Supervisor Yesli Vega continued to push back on what she calls an "insidious and divisive agenda" within the halls of Prince William County Government, its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts, and a survey demanding to know the sexual orientation of employees.

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As you consider the County’s budget, I request that you repeal the 4% Meals Tax on restaurant food.  The following are my reasons.

The tax is unfair and unhealthy.  Restaurants prepare fresh food daily; grocery stores sell the same food in frozen, refrigerated, and dehydrated forms.  Restaurants like mine start with unadulterated raw ingredients; grocery foods, by necessity, contain chemical preservatives and stabilizers.  Cooks who live and pay taxes in the County prepare restaurant food; factory workers in faraway locations manufacture grocery food.

These comparisons hold true for almost all items on restaurant menus; examples are pork barbecue, macaroni and cheese, pizza, enchiladas, chili, soups, bread, pies, etc.

Yet, your 1% sales tax on grocery food and now a 10% tax on restaurant food equates to your taxing restaurant customers 10 times more for their food.  You are penalizing restaurant owners, employees, and landlords in this county while incentivizing residents to consume foods laden with chemical preservatives and stabilizers. This is unfair and unhealthy.

The Meals Tax is bad economics.

It is well established that as prices rise, demand falls.  Prior to imposing the Meals Tax, inflation had already pushed restaurant prices on average up 9%.  At this level, the fall off in demand was still manageable.  When your Meals Tax raised prices by another 4%, you exceeded the breaking point and demand dropped precipitously.  In our case, we immediately lost over 20% of our customers.  We were forced to respond by reducing our payroll by 33% and obtaining rent relief.

All county restaurants and their employees were hurt, some more than others.

I have heard stated a justification for the tax: “If you can’t afford a 4% tax, then you can’t afford to eat out.”  They are right.  That is exactly what happened.  A dangerously significant number of people stopped going to the sounty’s restaurants.

The Meals Tax is unpopular.

If you had submitted the tax to a referendum as was required in the past, I hypothesize that it would have failed decidedly, just as it had failed in the past.  In your defense, you may have been unaware of the consequences when you imposed the tax.  You may still have your reasons for maintaining it.  If you decide to retain it, you will have ample opportunities to present your arguments to the voters in your upcoming election.

Your opponents, to whom I and other restaurant owners in the emerging coalition have spoken, have already stated their opposition to the tax.  The debates will be interesting to watch. In any case, the Meals Tax issue will not be swept away and ignored by voters.  I can assure you of that.

I appreciate your consideration and will watch with interest your decision.

Nelson H. Head
Dixie Bones Inc.

Prince William County Executive Chris Shorter proposed major pay increases for county employees and a 5.3-cent real estate tax reduction Tuesday night, all part of his $1.61 billion budget proposal for the 2024 fiscal year.

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The Board of County Supervisors has proclaimed February 28 “Montford Point Marine Day.” In doing so, the community commemorates the first African American recruits in the Marine Corps trained at the Montford Point in North Carolina.

During the early 1940s, the United States was preparing to enter World War II and needed recruits. But President Franklin D. Roosevelt faced a problem; Hiring discrimination based on race was still the norm in the defense industry.

At the same time, Civil rights leaders were organizing for change. A. Philip Randolph, who had organized and led the first African American labor union, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, was planning a march on Washington D.C. to pressure President Roosevelt to open the defense industry to Black Americans. The president initially resisted this effort, but as the march grew closer and after much pressure from his wife Eleanor, Roosevelt conceded.

On June 25, 1941, the president signed Executive Order 8802, prohibiting racial discrimination in the defense industry or government. At last, all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces were open to African Americans. Between 1942 and 1949, approximately 20,000 African American men completed recruit training under harsh conditions on a still racially segregated base in North Carolina known as Montford Point.

Montford Point Is now part of Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, the main Marine Corps infantry base for the East Coast, and is called Camp Johnson after one of those first Black marines. The Montford Point Marines were determined to serve and fight for their country abroad as heroes, even though they faced segregation when they returned home.

On November 23, 2011, President Barack Obama signed into law the legislation awarding the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor bestowed by Congress, to the Montford Point Marines.

Prince William County is home to Quantico Marine Base in the Potomac District, and the county is home to many veterans and active service members who are the beneficiary of sacrifices made by the Montford Point Marines, which is why the County has set aside this day, February 28, 2023, to recognize and honor their legacy.

Master Gunnery Sgt. Carroll W. Braxton, 98, one of the Montford Point Marines, attended and spoke at the ceremony commemorating the trailblazing Marines.

“You couldn’t even realize what we had to go through to be a Marine,” Braxton said. “You know it’s kind of tough when you’re going to fight for your country, and you are told you are not wanted. You don’t belong here. We don’t need you here, and you will never be a Marine, but after 11 weeks of going through Hell, you see, I’m standing here.”

After boot camp, Braxton was one of a few Marines sent to the Pacific Theater.

“We went to the Pacific, and would you believe we weren’t segregated? We joined the white marines on those Islands. And you know, it was a strange thing, bullets don’t have black or white, and we found that out, and the white Marines found out that we could do what they could and maybe a little bit better because we wanted to. We wanted to prove that we could fight for our country and we were equal to anybody else that fought for their country. We had to fight for our country, and now we are still, I hate to say, still fighting a little bit. It’s better, but it could be a whole lot better.”

-Story by Prince William County Government

The ceremony is open to the public and will be held in the atrium of the James J. McCoart Administration Building at 1 County Complex Court, Woodbridge, Virginia.

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Weir beat his Democrat challenger Kerensa Sumers in a landslide 30-point victory today in a Special Election to determine who will complete the term of former Gainesville District Supervisor Peter Candland, who designed in Decembe022 after 10 years on the job.

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The average price of a dozen eggs in the U.S. was $4.25 in 2022, up from $1.54 in 2019.

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The two candidates seeking to become the next Gainesville District Supervisor met on Thursday, February 9, 2023, at Battlefield High School near Haymarket.

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