Seniors should be some of the first prioritized to receive a vaccination for the coronavirus when it becomes available, the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living told the National Governors Association.

"Given that long term care facilities care for our most vulnerable when it comes to this virus and employ hundreds of thousands of essential health care workers, we urge that your plans to the CDC make residents and staff of these settings the highest priority for the vaccine. Long term care facilities are comprised of our nation’s nursing homes, assisted living and memory care communities, intermediate care facilities for individuals with developmental disabilities, and independent living communities," states the letter. Those who reside in long term care facilities are especially susceptible to this novel virus. The average age of residents in our facilities is 85 and almost every one of them has an underlying health condition, and some have multiple chronic conditions. According to CDC data, the risk of mortality in this age group is 630 times higher than those 18-29 years old."

“I fully appreciate the perspective the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living have shared,” said Dr. Stephen Smith, president and chief operating officer, Novant Health UVA Health System Haymarket Medical Center and Novant Health UVA Health System Prince William Medical Center.

Novant operates the Caton Merchant House assisted living facility in Manassas.

“We’ve been fortunate at Caton Merchant House, as none of our residents have contracted COVID-19. 'This can be attributed to our team’s commitment to following the best practices of social distancing, hand washing, and mask-wearing in the facility.”

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He's been politically active in numerous parts of the city for decades but has never run for office.

He'll probably never do it again, he says.

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Greg Neiss just wanted to do something nice for his community.

"I stuck a flag on the pole outside my house, and I've had it there for years, on and off, probably 10 years," Neiss told PLN.

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A town hall meeting will be held tonight at the Manassas Airport Main Terminal Lobby at 7 p.m. to weigh in on several topics.

According to the agenda, the items discussed will be proposed changes to the city charter, which would give the city's mayor the power to vote on a regular basis. Democrats now hold a majority on the city council and are pushing for a change the charter.

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Prince William County, Manassas, Manassas Park, and all the towns now have a Public Defender.

On Wednesday, September 2, Woodbridge District Supervisor Margaret Franklin hosted a virtual forum along with Chief Public Defender Tracey Lenox and Deputy Chief Public Defender Jenny Miller, as well as Occoquan District Supervisor Kenny Boddye and EJ Scott from the Prince William County NAACP.  

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Manassas city residents will get some tax relief for their vehicles.

The City Council voted on Monday night to approve the allocation percentage for personal property tax relief in the City of Manassas for the 2020 tax year.

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For Manassas, it’s the bypass.

The City Council unanimously voted to support a plan to extend Godwin Drive, creating a four-lane, four-mile Route 28 bypass. Known as “alternative 2B,” the road would connect with Route 28 at Bull Run, on the Fairfax County line.

The move comes after the council in July failed to endorse the bypass plan. Later on August 4, leaders in Prince William County voted to scrap it.

But last week, those same leaders reversed course, took another vote, and revived the road by opting to spend $89 million to design the four-lane road. The decision came following threats from the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority that it would pull the funding and allocate it to other projects.

As Manassas Vice Mayor Pamela Sebesky had said at the July meeting, “the city needs to wait for the Board of County Supervisors to make a decision before it can weigh in.”

“I think it’s presumptive of us a council to not allow them to make that decision and then support what the Board of County Supervisors’ decision will be in the near future,” Sebesky said.

And now that the county has spoken, city leaders say wanted their chance, and passed the resolution unanimously.

According to city documents:

“The City of Manassas remains a key stakeholder in this project. The Board of County Supervisors held a public hearing on the preferred alignment on July 14, 2020. After initially denying the request to endorse the bypass, the Board of County Supervisors approved Alignment 2B on September 8, 2020.”

Business groups like the Prince William Chamber of Commerce supported the bypass because it adds to the region’s existing road network, and would ease delays on Route 28 — dubbed Nothern Virginia’s most congested road prior to the coronavirus pandemic.

The bypass is expected to cost $300 million to construct and a total of 54 homes would need to be demolished.

Once the road is designed, those plans need to be approved by the Army Corps of Eginneers becuase a portion of the road will plow through wetlands of Flat Branch, located at Bull Run Regional Park.

Manassas has a new fire chief.

During Monday night's city council meeting, Mayor Hal Parrish swore in a new fire chief, William Garrett.

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In the waning days of summer, people are flocking to area parks.

On afternoon of August 30, Leesylvania State Park in Woodbridge and Great Falls National Park in McLean were at the capacity that day and visitors who didn't make it there early were being turned away.

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