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Author: Uriah Kiser
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This article is exclusively for our Locals Only members. Please Sign In or upgrade to become a Locals Only Member today!
Your support helps us continue delivering more in-depth community news that matters to you. Thank you.
This article is exclusively for our Locals Only members. Please Sign In or upgrade to become a Locals Only Member today!
Your support helps us continue delivering more in-depth community news that matters to you. Thank you.
This article is exclusively for our Locals Only members. Please Sign In or upgrade to become a Locals Only Member today!
Your support helps us continue delivering more in-depth community news that matters to you. Thank you.
Stafford County’s emerging practice of routing media questions for elected officials through government staff is not just a change in communication strategy — it is a direct threat to transparency. It creates a wall between residents and their representatives, insulating leaders from basic accountability and weakening the democratic norms that make local government work.
This gatekeeping did not appear in a vacuum. It followed weeks of questions surrounding Garrisonville District Supervisor Dr. Pamela Yeung, who abstained from a major data center vote on October 22 without offering any explanation. Residents spent hours speaking at that meeting. The standards were described as some of the strongest in Virginia. Every supervisor present either voted for or against them — except Yeung, who opted out and has never said why.
Hundreds of people filled Mill Street and the steps of Occoquan Town Hall on Saturday night as the town flipped the switch on its Christmas tree, officially opening the holiday season in the small riverfront community.
The tree lighting began just after 6 p.m. in front of Town Hall, where gas lamps, wreaths, and shop lights gave the historic district a postcard feel. Broadcasting live from the event, Potomac Local News described Occoquan as a “nice little postcard, Hallmark movie town” that feels far removed from nearby Washington, D.C., despite sitting just off Interstate 95.
Traffic Alert: Scheduled Lane Closures in Stafford County and Fredericksburg Area (Nov. 23-29, 2025)
“The scheduled lane closures for road work in the Fredericksburg, Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula areas, weather permitting.” — VDOT Fredericksburg District announced on Nov. 21, 2025.
“Monday – Tuesday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Alternating northbound and southbound lane closures on Route 17 between Poplar Road and Hartwood Church Road. Median improvements under permit.” — VDOT Fredericksburg District stated.
A former Spotsylvania County Public Schools bus attendant who sexually abused young, non-verbal special-needs children on his daily route was sentenced Friday to a total of 201 years in prison, with 48 years to serve.
Miguel Angel Velasquez-Velasco, 23, pleaded guilty in September to 13 felony and misdemeanor offenses, including aggravated sexual battery and custodial indecent liberties, for assaults that prosecutors say took place on a school bus carrying children ages four to eight.
A long-running partnership between Stafford County Fire and Rescue and Stafford County Public Schools will provide nearly 1,700 winter coats to local students this year through Operation Warm. This donation-driven program has grown dramatically since its launch more than 15 years ago.
Mark Doyle, a volunteer with the Mountain View Fire Department, said the effort began around 2008 when Fairfax County Fire and Rescue donated about 30 coats and encouraged Stafford to expand the initiative locally.