Students in Prince William County Public Schools have been back to learning for about a month.

Special education students are learning in classrooms, while the remainder of the school division’s 92,000 students has been attending classes online since the first day of school on September 8.


A Prince William Circuit Court judge today dismissed a lawsuit filed by former School Prince William County School Board Chairman At-large Ryan Sawyers, against the Prince William School Board that sought the disclosure of more than 20,000 direct messages sent to and from schools superintendent Dr. Steven L. Walts, on his official school division Twitter account.

Following a hearing and her review of the direct messages, Prince William Circuit Judge Kimberly A. Irving held that the messages were “clearly exempted” from mandatory disclosure under Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act because they were communications of the chief executive officer of the School Board, said school division spokeswoman Diana Gulotta.


The developer of a long-debated planned residential neighborhood centered on 340 acres of land has reduced the number of homes it wants to build.

The Preserve at Long Branch, formerly the Mid County Park and Estate Homes, would now have single-family homes on 102 quarter-acre sized lots, sized between one and four acres, down from the original 118. The project site in the center of Prince William County and residents would use both Classic Springs Way, off Bristow Road, and Classic Springs Drive, off Route 234 to access to the site.


The Prince William County Service Authority’s wastewater treatment plant was recognized again for having a perfect compliance record with its state regulatory agency.

Located in Woodbridge, the H.L. Mooney Advanced Water Reclamation Facility earned a Platinum11 Peak Performance Award from the National Association of Clean Water Agencies.


The Prince William Board of County Supervisors recently accepted a $352,000 grant to fund aid for mentally ill female inmates.

This grant was from the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services and will be dedicated to aiding mentally ill women in the Prince William-Manassas Regional Adult Detention Center.


Federal officials have fanned out into area neighborhoods in search of people who are suspected of being in the U.S. illegally.

The change in enforcement tactics comes as Prince William County ended its relationship with federal Immigrations and Customs authorities in June. Under the old 297(g) agreement that had been in place since 2007, customs officials were notified when a suspect with a federal detainer to their name was released from the Prince William County Adult Detention Center in Manassas.


Prince William County Public Schools are working toward launching a hybrid learning schedule for many students next month, even though many questions remain about the details.


The Prince William County Fire & Rescue System is teaming up with the National Fire Protection Association the sponsor of Fire Prevention Week for more than 90 years—to promote this year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign, “Serve Up Fire Safety in the Kitchen!”

The campaign, which runs October 4 to 10, educates the public about cooking hazards and how one can take small, yet important actions to prevent cooking-related fires — the leading cause of home fires and home fire injuries.


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