Author: PLN News

Fredericksburg

Mary Washington ranks No. 1 in Virginia for internships

By PLN News
University of Mary Washington sign

The University of Mary Washington ranks No. 1 in Virginia for internships and No. 5 among public universities nationally in The Princeton Review’s Best Value Colleges for 2027. It is No. 4 among public schools for making an impact.

The university said it climbed 13 spots on internships and seven on making an impact from the 2025 lists, when it was No. 18 and No. 11. Princeton Review surveyed more than 650 colleges in 2025-26 and named 209 Best Value Colleges, eight of them in Virginia. Mary Washington’s return-on-investment rating is 85 out of 99. The internship list is based on student ratings of how easy it is to get a placement.

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Manassas

Manassas council hears three interim-mayor candidates and makes no appointment

By PLN News
Ralph J. Smith, Tom Osina and Mark D. Wolfe
Ralph J. Smith, Tom Osina and Vice Mayor Mark D. Wolfe, the three Manassas City Council members who asked Monday to be appointed interim mayor. Credit City of Manassas.

Manassas City Council heard from Ralph J. Smith, Tom Osina and Vice Mayor Mark D. Wolfe on Monday and made no interim-mayor appointment. Council has until Nov. 14.

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Politics

Ollivant says he has blood cancer and will stay in the race against Vindman

By PLN News
Doug Ollivant
Doug Ollivant, the Republican candidate in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District. Credit: Doug Ollivant for Virginia.

Republican Doug Ollivant said Monday he was diagnosed last week with acute myeloid leukemia and will stay in the race against Rep. Eugene Vindman.

“I want to be exceptionally clear: I am fighting to beat this cancer, and I am fighting to beat Eugene Vindman in November,” Ollivant wrote on X. He said this type of AML is extremely treatable and that his doctors are positive.

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Traffic

VDOT lists overnight I-95 work through Friday

By PLN News

The Virginia Department of Transportation lists overnight lane closures on I-95 and Route 1 through Friday, Oct. 10. The Falmouth Bridge daytime inspection is already posted separately.

On I-95, northbound and southbound bridge inspections run Monday and Wednesday nights, 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., from Exit 133 to Exit 148. Soil-sample work continues between Exit 126 and Exit 133, and on southbound from Exit 140 to Exit 126. Pavement marking is scheduled at Exit 143. A southbound noise barrier at Exit 126 keeps a single lane from 8 p.m. and a double lane from 10 p.m., reopening by 7 a.m.

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Prince William

Prince William libraries to close Monday for staff training

By PLN News

All Prince William Public Libraries will be closed Monday, Oct. 12, for staff training and development. The digital library stays open.

The county hours page lists the Monday closure with the rest of the 2026 holiday schedule. Veterans Day is the next systemwide closure, Wednesday, Nov. 11. Branches close at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 25, and stay closed through Sunday, Nov. 29.

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Manassas

Sudley roundabout stays under the existing signal while Manassas builds it

By PLN News
City of Manassas project rendering. File photo.

Manassas is building the Sudley Road roundabout with the existing span-wire signal still running the intersection.

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Virginia

NextEra has until Thursday to hand Virginia records in the Dominion review

By PLN News

NextEra Energy must provide records about accusations of political misconduct in Florida by Thursday as Virginia regulators review its proposed acquisition of Dominion Energy, The Center Square reported.

Chief Hearing Examiner D. Mathias Roussy Jr.’s Friday ruling gives the companies four business days to supplement answers to Clean Virginia. He granted some requests and rejected others. The records include a memorandum said to have gone to then-chairman James Robo about Florida Power & Light officers and consultants, if it exists and the companies have it; records of an internal investigation Robo discussed on a January 2022 earnings call; contracts and payments involving Matrix LLC, Canopy Partners and related entities; and records given to Jacksonville’s special committee on the proposed sale of JEA.

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Manassas

Broad Run flooding is one reason VRE wants a 100-percent federal planning grant

By PLN News

Virginia Railway Express wants a federal planning grant to study how extreme heat, inland flooding and storms could affect its tracks and stations. The Operations Board on Sept. 18 recommended authorization to submit that application jointly with the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority.

The recommendation covers the U.S. Department of Transportation PROTECT planning-grant round for fiscal years 2024 through 2026. PROTECT is the Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation program. Chief Executive Officer Katie Choe told the board she expects the grant to be about $800,000, fully reimbursed, with no local match. That figure is her expectation. It is not an award, and the written item does not state a dollar amount.

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Police Blotter

Police Blotter: 29-year-old man found dead in a Nokesville field

By PLN News
File photo of police lights
Photo: Scott Rodgerson / Unsplash

Prince William County police said a 29-year-old man was found dead Sunday morning in a field off Burwell Road in Nokesville. Spotsylvania deputies said Yousaf Chaudhry, 18, of Spotsylvania, died Friday night after a Corvette left Smith Station Road and hit trees. The Monday reports also list a residential burglary in Nokesville, an attempted burglary in Woodbridge, three DUI arrests in Stafford, and a planned sobriety checkpoint near Manassas tonight.

On Oct. 4 at 9:38 a.m., officers responded to the 10400 block of Burwell Road in Nokesville (20181) for a report of an unconscious individual, the Monday daily incident report said. The investigation revealed the individual, a 29-year-old man, was located in a nearby field with an apparent self-inflicted injury. The man was pronounced dead on scene. Preliminarily, there were no signs of foul play. Police said more information will be released if deemed necessary. The report did not name the man.

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