Morning notes
Burn law effective today: On Tuesday, February 15, the Commonwealth’s 4 p.m. burn law goes into effect. The law remains in effect until Saturday, April 30. [Press release]
Bag giveaway: Anthem HealthKeepers Plus Virginia, Virginia’s largest Medicaid provider, saw the need for support and offered it by giving out bags to the SPARK Foundation at Prince William County Public Schools on Friday, February 4, 2022. [Press release]
Voter ID: The Virginia House of Delegates passed a voter identification bill and several other bills that would change voting rules in the commonwealth, which will now head to the Senate for consideration. [The Center Square]
Potomac Mills evacuated: A suspicious device that prompted police to evacuate part of Potomac Mills mall Saturday night has been determined not to pose threat to the public, according to Prince William County police. [Prince William Times]
Quarantine changes: The Stafford County School Board on Tuesday adopted new COVID-19 mitigation procedures that include reducing isolation and quarantine time and limiting contact tracing. [Fredericksburg.com]
Va. Health Dept. expands mobile testing: The Rappahannock Area Health Department (RAHD) is increasing access to free COVID-19 testing with the recent addition of the CTC+ initiative, a vendor operated van with testing staff that will travel throughout the region to support expanded testing in communities that have low access to testing. [Press release]
Chocolate festival: Occoquan’s events lineup for calendar year 2022 kicks off this weekend with the annual ChocolateFest (previously known as the Chocolate Walk). [Press release]
Senate moves to allow masks: Virginia’s ongoing debate about masks in public schools – and who should decide whether students and staff wear them – took a surprising turn Tuesday when the Democratic-controlled state Senate approved a measure giving parents the power to decide whether their children don masks on school property. [Prince William Times]
New interchange: Developers are hoping to soon receive approval for the proposed Quartz District, a large mixed-use project in Woodbridge that will include a major road upgrade as well as Prince William County’s first Whole Foods Market. [Insidenova.com]
800 acres: Data center development company QTS Realty Trust, Inc. is “seeking to acquire” 800 acres of land within the proposed “PW Digital Gateway,” according to a QTS spokesman and Prince William County officials. [Prince William Times]
Teachers want end to vaccine mandates: At Wednesday night’s school board meeting, a number of school employees came to speak about the requirements for all unvaccinated division staffers to be subject to weekly COVID-19 testing, which they called coercive. [Insidenova.com]
NOVEC CEO retires: The Board of Directors of Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative (NOVEC) announced today that Stan C. Feuerberg will retire as president and CEO, effective April 1, 2022. [Press release]
Road work: Expect to see orange cones on I-95 this week between Fredericksburg and Prince William County [Press release]
Schools budget hearing: The Prince William County School Board will hold a Public Meeting on the Superintendent’s Proposed FY 2023 Budget on Monday, February 7, 2022. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m., at the Kelly Leadership Center, located at 14715 Bristow Road, Manassas, Virginia and will be open to the public. Citizens must wear face coverings. [Press release]
Historical marker: Fredericksburg on February 10 will unveil a historical panel commemorating the Walker-Grant High School demonstration that occurred in June 1950. [Press release]
Stafford’s pleas for help ignored: According to internal emails, a Stafford County administrator begged for the National Guard’s help but the request was ignored. [WRIC-TV]
Swap your SmarTrip card: Metro is upgrading their faregates systemwide and OmniRide will be upgrading fareboxes on the Express buses in the fall. [Press release]
Congresswoman weighs in: U.S. Rep. Jennifer Wexton has penned a letter to the Prince William Board of County Supervisors outlining her concerns about the potential “negative impact” of allowing 2,100 acres near Manassas National Battlefield Park to be replanned for data centers. [Prince William Times]
Universities drop vax mandates: At least four universities — Virginia Commonwealth University, the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech and George Mason — announced Monday they had ended their student vaccine requirements, in light of an opinion released Friday by Attorney General Jason Miyares saying they weren’t legally entitled to. [Richmond Times-Dispatch]
