MANASSAS -- Delegate Lee Carter’s seat is up for election next year, and Manassas City Councilman Ian Lovejoy plans to run for it.
Lovejoy will announce his campaign on Saturday night at 7 p.m. at a small gathering in his house in Manassas.
“I’m certainly honored to have the endorsement and support of Jackson (Miller). I think that he certainly left some big shoes to fill,” Lovejoy said.
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PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY -- The last time Patrick Sowers ran for office was for class president in 1991, at Gar-Field High School in Woodbridge. Â
Patrick Sowers just threw his hat in the ring for the Republican nomination for the Prince William Board of County Supervisors in the open seat that Coles District Supervisor Marty E. Nohe will be vacating next year for his run for At-large Board of Supervisors Chairman.
Democrat LaTonsha “LT” Pridgen has already announced her campaign for the Coles District seat.
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WOODBRIDGE -- When it comes to the cost of removing children from trailer classrooms, $143 million may be too much to swallow.
The joint county/schools capital process team voted Oct. 29 to move forward with a $143.2 million plan to build new classroom space that would lead to the removal of more than 100 portable trailer classrooms stationed at Prince William County Public Schools.
The vote in the joint committee passed 5-1 with Prince William County  Occoquan District Supervisor Ruth Anderson dissenting.
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PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY -- Muslims have a new mosque in which to worship, and a worldwide religious leader held an inaugural celebration.
The Ahmadiyya Muslim community welcomed their fifth Khalifa (Caliph), His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad, to inaugurate the Masroor Mosque on Saturday, located at 5640 Hoadly Road near Woodbridge. This marks Mirza Masroor Ahmad's first visit to the U.S. in years on a tour that also included stops in Houston, Philadelphia, and Baltimore.
“Every time he is here, or we are near him, it’s heaven on earth,” said Dr. Nasim Rehmatullah, National Vice President of the Ahmadiyya community.
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WOODBRIDGE -- Residents on Tuesday night attended the first of three open house events focused on drafting the next Prince William County Comprehensive Plan.
Officials are seeking input from residents about its 2040 comprehensive plan which is the “long-term” vision for the county that lays out the levels of services.
Rebecca Horner, Prince William’s Planning Director, said the comprehensive plan is a 20-year document updated every 10 years. When the plan is updated, it is a way for the county to “make sure we’re staying in line” with what Prince William residents want.
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FAIRFAX --Â A popular eatery in Downtown Manassas opened a second location on Tuesday.
Miguel Pires, the owner of Zandra’s Taqueria in Manassas, expanded his business to Fairfax.
Zandra’s has “far exceeded what I ever thought we would do when we first opened,” Miguel said.
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Prince William County's fire chief Kevin McGee has got his eyes on the door.
Thursday night, McGee was interviewed at a candidate meet and greet town hall in Austin, Texas, where's he's one of three finalists for that city’s fire chief job.
The panel discussion with city officials and residents was an opportunity where the public could meet and provide input for the candidates to include Chief Joel Baker from Atlanta, and Chief Steve Landin from Laredo, Texas.
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WOODBRIDGE -- The numbers used to project how many children will fill Prince William County classroom seats in the coming years are inaccurate.
The projections are supposed to align with the number of new planned housing developments. The inaccuracies come as the county is in talks to budget $143 million for new school buildings to get students out of classroom trailers which are commonly found throughout the school division.
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WOODBRIDGE -- Prince William County supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a special use permit for Virginia Solar- a  developer based in Henrico County – to begin construction of a solar farm in Nokesville.
Nokesville Solar will be located on 331 acres at what was previously known as Dixon Farm on 13204 Warrenton Road.
This is the first utility-scale solar plant of this size in Prince William County, according to Matthew Meares, the principal at Virginia Solar.
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MANASSAS -- The Shining Sol Candle Company announced plans to put candles in a major retailer and expand its candle-making operation in Manassas. The company struck a new deal with a home décor store Bed Bath & Beyond where customers will find Shining Sol candles at the company's Pentagon City and Fair Lakes stores. Shining Sol also announced plans to work with a yet-to-be-named “legendary and iconic” musician’s charitable foundation. The move would follow company collaborations with rock bands Def Leppard, KISS, and others. The candle company was founded by Bret Michaels Band guitarist Pete Evick. Co-owner Deron Blevins said that working with Bed Bath & Beyond was “one of the toughest things we’ve done, probably the toughest process we’ve been through since being in business.” The candle firm needed specialized software to deal with the big box store in order to implement a process known as EDI -- electronic data interchange -- and needed to use barcodes. Shining Sol's success means the company needs more space. The firm is now renting space in a warehouse in Manassas owned by Buchanan Partners to accommodate increased production – a total of 3,100 square feet. The warehouse is located on Kao Circle in Manassas near Tucked Away Brewing and Osbourn Park High School. Expanding into the bigger space “Jumps them into the realm of not just four pallets, but 22 pallets of materials,” Blevins said, a major increase from their old manufacturing hub in the back room of the company's small downtown shop at 9109 Center Street. The company prides itself on selling soy wax candles with wooden wicks. Since the company's downtown storefront opened in 2016, “business has been very good,” added Blevins. Shining Sol's retail business picked up, and the company began selling wholesale to other stores across the country. The company will also be hiring, with Blevins calling the expansion a “leap of faith, but we have a good team of people.” The expansion will also mean the company will no longer make candles the back room of its downtown shop.  When not on tour with his band, customers can find Evick, a Manassas native in his downtown shop. “It has been so amazing, I couldn’t be more grateful for the time and the acceptance – it’s been an incredibly unique experience. I’ve been all over the world, but there is truly nothing like Manassas. It makes me proud to be from Manassas,” he said.
