Morning notes
New hours: The Smithsonian Institution announced Monday that many of its museums and the zoo will have new hours starting on Tuesday, January 18. [WJLA-TV]
Looking ahead: Virginia’s new Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears presided over the Senate for the first time on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Earle-Sears, who is the first woman of color to be sworn into a statewide office, made her debut as debates surrounding race and education are coming to a boil. [WRIC-TV]
Plastic bag confusion: Residents in Stafford and Spotsylvania have become a lot more familiar with the commissioners of the revenue in their counties since Jan. 1. [Fredericksburg.com]
Work zones: Several highway work zones are planned this week. Know where they are. [Virignia Department of Transportation]
Teachers begin bargaining: Just as students return from winter break, the push for collective bargaining rights for Prince William County Public Schools employees is beginning. [Insidenova.com]
Coronavirus field hospital established: Mary Washington Healthcare has shifted into its “crisis standard of care,”…the health care system also is activating a backup plan officials never wanted to have to implement. [Fredericksburg.com]
Does he or doesn’t he?: Prince William County Gainesville District Supervisor Pete Candland has come under attack from opponents of the PW Digital Gateway who are accusing him of publicly opposing the plan while privately urging neighbors to support it. [Insidenova.com]
School Board organizes: The Stafford County School Board unanimously elected its new chair and vice-chair during the January 11, 2022 annual organizational school board meeting. [Press release]
City middle school site: Fredericksburg is postponing the public hearing that was scheduled for Thursday night, January 13, 2022 at 7 p.m. at James Monroe High School. The city recently received a letter from Mary Washington Healthcare seeking to gauge the interest of the city in acquiring the 2300 Fall Hill Avenue building, the home of the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce, which may have potential to be renovated for school purposes. [Press release]
New bank president: Virginia National Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Virginia National Bankshares Corporation today announced industry veteran, Diane E. Corscadden-Weaver, as new president of Virginia National Bank. She will also serve on theBank’s board of directors. [Press release]
Neighbors face off over data centers: Prince William County’s approval of a data center project near Manassas National Battlefield Park that month was the flashpoint for a battle that has become all-consuming for hundreds of people on and around Pageland Lane in the western part of the county. [Insidenova.com]
High-profile opposition: Ken Burns, the renowned documentarian who created The Civil War series, wrote a letter to Prince William County’s Board of Supervisors, Jan. 5, encouraging supervisors to protect the landscape around the Manassas National Battlefield. [Bristow Beat]
New Year’s Baby: Crystal Ardinger and James Jones welcomed baby girl Gracelynn at 10:59 a.m. on January 1, 2022. [Press release]
Not big enough for two: Del. Luke Torian, one of the Virginia House of Delegates’ most powerful Democrats, has been drawn into the same district as Del. Elizabeth Guzman, one of the House’s most progressive Democrats, under new redistricting maps finalized by the Supreme Court of Virginia. [Prince William Times]
Data center public meetings: Prince William County’s planning office will host two in-person, community meetings later this month on proposals to replan about 2,000 acres near the Manassas Battlefield National Park for data centers and to expand the county’s existing “data center overlay district” to make more room for the giant buildings around the county. [Prince William Times]
New public safety chief: Prince William County is excited to announce the hiring of Daniel Alexander as the Deputy County Executive of Public Safety for Prince William County. [Press release/Prince William County Government]
Closings and delays: See our full lists of school closings/delays and government closings/delays. [Twitter]
Not ready yet: Prince William Schools Superintendent LaTanya McDade walked areas of the county hardest hit by Monday’s snowstorm before making the call to close school to students and teachers Thursday. [Insidenova.com]
Government closings and delays: Are you military, or do you work for local or state government? See our complete local closings and delays list. [Twitter]
Waiting game: Dominion expects Northern Virginia power restoration to be ‘multi-day effort’ [Insidenova.com]
