As the Environmental Protection Agency prepares to regulate a group of chemicals called PFAS in drinking water throughout the country, a preliminary test in 2021 showed that the water on the eastern side of Prince William County comes from the Occoquan Reservoir and was over the newly proposed limit.? Read More
A group of leading Prince William County Republican Party voices is denouncing Republican candidate for Board of County Supervisors chair Kenn Knarr as a “Democrat masquerading as a Republican.”
For Prince William County’s youngest school board candidate, Jaylen Custis, an appearance at a recent Moms for Liberty meeting had significant consequences.
By Madison Hirneisen
(The Center Square) – Virginia will offer a tax credit for the purchase of a firearm safety device, including gun safes and lock boxes, under a bill signed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin this week.
Under the tax credit, which takes effect in July and applies to taxable years 2023 through 2027, Virginians who purchase a gun safe, lock box or other device that can be used to store a firearm can be eligible for a tax credit of up to $300. The credits will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis in an aggregate amount of $5 million per taxable year.
While most firearm-related measures introduced in the General Assembly this session were defeated, this bill, HB 2387, passed with broad bipartisan support. It was also supported by both the National Rifle Association and Everytown for Gun Safety.
In a statement to The Center Square, the bill’s author Del. Alfonso Lopez, D-Arlington, called the measure “a significant step in the right direction towards addressing safe storage of firearms.”
“I thank Governor Youngkin for signing into law this common sense and bipartisan bill,” Lopez said. “There is so much more we need to do to promote sensible gun violence prevention in Virginia. I hope this signals an openness to finding a path forward on common sense gun violence prevention measures that can save lives in our Commonwealth.”
The bill was introduced on the heels of a shooting at a Virginia elementary school, where a 6-year-old student shot and wounded his teacher with a 9mm handgun owned by his mother. A lawyer for the child’s mother previously said the gun was secured on the top shelf of the mother’s closet, as reported by the Associated Press.
According to statistics from Everytown for Gun Safety – a gun violence prevention organization – 1,121 people die by guns in Virginia on average each year. Between 2012 and 2021, the rate of gun deaths in Virginia increased 42% compared to a nationwide increase of 39%.
Research indicates safe firearm storage can help prevent gun deaths and injuries among children. Firearms are the leading cause of death for children in the United States, according to an analysis published in 2022 from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Democratic lawmakers in the General Assembly introduced several bills this year surrounding gun safety in the commonwealth, including bills to prohibit individuals from carrying assault weapons in certain public areas and prohibit the sale of unserialized weapon parts, better known as “ghost guns.” Some Republican lawmakers introduced legislation to repeal state gun laws.
Most measures introduced by both Republicans and Democrats surrounding firearms were killed in the politically-divided General Assembly this session.
Representatives from the NRA and Everytown for Gun Safety could not be reached for comment regarding the governor signing HB 2387.
A judge on Friday set a new trial date for former Prince William County Registrar Michele White in connection to accusations by Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares’ office that she altered local results of the 2020 presidential election.
The latest plans for a replacement of Jennie Dean Elementary School feature another pre-kindergarten to fourth-grade elementary school built with the same layout as Baldwin Intermediate and Elementary School, which opened in 2016.
After hearing objections and complaints from scores of citizens and environmental watchdogs, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has modified a proposed change to state rules that would allow data centers to run their generators as needed when the electric grid is strained.
Prince William County Executive Chris Shorter proposed major pay increases for county employees and a 5.3-cent real estate tax reduction Tuesday night, all part of his $1.61 billion budget proposal for the 2024 fiscal year.
Insidenova.com has more on the story:
The Board of County Supervisors has proclaimed February 28 “Montford Point Marine Day.” In doing so, the community commemorates the first African American recruits in the Marine Corps trained at the Montford Point in North Carolina.
During the early 1940s, the United States was preparing to enter World War II and needed recruits. But President Franklin D. Roosevelt faced a problem; Hiring discrimination based on race was still the norm in the defense industry.
At the same time, Civil rights leaders were organizing for change. A. Philip Randolph, who had organized and led the first African American labor union, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, was planning a march on Washington D.C. to pressure President Roosevelt to open the defense industry to Black Americans. The president initially resisted this effort, but as the march grew closer and after much pressure from his wife Eleanor, Roosevelt conceded.
On June 25, 1941, the president signed Executive Order 8802, prohibiting racial discrimination in the defense industry or government. At last, all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces were open to African Americans. Between 1942 and 1949, approximately 20,000 African American men completed recruit training under harsh conditions on a still racially segregated base in North Carolina known as Montford Point.
Montford Point Is now part of Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, the main Marine Corps infantry base for the East Coast, and is called Camp Johnson after one of those first Black marines. The Montford Point Marines were determined to serve and fight for their country abroad as heroes, even though they faced segregation when they returned home.
On November 23, 2011, President Barack Obama signed into law the legislation awarding the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor bestowed by Congress, to the Montford Point Marines.
Prince William County is home to Quantico Marine Base in the Potomac District, and the county is home to many veterans and active service members who are the beneficiary of sacrifices made by the Montford Point Marines, which is why the County has set aside this day, February 28, 2023, to recognize and honor their legacy.
Master Gunnery Sgt. Carroll W. Braxton, 98, one of the Montford Point Marines, attended and spoke at the ceremony commemorating the trailblazing Marines.
“You couldn’t even realize what we had to go through to be a Marine,” Braxton said. “You know it’s kind of tough when you’re going to fight for your country, and you are told you are not wanted. You don’t belong here. We don’t need you here, and you will never be a Marine, but after 11 weeks of going through Hell, you see, I’m standing here.”
After boot camp, Braxton was one of a few Marines sent to the Pacific Theater.
“We went to the Pacific, and would you believe we weren’t segregated? We joined the white marines on those Islands. And you know, it was a strange thing, bullets don’t have black or white, and we found that out, and the white Marines found out that we could do what they could and maybe a little bit better because we wanted to. We wanted to prove that we could fight for our country and we were equal to anybody else that fought for their country. We had to fight for our country, and now we are still, I hate to say, still fighting a little bit. It’s better, but it could be a whole lot better.”
-Story by Prince William County Government
