Author: Uriah Kiser

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!

Prince William

Occoquan District Supervisor: ‘We hiked the data center tax rate’

By Uriah Kiser
Boddye

“My Board colleagues and I unanimously adopted the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget, raising the “Data Center Tax” rate from $2.15 to $3.70 (the current maximum allowable threshold) and lowering the real property tax rate from $0.966 to $0.920. This shifts more of the tax burden onto some of the world’s wealthiest corporations while advancing community priorities through investments in key areas such as public safety, social services, sustainability, parks, and multi-modal transportation.

— Prince William County Occoquan District Supervisor Kenny Boddye in an email to constituents.

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Business

Get Ahead: More specialty courts?; 141 new homes planned; Stafford meeting shakeup

By Uriah Kiser
The Judicial Center for Prince William County, Manassas, and Manassas Park.

The Prince William Board of County Supervisors will discuss the enhancement and expansion of specialty courts at the Safe and Secure Communities briefing scheduled for Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at 2 p.m.

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News

Stafford Supervisors propose new meeting structure

By Uriah Kiser

The Stafford County Board of Supervisors is set to revamp its meeting agenda structure to streamline operations and improve efficiency. This new structure, dubbed “Option 4,” was crafted after a thorough review of practices across over 25 Virginia jurisdictions and aims to alleviate board members’ logistical challenges.

The newly proposed system eliminates traditional standing committees and introduces a thematic meeting schedule organized as A-Day, B-Day, and C-Day. These meetings are strategically scheduled to enhance focus and efficiency:

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Business

Taco Bell plans to open near Stafford Hospital

By Uriah Kiser

A rezoning application has been submitted for the construction of a Taco Bell restaurant near Stafford Hospital. The proposed site, spanning 1.24 acres within the Falmouth Election District, is located south of Hospital Center Boulevard and west of Route 1.

The intended establishment is planned to feature a drive-thru facility.

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Prince William

Driver arrested following fatal crash near Manassas

By Uriah Kiser

Prince William County Police have made an arrest in connection with a fatal crash that occurred on April 15, 2024, near Yates Ford and Evans Ford roads near Manassas. The driver, identified as Jason Carter Lambeth, 46, of 6207 Sierra Ct near Manassas, was taken into custody on May 3.

According to authorities, the investigation revealed that Lambeth was operating a 1993 Buick Roadmaster at the time of the collision. Allegedly under the influence, Lambeth failed to yield the right-of-way to a Dodge Ram pickup as the vehicles entered the intersection, resulting in a tragic collision.

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News

Fowl play foiled: Suspect flees through Popeye’s back door, apprehended

By Uriah Kiser

A man wanted for assault tried to slip out of the back door.

Stafford sheriff’s deputies went to Popeyes, at 253 Garrisonville Road, around 9 p.m. on May 2 to serve as an arrest warrant stemming from an investigation of a serious assault reported last month on Executive Circle in North Stafford. Identified as George Attakora, aged 21, the suspect was already on the radar in Fredericksburg for other infractions, police said.

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Features

We were first in flight: Aerodrome No. 5 reproduction unveiling to mark milestone in aviation history

By Uriah Kiser
Stafford Regional Airport Terminal [Photo: Rick Horner]

The project was made possible through a public/private partnership between Stafford County, the Langley Flight Foundation, the Stafford County Historical Society, the Stafford Regional Airport, and private donors. The aircraft will be on permanent display at the airport, along with interactive kiosks with educational programming on the science and history of flight.

The Foundation is hosting a community open house on May 11th from 11:00 am – 4:00 pm at the Stafford Regional Airport with aviation activities for kids and aerodrome demonstrations every half hour. Aerodrome No. 5 was one of several experimental aircraft developed by Samuel Pierpont Langley, the Secretary of the Smithsonian, in the mid-1890s to demonstrate heavier-than-air mechanical flight. Powered by a 1.5 hp steam-powered engine, the unmanned aerodrome weighed just over 24 pounds and flew 3,330 feet over 1 minute and thirty seconds on May 6, 1896, in Stafford County. T

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Politics

Gilbert applauds Governor Youngkin, law enforcement for handling campus protests, slams Democrats’ response

By Uriah Kiser
Gilbert

“Virginia’s colleges are not preschools where petulant children need to learn basic rules and manners. Campus officials and law enforcement officers told these young adults the rules. They broke the rules, and now they’ll face the consequences,” said Delegate Todd Gilbert.

“I applaud Governor Youngkin, the Attorney General, and our law enforcement community for the even-handed way they have handled this difficult situation. Some members of the House of Delegates – including Dels. Rozia Henson (Woodbridge), Adele McClure, Joshua Cole (Fredericksburg), and Nadarius Clark – fail to recognize the unlawful nature of some of these protests. They have also associated themselves with the worst of the bigoted messages blaring from speakers on campuses.”

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