Police Blotter

Prince William County police have arrested a Woodbridge man in the shooting death of a 16-year-old boy last month.

Damon Jamon Atwater, 25, of Woodbridge, faces charges of second-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. The arrest comes weeks after the July 5 shooting in the 16700 block of Blackjack Oak Lane.


Politics

Philip Harding, Harvard grad, Republican, former presidential fellow and founder of Impact Junkie, is running in the August 4 Republican primary for Virginia’s 7th District against Eugene Vindman, a Democrat.

In this Potomac Local interview, he hammers on government overreach, rising taxes under the current state leadership, parental rights in schools, and the moral case for cutting waste rather than piling more debt on our kids. He wants stronger families, less red tape, and a return to the American dream he says the rest of the world still envies.


Manassas

The Manassas City School Board on Tuesday, July 28, approved the 2026-27 Student Code of Conduct on a 6-1 vote, choosing a version with no explicit reference to artificial intelligence. The decision capped two weeks of discussion that began when Board Member Sara Brescia proposed clear language banning unauthorized use of tools such as ChatGPT.

Two options were presented:


Prince William

“Petty Officer 2nd Class Jose Medina, a native of Dumfries, Virginia, serves aboard USS Chosin, a U.S. Navy warship participating in the biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise in and around the Hawaiian Islands,” Navy Office of Community Outreach reported. Medina graduated from Potomac Senior High School in 2017, joined the Navy five years ago, and now serves as an information systems technician.

Medina said he enlisted seeking adventure after college did not work out and credited growing up in Dumfries with teaching him respect and the ability to work with diverse people—skills that help him in the Navy. RIMPAC 2026, the world’s largest international maritime exercise involving 31 nations, runs under the theme “Partners: Integrated and Prepared.”


Features

The Prince William County Fair opens Friday, July 31, and runs through Saturday, August 8, at the fairgrounds on Dumfries Road in Manassas.

Gates open at 2 p.m. on opening day and most weekends, with weekday hours starting later on several nights. The nine-day event is one of Northern Virginia’s longest-running county fairs and a longtime summer tradition for local families.


Virginia

“More than a week after a statewide injunction halted enforcement of Virginia’s new assault weapons ban, parts of the legal fight have entered a holding pattern as state and federal courts await guidance from the U.S. Supreme Court,” The Center Square reported. Washington County Circuit Judge Jeffrey L. Campbell expanded the injunction statewide on July 21 and later paused the case while the high court reviews similar bans in Illinois and Connecticut; the injunction stays in effect until further order or no later than 60 days after those decisions.

The law, which took effect July 1, prohibits future sales and transfers of certain semiautomatic firearms and magazines holding more than 15 rounds while allowing continued possession of those already owned. Most firearms dealers have resumed selling the affected items under the injunction, according to the Virginia Citizens Defense League, though a separate challenge in Lancaster County remains active with a hearing set for Aug. 21.


Traffic

“President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a $22.5 billion renovation of Washington Dulles International Airport that will end the use of the widely disliked ‘people movers,’ the mobile lounges that have been used for decades to shuttle travelers to and from the main terminal,” the Associated Press reported. The plan replaces them with a new U-shaped passenger train, a central walking tunnel, more moving walkways, new concourses, and an above-ground parking garage closer to the main terminal with space for 32,000 vehicles.

Located in northern Virginia and serving roughly 29 million passengers last year, Dulles is the region’s primary international gateway. Construction could begin next spring, funded by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, United Airlines, and other carriers through municipal bonds and airline contributions rather than federal dollars, according to officials. Congress would need to approve some aspects of the project.


Podcast

Fredericksburg residents just held a packed forum asking if they’re becoming the next Data Center Alley while Manassas learned the hard way that a bank inside the Brickyard facility wiped out millions in expected BPOL revenue under Virginia law.


Health

Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center in Woodbridge recently hosted its intensive eight-week Student Nurse Apprentice Program, giving third-year nursing students hands-on clinical experience and one-on-one mentorship before their senior year of school.

The program follows an apprenticeship model in which each participant is paired with a dedicated registered nurse preceptor. Students work directly with patients alongside interdisciplinary healthcare teams and observe procedures and specialty care areas that often go beyond standard nursing school rotations.