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!

News

Youngkin visits Colonial Forge High School, signs order to attract more teachers

By Uriah Kiser
Gov. Glenn Youngkin signs an executive directive to make it easier to attract teachers to public schools during ceremony at Colonial Forge High School in Stafford County on September 1, 2022 [Uriah Kiser/PLN]

Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed an Executive Directive today at Colonial Forge High School in Stafford County, cutting administrative red tape for schools trying to fill a glut of vacant teaching positions.

Youngkin’s order will make it easier to get teachers in classrooms, allowing them to work with obtaining their licenses while upholding educational standards. The order also makes it easier for retired teachers who want to return to the classroom, educators who recently moved to Virginia, and those switching careers to begin teaching to ease the state’s teacher shortage.

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Business

Cinema Cafe drops Manassas Park movie theater deal; Library to open soon

By Uriah Kiser

The company that was going to build a movie theater in Manassas Park had second thoughts.

Cinema Cafe will no longer build a movie house to anchor the Park Central development, the new home of Manassas Park City Hall. The Hampton Roads-based cinema pulled out of the mixed-use development at 100 Park Central Plaza, next to the new Manassas Park City Hall and, soon, the city’s public library.

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News

Spanberger shifts campaign focus to local matters, presses Youngkin on I-95 fix

By Uriah Kiser
Rep. Abigail Spanberger opens its 2022 campaign headquarters in Fredericksburg on May 14. [Photo submitted by the campaign]

The two-term incumbent Democrat sent a letter to Youngkin demanding answers to how his administration is working to prevent another shutdown of Interstate 95 during a snowstorm like Virginia experienced on January 3, 2022.

Drivers were stranded along a 50-mile stretch of highway between Dumfries and Carmel Church, near Kings Dominion, for more than 12 hours without food, water, heat, and access to restrooms. Specifically, Spanberger wants to know how Youngkin is implementing recommendations outlined in an April report to prevent another disaster from occurring.

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Business

SkyZone Woodbridge trampoline park has full-court foam and fun

By Uriah Kiser

A new trampoline park in Woodbridge makes parents and their children want to jump for joy.

Sky Zone Woodbridge offers a wide variety of activities, from a wall-to-wall trampoline for freestyle jumping, an area with nothing but foam blocks to leap into, and the SkySlam trampoline court — a full basketball court, all under one roof.

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News

Manassas residents fuming over tax bills, Revenue Commissioner stonewalls press

By Uriah Kiser
Tim Demeria running for Manassas Commissioner of the Revenue in 2021. [Photo: Mike Beaty]

William “Billy” Tucker was shocked when he received a bill for $2,543, up from $1,938 last year. The value of his wife’s 2019 Kia Credenza is assessed 18% over the past year, now valued at over $33,000, and his Dodge truck up more than $7,000 in a year, at $45,500.

His daughter drives a 2007 Honda Accord that Demeria says is worth $4,400, $870 more than last year. “I know I can’t get $4,400 for it if I tried to sell it,” said Tucker.

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News

Manassas schools ditch police station, need City Council blessing

By Uriah Kiser
Manassas Public Schools HQ at 8700 Centreville Road.

Manassas School Board members unanimously voted to purchase 8700 Centreville Road, a building in which it rents space for central office employees. The school division wants to buy the 55,000-square-foot building for $10.8 million.

The move throws a plan to move into the city’s police station at 9518 Fairview Avenue. Police will vacate the space for a new public safety center early next year.

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News

Prince William police need 100 new officers, will hold career fair at Potomac Mills

By Uriah Kiser
A Prince William County Police K9 [Photo: Mary Davidson/Potomac Local News]

The sheriff’s office protects the county courthouse in Manassas and serves court orders. The police department, commonly seen in Carolina-blue colored vehicles, responds to 911 calls — everything from car crashes and shootings to helping stranded drivers with flat tires.

The career fair is Saturday, August 27, 2022, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., near the TJ Maxx store at the shopping mall, 2700 Potomac Mills Circle in Woodbridge. You can go online to view all of the county’s open positions.

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News

EDA withholds leftover coronavirus funds from Stafford schools

By Uriah Kiser
Stafford County Public Schools Alvin York Bandy Complex, the headquarters of the school division.

Stafford County Public Schools won’t get the $180,000 in funding requested of the Economic Development Authority.

The schools asked for financial assistance planning a convocation event on August 5, 2022, at Virginia Credit Union Stadium. The event was designed to unify and motivate teachers and staff for the 2022-23 school year.

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News

Senator McPike doubles down on Commanders: ‘Snyder has a lot to answer’

By Uriah Kiser
McPike

Prince William County State Senator Jeremy McPike (D-29) says the Washington Commanders have a lot to work out if it wants to bring a football stadium to Woodbridge.

McPike said the team has no plans to mitigate the traffic effects drivers on Interstate 95 would feel if a new stadium were to be built at the Horner Road Commuter Lot, the state’s largest, just off Prince William Parkway.

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News

Hannafin led historic renovations in Prince William, moves to Fairfax parks

By Uriah Kiser
Hannafin at the dedication of the Eppa Barnes house at the Montclair Library in 2015.

Brendon Hannafin is the new development director for the Fairfax County Park Authority.

He will oversee the development and master planning for new parks and facilities in Virginia’s largest jurisdiction.

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