Originals

Stafford Sheriff Launches Retail Crime Task Force—But Offers No Data to Support It

By Uriah Kiser
Car batteries under lock and key at a Stafford County Walmart store in 2024.

STAFFORD, Va. – Stafford County officials have launched a new task force aimed at curbing retail theft and organized retail crime, but the Sheriff’s Office says it has no records or data to show whether such crimes are on the rise locally.

The joint initiative, announced last week by the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office and the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, is designed to target both everyday shoplifting and more complex theft operations. According to the announcement, the task force will focus on identifying suspects, sharing intelligence, and streamlining prosecution.

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Stafford Board of Supervisors 2025 Election: Candidates Share Their Top Priorities and Leadership Style

By Kelly Sienkowski

Editor’s note: This article is part of a series by Potomac Local News introducing candidates for the Stafford County Board of Supervisors. This fall, voters will choose representatives for the Garrisonville, Hartwood, Falmouth, and Aquia Districts. To help local voters learn more about their candidates, Potomac Local News invited all Board of Supervisors candidates to a virtual interview with the same five questions. Their answers have been condensed for clarity. The remaining candidates either declined, had scheduling conflicts, or did not respond.

Videos of the interviews are available here.

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Riding Toward a Milestone, VRE Looks at Weekend Trains and Long-Term Funding

By Uriah Kiser

Virginia Railway Express expects to welcome its 100 millionth rider this fall—and leaders hope the milestone can help bring more people on board, even as they wrestle with when to launch Saturday trains and how to keep the system funded in the years ahead.

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Exclusive: Hansford Blocked from Returning to PWCS After VEA Takeover of Local Teachers Union

By Alan Gloss

Prince William County Public Schools (PWCS) has told suspended Prince William Education Association (PWEA) president Maggie Hansford it will not consider her for employment, citing concerns raised in the Virginia Education Association’s (VEA) recent takeover of the local teachers union.

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Dumfries Council Reduces Historic Dumfries Funding, Takes Over Park and Museum Maintenance

By Uriah Kiser

What began as public anticipation of a vote to remove Historic Dumfries Virginia, Inc. (HDVI) from the Weems-Botts Museum ended with a funding cut and a shift in maintenance responsibilities — but not the eviction many feared.

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Tourism Spending in Virginia Hits Record $35 Billion; Prince William Sees More Out-of-State Visitors

By Uriah Kiser
NOVA Live (formerly Farm Brew Live) just outside Manassas.

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. – Virginia welcomed more visitors and more tourism dollars in 2024 than ever before, generating a record $35.1 billion in spending, Governor Glenn Youngkin and the Virginia Tourism Corporation announced this week. That’s up 5.4% from $33.3 billion in 2023 and marked the first time overnight visitation surpassed pre-pandemic levels. More than one million additional overnight visitors came to the Commonwealth in 2024 — a total of 44.7 million people.

Statewide, travelers spent an average of $96 million per day, up from $91 million the year before. Tourism supported more than 229,000 jobs in 2024, nearly 5,000 more than in 2023, and generated $2.5 billion in state and local tax revenue. Officials say that amounts to $990 in annual savings for each Virginia household.

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Exclusive: Stafford Schools Say Transportation System Ready After Last Year’s Collapse

By Uriah Kiser
Stafford County Public Schools Transportation Director John Wilcots

Stafford County Public Schools officials say they’re more prepared than ever to get students to class this year, thanks to sweeping changes in the division’s transportation department.

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Judge Sides with Residents, Voids Prince William Digital Gateway Rezoning—for Now

By Potomac Local News
The Judicial Center for Prince William County, Manassas, and Manassas Park.

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. – Prince William Circuit Court Judge Kimberly Irving has ruled in favor of Oak Valley residents challenging the rezoning for the PW Digital Gateway, a proposed 22-million-square-foot data center complex near Manassas. According to InsideNova.com, Irving found the county failed to properly advertise public hearings on the project, effectively voiding the rezoning approval, though an appeal is expected.

The lawsuit, filed by 12 Oak Valley homeowners, named the Prince William Board of County Supervisors and developers H&H Capital Acquisitions and GW Acquisition Co. as defendants. The plaintiffs argued that the county’s hearing notices in the Washington Post did not comply with state or county requirements and that relevant application materials were not available to the public when the first ad ran.

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PWEA Shake-Up: Alcohol, Pajama Parties, and Union Infighting — Ousted Board Members Speak Out

By Alan Gloss

The Virginia Education Association (VEA) will hold a formal hearing on August 23, 2025, to determine the future of the Prince William Education Association (PWEA), which it placed under emergency trusteeship in late July.

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A ‘Glorious’ Opening, Shadowed by Spending: Walker–Grant Middle School Begins a New Chapter in Fredericksburg

By Uriah Kiser

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — Community leaders, educators, and descendants of historical figures gathered Wednesday for the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the newly built Walker–Grant Middle School, celebrating what many called the start of a new era in Fredericksburg education.

The former middle school at 1 Learning Lane, just off Route 1, will be repurposed as Gladys West Elementary School. 

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