Prince William planners say two Dumfries-area data-center filings next to Four Seasons still have “substantial issues,” a man once sentenced to death in a 2001 Bristow killing walked out of jail Monday after 25 years, Amazon settled with King George on the Birchwood campus, and Manassas Council will hear interim-mayor applicants Oct. 5.

Planners flag six data centers next to Four Seasons

According to InsideNoVa, Prince William planning staff told two developers that separate applications for a total of six data centers beside the Four Seasons at Historic Virginia 55-and-over community off Interstate 95 have “substantial issues and deficiencies” and cannot be supported in their current form. William Cooley of Atlantic Funding LLC filed a solo application May 22 for a 60-acre site at 16251 Dumfries Road; Barrie Peterson of Southgate Business LLC filed June 3 on a neighboring 79-acre parcel.

Each filing contemplates three data-center buildings and a substation. Staff comments dated Sept. 16 on the Atlantic Funding file called proximity to the age-restricted neighborhood a “fundamental weakness,” citing height, bulk, scale and missing site-design details. The sites sit outside the county’s data-center overlay even before supervisors shrank that district on Sept. 22. Both applicants have 45 days to revise; no Planning Commission hearings are scheduled.

Justin Wolfe released after 25 years in 2001 Bristow case

According to InsideNoVa, Justin Michael Wolfe, 45, left the Prince William-Manassas Regional Jail on Monday night after 25 years in prison, including 13 on death row, in the March 2001 killing of Daniel Petrole Jr. of Bristow. Wolfe, then a 19-year-old Fairfax marijuana dealer, was convicted in 2002 of capital murder on the theory that he hired Owen Barber to shoot Petrole over a $60,000 drug debt — a role Wolfe has always denied.

The U.S. Fourth Circuit this summer vacated a lower court’s denial of Wolfe’s latest challenges and described former Commonwealth’s Attorney Paul Ebert’s handling of the case as “abhorrent to the judicial process.” Commonwealth’s Attorney Amy Ashworth said Monday that Wolfe pleaded guilty to marijuana distribution and no contest to criminal solicitation under an agreement for 28 years with three suspended, credited as time served. Ashworth said evidence that Barber shot Petrole was clear, evidence of Wolfe’s role was “more complicated,” and the deal avoided a third trial for Petrole’s family.

Amazon settles with King George on Birchwood campus

According to the Fredericksburg Free Press, Amazon Web Services and the King George Board of Supervisors settled the company’s lawsuit over vested rights on the former Birchwood Power plant site on Kings Highway before a Circuit Court trial that had been set for Monday. The county conceded that AWS has vested rights to reuse the coal-plant property and other industrially zoned land it owns; AWS agreed not to put data-center buildings on land next to the Rappahannock River.

Amazon has described a $6 billion project, including $10 million for King George’s new career and technical education school, and more than 100 jobs. Board Chair David Sullins said the county still expects AWS to treat growth as a community partnership. County Administrator Matthew Smolnik said the CTE pledge will matter for students entering the workforce. Amazon sued in 2025 after the board of zoning appeals denied a vested-rights finding on 869 acres.

Manassas hears interim-mayor applicants Oct. 5

According to InsideNoVa, outgoing Manassas Mayor Michelle Davis-Younger — who told Council on Monday that she recently married Micron Vice President Delbert Parks and now uses the name Michelle Parks — used her farewell meeting to thank residents and describe eight years that ended about 90 days short of a full two terms. She announced in February that she would leave office early and later set the end of September as her last month.

A council proclamation cited her as the city’s first woman, first Black person and first Democrat to serve as mayor. City Council will take public comment at 7 p.m. Oct. 5 in Council Chambers on letters of interest from people seeking appointment as interim mayor. Voters will elect the next full-term mayor in November 2027. Vice Mayor Mark Wolfe and Councilmember Tom Osina, both Democrats, have said they intend to seek the office.

State board sets new rules for local student assessments

According to the Fredericksburg Free Press, republishing Virginia Mercury, the Virginia Board of Education on Sept. 24 approved updated guidelines for Local Alternative Assessments used in courses that do not have statewide Standards of Learning tests. Superintendent of Public Instruction Jenna Conway said the rules are meant to help divisions run the assessments well after last year’s General Assembly overhaul of testing.

Third-grade science and history remain among mandatory local assessments. New optional assessments include Virginia Studies, Civics and Economics, and end-of-course Earth Science and Chemistry. About 63 of 132 divisions already use the tools. School-board and social-studies groups asked for more training and a delay in new double-scoring and public-reporting rules added after the school year started; the board kept those requirements and said the department will send the guidelines, hold office hours and audit divisions that use the assessments.

Route 1 lane work continues through Friday in Fredericksburg

According to the Virginia Department of Transportation, the Fredericksburg District’s Sept. 27–Oct. 3 travel alert lists weekday lane closures on Route 1 in the city for the Augustine Avenue intersection project. Alternating northbound and southbound single-lane closures are scheduled Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., plus overnight closures Tuesday through Friday from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m., between Stafford Avenue and College Avenue / Eagle Village Drive.

Construction on the safety-and-operations job began last week and is scheduled through October 2027. Route 1 is to stay open, with short side-street detours announced as phases change. The same weekly alert lists overnight I-95 lane work near Exit 126 in Spotsylvania for noise-barrier installation.

Sudley Road roundabout work stacks cones into Old Town

According to InsideNoVa, drivers approaching Old Town Manassas are seeing more cones, lane shifts and detours as construction on the long-planned Sudley Road roundabout moved from planning into field work this month. The project is meant to change how traffic enters downtown from Sudley rather than leaving the existing intersection geometry in place.

The story described an uptick in closures around the city as several jobs overlap. Motorists headed into Old Town from the Sudley corridor were told to expect changing patterns as crews set the roundabout footprint.

Battlefield senior appears in Times Square Down syndrome showcase

According to InsideNoVa, Battlefield High School senior Yohanna Ramirez appeared on screens in Times Square on Sept. 12 as part of the National Down Syndrome Society’s annual video presentation. The program highlights people with Down syndrome from around the world.

The Haymarket-area student’s appearance was one of several local notes circulating this week as schools and families marked the organization’s showcase. The report did not list additional Prince William students in the same reel.

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