Newslinks

Prince William is asking the state for nearly $373,000 to staff a new behavioral health court docket, Manassas says musty tap water is seasonal and safe, and Dominion and NextEra sweetened a $67 billion merger bid that would change Virginia electric bills.

According to InsideNoVa, the Prince William Board of County Supervisors has approved a $373,187 grant request to the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to expand the county’s new Behavioral Health Docket. The money would come from the department’s State Opioid Response program for fiscal 2027 and would go to the Office of Criminal Justice Services if the state awards it.

Loudoun supervisors advanced a 12-month pause on new data center applications, Virginia environmental officials ordered Microsoft to pay about $2.5 million over Leesburg generator emissions, Fairfax restored high school crossing-guard funding after students were struck, detectives said a Woodbridge death in a parked car showed no foul play, two men were stabbed after a gambling session at Potomac Mills, King George settled an ACLU lawsuit over a middle-school club, Caroline officials mapped a possible 1% school construction sales tax, the Fredericksburg Free Press won a national financial-health award, and a Fauquier farm town’s World War II listening post is back in the news.

According to FOX 5 DC, Loudoun County’s Board of Supervisors on Tuesday advanced a proposed 12-month pause on new data center applications. The county attorney said an indefinite moratorium would not be legal, and the temporary halt would apply only to new filings. The resolution still needs a final vote; supervisors expect to take the item up again Oct. 13.

Manassas is canceling October’s Second Friday after the Sept. 4 killing of a Patriot High student, a second suspect was charged in a June Manassas shooting, Prince William planners sent a plan to end by-right data centers to supervisors, and Dumfries returns tonight to a $319,000 boundary study.

According to InsideNoVa, the city of Manassas and Historic Manassas Inc. are canceling October’s Second Friday festival after 16-year-old Ashley Intihar, a Patriot High School student and uninvolved bystander, was shot and killed outside the Old Town train depot during First Friday on Sept. 4. Authorities estimated about 10,000 people were in the area that night; three men have been charged in the gunfire.

A Spotsylvania man was sentenced to 12 years for torturing his wife, Arlington Bishop Michael Burbidge urged Catholics to vote no on a Nov. 3 abortion amendment, and Fairfax officials moved to restore high school crossing guards.

According to The Free Lance-Star, Jason Louis Robbins, 42, of Spotsylvania was sentenced Friday to 62 years in prison with all but 12 years suspended after pleading guilty to child endangerment and three counts of malicious wounding. Judge Sarah Deneke called his conduct “horrendous” and said “the cruelty goes beyond anything I’ve seen in recent years.” The active term exceeded state sentencing guidelines, which capped the recommended prison time at just over seven years.

A Stafford grand jury added two more involuntary manslaughter charges against the bus driver accused in a May crash that killed five people, Prince William planners recommended 130 condos next to Potomac Mills, Stafford is among 47 Virginia localities voting Nov. 3 on a 1% school construction sales tax, Fredericksburg released a teen-violence prevention report, Fauquier teachers marked 9/11 for students born after the attacks, Gov. Abigail Spanberger ordered flags lowered Friday, Amazon broke ground on a more than $460 million recycled-water system in Spotsylvania County, Stafford planners recommended a James River Equipment expansion, Prince William Fire and Rescue is seeking input on its next strategic plan, a Fredericksburg coalition built a 72-hour housing prototype, VCU raised its president’s base pay to $1 million, a Manassas nonprofit received an estimated $500,000 in donated clothing, a planned U.S. Senate debate between Mark Warner and Bert Mizusawa was canceled, the Commonwealth Transportation Board scheduled fall meetings in Fairfax and Fredericksburg, Central Rappahannock Regional Library won a grant to revive Rappahannock Reads, anglers are using FOIA to learn trout-stocking dates early, and Manassas is recruiting a resident for its Economic Development Authority.

According to The Free Lance-Star, a Stafford County grand jury on Tuesday added two more involuntary manslaughter charges against Jing Sheng Dong, the bus driver accused in the May 29 crash that killed five people and injured others. Dong had already been indicted on three involuntary manslaughter counts. The new indictments bring all of the charges together for a five-day jury trial set to start March 8.

Friends mourned 16-year-old Ashley Intihar after she was fatally shot at Manassas First Friday, Virginia legislators presented $160,000 at the McCoart building for the September 11th National Memorial Trail, VDOT is closing I-95 ramps in Woodbridge nightly through Sept. 22, Woodbridge Supervisor Jeannie LaCroix returned to work after a Vermont bike crash, and a dry midweek precedes Thursday storms.

According to the Prince William Times, friends of Ashley Intihar, a 16-year-old Patriot High School student, gathered this week at a memorial near the Manassas train station where she was fatally shot Friday night during the city’s First Friday event. Police said Intihar was caught in the middle when two adults exchanged gunfire across the station parking lot about 9:30 p.m. on Sept. 4. Tasheem Douglas, 21, who was also injured, has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder; Manassas Police Chief Doug Keen said investigators are still searching for a second shooter.

Three people died in a fiery I-66 Express Lanes crash in Fairfax; Prince William police responded to a believed self-inflicted shooting in Woodbridge; Stafford businesses are pressing supervisors to reject a BPOL tax; and inmate deaths in Virginia jails rose to a five-year high.

According to FOX 5 DC, three people died Sunday afternoon after a Honda Pilot struck a stopped truck carrying oxygen tanks in the right travel lane of the westbound Interstate 66 Express Lanes in Fairfax County. Virginia State Police said the collision occurred around 4:10 p.m., the Honda caught fire, and all three occupants were pronounced dead at the scene. A Toyota 4Runner was also involved in the events leading up to the crash.

Amtrak will cut most Virginia-to-Washington rail service in October for tunnel work, while Manassas closes a public lot tied to data center construction, lawmakers clash over license-plate cameras, and veterans ask a court to stop a proposed arch at Arlington National Cemetery.

Virginia Mercury reports that Amtrak will suspend most rail service between Virginia stations and Washington, D.C., from Oct. 16 through Oct. 26 to replace aging switches and crossovers at the A-interlocking in the First Street Tunnel. The existing equipment is beyond its service life and has forced a 10 mph speed restriction; passengers traveling to or from D.C. from the south should expect cancellations and route changes, with many trains ending at Alexandria and most trips to Richmond, Charlottesville, Lynchburg and Hampton Roads handled by express buses.