most about living in Prince William County?
2. What do you like least about living in Prince William County?
3. If you were in charge, what would you change about Prince William County?
4. What do you believe should be the top 3 priorities for the community over the next 4 to 5 years?
5. What other comments or insights do you want to share that would be important to PWC’s strategic planning process?

The first question asked about what people liked about the county started the conversation with a few comments being given. The dialogue increased exponentially when the second question about what individuals liked least about Prince William County.

The conversation topics varied when the next two questions were asked. Several commenters wanted the county to focus on increasing funding for support services for lower income residents as well as mental health services.

One resident cited how the pandemic has shown us where the real inequities lie in the community and that county programs have to focus on helping homeless and other disadvantaged residents. To see the summary list of answers given, go to https://www.pwcgov.org/government/dept/budget/Documents/Notes-August_25-Brentsville.pdf

“It is my hope that the voices of county residents are heard loud and clear. It was mentioned several times last night that there is a lack of trust in our county government, mostly due to land use decisions. This is the time to truly listen to the citizens of [Prince William County] and incorporate their vision into the Strategic Plan, not the vision of staff or those seeking to profit from the development,“ said Lawson.

As the virtual meeting wrapped up, residents were encouraged to continue participating in the process. Resident input is still being sought as the Strategic Plan Team. To give input to the team, e-mail [email protected] or call the Strategic Plan Coordinator at 703-792-7058 to provide comments for the Strategic Plan.

The year-long strategic planning process has reached the “community visioning” process where Supervisors are having conversations with residents, asking them what type of communtiy they want to live in. In December, a draft strategic plan will be created, and the Board of County Supervisors is expected to adopt a final plan in January 2021.

After months of investigation, the independent review of Prince William County Public Schools (PWCPS) Superintendent Dr. Steven L. Walts’ Twitter account is complete.

The Prince William County School Board has received a detailed briefing from the outside law firm it contracted to assess the division’s policies and activities. It remains to be seen if the information obtained during the investigation will be released to the public.

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Lake Jackson Volunteer Fire Department (LJVFD) Chief, Walt Davis, is retiring after 24 years of service to the community.

Earlier this year, Davis decided to step down after 14 years as department chief so he could spend more time with his grandchildren and to focus on the last few years of his career before retiring. His replacement has not yet been decided upon as the fire department will be holding elections for the new chief in September.

Originally, Davis was going to leave and the end of spring, but when the coronavirus pandemic hit, the volunteer fire department’s board of directors asked him to remain. Davis answered the call to continue to serve.

Davis’ interest in his profession started as a young child

Seeing the engines, watching firemen put out blazes, and helping people all interested him. During his time as a student at Woodbridge High School, he had a number of friends who served in the Occoquan-Woodbridge-Lorton (OWL) Volunteer Fire Department, something that heavily influenced him to become a firefighter, he told Potomac Local News.

When Davis moved to the Lake Jackson community, his wife Cathy joined the LJVFD auxiliary to support the fire department in fundraising. In 1995, a young woman lost her life that occurred in the community. A press conference was held afterward, and Davis went and listened to reporters being briefed on the incident.

After learning about those who answered the call, and being urged from his wife to serve, he agreed to join as a volunteer with LJVFD. With his newfound passion, he was able to get 20 other individuals to join as well.

After taking hours of classes and responding to calls for help from the community, he started to move up the ranks. He was named chief of the department in 2006.

Being the chief of a volunteer fire department is a multifaceted role that requires a large amount of dedication and commitment, Davis said. Not only do volunteer fire department chiefs have to oversee all the volunteer firefighters called to emergencies, but they also support the fundraising activities for the department and community events.

LJVFD hosts breakfast with Santa Claus each December that draws large crowds from the community. It also hosts several car shows which not only bring in revenue but also raise awareness for the department’s mission to serve the community.

Davis said that county residents are more aware of fire safety now than when he started 25 years ago. LJVFD hosts community events that educate residents about fire safety and sends volunteer firefighters to go into the schools to teach children about the job of a firefighter.

As the population in Prince William County continues to grow, Davis sees a challenge in recruiting new volunteers.

“Most families in Prince William County need dual incomes to live here, so most families have both parents working. On top of that, the requirements for training has gone up as firefighters take on more and more in the field. Lake Jackson is committed, though, to recruiting and continuing volunteering in Prince William County” said Davis.

LJVFD remains open to the retired military, career firefighters from surrounding jurisdictions, and other members of the community who want to volunteer close to home. Volunteers are asked to serve one night a week and one day every third weekend

As he spends his last few weeks as chief, he recalled many of the incidents that kept him busy all of these years, to include. house fires, car accidents, and a wide range of medical issues that now include a global pandemic.

“Through all the difficulties of serving as chief, riding on a rig to help someone always continues to bring me back to why I did this in the first place,” Davis said.

LJVFD is one of eight volunteer fire departments in Prince William County.