Author: Mike Salmon

Fairfax

Will I-95’s E-ZPass lanes go both ways? They’re looking into it

By Mike Salmon
Looking south along the I-95 E-ZPass Express Lanes near Springfield. [Photo courtesy of Transurban]

Suppose the latest idea on the Interstate 95 E-ZPass Lanes comes to fruition. In that case, drivers can access lanes in both directions during rush hours, creating a busier highway transportation system while offering more choices to drivers.

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Features

High-tech hunt for Mary Ball Washington’s grave

By Mike Salmon
Dr. Katherine Parker, a professor with the Department of Historic Preservation at the University of Mary Washington. [Photo: Mike Salmon]

George Washington’s mother, Mary Ball Washington, died in 1789 and was buried in Fredericksburg near a monument that resembles the Washington Monument but on a lesser scale.

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Features

Future Dale City Ball Hockey rink gets boost from Washington Capitals

By Mike Salmon
Children playing ball hockey teaches teamwork and sportsmanship

Construction on the rink will begin later this year and will be similar to previous Capitals projects, using a Riley Manufactured board system and a branded Mateflex flooring system.

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Originals

I-66 Express Lanes driver finds office closed to public when he needed answers

By Mike Salmon
While driving through this confusing interchange at I-66 and I-495, it’s appropriate to play “Flight of the Bumblebee,” on the stereo with the volume up.

With a road project as significant as the Interstate 66 Express Lanes, having an office open to the public is ideal for those wanting to ask questions to an actual person and discuss future initiatives that impact hundreds of thousands of people in the I-66 corridor.

There is a certain level of complications, too, with the switchable HOV E-ZPass, so an office along I-66 outside the beltway is ideal. Only it’s not open and doesn’t appear to be in operation.

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Health

New emergency clinic opens near Fredericksburg, addressing growing need

By Mike Salmon
[Photo: Mike Salmon]

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County have another medical option with the recent opening of the Harrison Crossing emergency clinic at Plank Road and Harrison Road.

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News

Wanted: Contractors to build a new Stafford skatepark

By Mike Salmon
[Photo by Matteo Paganelli on Unsplash]

After a round of unsuccessful bids the first time around, Stafford County put out another proposal on a county skatepark to get a place the county skateboarders are missing.

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Features

Mammoth pancake, not Civil War, celebrated at Battlefield Restaurant

By Mike Salmon
Deadman’s Curve on one side and a genuine artifacts store on the other. [Photo: Mike Salmon]

The Battlefield Restaurant has a pancake on the menu that’s the size of a medium pizza and more than enough for a breakfast entrée. The question is, how do you flip it on the grill?

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Features

Exclusive interview: Taylor family welcomes I-66 Express Lanes miracle baby, thanks emergency crews for roadside assistance

By Mike Salmon
Baby Audrey and “Trooper Teddy,” a gift from Virginia State Police. [Submitted photo]

“It was crazy,” said Brandon Taylor, the father who helped with his wife, Joan, as the express lanes traffic whizzed by. “You hear the stories, but you never know someone that went through it.”

It all started about 5:45 on Tuesday morning, January 30, 2024, when Joan could feel the baby stirring. She woke up, woke Brandon, and he went into his pre-rehearsed motions, grabbing the baby bag they had ready and getting their three-year-old son out of bed. “Twenty minutes later, we were on the highway, and it was happening,” Brandon said.

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Features

Coffee, tea and Huntley make up the aura at Katora

By Mike Salmon
Musicians gather in the sound room upstairs. [Photo: Mike Salmon]

From the front, the Katora Coffee Shop looks like an inviting place to come in, have a cup of joe a pastry, and a conversation with whoever is around. Once inside, though, there’s more to it.

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Features

Fredericksburg Tourism Revamp: Visitor’s center, economic development office relocate for modernization, collaboration

By Mike Salmon
The current center is full of Fredericksburg maps, hats and sweatshirts. [Photo: Mike Salmon]

The city’s Visitor’s Center and the Department of Economic Development and Tourism office are being relocated to modernize Fredericksburg’s tourism industry and make destinations accessible to all.

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