Prince William is asking the state for nearly $373,000 to staff a new behavioral health court docket, Manassas says musty tap water is seasonal and safe, and Dominion and NextEra sweetened a $67 billion merger bid that would change Virginia electric bills.
Prince William Seeks Nearly $373,000 to Staff Behavioral Health Docket
According to InsideNoVa, the Prince William Board of County Supervisors has approved a $373,187 grant request to the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to expand the county’s new Behavioral Health Docket. The money would come from the department’s State Opioid Response program for fiscal 2027 and would go to the Office of Criminal Justice Services if the state awards it.
County staff said the docket is a court-supervised treatment program in the 31st Judicial Circuit for people with serious mental illness and co-occurring substance-use disorders. The grant would fund two limited-term jobs from Oct. 1 through Sept. 29, 2027: a treatment coordinator in Community Services and a probation officer in Criminal Justice Services. The docket would sit alongside the Greater Prince William Veterans Treatment Docket and Adult Recovery Court.
Manassas Says Musty Tap Water Comes From Lake Compounds, Not a Health Risk
According to InsideNoVa, Manassas officials told residents this week that an earthy or musty taste in city tap water is coming from Lake Manassas, which also supplies parts of Prince William County. Tests found slightly higher levels of geosmin and methyl-isoborneol, naturally occurring compounds that can change how water tastes and smells but do not pose a public health risk.
The city said the compounds often rise when lake temperatures change and water mixes from top to bottom, usually twice a year. The Water Department said it is working to reduce the taste and odor and continues to monitor raw and finished water.
Dominion and NextEra Sweeten $67 Billion Merger Bid for Virginia Customers
According to the Virginian-Pilot, Dominion Energy and NextEra Energy revised the benefits package on their proposed $67 billion merger after Gov. Abigail Spanberger and others questioned whether the deal helps Virginia. The companies now say residential customers would get $10-a-month bill credits for four years instead of two, in part by redirecting credits that otherwise would go to large data centers, and that customers would not pay merger costs.
The revised pitch also includes a promise of 1,000 Virginia jobs (600 at NextEra plus about 400 at suppliers), a new shareholder-funded office tower next to Dominion’s Richmond headquarters, $100 million more through 2038 for Dominion’s EnergyShare aid program, and no Virginia money for Florida storm restoration. Spanberger has formally intervened in the State Corporation Commission review.
Arlington Votes to Pull 41 County Flock Cameras
According to WTOP, the Arlington County Board on Tuesday directed the county manager to stop using county-leased Flock Safety cameras and begin taking them down after residents raised surveillance and privacy concerns. The county listed 41 cameras: 26 Falcon license-plate readers and 15 Condor point-tilt-zoom units.
Arlington said it will request removal from public property within 14 business days and delete stored data that is not needed for active criminal investigations. Cameras on private property are not covered. Board Chair Matt de Ferranti said there had been no reported misuse but that the board was acting on community trust. Prince William supervisors this month approved their own Flock and drone arrangements with added reporting rules; Arlington’s reversal is the first Northern Virginia locality this week to drop the vendor.
Realtors Say There Is No Single ‘Data Center Effect’ on Housing
According to InsideNoVa, the National Association of Realtors’ 2026 Data Center Impact Report found no single national pattern tying data-center growth to housing markets. Loudoun and Prince William counties together account for about 19 percent of mapped U.S. data centers, the report said, among the densest clusters in the country.
Counties with 10 or more data centers had a median home value of $431,750, compared with $174,500 in counties with none, and values in the high-concentration group rose 95 percent over the past decade versus 64 percent elsewhere. NAR economists cautioned that those counties already tended to have higher incomes and education levels, and that the number of centers alone does not predict home prices, jobs or utility bills.
BAE Systems Manassas Gets $16 Million for Radiation-Hardened Chips
According to a BAE Systems announcement sent to local newsrooms, the company’s Space Systems group in Manassas received $16 million in Defense Production Act Title III funding to demonstrate and qualify its radiation-hardened 45-nanometer RH45 technology for space missions. The work is meant to rebuild a domestic storefront for custom radiation-hardened chips built on GlobalFoundries’ 45nm silicon-on-insulator process in Malta, New York.
BAE said the Manassas site develops high-reliability space electronics, from standard components to full payloads. The award was also circulated Wednesday on Potomac Local’s Newslinks Gmail label.
Spanberger Declares Emergency to Move Hay During Drought Shortage
According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Gov. Abigail Spanberger declared a state of emergency to speed hay shipments to livestock producers after drought cut pasture and hay yields across Virginia. The order is intended to ease trucking limits so larger loads can move faster and cheaper while farmers dip into winter feed early.
WDBJ reported the emergency runs 45 days. Fauquier Del. Michael Webert, who raises cattle in Northern Virginia, said his early-season cuttings were down about 42 percent after extreme drought in May. Virginia Farm Bureau President Scott Sink said the waiver is “instrumental” for getting hay to producers in time.
UMW to Dedicate Turf Stadium Press Box on Sept. 19
According to a University of Mary Washington notice sent to newsrooms Wednesday, the Fredericksburg school will dedicate the new press box at its turf stadium on Saturday, Sept. 19, in honor of a longtime athletics leader. The ceremony is part of the university’s public events calendar this weekend.
UMW said the dedication marks completed stadium work tied to the turf facility used by campus teams. Details were distributed on the Newslinks Gmail label used for this package.
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