Newslinks

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.


Manassas

Friends, neighbors and other residents gathered Saturday night at the Manassas train station to remember a 16-year-old girl killed a day earlier during First Friday in Old Town.

The informal vigil was organized by community members, not the city. Organizers had asked people to bring a candle, a flower, a photo or a memory. By nightfall, bouquets, prayer candles and a balloon lined the platform under the depot canopy, a few steps from the railroad tracks where police say the shooting unfolded Friday night.


Event

Join Breast Cancer Collective for the 2026 Walk to Bust Cancer on Sunday, October 18, at Fort Hunt Park in Alexandria.
Walk alongside survivors, caregivers, friends, families, and neighbors for an uplifting community event supporting access to breast cancer screening and care across the DMV.
Walk to Bust Cancer brings our community together to turn hope into action and help expand access to timely breast health care. Register to walk, gather your team, and join us at Fort Hunt Park.


Manassas

Tasheem Rashad Douglas, 21, is in custody and charged with second-degree murder in the killing of a 16-year-old girl during First Friday in Old Town Manassas, police said.

Manassas police also charged him with having a gun while committing a felony and having a gun as a convicted felon. He is being held at a local hospital.


Breaking News

A 16-year-old girl killed during First Friday in Old Town Manassas is believed to have been a bystander in an exchange of gunfire, Manassas City Police said Saturday.

Sgt. Shauna Moller, the department’s public information officer, confirmed that characterization to Potomac Local News on Saturday afternoon.


Traffic

An overturned tractor-trailer has closed all southbound travel lanes of Interstate 95 at mile marker 145 in Stafford County, the Virginia Department of Transportation said Friday night.

The crash is about 1.3 miles north of Exit 143 (Garrisonville Road / Aquia), VDOT’s I-95 alert feed said. Traffic was being squeezed past the scene on the left shoulder. About four miles of congestion was building toward the wreck as of VDOT’s 8:19 p.m. alert.


Police Blotter

Spotsylvania deputies arrested a 30-year-old Spotsylvania man Friday morning after a vehicle pursuit, ending a joint search tied to two sexual assaults at massage businesses on Plank Road.

Cesar Mario Torres Juarez was the only person in the vehicle and was taken into custody without further incident, the Spotsylvania Sheriff’s Office said. Deputies are seeking additional charges related to the chase.


Stafford

Stafford County supervisors on Sept. 1 directed staff toward letters asking Gov. Abigail Spanberger for a special legislative session on data-center rules — and, if comprehensive legislation cannot pass quickly, a temporary pause on new large-scale approvals — then expanded the ask to the federal administration.

The board did not vote that night to approve or deny any campus. Supervisors said their own ordinance — which Chairman Deuntay T. Diggs, George Washington District, called the strictest in Virginia and Supervisor Crystal L. Vanuch, Rock Hill District, said includes among the largest setbacks in the country — still cannot stop river withdrawals, well impacts, or high-load power costs that land on ratepayers.


Schools

Stafford County high schools deliver about 121.8 seat hours per course, 18.2 hours short of Virginia’s 140-hour standard for graduation credit — roughly 13 class meetings, or five weeks on the current A/B schedule.

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