Mike Salmon, Author at Potomac Local News

Upgrades Set a New Standard at Highmark Brewery

Published May 19, 2025 at 3:27PM

Josh Alley is one of the brewmasters.

STAFFORD COUNTY, Va. – Newly added brewing equipment at Highmark Brewery in Stafford County takes this already-established name in local beer to another level. Moving beyond its menu of eight standards and a few rotating beer types, Highmark is setting a new note on the brew scene with the recent installation of three new fermentation tanks, three extractors, and a modern keg washer.

“To continue to expand, we needed to update,” said brewmaster Josh Alley whose been with them a few years as they waded through the ups and downs. With the new equipment, “we’ll be able to put new rotating styles out and possibly get back into canning,” Alley said.

Business

‘Juan More Taco’ Says Goodbye to Fredericksburg, Leaves Loyal Fans Hungry for More

By Mike Salmon

Published May 9, 2025 at 1:00PM

Owner Maria Martin and her son, Jose, who operated Juan More Taco together, pose for a photo inside the restaurant. [Photo: Mike Salmon]

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – Taco lovers along Caroline Street are disappointed as word spreads that Juan More Taco is closing its doors in Fredericksburg.

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Features

Karen Jonas Brings New Album ‘The Rise and Fall of American Kitsch’ to Sunken Well in Fredericksburg This Saturday

By Mike Salmon

Published April 24, 2025 at 2:00PM | Updated April 25, 2025 at 6:16PM

The polka dot curtain and the calendar hark from an earlier time.

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – On the album cover of Karen Jonas’ “The Rise and Fall of American Kitsch,” released in August 2024, Karen is depicted holding a drink and a bottle of liquor, sporting a neutral expression and a few tattoos here and there. Throw in a 1960s floor-model television set, an ashtray, a religious statue, and an electric guitar, and it all screams “kitsch,” from the day when it was hip to be kitsch.

Jonas and a photographer tossed around a couple of ideas before settling on the art for the cover. “We were thinking about it for a couple of months, it was fun,” she said.

Fredericksburg

Tourist Trap? Towing Reported at Lot Near Old Fredericksburg Visitors Center

By Mike Salmon

Published April 24, 2025 at 10:18AM | Updated April 25, 2025 at 6:16PM

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – At one time, the Fredericksburg Visitors’ Center at the corner of Charlotte and Caroline Streets and the little parking lot next door were an adequate place for visitors to park. Last year, the Visitor’s Center relocated to a larger space a block away. The parking lot is now under new ownership, and access to the lot has been restricted. However, not everyone received the notice, so parking enforcement rolls in, which some see as unwarranted.

“I have heard of people being towed,” said Simon Jones, who called the signs “very unclear.” He had a latte from “Anita’s Café” next door to the lot, and the owner, Anita Crossfield, agrees that the signage needs to be clearer. She’s seen cars being towed from the lot, especially on holidays. “It’s not clear,” she said, and an updated version of the sign needs to be included. The new owners should do that, Anita said.

Features

Lights, Camera, Fredericksburg! Film Festival Brings Indie Cinema to Town

By Mike Salmon

Published April 17, 2025 at 3:00PM | Updated April 25, 2025 at 6:16PM

Dalton Okolo, filmmaker and co-organizer of the Fredericksburg Film Festival, reviews shots on his camera during the opening night reception. [Photo: Mike Salmon]

Event organizer Dalton Okolo sported two high-powered cameras as he mingled with the crowd. “This is our second year, we have to figure ourselves out,” he said. The festival is supported by the Fredericksburg Office of Economic Development and Tourism, as well as several local businesses. At the opening reception, it was too early to predict the outcome, but Okolo was optimistic. “There are large amounts of enthusiasm online,” he said. Okolo is joined on the management side by Executive Producer & Experience Designer Wa’ad Adam, and producers Carlos Naranjo, Antonella Membreno, and John Heyn.

Okolo is a director, writer, and producer based in Fredericksburg, known for his Virginia-based short films, including “She’s Mine Now” (2022) and “Missing You” (2021). He is with 1108 Media, where he encourages Virginia-based filmmakers, strengthening the local film community. After the reception, there was a “Shorts Block,” with films “Dirty Towel,” “How to Feel Fullfilled at Work,” and “Waiting for April,” a film by a couple of Alexandria filmmakers Timothy Parsons and Kyle Schick.

Features

No Mower? No Problem! Goats on the Job at Old Mill Park

By Mike Salmon

Published April 7, 2025 at 11:00AM

The Good Steward Farm’s goat.

At Old Mill Park along the Rappahannock River, there are spots where the mowers can’t reach, and to send a landscape professional in there with a weed whacker could be dangerous, so Fredericksburg has sent in the goats.

They munch the weeds until the job is done, leave a bit of organic fertilizer, and then jump on the truck to the next job, clearing invasive species at the following location.

News

Battle of the Potholes Underway on Area Roads

By Mike Salmon

Published April 4, 2025 at 1:00PM | Updated April 4, 2025 at 4:05PM

This one is in the parking lot near the Firestone tire shop but most of the parking lots are privately owned so they are not VDOT’s or the City’s responsibility.

The cold temperatures in February took their toll on area roads, and now the drivers are playing dodgeball with the potholes. When dodging isn’t successful, there can be a flat tire, a bent rim, or even worse for area drivers.

Daniel Martinez writes up the repair tickets all day at Power Tire on LaFayette Boulevard in Fredericksburg.

Features

Driving a Legend: Rare British Ambulance a Rolling Mystery in Fredericksburg

By Mike Salmon

Published March 25, 2025 at 11:05AM

The original paint job will stay.

The paint job on an antique ambulance that roams the streets of Fredericksburg hints that a story behind this truck is waiting to be told. Was it part of the British Royal Air Force stationed in Lossiemouth, Scotland? Was it connected to Prince Harry?

Did it see time in the Falkland Islands war in the early 1980s?

Business

Settling in Fredericksburg Common for Mary Washington Grads

By Mike Salmon

Published March 16, 2025 at 12:23PM | Updated March 18, 2025 at 10:44PM

After graduating from MWU, Maggie Clegg moved across the U.S. before deciding that Fredericksburg is home.

Many newly graduated college alumni like the familiarity of the college town, so they stick around after they get the degree, for one reason or another. It’s still known as ‘home,’ making escaping hard.

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Fredericksburg

Public Safety Training at School Involved Many Agencies

By Mike Salmon

Published March 12, 2025 at 7:49PM | Updated March 12, 2025 at 8:54PM

Multiple agencies gathered at Walker-Grant Middle School in Fredericksburg for a semiannual exercise on Friday, March 7, but the doors were closed to keep plans from reaching the wrong eyes.

“It was a matter of security,” said Jack McGovern, the exercise director with the Fredericksburg Fire Department. “That was spelled out for media,” he added.