Jury selection continues in the trial of Naresh Bhatt, charged in the 2024 disappearance and presumed death of his wife, Mamta Kafle Bhatt, InsideNoVa reports.
Bhatt has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, concealment of a dead body, and physical defilement of a dead body. No body has been found. Mamta, a Manassas Park nurse and mother, was last heard from on July 29, 2024. Judge Kimberly A. Irving is presiding. The trial is expected to run for weeks.
Prince William County Parks & Recreation is taking registration for a Halloween lineup that runs through Oct. 31. The Great Pumpkin Party is almost full.
Take a Sip of History is Thursday, Oct. 15, free, no registration, at Water’s End Brewery with Prince William Historic Preservation. Adapted Recreation Spooky Snacks is Wednesday, Oct. 21, for people with disabilities. The Great Pumpkin Party is Friday, Oct. 23, for ages 2 to 8 with a parent. The same night, Brentsville Courthouse Historic Centre has a free outdoor showing of its 2009 Ghost Hunters episode. The ghost tour is ticketed.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
