News

On June 14 at 12:33AM, officers responded to investigate a sexual assault that was reported to have occurred at a residence located in the Woodbridge (22193) area of Prince William County on the morning of June 13.

This article is FREE to read. Please Sign In or Create a FREE Account. Thank you.


News

Stafford County announces the successful launch of its new website.

This article is FREE to read. Please Sign In or Create a FREE Account. Thank you.


News

The Stafford County Planning Commission will hold a special meeting regarding a proposed expansion of the Vulcan Quarry.

Residents of the Eastern View neighborhood, located across from North Stafford High School, have voiced concerns over the proposed 23-acre expansion of the Stafford quarry just off Route 610 in North Stafford, on which additional mining will take place. Originally opened in 1976 2001, Vulcan now plans to build a concrete manufacturing plant on the grounds to go along with an already existing asphalt manufacturing plant.

Area residents will have the opportunity to speak at the special meeting. Over the last few months, many residents have expressed displeasure with the idea of the expansion citing issues such as increased noise due to the removal of trees to make way for the expansion.

Other issues such as pedestrian safety for children were brought up as recently as March. The concern is that the extra mining would mean extra trips by heavy trucks that worry parents about potential accidents.

The special meeting will take place on Wednesday, June 14 at 6 p.m. at North Stafford High School.

Vulcan Materials, a Birmingham, Ala. based company, operates in 30 states as well as Washington D.C. with over 62 facilities located in the Commonwealth of Virginia including the Stafford Quarry which has been in operation since 1978.

The quarry mines Amphibolite, which is a common stone used in construction, paving, and building for residential, commercial, industrial projects.



This article is FREE to read. Please Sign In or Create a FREE Account. Thank you.


Fredericksburg's At-Large City Councilmember Kerry Devine hopes to bag support for an effort to reduce plastic waste in the city.

Devine proposes to create a plastic bag tax in order to encourage residents to use reusable shopping bags. 

Fredericksburg has the authority to impose such a tax due to legislation that was adopted by the Virginia General Assembly in 2020. According to the language, the legislation allows any city or county by ordinance to impose a disposable plastic bag tax of five cents for each disposable plastic bag provided to a consumer by grocery shops, convenience stores, or drug stores.

This would not, according to Devine, apply to bags used to carry home produce or meats and poultry, or for plastic trash and pet waste bags.

During her presentation, Devine said that she had wanted to bring up the tax last year but refrained due to the pandemic since restaurants were trying to stay afloat and felt it wasn't the right time to bring the matter up. Devine also hoped that if this tax was implemented that it would encourage residents to start relying on reusable bags so that no tax would be collected.

Devine found support for the idea from some on the Council when Vice Mayor Charlie Frye asked Devine how to incentivize the use of non-plastic reusable bags in the local stores. Devine replied, stating it would require residents to develop new habits in using such bags.

Ward 3 Councilor Timothy Duffy also made his support known as he invoked his concerns of the negative environmental impact of plastics:

"Plastic is a big problem. Only 10% of plastic produced has been recycled, we were sold a bill of goods that plastic can be recycled but that isn't happening."

Plastic bag taxes have been a somewhat popular method by some localities to encourage the use of non-disposable bags in order to preserve the environment. California was the first to pass a statewide plastic bag ban known as Proposition 67 which was signed by then Gov. Jerry Brown in 2014 and imposed a 10-cent tax on single-use plastic bags. Ward 2 Councilor Bill Withers mentioned during the presentation that Roanoke had already passed such a tax in its area.

Fredericksburg is currently looking into the feasibility of the tax but wouldn't be able to implement it until Oct. 1 if leaders decided to move forward with it.

This article is exclusively for our Locals Only members. Please Sign In or upgrade to become a Locals Only Member today!

Your support helps us continue delivering more in-depth community news that matters to you. Thank you.