Three bus shelters in Dumfries now shine with new public art.

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Sprouts Farmers Market, the newest grocer to open in Prince William County and the only one of its kind in the region, has been welcomed by crime, said Coles District Supervisor Yesli Vega.

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Now that Supervisor Jeanine Lawson is running for Chair, she proposes a moratorium to prohibit any land use applications coming before the Board of County Supervisors in November and December of this year.

Such an action would break historical precedence and be a policy change for the Board and Supervisor Lawson herself. It appears she is only proposing this policy chance because she is opposed to certain projects that would come before the Board during this time.

The historical record is clear – Supervisor Lawson has voted many times to approve “lame-duck” land use votes in both 2015 and 2019. Since joining the board, Supervisor Lawson, between November and December, has voted in favor of over 18 land use cases during lame-duck sessions.

In fact, during this time in 2019, Supervisor Lawson voted to approve a Special Use Permit for a data center property outside the data center overlay district and adjoining the Manassas Battlefield. Known as Gainesville Crossing, this land use application had vocal opposition.

The opposition’s testimony did not sway Supervisor Lawson away from supporting the project as she voted along with four “lame duck” Republicans to approve the project. All this with the knowledge that it was being approved by Supervisors who had either lost elections or were retiring from public office.

To be clear, I believe the board should continue to take votes, no matter when it happens during their term. They were elected to serve four years and make county policy, not three and a half years. Their vote means just as much on day one as it does on the last day of their term.

I’m a small business owner and perform marketing work in Prince William County. Supervisor Lawson’s moratorium will directly impact my livelihood. It jeopardizes how I feed my family and my employees’ jobs, not to mention the millions of dollars spent by land-use applicants who have a right to expect that the Board will hear their projects in due time.

The board should do the right thing and vote down Supervisor Lawson’s election-year moratorium.

Travis Turner
Prince William County property owner

Editors note: Potomac Local News aims to share opinions on issues of local importance from a diverse range of residents across all our communities. If you’ve recently spoken at a Board of County Supervisors meeting, send us a typed copy of your remarks for publication to [email protected].

A one-lane bridge carrying traffic on Rock Hill Church Road in Stafford County will close for one year.

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For several years, we have watched our schools retreat from teaching math, science, and English and delve into sexual orientation, race-baiting, forced pronouns, and social justice. The result has been devastating to the education system, as we have watched test scores and school attendance plummet.

Yet despite this, Superintendent LaTonya McDade, School Board Chair Babur Lateef, and the other Democrats on the school board refuse to reverse their path towards the total destruction of our education system and the trust of parents.

Prince William County is not alone. As a matter of fact, we are still in the infancy of this total transformation of our children’s education. Although parents around the country have been in this fight for years, these school boards believe they know what is best and continue to push race-based equity and transgender policies in our schools, ultimately indoctrinating our innocent children.

While most people believe in a “live and let live” policy, school boards continue to ignore the wants and needs of the very parents who pay their salaries. They crossed a red line in the sand when they began exposing children to pornographic books and encouraging kids to change their identities without the knowledge of their parents.

Delegate Candi Mundon King (D-Prince William, Stafford) co-sponsored House Bill 2091, which allows minors to consent to gender transition while hiding medical records from their parents. This is a grave violation of parental trust and exposes children to sex long before they are old enough to know how gender confusion is even defined.

King was not alone. The other bill sponsors, all Democrats, Nadarius Clark (Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth), Patrick Hope (Arlington), Michelle Lopes Maldonado (Prince William, Manassas), Sam (Roanoke), and Marcus Simon (Fairfax). These so-called representatives of the people have crossed a line that cannot be mended.

Even the Democrats on the Prince William Board of County Supervisors have lost their way. Although everyone in Prince William County was thrilled to see Ann Wheeler ousted, she has been replaced with candidate Deshundra Jefferson (D), who fully supports King and the transgender takeover of our schools. It appears Democrats on boards across Prince William, Virginia, and the country have an agenda to push, and nothing will deter them.

They have gone too far.

Ultimately, they are supporting and pushing racism and transphobia. By indoctrinating our children and pushing the limits of what is ‘right,’ or ‘appropriate,” they force and highlight a negative view of race and transgenders, achieving exactly the opposite of the effect they claim to desire….disdain.

While they refuse to prioritize math, English, and science, we have watched test scores literally plunge into an abyss. At the same time, the one thing they have achieved is teaching children improper English by forcing fake, personal pronouns into their daily lessons. By forcing and punishing children if they don’t use these improper pronouns, it appears they are crossing a line within our constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech.

The Supreme Court just ruled, and Neil Gorsuch wrote, “The Constitution calls for tolerance of others’ speech and religious expression, not state-enforced coercion. Of course, abiding by the Constitution’s commitment to the freedom of speech means all of us will encounter ideas we consider ‘unattractive,’ … ‘misguided,’ or even hurtful,’ …but tolerance, not coercion, is our Nation’s answer. The First Amendment envisions the United States as a rich and complex place where all persons are free to think and speak as they wish, not as the government demands.”

At this point, the only answer is to vote out those who refuse to listen to parents and start filing lawsuits against the education system that continues to violate our rights as parents.

No doubt, history will look back at the U.S. today and sigh: How did all of this idiocy happen? Look at the damage they did to a generation of kids.

Leigh Bravo
Gainesville

Editors note: Potomac Local News aims to share opinions on issues of local importance from a diverse range of residents across all our communities. If you’ve recently spoken at a Board of County Supervisors meeting, send us a typed copy of your remarks for publication to [email protected].

Stafford County Fire Chief Joeseph Cardello is proposing an overhaul to the department's schedule.

If approved, he said Stafford County would be the only department in the region with this type of schedule, making recruiting a "breeze."

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Nikki Rattray Baldwin declared victory in the run for the Republican nomination in the June 20, 2023, Primary Election.

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Dr. Sebastian Gorka, a conservative radio and TV host with over 3 million listeners, came to Woodbridge to stump for Mike Van Meter, who was running for State Senate in District 33 against Jennifer Carroll Foy,  vying to return to the Virginia Capitol.

Gorka said Van Meter is running in the strongly-leaning Democrat district, which includes portions part of southern Fairfax County, and Woodbridge Prince William County, in hopes to counteract ideological changes ushered in under Democrats, who controlled the House, Senate, and Governor’s office until 2021.

“The real power is in the state house,” said Fairfax County resident Gorka. “It’s the school board; it’s the sheriff. We know America is not just a nation. It’s a republic with towns, counties, and villages.”

Gorka said people nationwide are concerned about crime and the rise in drug deaths. More than 100,000 people died from fentanyl overdoses in 2022. Both button topics will be critical issues in the November 2023 General Election, he said.

Crime has been up in all categories in Virginia in the past year. In Prince William County, 70% since 2019, where the county is on track to exceed the number of homicides (14 so far in 2023).

Van Meter is an addiction counselor who works with recovering addicts. During his campaign event, which attracted about 50 people to the Harbor Grill, he sold screen-printed t-shirts with the message “fentanyl kills.”

“Democrats are not equipped to deal with this problem, and they’re doing nothing about it,” said Van Meter. “Fentanyl is a synthetic drug, and trying to get people off of it is hell.”

Gorka worked in the Trump White House in 2017 and praised his former boss and the state’s current Republican Governor, Glenn Youngkin, who became the first Viriginia’s GOP governor since 2009. Gorka said Youngkin only won his race against former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who served from 2014 to 2018 when McAuliffe said parents shouldn’t have a say in their child’s public school curriculum.

Afterward, Youngkin began campaigning on the phrase “parents matter.” “Glenn Youngkin won in the last minute because he engaged the culture wars,” said Gorka.

Trump came to the Prince William County Fairgrounds in 2015 in his run-up to the White House. The next time he visited the commonwealth was a stop at an airport in Hampton Roads in 2020, to primarily reach the northeastern North Carolina residents via local TV stations. I asked Gorka, who has a direct link to the 45th president if Trump should stop ignoring Virginia and campaign here and whether or not he thinks Youngkin should join him on stage should Trump hold a rally in the commonwealth.

Historically, Youngkin has distanced himself from the former president.

“I’m not to answer a loaded question about Trump ignoring Virginia, but yes, Glenn Youngkin needs to get his act together,” Gorka replied. Trump lost Virginia by six points and 10 points in 2016 and 2020, respectively.

Both Gorka and Van Meter disparaged both political parties. “Rs and Ds beside a candidate’s name are irrelevant. It comes down to do ‘do you love America, or do you hate America,” said Gorka. “Trump won [the presidency] despite the GOP, not thanks to the GOP.”

Van Meter said there had been a lot of fighting among Virginia Republicans in the days leading up to the June 20 Primary Election. Senate District 27 in Stafford and Fredericksburg is an example. Tara Durant, endorsed by Youngkin, defeated political outsider Matt Strickland for the GOP nomination, and Strickland has yet to concede.

“Our time for choosing candidates is over, and our job is to elect Republicans by hook or by crook,” said Virginia National Republican Committeewoman Patti Lyman, who attended Van Meter’s fundraiser.

House District 33 has no incumbent and was created by the Virginia State Supreme Court as part of the state’s 10-year redistricting process. Van Meter is a retired FBI agent who later taught the FBI Academy.

Carroll Foy served a term-and-a-half in the House of Delegates, representing Woodbridge and northern Stafford County. She stepped down to run for governor in 2021.

Carroll Foy has raised $1.5 million for her senate race, compared to Van Meter’s $18,500. The General Election is Tuesday, November 7, 2023. Early voting begins Sept. 23, 2023.

Gorka said Virginia’s 45-day early voting policy lends itself to fraud.

“Virginia has 45 days of voting. It’s insane,” said Gorka. “Do you vote again and again until the communists win?”

Gorka’s daily nationally-syndicated radio show is distributed by the Salem Media Group. He also hosts a weekend TV show, “Reality Check,” on Newsmax.

Baldwin Wallace University: SolE Hall-Hamilton of Woodbridge was among over 30 students recently recognized for achievements at Baldwin Wallace University. Hall-Hamilton, a Charles J. Colgan Sr. High School graduate majoring in English, received The Professor David Prok Humanitarian Award for Social Justice in Sex and Gender Diversity.

More than 4,000 students graduated from Georgia State University during the spring 2023 semester at the associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, specialist, and doctoral levels:

Ruby Ford, of Woodbridge, earned a Master of Public Health degree in Health Management & Policy.

Shenandoah University: 1,143 graduates received their degrees and/or certificate during the 2022-23 academic year: Read More