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!

Business

Jones Leads Chamber of Commerce, Connects Businesses, Builds Community

By Uriah Kiser

There was very little to look at when you traveled a two-lane Route 234 in the early 1980s.

Driving with her sister to her parent’s new house they had just bought in Woodbine Woods, Debbie Jones, then in her early 20s, wondered why her parents gave up their lives in Vienna to move way out here.

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News

Indie Candidate Gibson Asked to Leave Farmers Market

By Uriah Kiser

DALE CITY, Va. — It’s not easy being a third party candidate running for Congress  in Northern Virginia. Just ask Mark Gibson.

This year, in Virginia’s 11th Congressional District, the only way for an independent third-party candidate like Gibson to be listed on the ballot is to have 1,000 signatures on a ballot petition, which then must be submitted to the state’s office of elections. Gibson has about 500 signatures so far and he’s going for a total of 1,500 to ensure he has more  than enough.

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Business

2 Manassas Entrepreneurs Want to Change the Way You Think about Hookah

By Uriah Kiser
Chris Foster, 22, of Manassas and John Simo, 22, of Manassas Park, will launch "Ember Hookah" this month.

MANASSAS, Va. – Two young men are hoping their dreams of starting a business will go up in smoke.

John Simo, of Manassas Park, and Chris Foster, of Manassas, both 22, are betting people will pay for a quality experience while smoking hookah, which is a large water pipe that accommodate two to three smokers at a time, and shisha, the flavored tobacco that is smoked from the pipe.

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News

At 30, SAVAS Helping Sex Abuse Victims Reclaim their Lives

By Uriah Kiser

DUMFRIES, Va. — Dara Denham spent years blaming herself after being sexually assaulted.

Abused when she was a child before age 2, and later in her teenage years, Demham, 46, was usually angry, confused, and spent her early 20s bouncing from one promiscuous relationship to the next.

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News

Quist Only New Mayoral Face in Prince William’s Towns

By Uriah Kiser
Quist

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. — In the wake of Tuesday’s town elections in Prince William County, much is still the same except in Occoquan.

That’s where Mayor-Elect Elizabeth A.C. “Liz” Quist will replace the retiring Mayor Earnie Porta, whose during his six-year term became the biggest cheerleader for the tiny town on the Occoquan River. He’ll most likely seek higher office during a later election.

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News

Prince William Committee of 100 Turns 25, Celebrating with Dinner

By Uriah Kiser

MANASSAS, Va. — For the past 25 years, a committee of like-minded residents has been working to bring hot-button issues to the forefront.

While never taking sides, the Prince William Committee of 100 has not backed down from asking questions like “are police using drone aircraft to spy on you,” or “is too much development ruining rural areas of the county,” as well as probing the state of Virginia’s mental healthcare services.

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News

$989 Million Prince William County Budget Passes, Funds Libraries, Police

By Uriah Kiser

WOODBRIDGE, Va. — Prince William County leaders on Tuesday night passed a nearly $989 million budget for fiscal year 2015 that will take effect July 1.

Without knowing how much money they’ll get from Richmond as lawmakers have yet to pass a statewide budget, local leaders set the tax rate at $1.148 per every $100 of assessed property value. The rate is four cents lower than last year’s tax rate, but average tax bills are expected to rise about 4.5%.

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News

Hundreds of Gov’t Jobs Remain Vacant in Prince William

By Uriah Kiser

WOODBRIDGE, Va. — If government jobs go unfilled for more than 500 days are they really “critical” positions?

That question was raised during a marathon session of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors Tuesday as they wrangled over what to fund in the next year’s budget, and how to fund it.

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News

After Dropping Out, Foreman Back in Dumfries Mayoral Race

By Uriah Kiser

DUMFRIES, Va. — Dumfries Mayor Jerry Foreman says he’s running for re-election, again.

The sitting official, in a statement released Sunday, said an outpouring of support from those who live in the town encouraged him to re-enter the race prior to the upcoming Election Day on May 6.

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