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The addition of the events calendar marks a return of the popular feature to Potomac Local News. The events calendar is part of a host of new site improvements that we’ve made since Thanksgiving 2021.
- Since then, we’ve added a cleaner homepage designed for more content discovery.
- A new Community Post feature that allows businesses and non-profit organizations to pay a small fee to post their event on our homepage and in our News Email (18,000+ subscribers).
- And we’ve expanded our reach after joining forces with Local News Now, LLC, publishers of ArlNow.com (Arlington), alxnow.com (Alexandria), and FFXnow.com (Fairfax).
We hope you enjoy the new calendar. Thank you to our nearly 500 paid members who want 100% early access to our content and our regular readers for your continued support of local news in our communities.
The hustle and bustle of the holiday season are upon us. I’m surprised at how fast it creeps up on us every year.
This Thanksgiving, as we do each year, will take a break for a holiday and reflect on the many blessings in our lives.
This is my 13th Thanksgiving as the founder and publisher of Potomac Local News. I’m grateful for the many people like you, our members, advertisers, and freelance writers I’ve had along the way who have helped me build this business into a product you read and trust daily.
This year, we’ve made strides with the local school divisions in Stafford and Spotsylvania counties and Manassas to bring on work-based learning students who are eager to help us write stories, post content to our website, and tell the stories of our communities. I’m proud of our student interns and of the work they’ve done.
Thank you to our members whose financial support goes to pay for the program to give these opportunities to high school and college students.
On Thanksgiving, I look forward to spending my day with my family, away from a computer screen. I hope you, too, take some time to enjoy the holiday.
We’ll see you again on Friday.
Oh, and don’t forget about the upcoming Small Business Saturday. So many mom-and-pop merchants in our community need your support to keep the lights shining.
The new restaurant at 3330 Pine Bluff Drive, just off Route 1, will be the largest of its kind in the Mid-Atlantic region. Crews will raze a building that used to house an Applebee's restaurant.
The new Chick-fil-A will have three drive-through lanes. The first two lanes would accommodate 48 cars, while a third lane would fit 18 more and be opened during peak business hours, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
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On November 14, 2022, a judge dismissed charges for Robert Wilson Jr., 37, a teacher accused of having weapons inside his apartment, located at Covington Harper Elementary School near Dumfries.
A postal employee dropped a package addressed to the school at the neighbor's house. The neighbor opened the package to find ammunition and took the package to the school.
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The Stafford County Sheriff’s Office gave me a tour of its facilities and a view of how each division creates one functioning department.
Captain Ray Davis gave this tour. He was very kind in explaining the job from the ground up to the higher levels of admin.
When you hear law enforcement, you might first think about the deputy in the police car working the street. However, dispatchers, which serve as law enforcement’s front line, can become so stressed that they are given access to a quiet room during their shifts. A lot of coordination between dispatchers and law enforcement officers goes into making sure people can get the help they need.
Some of the rooms were not accessible for this tour. However, each office within the building held teams of people separated by division. Each floor corresponded with different levels.
Deputies were stationed on the bottom floor, where they could quickly go out and respond, while the administration offices sat on the top floor. The Stafford County Sheriff’s Office has existed since at least 1634. However, one thing that is always changing around them is the community and the different types of personalities that they all have to interact with.
First responders have to stay flexible, but there are many easy ways to make their job easier, said Davis.
In order to be helpful to your 911 dispatcher or anyone who is coming to help you in case of an emergency, make sure to gather information such as location, type of emergency, and the total number of people involved, said Davis. Helping dispatchers and deputies in times of emergency or crisis speeds up the process.
Toward the end of the facility tour, Davis mentioned a website where important information for first responders could be stored. Visit smart911.com and see if adding information will help in a crisis.
The Stafford County Sheriff’s Office is hiring 911 dispatchers called communications officers. The office produced a video to show the job, which has a $46,755 annual starting pay.
The Prince William County Government restored an online survey asking employees about their gender identity, sexual orientation, and whether or not they feel valued at work after Supervisor Yesli Vega shared the survey with her constituents.
Maria Burgos, head of the county's diversity, equity, and inclusion office, reopened the survey to government employees only and extended the survey time by about a week.
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Prince William County announced that registration for its summer camps would begin on March 7, 2023.
All children between three and 17 years old are eligible for registration.
The camps will offer a variety of activities like archery, arts and crafts, sports, computer coding, and STEM programs. The camps will be held across 16 locations in Prince William County, with more than 6,000 spots available.
Registration fees vary based on the number of hours a child is registered for.
Camp hours mainly range from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Before- and After-Camp Care is offered if needed. Parents can opt to include before and After Care for a $60 fee or pay $30 for just one of these benefits.
A $10 sibling discount is also if a pair of siblings are enrolled in After Care camp.
Camps open on June 20, 2023, and end about a week before school starts, August 21, 2023.
A total of 25 small business owners received a certificate of occupancy/written authorization to 'Open for Business' from the Prince William County Department of Development Services Small Business Project Management (SBPM) Program in January 2023.
In January, five new food venues opened: Hangry Joe's Hot Chicken at 14111 Richmond Highway in Woodbridge; Southern Style Chicken and Waffle at 8124 Sudley Road, Manassas; Lapaz African Cuisine at 8041 Centreville Road, near Manassas; Shahzad Essa Food Inc at 13871 Smoketown Road in Woodbridge; and Cold Stone Creamery, 16434 Navigation Drive in Woodbridge.
In Gainesville, Bash Boxing fitness studio opened at 7637 Linton Hall Road, located within Virginia Gateway shopping mall.
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Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears will be the headline speaker at the Prince William County Republican Committee’s annual fundraising dinner.
The county GOP will hold the dinner in Woodbridge.
More in a press release:
The Prince William County Republican Committee will hold its annual Lincoln-Reagan Dinner on April 1, at the Old Hickory Golf Course, 11921 Chanceford Drive, Woodbridge, VA, 6 PM to 9:30 PM. Tickets are $85 per person. The guest of honor will be the Republican Lt. Governor Winsome Sears.
Winsome Sears was elected Lt. Governor of Virginia in 2021. She is the first female Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the first Black female elected to statewide office. At age 6 Lt. Governor Sears immigrated with her family from Jamaica. She is a proud veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps. A former program manager for the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce and VISTA volunteer, she is also a trained electrician and successful businesswoman. She holds a B.A. in English with a minor in Economics, and an M.A. in Organizational Leadership.
Jacob Mosser, Vice Chair of the Prince William County Republican Committee noted that, “Winsome Sears’ election as Virginia’s second highest official was historic. We are very excited to have a bold leader like the lieutenant governor coming to prepare us for an election in?which control of the General Assembly and the future of Virginia is at stake.”
