Call to Action is a column written by Volunteer Prince William Executive Director Mary Foley.

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Do you live in the Brentsville District? If so, you don't want to miss this FREE offer and event on Saturday, August 22, 2018!

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year: back to school!

For those of you heading off to college, that means you need to take along some necessities for maintaining as much of your lifestyle as possible in a sparsely furnished room with cinder block walls, also known as a dorm.

You’re smart enough to know you need to bring the basics — clothes, towels, sheets, blankets, toiletries. And you know you need pens, pencils, highlighters, notebooks — whatever tools of the school trade work for you.

But what about the rest of the stuff? We’ve put together some tried-and-true tips, based on the experience of students and parents, about what other items you might want to consider bringing.

Here are a baker’s dozen of the best ideas for you to choose from:

1. Coffee.

First things first: Get yourself caffeinated for class. If coffee is what you need to get going in the mornings, you might want to bring a small coffee maker. A Keurig-style machine can also give you hot water for tea, hot chocolate, soup or even an emergency dose of instant mac-and-cheese.

But mostly, it’s for the coffee. Sometimes, we’re all like Lauren Graham’s character, Lorelai, from The Gilmore Girls: “I can’t stop drinking the coffee. I stop drinking coffee, I stop doing the standing, and the walking, and the words-putting-into-sentences doing.”

2. Water bottle.

You also need to be sure to keep yourself hydrated. Many experts recommend drinking water first thing in the morning (even before that coffee). Lots of college cafeterias and even classroom buildings come equipped with water fountains (many of which are filtered) so you can keep that bottle full all the time.

3. Laptop.

Now we’re into the educational necessities, and a computer is at the top of that list. You’ll be using your laptop for everything from writing term papers to creating presentations to watching Netflix.

If you’re thinking about getting a Mac, or any other Apple device, this is the time to get in touch with the experts at Experimac Manassas because they have several Back-to-School specials now through Aug. 25:

• Get 15% off (up to $50) Apple laptops.
• Buy a MacBook Pro and get a free laptop cover. 
• Buy an iMac and get a free six-month performance tune-up.
• Prince William and Fairfax County school employees get 15% off (up to $25) any Apple product or repair.

Anyone looking for a college laptop should consider that Macs offer numerous advantages over their rivals, such as an intuitive operating system, built-in security defenses, and included apps and software. They’re renowned for graphics, video and music capabilities. And opting for a used or refurbished laptop is a great way to save money on college expenses.

If you already have an Apple laptop, the specialists at Experimac can perform diagnostics to be sure it’s in the best shape for the new school year. They can help you increase the speed of your Mac, store information on a hard drive or transfer data to a newer product.

As Ron Mosely, Experimac’s owner puts it, “We can get them running just as fast as — or sometimes faster than — new.”

Basically, these gurus can give your laptop the tune-up it needs to get you through the school year. And best of all — no reservation is needed and you can avoid those infamous long lines at the Apple store.

4. Cell phone.

Yes, this one goes without saying, but make sure you’ve got the right service plan. For instance, if you use a note-taking app, be sure you’ve got enough data to cover your needs.

And if your iPhone screen is cracked or damaged, you can get it replaced and get 50% off the screen protector you should have had in the first place at Experimac through Aug. 25.

5. Power cords.

Now that you’ve got your laptop and phone ready to go — along with anything else that needs to be charged — make sure you’ve got what you need to keep them juiced up. Dorm rooms are notorious for not having enough outlets, so be prepared with power strips, HDMI cords and extra long charging cables. An extension cord can be handy, too, but make sure they’re allowed where you’re going to be living.

6. Backpack.

Just like Dora the Explorer, you need a backpack to haul your stuff in. There are tons of options, colors and features out there. Ultimately, it boils down to what works best for your specific needs. 

7. Laundry supplies.

Yes, you have to do it yourself now, so you’re going to need the supplies: laundry detergent, fabric softener or dryer sheets if that’s your jam and possibly a lot of quarters. Plus, you need a sturdy basket to put it all in. And if you’re really prepared, you’ll also toss in a sewing kit for reattaching buttons that are bound to get lost.

8. Shower shoes.

Get yourself some flip-flops for walking to and from the shower — and for wearing in the shower. They don’t need to be fancy; cheap ones will do the job. But save yourself a case of athlete’s foot.

9. Umbrella.

You still have to walk to class even when it’s raining, so make it a sturdy one that can withstand wind gusts, keeping you and your books dry.

10. Dorm Decor.

This is very subjective. You can do as much or as little as you want here. The goal is to make yourself feel comfortable by creating the kind of environment where you can sleep and study, hang out with friends, or just chill. You can go all out with colorful bedding, string lights, tapestries, even peel and stick wallpaper. It’s up to you. As you will learn via a quick search of the words “dorm décor ideas,” there are myriad ideas online (and that’s before you look at Pinterest).

11. Command strips.

You’re going to need something to hang your decor on those cinder block walls, which means those handy peel-and-stick Command strips are about to be your new best friend.

12. Cold medication.

Here’s some real advice from a real college student — Hannah Kanfer, a writer for Her Campus at George Mason, which pretty much makes her an expert on what to bring.

“If you want to know how most of my bonus bucks were spent, it was me walking in to One-Stop at awful hours of the night just for Nyquil or some cough drops,” Kanfer wrote. “We should all just accept that you’re going to get sick at least once a school year (because college is a life-size petri dish), and if you’re one of the lucky ones who doesn’t get sick, give it to a friend in need (like me).”

13. And finally, snacks.

As Kanfer explained, “Not once during college did I think, ‘I have too many snacks.’ Admittedly, this tip may encourage the sophomore/junior/senior 15, but let’s be real, a bag of Cheetos always sounds good.”

Final advice: Don’t overdo it here. If you forget something, you can always get it later. Maybe your parents want an excuse to come visit or send you a care package. Or maybe you need a reason to spend a weekend back at home. Just don’t over pack; you’ll be fine.

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CenterFuse, a co-work space and small business incubator located in Historic Downtown Manassas, took home top honors in the Outstanding Business of the Year category at the recent Virginia Main Street (VMS) Conference in Harrisonburg, VA.  CenterFuse is a cooperative/collaborative workspace that offers professional services and support to start-up businesses and emerging ventures.  It also serves as office space for telecommuters or small businesses that prefer a full-service working environment in lieu of fast food restaurants and coffee houses.  

CenterFuse was founded by the principals of ECU Communications and Whitlock Wealth Management as a for-profit venture.  The City of Manassas provided an economic development grant to offset initial startup costs because of the economic benefit that comes from having an entrepreneurial center in Downtown.  Historic Manassas Inc., the City’s Virginia Main Street program, manages the space in keeping with the non-profit’s goal of promoting economic vitality.  All three public/private partners see the co-work space as an opportunity to promote an entrepreneurial culture and to home grow small businesses throughout the Greater Manassas region.  This unique partnership is a large part of what led to the award and recognition by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) as being the best-in-class Business of the Year.

The award was presented by Virginia Deputy Secretary of Commerce and Trade, Cassidy Rasnick, and DHCD Director Erik Johnston.  ECU’s Ken Krick, Whitlock Wealth Management’s Bennett Whitlock, Manassas Economic Development Director Patrick Small and Historic Manassas, Inc.’s (HMI) Executive Director Debbie Haight attended the luncheon to receive the award. 

CenterFuse has long and short-term space rental available as well as day passes for the occasional user.  The range of services includes access to business equipment, conference space with audio/visual capability, a receptionist, mail boxes and a free coffee bar and kitchenette.  One of the most appealing features of CenterFuse is its location near the VRE station and the bustling activity of the nearby restaurants and shops in Historic Downtown Manassas.

Last week, Governor Ralph Northam announced that Virginia finished the fiscal year with  $551.9 million more in revenue that we projected when writing this year’s budget.

First, the good news is that most of this surplus is due to increased tax revenue from payroll withholding taxes, not one-time revenue sources like capital gains or tax avoidance strategies related to the recent changes in federal tax laws.  The Virginia economy has truly started to perform again.

However, it is important to keep these numbers in context.  The state’s General Fund has been under significant stress over the decade since the Great Recession and automatic federal spending cuts caused by a process called a “sequester.”  In the nine years, I have served in the General Assembly, this is the second fiscal year that the Commonwealth has experienced revenue growth equal to or greater than the historical average.

Because of our state Constitution, other state laws and the budget, all of these  “new” funds are already allocated.  Our laws require that 10 percent or $55 million go to the Water Quality Improvement Fund and that the $500 million balance be contributed to Virginia’s Revenue Stabilization (“Rainy Day”) Fund, which before the 2018 General Assembly session had dropped to historically low levels due to frequent, sluggish revenues.  Bond rating agencies had also expressed concern about the lower balances and had indicated that our AAA bond rating could be adversely impacted without significant contributions.

While everyone would love to have a tax cut, the General Assembly has enacted dozens of tax cuts over the past two decades, including car tax relief, estate tax repeal and removing the sales tax on food.  These tax cuts have completely offset the effect of any tax increases that passed.  As a result, most General Fund programs have been starved.   

Here are some examples.

Virginia’s per pupil, elementary-secondary education expenditures are the 15^th lowest in the nation and our teacher salaries are the 13^th lowest.  Virginia’s meager state-funded preschool program is still in its infancy. 

Virginia theoretically set a goal for the state to support 66 percent of the cost of attending college, funding that actually existed when I attended James Madison University from  1989 to 1993.  The state now only covers about 33 percent of the cost.  This has caused tuition at our state-supported institutions to skyrocket so that tuition rates at these colleges have become the fourth highest in the United States of America.

There are 10,000 families on Virginia’s waiting list for Medicaid waivers.  These are families with fully disabled juvenile and adult children who are incapable of living independently.  A Medicaid “waiver” allows them to live at home or in group homes funded by the Commonwealth.  Many families, such as military families, move to Virginia only to learn that our state is not supporting these services, services that are basic in most states.

State employee salaries continue to lag behind the private sector.  Recent reports have concluded that state employees would need a 26 percent pay increase to reach private sector parity.  State attorneys’ salaries are 90 percent lower than comparable private sector salaries.  Until this year, the Virginia State Police had not had any new trooper positions authorized in over a decade. 

Environmental enforcement in Virginia is severely limited by inadequate staffing.  Former Governor George Allen cut employees by 20 percent during his term and the Department of Environmental Quality has never recovered.  We struggled to find funds this year to pay for actual staff at the newly-created Widewater State Park in the 36^th District.  The state has been sitting on the 1,000 acres for 30 years but has not had the money to open the park.   

Transportation is funded entirely separately by completely different streams of taxes mainly related to transportation such as gas taxes, annual fees and sales taxes on vehicles.  We were only able to restart maintaining our roads and investing in new transportation projects after we increased taxes in the 2013 General Assembly session. 

At the end of the day, the new funds are good news, but there are dozens of state-funded programs which are desperate for fresh funding. Please continue to provide your feedback as to how we should prioritize spending if we are fortunate enough for revenue to continue increasing.  You can reach me at [email protected].

It is an honor to serve as your state senator.