Author: Rick Horner

The U.S. Department of Justice is suing Stafford County, claiming it blocked the creation of what would have been a Muslim-owned cemetery in the county.

The DOJ says the county violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act — RLUIPA — a federal law that protects religious institutions from discriminatory land-use regulations. The lawsuit alleges the county enacted overly restrictive zoning regulations that prevented the All Muslim Association of America (AMAA) from developing the cemetery, which would have been constructed on 29 acres of land the AMAA had purchased on Garrisonville Road in North Stafford.

The Don Brown Experience was one of many bands on the bill at the Black Lives Matter Unity in the Community Concert on June 13.

The band got to play live for the first time since the beginning of the shutdown, bringing a mix of funk, soul, R&B, and gospel.

Cuts are being made across the board to the Fredericksburg City budget due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The new $94 million budget is a decrease from the original $103.4 million that was set before the pandemic hit in March. The new budget is also lower than last year’s the $101 million operating budget.