Jack Tiwari, a candidate for Virginiaâs 87th district in the House of Delegates, has decided to end his campaign.
Incumbent Delegate David Ramadan, who recently announced that he would not be seeking reelection, currently holds the seat.
According to a release from the House Democratic Caucus, Tiwari has stepped down due to his family, and his commitment to working on relief efforts in Nepal following the earthquake last week.
âI realized that my heart and that of many of my supporters was back in my home country of Nepal. It would be very hard for me to run a campaign while many of my friends and family are focused on rebuilding Nepal,â said Jack Tiwari in a release.
Tiwari currently serves as president of the America-Nepal Society.
Now that Tiwari is out of the running, John Bell, a retired Air Force veteran, has announced his candidacy.
Bell has previously run against Ramadan on 2013, and ran against Delegate Bob Marshall in 2009.
Manassas has seen some improvement in their crime rates over the last year.
The city recently released their 2014 annual crime report and found that with a population of 41,830 residents, that there are areas that have greatly improved â and some that still need improvement.
According to the report, there are around 21 crimes per 1,000 residents.
This rate is lower than the national rate reported by the FBI â but it is higher than nearby Prince William County, which has 16 crimes per every 1,000 residents.
While higher than Prince William, Manassas City has seen a decrease in their overall crime statistics, despite their growing population.
From 2000 to 2009, the crime rate in the city was 33 to 41 crimes, according to the cityâs report.
The report stated that there has been a 12% decrease in serious crime, an 11% decrease in reports, but a 16% increase in domestic violence-related events, a 65% decrease in graffiti, and a 12% decrease in DUI cases.
One area of the report that showed an increase was response times. According to the cityâs crime report, there was a 1 to 18-second increase for the response times of police officers, depending on the severity of the incident. Read More
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On Saturday, the Toby Keithâs I Love This Bar & Grill closed its doors for good at their Woodbridge location at the Stonebridge at Potomac Town Center shopping area.
The bar and grill had been open for less than two-years, following delayed construction of the site, leading up to its opening in 2013.
Both the locationâs website and Facebook page were removed this weekend.
According to Alicia Gerald, a Woodbridge resident, the closing of the bar and grill came as somewhat of a surprise.
âIt was the only place around here for mid to young adultsâŠI guess there wasnât enough people that wanted to actually go thereâŠI feel like it sucks, because Iâm not going to have anywhere to go on Saturdays with my friends in Woodbridge,â Gerald said.
Gerald stated that while she enjoyed the entertainment there, she didnât enjoy the locationâs food and service.
âThe atmosphere in there was nice. I never ate the food, because I heard mixed reviewsâŠand the waitresses and serversâŠthey werenât the bestâŠWoodbridge isnât a big place and this was the only happening thing to do where you could dance, but it was way too large,â commented Gerald.
For Kyran Wallenhorst, a manager at the nearby Soma Intimates location, it was a relief to see that the restaurant had closed down.
âOn Saturday I walked by [the restaurant] and there was this big handwritten âclosedâ signâŠI donât think anyone was that excited about [the location]. It was always loud â there were people always outside. It made me nervous for my own employees when they left at 10 oâclock at night. Weâre an all-girl staff â so we started having everybody park together, everybody walk out together,â said Wallenhorst.
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Community Thrift, a locally owned and operated thrift store on Sudley Road in Manassas, is struggling to compete with larger discount retailers in the area.
According to Leslie Morris, manager of the store, the amount of donations has decreased in recent months, as discount chains like Goodwill and Salvation Army have come into the area.
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Antonio Merrick, an Army veteran, has announced his run as the Independent candidate for Woodbridge District Supervisor.
Supervisor Frank Principi is the incumbent, and will be seeking reelection as the Democratic candidate. Steve Chapman will be running as the Republican candidate in the three-way race.
After serving in the United States Army, Merrick worked as a veteranâs disability representative for the National Headquarters of the American Legion in Washington, D.C. He obtained his Masterâs from Central Michigan University in Administration Leadership.
In the community, Merrick has worked as a representative from the Virginia Employment Commission, a human resource task force member for the Northern Virginia Technology Council, secretary for the Prince William Veteranâs Council, Woodbridge vice chairman of the Prince William Republican Committee served as a member of the Woodbridge magisterial district and a member of the Prince William Committee of 100.
During his campaign, Merrick would like to address county spending practices, over development in Woodbridge, and public safety.
âI intimately relate to the current experiences, expectations and realties of all the residents of Woodbridge. If elected, I will bring new and fresh ideas that would greatly enhance the quality of life for all the residence. In addition, I am confident I could create consensus on the Board of Supervisors that will not only benefit the residence of Woodbridge, but benefit Prince William County as a whole,â said Merrick.
Merrick lives in Woodbridge with his wife and two daughters.
Occoquanâs annual Art on the Block celebration will be taking place on Saturday, May 9 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Residents will be able to meet with local artists, view art demonstrations along the streets of Occoquan, and take part in a raffle to win a wildlife river tour by Rivershore Charters.
Many Occoquan businesses will be taking part, including Art a la Carte, the Artistâs Undertaking Gallery, Red Art & Design, Spiral Creations and The Loft Art Center.
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Twenty-three Triangle residents displaced by an apartment fire are now being moved in to new units today at Linden Park Apartments.
Prince William fire and rescue were on the scene of the third-floor apartment fire on April 28, when the residents in the building were evacuated.
Responders were able to extinguish the fire, which was ruled as an accidental fire from unattended food cooking the kitchen, but there is more than $275,000 worth of damage done to the building, said Prince William fire and rescue.
The Red Cross gave the 23 displaced residents three days in a hotel, and they are now moving in to new units in a different building.
âAll of the residents will be placed into other comparable housing they have on the property. So there are other apartments that are available. They will have a place to move to in the same complex,â said Susan Prince, a representative for the Finesa Management Group.
The day after the fire, management was able to help residents get in to the building to get essential belongings, but some areas were inaccessible.
âThe building was condemned but people needed to get into the building to get their credit cards and some clothes. So the management company was able to get the Fire Marshal to allow them to get back in â where possible,â said Prince.
Prince stated that they were honoring all current rent agreements.
According to Prince, there are plans to renovate and repair the building, but it will be a long time before residents will be able to be occupy it again.
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The Prince William Conservation Alliance is a non-profit group that was formed in 2003 by the community, in an effort to preserve some of the natural beauty in the county.
âWe are working to preserve and enhance natural resources through stewardship, recreation and education,â said Kim Hosen, director of the organization.
The group hosts talks, directs projects and makes effort to influence public policy to increase the countyâs conservation efforts, said Hosen.
They are funded through private project grants, and operate on an annual budget of $100,000.
The group works on several county projects
Among the groupâs many projects, one of the most notable is their purchase and preservation of Merrimac Farm â a 300-acre property in Nokesville.
âWe successfully formed a partnership with the Marine Corps Base Quantico, and the U.S. Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and together we raised $3 million and purchased the property to be conserved and open for public use,â said Hosen.
Additionally, the Prince William Conservation Alliance is currently working on beautifying an area near Minnieville Road, that needed a little TLC after nearby road expansion.
âWe have on-the-ground tree planting projectsâŠwe are restoring a 200 by 35 foot wide bunker between Prince William K-9 Gunner Dog Park and a dry pondâŠthe area was woods before Minnieville [Road] was widened. What weâre doing is replanting it with native plants,â Hosen commented.
According to Hosen, one thing that makes the alliance unique is their staff.
âWe are unique here in Prince William. We do have paid staff â which is a huge asset and a difference â because it allows us to carry on projects over time,â said Hosen.
Conservation has an impact on the community
For Hosen, the health and beauty of the environment has a direct impact on the quality of life for county residents.
âA healthy environment is a big part of a healthy community. And we all benefit from protecting our resources â through lowered taxes, and lower infrastructure needs, more attractive communities,â stated Hosen.
Residents can get involved with the organization by donating money, or volunteering to help with projects.
This article is part of a Potomac Local series of posts to highlight area non-profits.
Sara Townsend, a former teacher, has announced her run for delegate in Virginiaâs 31st district â which includes Fauquier and Prince William County.
Delegate Scott Lingamfelter, her opponent in the race, is the long-time incumbent for the seat, serving as a delegate since 2002.
Townsend has a Masterâs degree, and is currently a PhD student studying educational policy at George Mason University.
In the community, Townsend has worked as a volunteer with the United States Pony Club, as well as a team leader for a school curriculum development group in Virginia Beach.
According to Townsend, her career in the teaching field inspired her to run for public office.
âI loved being a teacher, and always wanted to be a teacher, but saw a lot of things over the years that made me exitâŠin those four years I saw a lot of friends leaving the profession â they loved their profession, loved their studentsâŠand they were just burning out, incredibly quickly. And there arenât enough teachers involved in writing policy,â said Townsend.
During her campaign, Townsend plans to address teacher pay and attrition, alternative energy sources and bringing more businesses and jobs to the district.
âWe need to be thinking long termâŠI think we should invest in some alternative energy resources, thinking again â what do we [want] to look like 50 years from now? Are what are going to be relying on for energy sources,â commented Townsend.
She currently lives in Catlett, in Fauquier County.
