You may have missed our Facebook posts over the weekend.
Our social media posting service had a hiccup.
Some of our content was posted to Facebook multiple times. By Sunday, nearly all of the content that we had posted on our Facebook page over the course of the last year had disappeared.
Thankfully, by Monday night the content had returned. So did our ability to automatically post content to Facebook (thanks, Facebook, for fixing whatever it is that was broken).
Those who follow us on Twitter, subscribe to our emails, or visit the PotomacLocal.com homepage did not see a disruption.
I’ve been paying close attention to Facebook since last fall when I was invited to mingle with other journalists from the Washington, D.C. area at the Facebook Journalism Project. It was day-long meeting in Washington to discuss how the social network is responding to its critics when it comes to accusations of “fake news,” and it was an opportunity to show journalists how to use new tools on Facebook to use to reach new audiences and to produce better journalism.
I’ve grown Potomac Local with the help of Facebook. I’ve used the social networking service to share on content since we launched in 2010, I’ve purchased ads on the service to increase the number of local Facebook users who need to be aware of Potomac Local, and I’ve boosted our advertising clients’ posts on the social network.
In recent weeks, it has been disheartening to learn that Facebook will limit the news posts users will see when they log into Facebook. After hearing that news, I urged our readers to sign up for our emails so they never miss a post.
If you want to make sure you keep seeing us on Facebook, there’s also a way to do that, too.
The changes for Facebook have many wondering if the social network is trying to figure out a path forward. Others question whether or not the move to limit the amount of news content you see is so the company can expand into markets without a free press, like China.
Monday brought even more Facebook news, as the social network announced that it now wants to show more local news to its users. That’s good news for people like me, other local independent journalists, and of course Potomac Local fans.
It was the best news from Facebook I had heard in weeks.
But then I had to remind myself that only a week ago Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said users should expect less news, and more feel-good content, as well as content posted by friends and family.
Keeping up with all of this has been a rollercoaster ride. But, it’s part of the changing business local digital media and local news.
Uriah Kiser is the founder and publisher of Potomac Local.
We continue our community conversations in 2017
Before any great journalism is made, a publisher must listen to his community.
As we prepare to ring in 2017, we’re also preparing for another year of producing great, quality journalism that is worth your time and attention.
Covering our communities in and around Prince William County has been our mission since we started in 2010.
You play a crucial role in helping us reach this goal. So, that’s why I’ll be at the One Degree Room, located at 204 Commerce Street in Occoquan, on Monday, Jan. 9, 2017 from 10 a.m. to noon.
Later in the week, I’ll be at Jirani Coffeehouse, located at 9425 West Street in Manassas on Wednesday, Jan. 11, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
During both sessions, you can chat with me, tell us what’s on your mind, and about what stories you think we should be covering.
Just as I was last month when we met here, I’m open to talking about any issue in our community from roads, traffic, transit, schools, parks, local government, business development, shopping, entertainment, etc.
Got a pothole on your street that’s been ignored? Know of a special person in our community deserving of recognition? Just want to say hello and drink a cup of coffee?
All of these are great reasons to visit.
See you soon. Happy New Year.
For a brief moment, we pause
It’s at this moment the world is merry and bright. Families travel to be with each other. Gifts of appreciation are shared. Memories are made.
The store windows in Occoquan are decorated with garland, while the buildings in Downtown Manassas are adorned with white lights.
A large Christmas Tree overlooks Stonebridge at Potomac Town Center in Woodbridge, while light continues to shine on our very own symbol of freedom — The National Museum of the Marine Corps at Quantico.
These sights are commonplace in our community at this time of year. The hustle and bustle of our daily lives sometimes make it difficult for us to stop, look around, and appreciate them for all they’re worth.
At Potomac Local, I’m appreciative of you for allowing us to celebrate another Christmas by looking back at all we’ve accomplished over the past year.
We’ve seen the opening of a new Re-Store which helps provide housing to some of our area’s neediest. We saw the renaming of a Dale City middle school and talked to the community who came to be a part of the process.
We learned about the histories of Aden and Smoketown — once settlements that today remembered best by the road signs erected in their honor.
And we saw the community crave sweets with the opening of a new doughnut shop, and lose their appetites when another favorite restaurant closed.
These are just some of my memories from 2016.
Your gift of continued support and readership of Potomac Local goes a long way in helping us to celebrate the season.
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Uriah Kiser
Publisher
Lots of great story tips at coffee session
My recent one-on-one with the publisher session at One Degree Captial was a success.
I enjoyed meeting with community members and business leaders in Occoquan, as well as representatives from the Prince William County Solid Waste Division, The Prince William County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and Associates in Gastroenterology.
We drank French press coffee (because what else do members of the press drink?) and swapped some great stories about our community. I learned a lot, and I appreciate the news tips.
I look forward to meeting you soon at another one-on-one session in January. Time and date TBD. Bring your story ideas.
Excited for the New Year
Here’s a bit of breaking news: Santa arrives in less than six days. Then the hustle and bustle of the holiday season winds down.
At Potomac Local, we’re looking forward to spending time with family and friends over the holidays. And then we can’t wait to learn what new developments 2017 has in store. The news never stops.
Seven fire posts in one day
We published seven posts to the site Monday about house fires. That’s very unusual.
In the case of the fire on Cosgrove Way near Dumfries, a concerned neighbor and Potomac Local community member Jacqueline Palmer sent us a sidebar post detailing information about the family who lost everything in the fire. See her post, and how you can help.
Winter begins on Wednesday (even though Saturday’s ice storm was a sure sign that it has already arrived). Please be careful when it comes to heating your home and discarding cigarettes and smoking materials.
We’re back on winter weather watch
Speaking of winter, how about that ice storm on Saturday? From crashes to canceled events, Old Man Winter showed up for the first time this season.
We’ll be watching VDOT and holding them accountable when it comes to pre-treating our roads. We can’t forget the bungle that was the commute from hell in January, where many people became stranded on highways and had to sleep in their cars. ‘
Dumfries Christmas Parade
On a lighter note, I had the pleasure of announcing the 42nd Annual Dumfries Christmas Parade. Unlike years past, the performers weren’t allowed to stop in front of the reviewing stand. And, the location of the stand isn’t ideal, but none of that took away from a great Christmas tradition in our region. We posted the winners of the parade.
VRE extension prospects bleak
As we’ve been reporting, it doesn’t look good for an extension of Virginia Railway Express to Gainesville and Haymarket. It appears the cost — as much as $660 million, about $40,000 per each new rider gained between today and 2040 — outweighs the benefits.
While Prince William County leaders decide what recommendation they want to make to the VRE Operations Board (which will approve or kill the extension project), we’ll be watching this one for you.
Wreaths Across America
And it is always fun to watch wreaths being laid at Quantico National Cemetery as part of Wreaths Across America. The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7916 in Occoquan sent us a story about their efforts to lay the wreaths, and we published it.
Thank you for your continued to support in our mission to inform our community by bringing you relevant, local news.
The 42nd annual Dumfries Christmas Parade was held Saturday.
This was my third year taking the microphone and announcing the marching groups, floats, and area elected officials who all participate in the Christmastime tradition.
I was honored to have Ms. Betty Covington on the stage to help me announce. Covington has done so much for Dumfries, serving as Dumfries Elementary School principal and later as the Dumfries District, renamed Potomac District School Board member.
In this day and age of video games, Netflix, and instant information, it’s great to see so many people bring their children to a parade, a time-honored tradition that brings communities together. Parents braved the cold and brought their children out on December day when temperatures never escaped the 30s.
From school dance troops, cheerleaders, Air Force JROTC, churches, businesses, the volunteer fire and rescue departments, and Santa and Mrs. Claus, there’s always a lot to look at the in the Dumfries show. All the marching organizations, bands, and floats were carefully judged they marched along the parade route. We’ll post the winners of the parade judging contest to Potomac Local as soon we have them.
The Toys for Tots float that appeared earlier this month in the Greater Manassas Christmas Parade held on December 3 that won first place at that event was also in Dumfries’ parade. We’ll see how it fared with the judges in Dumfries.
Going forward, Dumfries leaders may want to take a page out of Manassas’ book and move the reviewing stand to the end of the parade route at Graham Park Drive near Dunkin Donuts. Having both marched in the Dumfries parade, and announced the parade the past three years, I’ve noticed that many people gather at Town Hall at the start of the parade, and in a second large group at the end.
The announcer and the reviewing stand for the Manassas Parade are located at the very end of the route, at the intersection of Center and West streets. People line up along the over one-mile long parade route to see the procession, and then the participants are announced at the very end.
Very few people gather near the Dumfries parade review stand where I make my announcements.
The end of the parade is also a great place to snap photos, as many participants like to stop and perform for the parade judges to showcase their talents, and to show off their floats.
In Dumfries this year, parade marchers were told not to stop and perform in front of the viewing stand. However, some did and chose to dance or sing. Because their young hearts were enjoying themselves so much, who was we to tell them no? Where’s the Christmas spirit in that?
This year, the Dumfries parade was also competing with a series of events happening in eastern Prince William County, Winterfest, which also occurred Saturday. The festival was a daylong series of events that began with a Santa’s Lake Ridge Parade at Tacketts Mill, then caroling in Occoquan, capped off with nighttime fireworks at Prince William Marina.
Last year Winterfest was on the third weekend in the month, while the Dumfries parade has traditionally been held on the second weekend. With so many Christmastime events happening I’m sure it’s difficult to efficiently coordinate everything, but it’d be good to see the leaders of the small towns not competing for holiday event goers.
My hat is off to Dumfries Community Services coordinator Brittany Heine, who shows us what being a one-woman production is all about. Sure, Henie has help from many volunteers, but after years covering the town and participating in events, her role is the glue that makes the parade come to together.
Do you have a pothole on your street that has been ignored for some time? How about a dirty playground in your neighborhood that is no longer a safe place for children to play?
Maybe you have some good news, like an amazing friend who organized as successful neighborhood watch program. Or, maybe you have a teacher who went the extra mile to help her students learn.
These are all great stories, and I want to hear about them, and any others you want to share.
I’ll be at the One Degree Room in Occoquan on Tuesday, December 6, from 10 a.m. to noon. Sit down, grab a cup of coffee, and chat with me about whatever is going on in your neighborhood.
As your community news publisher, I’ll be sure to listen to your story ideas, compliments, complaints, and constructive criticism.
There’s no charge to meet with me, so come over and grab the publisher’s ear.
The One Degree Room is located at 204 Commerce Street in Occoquan, on the lower level of the One Degree Capital building.
By now, I hope you’ve made it where you are going for Thanksgiving.
For my wife and I, we spent the day traveling on Virginia highways making our way over the river and through the woods to grandma’s house. This is the third time we’ve made the annual trip to be with family for this special holiday.
Like many who traveled this holiday weekend, we braved lines, crowds, and delays to make it where we were going. For those who stayed close to home, long lines and delays at shopping malls and roads will also affect holiday travelers and shoppers.
The best gift you can give yourself this Thanksgiving is to be with friends or family. It’s these people who are there for us, who make us laugh, who are there for us to talk, and for the very best of them, give us a shoulder to cry on from time to time.
And, if you’re a good friend who returns the favor, your visit will be a gift well received.
I am truly thankful for my family who supports me in not only this project of bringing you our local news but in all endeavors. From improving our home, investing in our family, planning for our future, and taking care of our tribe of goats and pack of dogs, my family has been there every step of the way.
I hope that you have friends and relatives like this in your life and that you’ll be able to count your blessings, and for what you are thankful.
We’ll take a break Thanksgiving Day from posting local news. For us, it’s time to be with family and friends, to relax, regroup, and, of course, eat some turkey.
We’ll be back bright and early on Friday.
Happy Thanksgiving.
I saw the name of a Stafford County Sheriff’s Deputy, who was shot four times the line of duty earlier this week identified today in the media only through court records.
Thankfully, the deputy is on his way to recovery after a successful surgery.
We all respect those in law enforcement who protect and serve us. We, as a community join and rally around them to make a full recovery. We are saddened when they, god forbid, pay the ultimate price.
In this case, a reporter searching through court case records is the only reason we know the name of this brave deputy who is deserving our thanks, admiration, and goodwill.
“Initially, the deputy’s family requested that the injured deputy’s name be withheld. The Sheriff’s office complied with their wishes,” stated Stafford sheriff’s spokeswoman M.C. Moncure.
When three Prince William County police officers were shot in February, one of them fatally, we (the public at large and members of the media) knew the names of the officers within hours of the incident.
The Prince William County Police Department Public Information Office not only released the names to the media on the night of the shootings, but they also posted names and photos of the officers on the department’s social media accounts.
Officer Ashely Guindon paid the ultimate price on her first day on the job. Officers David McKeown and Jessie Hempen recovered, and were celebrated when they returned to the department for roll call — a triumphant moment that Prince William police shared on its social media pages.
In hours after Prince William police told us the names of the brave officers who were shot in the line of duty during a domestic situation, that information was used by citizens to create a rallying cry around fallen officers, and to show support for a police department that serves its citizens.
Within days, 1,000 people gathered at the county’s government center for a candlelight vigil to remember Officer Guindon, and pull together for the speedy recovery of the then hospitalized officers McKeown and Hempen. It was one of the biggest display’s of community support I had seen, and it made me proud to be from Prince William.
In regards to the Prince William department’s decision to tell us the names of its wounded officers, spokesman Jonathan Perok had this to say, “There isn’t a policy in that regard. It was a mutual decision that the department and families came to at the time. We saw a need in releasing the names and the families were consulted and agreed.”
Wouldn’t the Stafford Sheriff’s Office agree the actions of the Prince William County Police Department set a good precedent in this cases like these in the name of transparency, as well as a way to solicit support from its residents?
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In my nearly 20 years experience in local media, the Prince William County Police Department is not alone when it comes to providing its residents the names of its wounded police officers.
We are all grateful to the service given by the men and women of the Stafford Sheriff’s Office, and all law enforcement agencies that work to keep us safe. The ability to identify its members and support them in trying times like these should not be limited to those “in the know” or by those who are forced to search court case records.
Potomac Local, like many organizations, tried to get Hal Parrish and Jeremy McPike on stage for a debate this election season.
To our dismay, and to many of those who looked forward to the debate, it never happened. But it was not for lack of trying.
Our community news organization held more debates this year than we ever have held during our five years covering Prince William County. Candidates for state and local offices agreed to meet to debate and discuss the issues facing our community.
Potomac Local worked with the Republican and Democratic committees of Prince William County to secure the public schools we used as venues to hold these debates.
The debates were well attended, and discussion sparked from them made voters better informed. Our debates were far from perfect, but they were substantive.
Potomac Local didn’t sell sponsorships for the debate, and no one from my company was paid to be there. It was a true public service.
This summer, Potomac Local worked tirelessly to bring together McPike, Parrish, officials in the respective political parties, church pastors, and business leaders to come to agreement on when and where both candidates could meet.
We first secured Bull Run Unitarian Chruch in Manassas as our debate venue due to its central location in the Prince William region. Parrish’s campaign declined to participate and cited parking constraints as the reason.
We then secured a large meeting room at the offices of Home Instead Senior Care in Manassas. The McPike campaign did not want to debate there as they felt the location would be too close to Manassas Councilman Ian Lovejoy, who serves on the council with Parrish and manages the Home Instead offices.
Finally, we secured an auditorium inside a Prince William County Public School. The Parrish campaign declined to participate if the Prince William Chamber of Commerce did not participate in the event.
Potomac Local is a member of the Chamber, and I also know it tried unsuccessfully to bring McPike and Parrish to the table. Many who watch state politics closely, including Dr. Stephen Farnsworth, who co-moderated several of our debates, were eager to attend a debate featuring both candidates.
Potomac Local does not endorse political candidates. I know Parrish from covering the Manassas City Council where he serves as Mayor. I know McPike from my years of covering the Dale City Volunteer Fire Department where he volunteers.
McPike won a debate Potomac Local hosted in May, featuring two Democrats running against him in a Primary Election. It would have been nice to see if could do it all over again had been able to stand next to Parrish and debate the issues.
Another debate Potomac Local tried to organize at the Manassas Park Community Center, between Robert Marshall and Don Shaw was canceled after Marshall declined to participate.
Uriah Kiser is the founder and publisher of PotomacLocal.com.
