I'm the Founder and Publisher of Potomac Local News. Raised in Woodbridge, I'm now raising my family in Northern Virginia and care deeply about our community. If you're not getting our FREE email newsletter, you are missing out. Subscribe Now!
FREDERICKSBURG — For the first time, the George Washington Regional Commission (GWRC) is creating a comprehensive economic development plan for Planning District 16 — and it wants to hear directly from the community.
GWRC, which serves Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania, and Stafford counties, as well as the City of Fredericksburg, has launched an online survey to help shape a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS). The initiative is funded by a grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration and facilitated by GWRC’s consultant, RKG Associates, Inc.
Fredericksburg Advance — A Fredericksburg City elementary assistant principal’s salary was increased following text messages between his father, a member of the School Board, and division superintendent Marci Catlett. In the text messages, School Board member Jarvis Bailey shared communication from his son, Matthew Bailey, laying out his rationale for requesting that he be placed at a higher step on the elementary assistant principal salary scale. More from Fredericksburg Advance.
InsideNoVa — A 19-year-old Arlington woman drowned in Lake Anna over the weekend. Deputies were called to Sandy Point Drive in Bumpass at 10:45 p.m. Saturday, where witnesses reported seeing the victim, 19-year-old Sally Bedell, jump from a structure into the water, resurface, and then go missing, the Louisa County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. More from InsideNoVa.
GAINESVILLE, Va. – The folks at the Prince William County Republican Committee just told Potomac Local News they’ll hold a firehouse primary this Saturday, Aug. 16 to decide their candidate for Gainesville District Supervisor. Voting runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Bull Run Middle School on Catharpin Road—and it’s only open to Gainesville District voters.
Two Republicans are vying for the nod: Patrick Harders, a longtime Manassas resident and founder of a regional outdoor lighting company, and Brian Landrum, who entered the race earlier this month. Harders says he wants to carry on the work of the late Supervisor Bob Weir—particularly his opposition to sprawling data center developments. Landrum has called for greater transparency in local politics and recently accused a prominent community leader of misleading voters—charges she denies while endorsing Harders.
PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. – Virginia welcomed more visitors and more tourism dollars in 2024 than ever before, generating a record $35.1 billion in spending, Governor Glenn Youngkin and the Virginia Tourism Corporation announced this week. That’s up 5.4% from $33.3 billion in 2023 and marked the first time overnight visitation surpassed pre-pandemic levels. More than one million additional overnight visitors came to the Commonwealth in 2024 — a total of 44.7 million people.
Statewide, travelers spent an average of $96 million per day, up from $91 million the year before. Tourism supported more than 229,000 jobs in 2024, nearly 5,000 more than in 2023, and generated $2.5 billion in state and local tax revenue. Officials say that amounts to $990 in annual savings for each Virginia household.
FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – International opera and musical theater performer Kelly Glyptis is returning to her roots this month, starring as Mother Abbess in The Sound of Music at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts.
Glyptis, who grew up in Manassas and graduated from what was then Stonewall Jackson Senior High School—now Unity-Reed High School—called the opportunity to perform back home “really special.” She previously toured with The Sound of Music in 2018 and now steps fully into the role for a limited run that begins August 20 and continues through October 26. Glyptis is scheduled to perform through October 6.
FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — Community leaders, educators, and descendants of historical figures gathered Wednesday for the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the newly built Walker–Grant Middle School, celebrating what many called the start of a new era in Fredericksburg education.
The former middle school at 1 Learning Lane, just off Route 1, will be repurposed as Gladys West Elementary School.
