EDITOR’S NOTE: The letter below is from Douglas Vandergraph of Fort Collins, Colorado. The views are the writer’s.
There is a quiet kind of sadness in wondering whether anyone will remember you at Christmas. It does not always show on a face. Sometimes it lives behind a door that opens less often than it once did.
When much of this infrastructure went into the ground, it was new and backed by armies of technicians who knew it inside and out. Fifty years later, that wire has been patched over many times. Moisture gets in after heavy rain. Replacement parts are harder to find, and the workforce that knows how to repair these systems is retiring faster than it can be replaced. When a copper line goes down today, the fix often takes longer and costs more than it used to, and it may not hold.
That’s why the path forward matters so much, and why I think the Federal Communications Commission got this right. Earlier this year, the FCC unanimously adopted a plan to modernize how carriers decommission copper. Commissioners from both parties voted for it, which is no small thing in today’s Washington. The plan clears away outdated processes that has slowed investment in better networks. Just as important, it keeps the federal government in the loop before a company can fully stop offering a service. The goal is a managed transition. It is not supposed to leave anyone stranded without a working way to call for help.
By Ben Purves, pastor, Occoquan Bible Church, Woodbridge
Ben Purves, pastor of Occoquan Bible Church in Woodbridge, submitted this open letter from Virginia pastors urging voters to reject proposed amendments 1 and 2 to the Virginia Constitution. He wrote Wednesday that the letter, posted at virginiapastors.org, had reached 250 signatures, including pastors at churches in Woodbridge, Manassas, Dumfries, and Gainesville.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Manassas officials canceled October’s First Friday after a downtown killing. The letter below is from Dan Maillard of Manassas. The views are the writer’s.
Although happy to see that the City of Manassas has some shred of dignity left, per usual, it seems not enough. I am speaking of the terrible death of Ashley, but worse, the seemingly lost leadership of this town and even the Commonwealth.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Rod Hall, chairman of the Washington Manassas Airport Commission and a former head of Legislative Affairs at the Federal Aviation Administration, submitted the commentary below. The views are the writer’s. Potomac Local has not independently confirmed every figure in the letter.
Aviation is often discussed in terms of destinations—where an aircraft is going and when it will arrive. But airports are much more than points of departure and arrival. They are economic-development engines that connect businesses to markets, attract investment, support high-quality jobs and strengthen surrounding communities.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The commentary below is from Stafford County Public Schools Superintendent Daniel W. Smith. Stafford supervisors have raised taxes on homeowners by a cumulative 56 percent since 2021 and failed to pass a new BPOL tax on businesses this week after overwhelming community opposition. The views in the letter are the writer’s.
National Voter Registration Day, observed September 15, offered a reminder that civic participation begins well before Election Day. This November, Stafford County voters will consider a referendum on whether the Board of Supervisors should have the authority to levy an additional local sales and use tax of up to 1% for eligible school capital projects.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Stafford County supervisors are scheduled to hold a public hearing Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, on a proposed Business, Professional and Occupational License tax. The letter below is from Michael Nelson of Atlas Living Group LLC in Stafford County. Potomac Local has not independently confirmed every figure in the letter.
September 14, 2026
EDITOR’S NOTE: Question 1 on the Nov. 3 ballot is officially titled a “Right to Reproductive Freedom” amendment. If approved, it would write a constitutional right to abortion into the Virginia Constitution (codifying abortion in Virginia’s constitution), while allowing the state to restrict abortion in the third trimester except when a physician judges it necessary to protect the pregnant person’s life or physical or mental health, or when the fetus is not viable. Early voting begins Friday, Sept. 18.
Early voting starts Friday. On the November ballot, Virginians will decide whether to write a right to abortion into the state constitution.
To the Citizens of Manassas,
I am Colonel (r) Ulysses Xerxes “Xerk” White, United States Army. Many residents of Manassas know me from my years of military service, my time on City Council, my work on the VA Commission Transportation Board, my involvement with the Manassas Rotary, my time worshiping at First AME Church, and more importantly a devoted husband. My life has been shaped by service, and Manassas has been one of the places where I was blessed to continue that calling.
The Fredericksburg Free Press published an exclusive this weekend about hundreds of people who spent time under ICE custody at the Rappahannock Regional Jail in Stafford County before being deported. The numbers are real. The data comes from ICE records. And the story still managed to leave out the most basic fact.
These individuals were held because they were in the country illegally.
