Manassas is moving ahead with an expansion of this city museum that will not include a new public library.
The $3.9 million expansion will provide enough room for 135 people to sit during events or as room to display new exhibits. The goal is to have this done by the 150th anniversary of Manassas' incorporation into a town on April 3, 2023. Manassas later became a city in 1975.
Officials began exploring expansion possibilities in 2008, but these plans were set aside due to the economic conditions. Later in 2017, city officials began floating the idea of building a new library on the museum grounds, so the two facilities would sit next to each other.
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A new exhibit was launched this month at the Manassas Museum called "Manassas Faces," which uses faces of city residents to tell the story of life in Manassas.
This exhibit features local residents, past and present, that have made a significant impact on Manassas and the surrounding community, but who are often overlooked.
There are 10 to 15 faces on the exhibit that was created by museum curator Mary Helen Dellinger.
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Drivers traveling over across the Occoquan River on Route 1 have seen their share of orange cones in the past few years.
A project to widen the road from four to six lanes between the river and Mary's Way, across from Marumsco Plaza, just wrapped up.
Now the Virginia Department of Transportation is looking to modify the intersection at Routes 1 and 123. It's once again talking about putting a bridge over the highway, providing more direct access to the Belmont Bay neighborhood -- something its been talking about for the past 10 years.
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As the region continues to reopen after the pandemic, a new events center aims to bring events like combat sports, weddings, receptions, plays, movie screenings, and more to Manassas.
The Salisbury Center will be an event center that specializes in live events serving refreshments and using video to enhance productions. There are three local partners behind the company.
The center will be located inside the old Manassas Theaters 4, at 8990 Mathis Avenue.
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The cicada's clicking hum starts slow and builds to a crescendo that conjures images of a hot summer day when Slurpees ruled, and Big Buddies were the gum of choice.
This summer happens to be the year of the "Brood X," the cicada type that comes out once every 17 years. These bugs have been in hibernation since 2004 when George W. Bush was thinking about his second term, YouTube was gaining momentum, and the highlight of the Super Bowl was Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction."
The Brood X is just one of a few types of cicadas that come out on schedule when the ground is regularly about 64 degrees Fahrenheit, which is around mid-May. They aren't everywhere either, just around the southeastern U.S. and as far west as the Ohio area, but the lines are blurred a bit - who's watching them anyway?
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Campers in our region are lucky to live in an area where it's feasible to leave the office about 4 p.m. on Friday and then find themselves sitting in one of the many local camping destinations, roasting a hot dog on an open fire no more than two hours later.
With the weather warming up and campgrounds open, this will be the case for many.
The first and largest local campground is Prince William Forest Park, a National Park just north of Quantico on the side of Interstate 95. The park's Oak Ridge Campground, a 100-site, wooded campground capable of accommodating tents, RVs, and trailers.
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Let's face it, sometimes stuff piles up in the house, shed, or garage.
Before you know it, a film crew taping an episode of "Hoarders" could come knocking at your door.
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When the commotion at the U.S. Capitol started on January 6, Tech. Sgt. Amanda Smialek was ordered to report for duty.
Her Air National Guard unit the next day and be ready to jump into her job as a medical technician.
"My phone starts blowing up," she said. The next day "I had to report, to provide medical support for all the Air National Guard units that were called in, I was one of three medical specialists in the Capitol."
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In the late 1990s, local rocker Eddie Anzueto broke out of his signature rock-n-roll mold and approached early hip-hop band “Salt-N-Pepa” with an idea.
He suggested to the group, known for their smash hits like “Push It” and “Whatta Man,” that they perform together on a song called “The Clock is Ticking.” The single appeared on Salt-N-Pepa’s “Brand New,” the group’s album released in 1997. It would be the group’s final studio album before the group broke up five years later.
“The Clock is Ticking” turned out to be a hit. The album was declared gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. Critics hailed the album for its piano and guitar sounds, a departure from the group’s previous albums.
As the clock ticked on Anzueto’s musical career, over time, it evolved, and he focused on other projects.
Now a drummer with the Fringe Benefits Band, his time with Salt-N-Pepa a distant memory, Anzeto played a gig this past New Year’s Eve at the Electric Palm restaurant near Occoquan. While there, he was recognized on stage with a golden record plaque. It was a gift from the Recording Industry Association of America, orchestrated by band manager Bruce Moore.
Months earlier, Moore found out about the Salt-N-Pepa song, and that put the wheels in motion to get him recognized.
“I was able to make it happen,” Moore said.
Anzueto was surprised that night. Doing his best Rocky Balboa imitation, he hoisted the gold record over his head. It was a scene reminiscent of “Rocky” atop the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s stairway.
The crowd at the electric Palm went wild, and when it came to the plaque presentation, they made him crawl out from behind the drums set.
“It was a huge surprise to me,” Anzueto said. The whole place erupted in a chant, “Eddie, Eddie, Eddie.” It was all spur of the moment.
“The award was not really something I was thinking about over the past few decades,” he said,
It all started back when Salt-N-Pepa was hammering out their first big hit, “Push It,” in 1987. Over the years, the group sold 15 million records.
There were only three members of the band, Cheryl “Salt” James, Sandra “Pepa” Denton, and Deidra “DJ Spinderella” Roper.
Salt-N-Pepa’s music fell into mixed rap and hip-hop genre, a music-style born after Aerosmith got on stage with Run DMC a few years earlier and collaborated on Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way.”
Although the Aerosmith-Run DMC collaboration wasn’t on Anzueto’s mind when he came up with the idea to join Salt-N-Pepa in a song. “That was a similar thing,” said Moore, although the two events were nearly 10 years apart.
He talked over his plan with Salt, aka Cheryl James. She was okay with any shenanigans that Anzueto brought to the song.
“She gave me some musical freedom,” he said. In the music industry, it sometimes takes stepping outside the box, and in this case, it worked. The album went on to sell big and win an award.
Salt-N-Pepa broke up in 2002, went their separate ways for five years before getting back together. They are still performing together from time to time, without DJ Spinderella.
Anzueto now has a place in music history and a plaque to prove it. It sits on the shelf right now, but not for long.
“I’ll find a spot for it,” he said.
The coronavirus pandemic continues to hurt the hotel industry in Prince William County.
The county's hotel occupancy spiked a bit in October but has fallen into a slump, exasperated by the lack of traveling this holiday season due to the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the Prince William County Economic Development Authority, hotel stays increased slightly in October 2020 as occupancy rates averaged 54.3%, up from 53% in the previous month. Over the holidays, however, hotel traffic slowed down. According to the same report from the Economic Development office, transient occupancy tax collections -- a tax paid by hotel guests -- are down nearly $300,000 in the third quarter of 2020 compared to the last quarter.
