MANASSAS — The average real estate tax bill is slated to increase under Manassas City Manager Patrick Pate’s proposed 2020 budget.
Pate told the City Council Monday night that increased property revenues from newly constructed homes and higher assessed property values mean the city will have $2.3 million more in its general fund to spend next year.
MANASSAS — A new Tru by Hilton hotel will be constructed with financial help from the city and state.
Manassas leaders on Tuesday agreed to back a $1.5 million gap financing deal with hotel developer Holladay Properties, which is building the $14 million project at the Landing at Cannon Branch development at the intersection of Godwin Drive and Gateway Boulevard.
STAFFORD — (Press release) Stafford County Public Schools is pleased to announce that the Stafford High School theater department won first place at the Virginia High School League State Theatre Festival held March 2, 2019, in Charlottesville, Virginia, with the performance of an avant-garde adaptation of Alice in Wonderland. Along with the championship title, two actors, senior Ryan Anderson, and sophomore Austin Cox, won Outstanding Actor awards for the performances as the Mad Hatter and the White Knight.
The group started the season in October with performances of the play for the public and the student community at Stafford High School. A few days later, the cast competed in the Virginia Theatre Conference High School Theatre Festival, where the production won the Technical Merit Award, and honorable mentions for both overall play and costumes. Anderson and Ava Mullanaphy, who played the title role of Alice, earned spots on the All-State Cast.
Two Washington, D.C., women who vanished 20 years apart have connections that tie them to one man and the Interstate 95 median in Stafford County, where their bodies were found.
STAFFORD — Stafford leaders are talking about where to best spend their money when it comes to attracting tourists to the county.
The county’s tourism office recommended extending a regional tourism partnership with neighboring jurisdictions Fredericksburg, and Spotsylvania County which costs each jurisdiction $171,000 annually. That’s a total of more than a half-million dollars of taxpayer money spent on marketing the Fredericksburg region as a whole.
FALMOUTH — A body was found early Saturday morning on River Road in Stafford County.
The county sheriff’s office is investigating the case as a homicide.
STAFFORD — The Stafford County School Board will be moving forward with its effort to change the attendance boundaries of all 17 elementary schools in the county.
After the Feb. 28 redistricting work session the School Board kept two of the three options available, plan C and E. School Board members made revisions to both plans.
FALMOUTH — (Press release) The Virginia Department of Transportation says these are the traffic hot spots to watch out for this week in Stafford County. All work is scheduled weather permitting. Real-time information on work zones and lane closures is available on 511Virginia.
I-95 Southbound
STAFFORD — Two overpasses on Interstate 95 in Stafford County will be rebuilt as part of the effort to add express toll lanes to the highway.
The Truslow Road bridge, which carries the road of the same name across the highway in the southern portion of the county will be rebuilt to make more room for the toll lanes that will be built in the median of the highway.
STAFFORD — School officials are ready to make their funding case to the Stafford Board of Supervisors.
This year, the Stafford School Board has unanimously voted to allow Superintendent Scott Kizner to present his proposed 2019-20 budget for Stafford County Public Schools 2019-2020 to the Board of Supervisors, which is responsible, in part, for funding it.
