The Eavesdrop Brewery in Yorkshire has undergone a very colorful facelift, one that according to general manager Sam Madden is giving the brewery a more eye-catching identity.
Over the last year, the owners of the brewery have brought in an artist to paint this mural across the building which as well as the brewery includes local businesses such as the Cairo Cafe, Eugene's Sausage and Fries, and the Renegade Classics Motorcycle Shop.
The mural, painted by artist Nick Zimbra, shows flora and fauna against a colorful background such as the rabbit running on the Renegade Classic shop front or the flowers on the front of the Cairo Cafe. Zimbra, who has worked on the mural over the course of three to four months, has done similar projects in Richmond where he is currently working on a mural for the Capital One building.
Madden praised the mural to Potomac Local News, saying that it's not something you would normally see in many places in Prince William County.
"Personally, I grew up in Prince William County. I'm like, man, there's no public art in. Yeah, it's so boring. So, like, stiff, but it was cool to see it," says Madden.
Madden also touts the uniqueness of the stores located next to the brewery, which includes The Drop Bottle Shop, which stocks hard-to-find ales.Â
"So that's stuff that you can't find in your Harris Teeter, Safeway, the other places, the small batches that they make," said Madden.
Many of the stores and restaurants in the brewery managed to survive through the pandemic even as they had to limit the number of customers by half. Many of the restaurants were able to survive through food delivery apps like Doordash as well as curbside service, said Madden.
Eavesdrop Brewery opened in 2017 and offers not just homebrewed beer but also local offerings of cheeses, meats, and honey that are produced at farms west of Manassas, located between Marshall and Front Royal.
Eavesdrop Brewery is located off of Route 28 at 7223 Centerville Road in Yorkshire.
The Prince William County Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the grand opening of the new Warrior Challenge Obstacle Course in Locust Shade Park.
Potomac Local News was there for the ceremony in Triangle, which attracted many representatives from the Prince William County Government, Quantico Marine Corps Base, as well as state officials
Located about a mile from the Marine Corps base, the obstacle course was created to give a place for residents in both the county and the base to get outside and exercise. The course, according to county parks and recreation department director Seth Handler-Voss, is inspired by the television show American Ninja Warrior where contestants run through a challenging obstacle course.
"I'm looking forward to seeing all the active duty, veterans, and residents coming out and enjoying the park," said Col. Michael L. Brooks, new Commander for Marine Corps Base Quantico.
The TV show is a spin-off based on a Japanese show called Sasuke that has been active since 1997, Sasuke was renamed Ninja Warrior when it was shown in the United States in the early 2000s.
The funds for the course came from a combination of a $250,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Defense from their Defense Infrastructure Community program, one of only 15 such grants that were awarded this year. That grant was matched with another $250,000 in funding from Prince William County for a total of $500,000.
"This is the partnership between the County and Marine Corps Base Quantico, getting the grant for this course solidified that partnership. I'm extremely excited about the continued partnership with Col. Brooks as commander of the base and to continue that partnership in all activities including infrastructure, transportation. However that partnership rolls out, it is essential for the county," said Andrea O. Bailey, Potomac District Supervisor.
The opening of this course comes with new growth for the Quantico area, the base broke ground for their new wargaming facility in Sept. 2020. Quantico also awarded a contract to Dominion Energy to update the base's energy infrastructure. Both are aspects of the coming growth that Quantico will experience over the next few years.
There are plans to connect the obstacle course to the Potomac Heritage Scenic Trail which runs through Prince William County and now ends in neighboring Stafford County.
"The trail will connect through the Marine Corps Museum to this park and terminate in Stafford County who will take it from there and then go down to the Chesapeake Bay," said Handler-Voss.
Another opening will occur at Locust Shade Park in September when a new mountain bike trail will be opened to the public. Other amenities at the roadside park, located between Interstate 95 and Route 1, at 4701 Locust Shade Drive, include a mini-golf course, and a pond for fishing and paddle boating.
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Wanda Blackwell launched her candidacy for the Garrisonville District seat on the Stafford County School Board from Vinny's Italian Grill in North Stafford.
Blackwell says the county School Board needs to find a way to retain teachers, paying them more so they don't flee for new jobs in neighboring jurisdictions.
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The Stafford County Board of Supervisors voted to restore a stream at St. Clair Brooks Park, located off of Butler Road in Falmouth.
The project plans to realign the stream in several locations away from steep slopes that could introduce sediment and other materials into the stream.
The project also plans to use natural materials such as the surrounding trees and dirt at the restoration site to prevent the need for hauling away large trees, to import new materials, and to give the area a more natural look, county officials said.
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A new Public Safety Facility currently being built in Manassas is currently on schedule by its completion date of September 2022.
A video posted on Twitter by Manassas City Police Chief Douglass Keen updated the new $49.1 million facilities located at 9608 Grant Avenue. In the short video, Keen is standing on what will become the facility's fourth floor while describing what will be the new home of the city's police department.Â
The new 68,000 square foot facility will be the new home of the Manassas police and consolidate all of the city's public safety departments. This would include the 911 and Emergency Operations Center, the Fire and Rescue Administration offices, and its Information Technology Department.
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The Stafford County Board of Supervisors has deferred an agreement with the Center for Innovative Technology until August.
The agreement would allow the county to contribute funds to pilot projects to the Virginia Smart Community Testbed. While federal, state, and private contributions are currently being made to the testbed Stafford County has no such agreement that would allow them to contribute to pilot projects.
Pilot projects that Stafford County has shown interest in investment include the development of flood sensing monitors that could trigger information though connected signs regarding road closures. This would be of particular interest to the county because of the flooding issues on Brooke Road that have constantly caused traffic issues and cut off residents in that area from being able to leave their homes.
Other potential projects of interest to Stafford have been the use of artificial intelligence to analyze data that has been collected for use in what county documents are calling "smart tourism." The concept of "smart tourism" would be put to use in better targeting of visitor spending, such use of A.I. has also been considered in helping with making business expansions more efficient though the usage of multiple data sources.
The county is in the process of drafting an agreement that could create such a mechanism for it to invest in testbed projects of interest. The contract would require information such as the specific task order for each pilot project that outlines the scope of the work as well as financial contributions from the county, CIT, private partners, federal, and state agencies.
The Virginia Smart Community Testbed, which is also using newly-developed 5G cell phone technology, is located at the Stafford County Courthouse and was officially opened in late May. The testbed has made agreements with many private companies such as Verizon as other federal and state agencies to develop smart technology.
The testbed is the first of its kind in the Commonwealth giving Stafford County a chance to become a hotbed of emerging technologies.
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Many musicians seek to bridge the gap between genres, and that intent is evident in the name of Sound Fusion.
Sound Fusion plays a jazz-funk hybrid sound consisting of some of the best young jazz musicians in Fredericksburg. Among them are saxophonist Ben Peters, drummer Kyle Smith, bassist Alex Rodriguez, and pianist Jack Earnhardt.
While the group has been together since October 2020, with the release of their first single "My Favorite Things" the group has been coming together for the last three years.
"So, about three years ago I was a sophomore at the University of Mary Washington and my mentor Professor Gately dispatched me to do a gig at a festival called the Kristallnacht,a winter market festival in Market Square in downtown Fredericksburg, and I recruited Jack, Alex, and Kyle to play with me. What I wasn't expecting when we jammed was that we clicked," says Peters about the group's formation.
From there the group continued to practice in Kyle Smith's basement and would record their first album State of the Art which shows off the influences that brought them to the world of Jazz such as Jacob Collier, Herbie Hancock, and John Coltrane. The Coltrane influence is strong as they cover Coltrane standards such as "Impressions" and "Alice in Wonderland" on the album.
Sound Fusion strives to blend its own sound from decades of schooling, experience, and interest in Jazz, Funk, Rock, and Disco music.
"Most of what we are playing is closer to the style of what was going on in Jazz in the '70s and '80s. That's where we are, that's where our languages are. That's just something that we can all communicate and understand each other." says bassist Alex Rodriguez.
Then the pandemic hit and it would affect the way bands perform and where they would perform. For Sound Fusion, however, it allowed them to gel even further as it would interrupt plans for some members of the group.
"I was worried that right as the group was really getting started, we're gonna have to go back to school at New England Conservatory in Boston. One of the good things that came out of Covid is that the time with the group was extended." says pianist Jack Earnhardt.
As the pandemic subsides, Sound Fusion is making plans for the future. In addition to upcoming shows they're also planning a new album which while they say will be on the slower side it will still have the same blend of genres that brought them together in the first place.
"So we've been discussing the second album, we're already talking about what do we want to do next? This is our first statement since State of the Art which is the first one. We agreed that let's start with one tune and see where it goes from. There may be something short that can come out of it, so I think it's gonna be a little slower this time. But we want to kind of build it." says Peters of the potential new album.
Sound Fusion will perform at Colonial Tavern on Lafayette Street in downtown Fredericksburg on Friday, July 16 from 7 pm to 9 pm.
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David Fauth is an engineer for a data analytics firm, and a long-time Stafford County resident who has education coursing through veins.
Fauth’s father served on the board while he was growing up, his mother and grandmother were teachers as well. Together they influenced Fauth’s belief in the value of education.
Fauth, along with his wife of 31 years, Nancy, a nurse, raised four children who attended Stafford County Public Schools which, according to him afforded his children a good educational experience. His children range in age from 20 to 27.
Today, Fauth has volunteered his time to the county from teaching children at the Stafford Baptist and Mount Ararat churches, donating food and supplies to area neighborhoods, coaching soccer games, and officiating swim meets.
Fauth wants to bring the values of community service to the school board where he wants to be, in his words, a servant leader who wants to discuss ways to solve problems and rejoice in what is working.
Fauth will run against Maya Guy for the Stafford County School Board seat representing the Aquia District. Potomac Local News interviewed Fauth on what he hopes to bring to the table and to discuss some of the issues that the Stafford Schools are dealing with.
What made you decide to run for the school board?
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The Stafford County Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing to adopt a program to deal with fats, oils, and greases in the county.
According to county documents, if the Board of Supervisors approves a mitigation program, it would collect fees to fund the inspections of commercial kitchens that have the highest potential for releasing fats, oils, and grease (affectionately referred to by county public works crews as FOGs) into the county sewer pipes.
Stafford County has had a long history of trying to deal with FOGs and the issues it causes for its infrastructure. The county estimates that 50 percent of sanitary overflows and backups are caused by the substances settling in the county's sewer system, as well as other related issues which cost Stafford $1.5 million annually to treat.
County leaders could charge $100 for an annual permit, and a re-inspection fee of $50. The Board would be able to set these fees to fund the set-up and operation of the program as long as they are considered reasonable under Virginia State Law.
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The Stafford County Board of Supervisors approved the implementation of a $5 fee to pay for the implementation of a new electronic summons system.
According to information from Stafford County, the system will save time by allowing sheriff's deputies by logging information into the system from the field and generating a court summons on the spot, freeing up the time of data entry employees that work back at the office.
This fee will also allow the county's sheriff's office department to fund and maintain the system, as well as fund any extras that go with the system, such as printers and scanners, according to Stafford Sheriff's Captain Lee Peters.
Anyone whose been charged with a crime, from a speeding violation to homicide, must pay.
Peters, after being asked by George Washington District Supervisor Tom Coen, confirmed that the sheriff's office doesn't consider the fee to be a tax. Those who accessed the system would be the only ones paying the fee. Virginia law allows the fee. The Virginia State Police already have such a program and fee in place, similar to what Stafford County will use.
The system would also be convenient to decrease the time it takes to settle a charge, officials said.
The information will also be uploaded to the Virginia State Police's new Community Policing Data Collection which collects and displays data on traffic stops on the state’s Open Data Portal. The collection is a result of the passage of the Community Policing Act which was passed in 2020 and became effective on July 1.
The act mandated that all law enforcement agencies that participate in traffic stops must upload information on stops to this site. The information currently on file on the site was collected from July 2020 to June 30, 2020, and will continue to be updated with current information and reviewed to make sure the available data is not out of date.
