Opinion

Interchange designs for Routes 1, 123 in Woodbridge should be scrapped

By Letters to the Editor

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and Prince William County(PWC) just completed the widening of Route 1, between Mount Pleasant Drive and Annapolis Way just south of the Occoquan River in late 2020.

A massively over-designed interchange at Routes 1 and 123 was also included as part of the project to provide better network connectivity between the Belmont Bay community and Interstate 95. But, due to the high cost of the interchange, only the Right of Way (ROW) was obtained and the construction was shifted to a future Phase 2.

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Prince William County Gov’t employee salaries keep increasing

By Letters to the Editor

In response to a Freedom of Information Act request, the Prince William County government reported paying its 100 highest-paid employees a total of $18.3 million in 2020: that’s 5.4% more than 2019’s figure for that year’s top 100, on top of another 5.4% over 2018’s. (The previous two years’ raises were 1% and 3.8%.)

The increases were even bigger at the top. And these figures don’t include the School Board’s, whose earlier FOIA response showed a similar set of high-end salaries and a few teachers receiving up to $133,000.

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Governing Stafford requires fiscal responsibility

By Letters to the Editor

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Suppressing opposition, Wheeler gives free rein to developers, hurting minorities

By Letters to the Editor
Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chair At-large Ann Wheeler. [Photo: Uriah Kiser/Potomac Local News]

While endlessly preaching unity, Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chair Ann Wheeler and her allies have been working to:

And where does it all end?  Unsurprisingly, as smoke screen and justification for another developer land grab — this time involving breaking open the Rural Crescent to thousands of new houses and shoving down the throats of west county residents more residential development, more overcrowded roads and increasingly dysfunctional schools, higher taxes (during the biggest economic downturn in almost 100 years), and more environmental destruction.

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Fairfax restricts flags, declares moral bankruptcy

By Letters to the Editor
Fairfax County Government Center [Sky's the Limit Media]

On Tuesday, March 23rd, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors passed a much debated zoning modernization (zMOD) change in a 7-3 vote. The 700 page omnibus zMOD can be described as nothing less than a boondoggle, including changes to accessory-living units, home-based businesses, freestanding accessory structures, food trucks, and much more. These changes will affect traffic, housing density, schools, and parking for years to come.

One particularly contentious provision restricts the freedom of citizens to fly American flags outside their homes. Under the new ordinance, homeowners are restricted to 3 flags, which includes state, military, or college flags. They must also apply for a special permit if they wish to have flagpoles over 25 feet in height. This in effect limits the size of flags that can be flown. Chairman McKay made it clear that he, “[does] not support regulating the American flag.” He then proceeded to do precisely that.

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‘Embrey Mill-Stafford Courthouse area isn’t the right place for 18-wheeler trucks’

By Letters to the Editor
An arial view of the new diverging diamond interchange in Stafford. [Photo: VDOT]

The Stafford Board of Supervisors’ recent decision to allow a massive DHL Distribution Center will add over 1,360new vehicle trips daily to our brand-new, curvy Courthouse Road Divergent Diamond interchange.

A significant amount of this traffic will be heavy trucks. And worse, our Board has awarded big tax incentives (aka your tax dollars) to DHL to make it happen.

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Don’t hike ‘tech tax,’ says Prince William Chamber of Commerce

By Potomac Local News
Prince William Chamber Building at 9720 Capital Court in Manassas.

On behalf of the Prince William Chamber of Commerce and its 1,200+ Members, we strongly encourage you not to support advertising the “tech tax” from $1.35 to $1.60, or a massive 18% increase.

We have attracted and grown an industry that accounts for 94% of all investment in the County. Even as other states and localities in Virginia and elsewhere are seeking to grow their data center and technology-based business investment, Prince William County is seeking to increase the tax burden on a key industry driving our economy.

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BOCS should rule out largest residential tax increase in county history

By Uriah Kiser
Vega

On Tuesday evening, the Board of Supervisors will set the advertised tax rates for the 2022 Fiscal Year. Among them will be the residential tax rate.

Currently on the table is a proposal by the County Executive that would not increase the tax rate, but because of increases in home value assessments set by the County, would result in an average residential tax increase of $306 over last year’s bill, and $328 with the residential Fire Levy.

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