In one month, Potomac Local News will celebrate 10 years of publishing local news in our community.

That’s a huge milestone — one that we’re exceptionally proud of.

Earlier this year, we had planned to throw a bash. Now, in the era of social distancing, throwing a big party in June is no longer an option.

But that doesn’t mean we still won’t be there for our community. In fact, we’ve been there for 10 years, reporting the stories that matter most.

In 2012, we were there in Triangle when Basim Mansour, owner of Michael and Sons Services, presented a deserving 15-year-old with a football helmet from his favorite team.

Or, how about that time when Shining Sol Candle Company, the Manassas Business of the Year 2018, was slapped with a no-trespassing order from the city while trying to bring wax into their store?

There was a cold January night in 2013 we were there to tell the story of the eight homeless families displaced from the ACTS shelter in Dumfries after a water pipe burst.

Later that year, we were there when community residents gathered early on a Saturday morning in Brentsville to chart the future of what would be Dove’s Landing Park, a place where the community gathers today.

In 2010, when people were beginning to fight for the right access Featherstone Wildlife Refuge in Woodbridge, we were there to tell the story.

When Stafford County named Access Eye its 2016 Business of the Year, the ceremony served as a grand opening for the recently-opened Jeff Rouse Swim Center. You guessed it. We were there.

In 2011, hundreds of Woodbridge residents were displaced after flooding rain from Tropical Storm Lee fell on the region. Again, we were there.

In late 2018, we investigated what led to the closing of the Flory Small Business Center in Prince William County — a place that helped so many small businesses in our community.

We walked on the Interstate 95 E-ZPass Express Lanes and took pictures, and spoke with construction crews while they were working to build the lanes so you would know what to expect when they eventually opened in 2014.

We’ve been there for the ribbon cuttings.

And Hylton’s big win over Osbourn in 2015.

And through it all, it’s you who have trusted us to bring you your local news. You’ve stuck by us, whether through good news and bad.

You’ve supported our advertisers — those locally-owned shops that need us now more than ever.

Thank you for all you’ve done.

If you value this kind of community journalism, and you have not done so already, please step up and support it today by becoming a Subscriber.

It’s only $6 a month, or you can SAVE $13 and subscribe for a year for only $65. Your support means we will be around for another 10 years to continue telling the story of our community.

Every day, the news is filled with the numbers of new coronavirus cases, and grim stories about those who died from the disease.

Local businesses are shuttered and people out of work. Some may never recover from this.

All of this comes as the coronavirus has shattered the budgets of our local governments due to the stay-at-home orders issued by the state and federal governments.

We’ve been reporting on all of this news.

But we’ve also been working hard to find good stories that bring us together—the ones that make us smile, and those that give us hope.

• Like this one, we published today, about a woman who learned how to sew so she could donate masks at one of our area hospitals.
• Or the one of a woman who dresses up in a pink bunny suit, walks her dog and waives to passersby to make them smile.
• Or, how about the story of how this restaurant brought a little joy to its employees that were now stuck inside due to social distancing.

We’re trying out best to cover the entire community. But it’s not easy.

Like many businesses, we’ve lost some paying customers — in our case their advertisers — and that has affected our operation.

So, I’m asking — if you value great, local, original journalism delivered to you daily, please consider becoming a Potomac Local News subscribe.

Our subscription rates have not changed  — $6 a month, or SAVE $13 by choosing to subscribe for a year for $65.

All it takes is one click to keep this trusted community news coming to you every day.

Thank you,

Uriah Kiser
Founder/President Publisher
Potomac Local News

Many of us are now working from home due to the coronavirus pandemic.

But that doesn’t mean we should forget the people in our work lives who make our days better, and our jobs a little easier.

Wednesday, April 22, 2020, is Administrative Professionals Day, a time when we recognize those who, in many ways, are the backbone of our businesses.

Administrative professionals take on important tasks.

• Bookkeeping and accounting
• Bill collections
• Customer service
• Answering phones
• Word processing
• Filing
• Maintaining records
• Answer 911 calls and dispatch police, and fire and rescue crews
• Sort and deliver mail
• Serve as your front-desk receptionist
• Process routine transactions at your bank
• Generate reports
• Take dictation
• Books conference calls, flights, hotels
• Keeps track of your employee birthdays and other important office dates
• Make photocopies
• Oversee junior staff
• Help to maintain a team atmosphere
• And much, much more.

On April 22, Potomac Local News will publish a special unlocked post recognizing Administrative Professionals Day. This is your opportunity to say thank you for those who are by your side, helping your business win.

Please use this form to include the name of your business, the text of your thank you, and a photo of your administrative professional or your team.

Don’t forget to include the name of your administrative professional, and to tell us how long they’ve worked for your business.

• It’s only $49 to have your well-wishes shared with our entire Potomac Local News community.
• If you have a paid subscription to Potomac Local News, it’s FREE to include your message.

Once we receive your email, we’ll send a quick invoice that is paid electronically.

We’ll be sure to include you in our post!

Bonus: Include a link to your business website in your email and I will also include it in our post here on Potomac Local News. Our website is highly ranked on search engines, so that’s a fantastic SEO value for your business just for saying “thank you” to those who help you the most.

I spent the past four hours scouring the web, looking for the Twitter handles of as many restaurants in our area — from Gainesville to Fredericksburg — that I could find.

Starting tomorrow in Virginia, it’s Restaurant Takeout Week, a chance for residents to support their favorite restaurants during a time when dining rooms are closed in the wake of a growing number of coronavirus cases in the state and in the U.S.

The event, a partnership between the state tourism corporation and the Virginia Restaurant, Lodging, and Travel Association lasts through April 5. While dining rooms are closed, customers are encouraged to order delivery or drive to get curbside pick up of their favorite foods.

Participating jurisdictions in our area include Fairfax, Fauquier, Prince William, Stafford, and Spotsylvania counties, and the cities of Fredericksburg and Manassas.

Despite efforts like these, and the Virginia ABC’s effort to loosen restrictions, almost overnight, to allow for the sale of to-go alcohol at breweries and distilleries,  the coronavirus is expected to have a major impact on restaurants across the U.S.

President Donald Trump last week told reporters that he expects many restaurants to close due to the pandemic. And, many more will reopen, possibly under new ownership, when the coronavirus outbreak ends.

That’s why I’ve been frantically searching the websites of local restaurants in our area to see if they have a Twitter account. As you’ll see below, we’ve sent messages to the ones we found asking those restaurants to Tweet to us their specials for Virginia takeout week.

I plan to post as many as we can into a post here on Potomac Local News so we can do our part to support local businesses.

If you or someone you know owns a restaurant, please share this post with them and ask them to Tweet us their specials @PotomacLocal. Please also share this post in any online community you may belong to.

Please help Potomac Local News help some of our local business owners who need our help the most.

VA takeout week: Tweet us your specials and we’ll share! @panchovillava @jukeboxdiner@lnbtaphouse @winerylagrang@phillytavernva@thebonebbq@uptownalleymva@outoftheblueva@DunbrisCafe

— Potomac Local News (@PotomacLocal) March 29, 2020

VA takeout week: Tweet us your specials and we’ll share. @Okras @CapitalAleHouse

— Potomac Local News (@PotomacLocal) March 29, 2020

VA takeout week: Tweet us your specials and we’ll share. @Okras @CapitalAleHouse

— Potomac Local News (@PotomacLocal) March 29, 2020

VA takeout week: Tweet us your specials and we’ll share. @OrneryBeer @KOdistillery @JiraniCoffee @BennyVitalis @MurLarkey @TinCannonBrewCo @AdventureBrewCo @GiorgiosFamRes @BadWolfBrewingC @pinkbicycletea@MadigansWaterfr @EileensBakery @BottlestopVA @foodeonline @PotomacPoint

— Potomac Local News (@PotomacLocal) March 29, 2020

Tweet us your Va. Takeout Week deals and we’ll embed in our news story. Let us help. @eatmonza@happyclamfburg @BarJChiliParlor @cj_finz @fattyscrabhouse@mummumnova@Zandrastacos @GlobeAndLaurel @timsrivershore@thesgcafe@MasonDixonCafe@mybellacafe @bluearborcafe

— Potomac Local News (@PotomacLocal) March 29, 2020

Tweet us your Va. Takeout Week deals and we’ll embed in our news story. Let us help. @eatmonza@happyclamfburg @BarJChiliParlor @cj_finz @fattyscrabhouse@mummumnova@Zandrastacos @GlobeAndLaurel @timsrivershore@thesgcafe@MasonDixonCafe@mybellacafe @bluearborcafe

— Potomac Local News (@PotomacLocal) March 29, 2020

The staff here is trained to greet everyone who comes through the dining room door with hearty “Welcome to Chick-fil-A!” But now that the dining room is closed to the public, that phrase isn’t being used there as much as it was only a few short weeks ago.

The staff now at Chick-fil-A Bristow have been working to serve their customers from the drive-through window and utilizing curbside pick up.

That means that, despite the coronavirus pandemic, Chick-fil-A’s faithful customers have continued to come to the restaurant to support their favorite eatery.

So with an empty Dining room, on Monday the Marketing Director, Karen Allam came in to brighten things up literally by setting up a table display of spring colors and Easter-themed decorations for the Team Members accented with Easter gift baskets that she made. Since their store Easter Egg Hunt and Store Anniversary celebration had to be canceled, she brought the prizes to them.

So instead of hunting for a golden egg to win the baskets, she set it up as an entry. Each Team Member, by dropping their entry blank into the entry box, has a chance to win one of the two smaller baskets or the big grand prize basket. The winners will be selected by random drawing.

The baskets, however, provided a nice change of scenery for the staff who have been focused on getting the orders out expeditiously through the Drive-Thru and complying with all the COVID-19 guidelines for customer safety and not much else.

Chick-fil-A Bristow is located at 9939 Sowder Village Square in Bristow, near Manassas. Its hours of operation are now 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays and 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday. The restaurant is and always has been closed on Sundays.

All orders will be now be picked up outside.

On this day that the president is set to be exonerated after his impeachment trial, I stumbled on to a memory that I didn’t even recall until now.

Mr. Trump, I want you to know that I’ve been impeached, too.

I was elected president of my sophomore class at C.D. Hylton High School back in 1997. I very much enjoyed being class president and attending the student council meetings. My fellow students would talk to me about what they would like to see changed in the school.

And, now looking back on it, it was also an ego trip, as many called me — yes — Mr. President.

However, as busy as I was with the student council, I also was the publisher and ringleader of a group of guys that published an underground newspaper that we circulated around the school. I’m sure that job title doesn’t come as a surprise to many, as I founded the online news website you’re reading now.

The underground newspaper was a mix of legitimate school news, like sports, and local news — much of it was stories I rewrote from the Potomac News, the old daily newspaper of Prince William County.

In addition to the news, lunch menu, upcoming concert dates for shows at Washington D.C.’s 9:30 Club and the old Jaxx club in Springfield, we had some humor in there, too, in the form of a parody of an advice column.

If I recall correctly, school administrators didn’t like our use of the phrase “pansy boy” written in the fake column, in a response to a fake letter from a fake person who wrote to the fake advice columnist, stating that they were afraid to attend school football games by themselves, without a large group of friends.

Looking back, it’s the kind of humor only a 15-year-old boy would find funny. The school principal wasn’t laughing, for sure.

After he forced me to shut down the newspaper, I was made to sit in front of a student review panel who asked me things like, why in the world would I produce such a newspaper? Did I think this was becoming of a student council president? And, given the choice to do it all over again, would I continue the print the newspaper?

While I don’t recall how I answered the first two questions, I do remember my response to the third.

“If there is another opportunity to inform students in a meaningful, constructive way, then yes, I would do it again,” I said.

That, apparently, wasn’t what they wanted to hear. I was removed from office shortly thereafter.

You can see a copy of the letter noting my impeachment and removal. I went by my middle name Alexander back then — Alex for short. With a first name that starts with “U,” I assure you, school children can make up some cruel nicknames. It wasn’t until I got a job as a reporter the old Stafford County Sun newspaper, about 10 years later, I embraced my first name again.

I don’t know why I’ve kept the letter all these years. Maybe because it’s a reminder that when we mess up, as long as you’re willing to work hard enough, you can get back on top doing what you love.

Doing the news is all I’ve ever wanted to do in life. I was 13-years-old when I got my first internship at a small NBC TV station in West Virginia. I fell in love with the idea of informing the community, telling the stories that really matter.

I’m honored that, all these years later, and after my bombshell impeachment (a term I use lightly), I’m still able to do what I love and have so many subscribers and advertisers that support this passion.

Since we launched our paid subscriber program two years ago, you’ve spoken and we’ve listened.

• “Why should I have to be a paid subscriber to read my local news? It was free before, so what has changed?”
• “I’d like to sign up for your free trial but I don’t want to enter my credit card info upfront.”
• “Why can’t I read 10 or so articles for free so I can decide if this local news website is worth a paid subscription?”
• “I like getting your morning email newsletter but it’s frustrating because I can’t read everything in it because I’m not a paid subscriber.”
• “I’m a paid subscriber but I’m afraid to share your content on social media because I’m afraid that other people who aren’t paid subscribers can’t see it, and it will make them angry.”

In February, we’re launching a newly redesigned weekday email newsletter and website at PotomacLocalNews.com that will be easier to read, with even more local content.

Plus — and here’s the big one — everything will be free and open to read up to a point, without the need for you to input a credit card, as long as you agree to pay later.

Here’s how it works if you’re not already a paid subscriber:

• When you click on a story, you’ll be asked if you agree to pay a small fixed price (55 cents or below) to read a news article.
• Read as often or as infrequently as you want — a few times a day, once per week, it’s up to you.
• We’ll keep a running tab of what you’ve read, and once you hit $5 you’ll be asked to pay to not only continue reading but to support our mission of bringing important local news to our community.
• If paying for single stories isn’t your thing, get to know us better by buying a day pass for about $3 that will give you 100% access to PotomacLocalNews.com website site for 24 hours (think of it as buying a single copy of a magazine at a newsstand).
• You’ll never have to give your credit card upfront.
• If you don’t like what you see after hitting $5, don’t pay. No hard feelings and we appreciate you stopping by.

Of course, current annual and monthly subscribers who are logged in will never be asked to pay as they already get 100% access to the site, always.

Not already a paid subscriber? Please subscribe today, and we thank you.

The changes represent our core mission in 2020: Make You Smarter About Your Community. Faster.

Your financial support is critical now more than ever. In fact, we’ve just seen another newspaper shakeup today as BH Media, owned by billionaire Warren Buffett, and the owner of the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star and Richmond Times-Dispatch announced it is getting out of the newspaper business and would sell all of its properties to a new firm, Lee Enterprises.

You’ll remember that BH Media was the same firm that purchased the old News & Messenger (formerly Potomac News and Manassas Journal Messenger newspapers) in Prince William County as part of a 163-newspaper acquisition from Richmond-based Media General in 2012, and abruptly closed the newspaper. Many of the same newspapers throughout the southeastern U.S. that were apart of the 2012 deal are also apart of the sale announced today.

In short, the old advertising model that used to support the delivery of free news is no longer sustainable as social media has allowed big businesses to place their advertising dollars elsewhere, and they largely no longer need the news to reach new customers.

According to a Pen America report:

• Newspapers have been hit the hardest, losing over $35 billion in ad revenue and 47 percent of newsroom staff over the past 15 years.
• Over 1,800 newspapers have closed, leaving more than three million people with no newspaper at all, and more than at least a thousand have become “ghost newspapers,” with little original reporting.
• As local journalism declines, government officials conduct themselves with less integrity, efficiency, and effectiveness and corporate malfeasance goes unchecked. With the loss of local news, citizens are: less likely to vote, less politically informed, and less likely to run for office.
• Because newspapers still provide the majority of original local reporting in communities, their evisceration robs the American public of trusted sources of critical information about health, education, elections, and other pressing local issues.

In recent months, Potomac Local News has hired new reporters to cover:

• Prince William Board of County Supervisors
• Prince William County School Board
• Prince William County Planning Commission
• Prince William County Board of Library Trustees
• Prince William / Manassas Jail Board
• Manassas City Council
• Manassas Parks and Rec Commission
• Manassas Regional Airport Commission
• Manassas Park City Government
• Stafford County Board of Supervisors
• Stafford County School Board
• Stafford County Planning Commission
• Fredericksburg City Council
• FredNats Minor League Baseball team

And that’s just to start. In the coming months, we’ll bring you coverage of other local boards and commissions you didn’t know existed, all of which play a role in how your local tax dollar is spent.

Plus, we’re launching new content over multiple platforms to include live stream, podcast, and YouTube, all aimed at introducing you to decision-makers in our community, as well as hosting in-depth discussions on the local issues no one else is talking about.

If you’re not already a paid subscriber, please become one today and tell us about the type of news coverage that matters to you. Play a role in your local news organization.

I can’t wait for the launch of these new features. I hope you enjoy them. =

As always, please let me know how we may serve you better.

Conservatives have momentum after yesterday’s peaceful Second Amendment rights march in Richmond.

Predictions of Antifa, or white supremacists groups infiltrating the march to incite a riot similar to what we saw in Charlottesville in 2017, didn’t happen. Governor Ralph Northam is taking credit for de-escalating what he said could have been a dangerous situation.

Now that the rally is over, those who showed up will undoubtedly continue to monitor the events in the General Assembly in Richmond that trigged the massive crowd of 20,000 people to descend onto the Capitol — proposed restrictions like limiting gun purchases to one a month, and red flag laws that allow the government to deny someone’s right-to-bear-arms if they are deemed a mental health risk.

It’s my hope that if the gun-rights debate brought them to the table, maybe they’ll stick around and become involved in the other issues facing local and state governments Perhaps, as many have said, the “sleeping giant” really is awake.

Attending meetings that cover topics like land use, school budgets, and transportation projects may not be at the top of everyone’s to-do lists, but it’s how the ditches of local and state government are dug. It’s where the community involvement process begins, and it’s where the notion of letting someone else decide your family’s future ends.

If the GOP is going to win in future elections, they’re not only going to have to pay attention to the issues, they’re also going to have dig in deep in Northern Virginia. It’s the state’s fastest-growing and most populous region. It’s an area that’s clearly friendly to Democrats, but it’s a place Republicans can no longer ignore.

During his run for Governor in 2017, Republican Corey Stewart spent a lot of time in the southwest portion of Virginia rallying the vote. He spoke to Confederate Battle flag-waving conservatives in hopes the votes from that region would carry him across the finish line in his Primary Election against Ed Gillespie and Frank Wagner.

Close, but no cigar. Gillespie became the GOP nominee and later lost to Ralph Northam by nine points.

Virginia is set to become the 10th largest state in the U.S. with an estimated 10 million people by 2040. That growth will occur in the northern part of the state, a key battleground that Republicans will need to engage if they’re going to win.

Conservatives shouldn’t be fooled by the sea of red counties on Virginia’s electoral maps. Most of those counties are shrinking in population while the blue ones are growing.

Thomas Speciale clearly knows this. The 2020 candidate for U.S. Senate has been spending his time at Prince William Board of County Supervisors meetings. Despite the fact that the county has been reliably blue since 2013, he’s been a regular at Board of County Supervisors meetings talking to voters.

Rich Anderson knows it, too. He’s vying against two other candidates to lead the state’s Republican Party in a contest that will be decided in May. After more than 10 years of statewide losses, the party is seeking new leadership, and the former delegate from Prince William County, who grew up in Virginia’s southwest city of Roanoke, may just be the man for the job with first-hand knowledge of both the southwest and northern parts of the state.

There’s a lot to be said of the role of the state and local press, too. In the past 10 years, more than 1,500 daily local newspapers across the U.S. have closed. The advertising model that once supported them has collapsed, with large companies no longer needing to place ads alongside the local news to get out their message, and instead opting for social media.

Because of this, basic facts go unreported, and meetings packed with decision-makers who control the purse strings of local and state governments go uncovered. It leads to a lack of understanding of the issues, and it leads to fewer and fewer people running for office.

Here at Potomac Local News, we’re focused this year on increasing the level of civic participation in our communities. Thanks to the support of our paid subscribers, we’ve hired new reporters to cover the Boards of Supervisors in Prince William and Stafford counties, and the city councils in Manassas and Manassas Park.

We’re soon expanding to cover the Fredericksburg City Council as the growth in that city cannot be ignored. And we’re covering meetings that, before now, we haven’t had the bandwidth to attend like the school boards, airport authorities, planning commissions, parks and recreation committees, and others.

We’re doing our part to make you smarter about your community faster. Let’s hope that these pieces of gun legislation that, for some, enraged, lead to more residents who are engaged.

We posted 2,893 stories in 2019.

That’s nearly 3,000 times Potomac Local brought you closer to your community — connecting you to the decision-makers, making you smarter about how the local news that affects your family, home and business, faster.

I’m grateful for the 730,000 users who trusted us, viewing our content 1.5 million times over the past year.

Thank you to our advertisers, and our nearly 500 subscribers who make bringing you thew news possible. Please subscribe today to support our work! 

With coverage of more local meetings, transportation, and the region’s newest baseball team the Fredericksburg Nationals, we plan to bring you even more coverage, by more reporters.

With a redesigned website, and with new reader options where even non-subscribers will soon be able to read now and pay later, we’re excited about 2020! 

Have a safe and Happy New Year!

Here’s a look at the most-read stories of 2019:

1. Driver killed in Route 17 crash identified 
2. 21-year-old man dies after found shot in Lake Ridge
3. Reserve at Long Forest headed to public hearing
4. Stores closing: Multiple mall shops dark in Fredericksburg
5. Colonial Forge High School mourns student killed in crash
6. Gun fired inside Hylton High School, lockdown lifted after weapon found
7. Manassas Park to once again require residents to buy, display decals
8. Smash and grab at Stafford’s newest liquor store
9. Manassas DMV to relocate to Prince William County
10. Stafford to New York City bus service starts May 25