From Prince William police:
Aggravated Malicious Wounding
On February 2 at 4:10AM, officers responded to a residence located in the 16000 block of Crest Dr. in Woodbridge (22191) to investigate an assault. Upon arriving at the residence, officers encountered the victim, a 30-year-old woman, who was unconscious and suffering from a stab wound.
Officers began performing first aid until fire and rescue personnel arrived and transported the victim to an area hospital where she is expected to survive. The investigation revealed that the victim and an acquaintance, identified as the accused, were involved in an escalated verbal altercation. During the encounter, the accused retrieved a knife and stabbed the victim. Another occupant of the home intervened and the accused contacted emergency services.
Arrested on February 2:
Paul A ENGLAND, 54, of 16003 Crest Dr. in Woodbridge Charged with aggravated malicious wounding
Court Date: Pending | Bond: Unavailable
Strong-Arm Robbery
On February 1 at 11:35AM, officers responded to the area of Old Post Ter. near Old Kings Rd. in Woodbridge (22191) to investigate an assault. The investigation revealed the victim, who was working as a taxi driver, was driving a female passenger, later identified as the accused, to their destination when the accused requested to stop in the above area. A verbal altercation over payment ensued between the victim and the accused.
At one point, the accused grabbed the victim’s property which led to a physical struggle. During the struggle, the accused assaulted the victim before twisting the victim’s shirt around her neck. The parties eventually separated, and the accused fled foot. While checking the area, officers located the accused at a nearby residence and took her into custody without incident. The accused was found in possession of the victim’s property. The victim reported minor injuries.
Arrested on February 1:
Jessica E RIVERO, 41, of 1821 Old Post Ter. in Woodbridge Charged with robbery and attempted strangulation
Court Date: April 10, 2023 | Bond: $10,000 Secured Bond
Strong-Arm Robbery
On February 1 at 8:44AM, officers responded to the Subway located at 11004 Sudley Manor Dr. in Manassas (20109) to investigate a robbery. The investigation revealed two unknown men approached the service counter and demanded money from the register. The employee ran out of a back door as one of the suspects took the register before fleeing the business. No weapons were displayed or brandished during the incident. The cash register and an undisclosed amount of money were reported missing. The suspects were described as a Hispanic male last seen wearing a fitted cap, a mask, an unzipped dark-colored sweater, and a black male last seen wearing a mask, a black jacket with the hood up and dark colored pants.
Armed Robbery
On February 2 at 4:45AM, officers responded to the 7500 block of Bosbury Ct. in Manassas (20111) to investigate a robbery. The investigation revealed the victim, who was operating for a private ride service, was in the above area for an arranged fare when an unknown male, possibly a teenager, approached the vehicle and got into the backseat. The male immediately brandished a firearm and demanded the victim’s property. The suspect fled on foot before the victim drove out of the area and contacted police. No injuries were reported. A police K-9 searched the area for the suspect who was not located. The investigation continues. The suspect was described as a Hispanic male, approximately 5’10”, wearing all black clothing.
Armed Robbery
On February 1 at 10:59AM, officers responded to the area of Poplar St. and June St. in Manassas (20111) to investigate a robbery. The investigation revealed the victim, who was operating for a private ride service, was in the above area at the conclusion of an arranged fare when the male passenger brandished a firearm and demanded the victim’s property. The suspect, possibly a juvenile, took an undisclosed amount of money before fleeing the vehicle on foot. No injuries were reported. A police K-9 searched the area for the suspect who was not located. The suspect was described as a Hispanic male last seen wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt, black pants and shoes and carrying a black backpack.
At a special meeting on Wednesday, February 1, the Manassas Economic Development Authority voted to buy the Olde Towne Inn in Historic Downtown for $5.75 million.
The motel was originally constructed in the 1960s. It is located in the geographic center of the downtown neighborhood and sits on an entire city block.
The building and property are identified in the city’s comprehensive plan as a key development site and have long been discussed as ideal for redevelopment.
“I’m excited the EDA is able to help our City Council in acquiring this property,” said EDA Chairman Gary L. Jones, II. “One of our key functions as an Authority is to support the City through real estate acquisition and disposition. I can’t think of a bigger impact we could have on the continued revitalization of Downtown than this.”
According to the city’s press release detailing the sale, discussions with the property owners about buying the Olde Towne Inn have been taking place for years. Private investors and developers expressed interest in purchasing the property. However, the city government opted to buy the building.
“Recently, our discussions have been about having the owners themselves build a new hotel or facilitating a sale to a third party for that same purpose,” said Patrick Small, who is the City’s Economic Development Director. “After a lot of discussion, modeling, and planning the owners decided that they preferred to have the city acquire the property because they felt that the best use of the site would result from a more public process.”
The EDA has 60 days to conduct due diligence on the site and the right to assign the contract to the City Council, which could complete the purchase. No decisions regarding the continued temporary operation of the property in its current condition or the future use of the site have been made.
In 2016, the city purchased the Grant Avenue shopping center for $3.2 million and demolished a portion of the plaza to make way for a new police station. On December 12, 2022, the city’s police department took possession of its new $40 million public safety center.
Also, in 2022, the city council decided to carry on a project to gut and renovate city hall, at 9027 Center Street, across from the recently purchased motel, after project costs soared 40% higher than anticipated to $13 million.
Later, the city council balked at a request from the city school board to purchase the largest office building in the city, 8700 Centreville Road, for $11.5 million. The school division relied on the city council for funding and had hoped to relocate its division headquarters to the site.
The Stafford County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death of a Rappahannock Regional Jail inmate.
Always Flavored, the flavor-centric Sauce and Seasoning company in Fredericksburg, is celebrating two second-place honors from the 2023 Scovie Awards for its Sweet Virginia Love BBQ Sauce in the Barbecue Sauce-Unique category and Ritabeata’s Mild Hot Sauce in the Prepared Sauce-Prepared category.
“We couldn’t be more excited that our products were recognized and appreciated at such a national and international level,” Rita Witte, owner, and founder said. “It is gratifying and pleasing to know our sauces keep tantalizing and dazzling the taste buds of even some of the toughest food critics.”
The judging comprised 80-100 culinary experts and is usually held the first Monday between the New Mexico State Fair and Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. This year’s competition had 934 entries from 151 companies across 37 states and 12 countries, which included, but weren’t limited to, England, Hungary, Germany, Canada, and Australia.
Always Flavored creates sauces, seasonings, and condiments, including a growing line of hot sauce flavors, barbeque sauce, and various spices and rubs. All products are sourced locally.
Ritabeata’s Mild Hot Sauce is a fermented sauce made with moderate heat with jalapeños, serranos, and long chilies.
Sweet Virginia Love BBQ Sauce is a balance of sweet and savory for beef, poultry, and fish dishes with low heat.
On Nov. 20, 2022, Always Flavored opened its first bistro and retail store at 1711 Princess Anne Street in downtown Fredericksburg. Before opening the bistro, Always Flavored sold products through its online store at alwaysflavored.com and farmers’ markets, local events, and several local stores.
Germanna announced the lawmaker’s visit in a press release after the event had concluded.
This follows a development from October in which Germanna announced a $15 million Stafford County public-private expansion deal that will triple its training space there, meaning many more critically needed cybersecurity professionals will be graduating.
The curriculum emphasizes data analytics and business processes and their applications in cybersecurity management. Students gain proficiency in cybersecurity policy, conducting risk assessments, coordinating incident response, leveraging data analytics and artificial intelligence to understand attacks on business assets, and overall management of the cybersecurity function within a business.
Graduates enter the workforce with the skills to serve as cybersecurity analysts, auditors, planners, and more.
In October 2022, Germanna Community College announced an expansion in Stafford County with the purchase of its new Stafford Center of Educational Excellence at Center Street.
Two buildings, named the Barbara J. Fried Center at 10 Center Street and the Kevin L. Dillard Health Sciences Center at 25 Center Street, totaling over 74,000 square feet, both just off Route 610 in North Stafford, will meet Germanna’s space requirements in Stafford for the foreseeable future, said Jack Rowley, president of GCC’s Real Estate Foundation.
A candidate who won a seat on the Quantico Town Council declined to do the job.
According to Mayor Kevin Brown, the candidate, Seungwon “Steve” Kang, declined to be sworn in for the four two-year term after the councilman-elect encountered issues with his residence, which affected his ability to serve in the role. Kang owns a business in the town but does not live in town.
State law requires elected leaders to live in the jurisdiction in which they serve.
Kang received 53 votes and was the second-highest vote-getter in the contest, where 14 candidates aimed to fill five open seats on the town council. The top vote-getter, Todd Zirkle, received 78 votes.
Kang’s election was certified by the Prince William County Electoral Board. County voter registrar Eric Olsen says the Quantico Town Council chose a date to hold a Special Election; however, the date conflicts with state code and another Primary Election.
“We are awaiting an updated request from the Town to correct this issue,” said Olsen.
The Quantico Town Council meets monthly at the Lillian Carden Community Center, 222 3rd Avenue. The meetings are open to the public.
While the town is not considered to be located on Quantico Marine Corps Base, visitors to the town must go through the Marine Corps DBIDS process to enter the base. Details can be found here.
From the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office:
ASSAULT
Rodney Thompson Middle School, 75 Walpole Street, 1/31, 2:06 p.m. Sergeant C.M. Hammond responded to a fight report. One eighth-grade female body-slammed another and continued to assault her over a prior incident. A criminal complaint for assault will be filed.
ASSAULT
Colonial Forge High School, 550 Courthouse Road, 1/31, 8:04 p.m. A basketball player assaulted a player on the opposing team during the game. A large crowd formed on the court and the game was called. Additional deputies responded to assist the two deputies at the game with the orderly exit of attendees. The investigation is ongoing and charges are pending.
LARCENY
Stafford High School, 63 Stafford Indians Lane, 1/31, 1:30 p.m. Deputy R.B. Brooks responded to a report of a larceny. A student advised she had money stolen from her backpack.
The state’s Department of Environmental Quality will consider allowing data centers in Prince William, Fairfax, and Loudoun County (the world’s epicenter for data centers) to use generators to feed the power-hungry server farms.
From the public notice:
Data center operation relies on the use of large amounts of electricity from the grid. DEQ is concerned that the Counties of Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William is an area in which there may not be a sufficient amount of electricity for data centers due to severe, localized constraints in electricity transmission.
A transmission constraint issue exists in the area which may affect the ability to provide enough electricity to data centers through 2025. In particular, the period between March and July 2023 has been identified as a time of potentially acute stress on the transmission capacity of the grid.
In the lead-up to the November 2022 approval of the Prince William Digital Gateway — more than 800 acres next to Manassas National Battlefield Park now earmarked for data center development — residents and public officials were baffled after asking if the county had enough electricity to supply the server farms.
“We don’t know,” said Prince William County Planning Director Meika Daus during a Prince William County Planning Commission meeting on July 20, 2o22.
A public hearing on whether or not to allow generators at the data centers will be held at the DEQ regional office 13901 Crown Court, in Woodbridge, at 11 a.m., February 27, 2023.
PJM Interconnection, the east coast’s electrical grid, was overloaded with demand when temperatures plummeted to the single digits at 4:20 a.m. Christmas Eve, December 24, 2022.
PJM asked large electricity users to curb their electricity use to save energy so there would be enough to power homes and smaller businesses.
They moved a Fairfax County wastewater treatment facility in Lorton to switch on five electrical generators, removing the plant from the electrical grid. The plant is key to Fairfax County’s wastewater treatment practices and treats 40 million gallons of wastewater a day.
The proliferation of data centers near historical lands and residential neighborhoods is a key campaign issue on February 21, 2023, Special Election for Gainesville District Supervisor for the Prince William Board of County Supervisors.
“[The electricity concerns are] the unforeseen consequences we warned them about,” said Bob Weir, a Republican running a two-way race to finish Peter Candland’s term ending December 31, 2023. Candland resigned after agreeing to sell his home to data center developers in the event the Prince William Digital Gateway was approved.
“In the course of the debate over the Digital Gateway and the recurring power issues in Loudoun resulting from the overdevelopment of data centers, many warned the BOCS that further approvals would have unforeseen consequences regarding power, noise, and carbon emissions. The first of those consequences have now come to pass,” continued Weir.
Democrat Kerensa Sumers is also vying for the seat. Both will participate in a voter forum at Battlefield High School near Haymarket on Thursday, February 9, 2023.
Meanwhile, on Monday, January 30, 2023, a Republican-led House Rules subcommittee killed a resolution from Delegate Danica Roem (D-Prince William) that would have ordered the state’s energy department to study the effects of data centers statewide.
The resolution, HJ522, would have directed the state’s Department of Energy to study the impacts of data center development on Virginia’s environment, economy, energy resources, and ability to meet the state’s outlined carbon-reduction goals. Several members of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration officials opposed the resolution.
There are new plans to expand data centers to other parts of the region, including four new server farms in Stafford County. In January, Youngkin announced Amazon would invest $35 billion into the state to construct new data centers, — the largest private investment in state history.
