Manassas

Manassas

Manassas artist Sobia Sami opens second solo exhibition at Central Library

By PLN News
Manassas artist Sobia Sami with whirling dervish and calligraphy paintings at Central Library
Manassas artist Sobia Sami at her second solo exhibition at Central Library, Manassas, Nov. 9 – Dec. 12, 2026 — with whirling dervish and calligraphy paintings. Credit: Art by Sobia.

Manassas artist Sobia Sami has opened her second solo exhibition at Central Library, 8601 Mathis Ave. The free show runs through December 12 during library hours and features her acrylic and oil paintings of whirling dervishes, galloping horses, and calligraphy, plus her newest work, “The Last Dance.”

Sami, who paints as Art by Sobia, draws on her Pakistani heritage and Sufi imagery. She was selected as a 2026 artist by The People’s Artist and lives and paints in Manassas. Visitors can follow the exhibition on Instagram at @artby_sobia.

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Manassas

Stacy Keach, 2012 Manassas Christmas Parade grand marshal, dies at 85

By PLN News

Stacy Keach, the actor who starred as Mike Hammer and served as grand marshal of the 2012 Greater Manassas Christmas Parade, died Tuesday at 85 after a long battle with heart failure, Deadline reported.

Keach died at his family home in Magdalenka, Poland. His wife, Malgosia Tomassi Keach, said in a statement that he “peacefully departed this world” after “a long and difficult battle with a serious heart condition and heart failure.”

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Manassas

Manassas council approves Center Street MIFCO rezoning 3-1 after reconsideration

By PLN News
Architectural elevation of a brick apartment building and parking garage along Center Street in Manassas
A north elevation of the proposed apartments and parking garage at 9007 Center Street in downtown Manassas, dated Oct. 8, 2026. The historic Meredith House is shown at left. (Rendering: Penney Design Group via City of Manassas)

Residents packed the Manassas City Council chambers Monday and lined up against a plan for 162 apartments and a public parking garage on the former Manassas Ice and Fuel site at 9007 Center Street.

Councilwoman Theresa Coates Ellis, the council’s liaison to the Architectural Review Board, had earlier called a rendering of the building “startling to the public when you see the scale compared to Meredith House.” Judy Molinelli of Preserve Historic Manassas called the six-story garage a variance and warned of expected construction cost overruns of at least 9 percent a year. Dianne Lane, an incoming councilwoman who won a seat in the Nov. 3 election, objected to the wraparound design next to the Meredith House, said the residential building exceeds nearby reference heights by about 130 percent, and urged a scale that matches the townhomes on Zebedee and Center streets. Longtime resident Ray Brady raised traffic, parking safety, and affordability, noting projected studio rents of $2,500 to $3,000 a month against local mortgages around $1,600.

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Manassas

Manassas and Manassas Park backed Democrats and the abortion amendment by wider margins than in 2024

By PLN News
A Virginia Public Access Project map shows unofficial locality results on the constitutional amendment to add a right to abortion, as of Nov. 9, 2026. Orange shades indicate yes majorities; purple shades indicate no majorities. Yes led statewide 62.60% to 37.40%, with all precincts reporting.

Manassas and Manassas Park delivered stronger Democratic margins in the November 3 election than they did in the 2024 presidential year, according to unofficial results from the Virginia Department of Elections. Both cities also voted yes on all three constitutional amendments, including the amendment that would add a right to abortion to the state constitution.

Results remain unofficial until certification, expected around November 10 after late-arriving and provisional ballots are counted.

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Manassas

Manassas City Public Schools: no school Wednesday, Nov. 11, for Veterans Day

By PLN News
Manassas City Public Schools will be closed Wednesday, Nov. 11, for Veterans Day. Graphic: Manassas City Public Schools

Manassas City Public Schools reminded families that there is no school Wednesday, Nov. 11. Division schools and offices will be closed in observance of Veterans Day.

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Manassas

City of Manassas to consider dissolving Business Council after 32 years

By PLN News
Downtown Manassas (file photo). Photo: Harrison Keely / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

Manassas Journal reports that the City of Manassas is considering dissolving the Manassas Business Council, a volunteer advisory board established in 1994 to advise city officials on business and economic development.

City Council is scheduled to consider the proposal Monday, Nov. 9, as a consent-agenda item. If approved, the board would be dissolved effective that day.

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Manassas

Manassas mourns Chip Rohr, soccer coach and Old Town businessman

By PLN News
Chip Rohr
Chip Rohr. Photo: Manassas Park Parks and Recreation / Facebook.

The city is mourning Edgar “Chip” Rohr, a soccer coach, camp director and Old Town businessman whose family name is woven into Manassas history, after a friend wrote on Facebook that he died early Saturday.

Aaron Grimsley wrote on Facebook on Sunday that Rohr “passed away early Saturday morning.” Funeral arrangements and an official obituary had not been announced as of Monday morning.

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Manassas

Sonia Vásquez Luna sworn in as House District 20 delegate after decisive special-election win

By PLN News
Sonia Vásquez Luna takes the oath of office in the Virginia House of Delegates chamber.
Sonia Vásquez Luna takes the oath of office in the House of Delegates chamber in Richmond on Nov. 6, 2026. Photo: Courtesy.

Sonia Ruth Vásquez Luna took the oath of office in the Virginia House of Delegates chamber in Richmond on Nov. 6, becoming the new representative for House District 20.

The Democrat, who had served on Manassas City Council since 2022, defeated Republican Nate Fritzen in the Nov. 3 special election. Unofficial results from the Virginia Department of Elections show Vásquez Luna with 16,413 votes (69.69 percent) to Fritzen’s 7,087 (30.09 percent). Write-ins accounted for the remaining 52 votes. The seat had been vacant since late May, when former Del. Michelle Maldonado resigned for family reasons.

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Manassas

Stevens, Still and Dove win Manassas School Board seats; Brescia falls 13 votes short

By PLN News
Still / Dove / Stevens

Lisa Anne Stevens, Marcus S. Still and Murina V. Dove won the three open seats on the Manassas City School Board in unofficial results Tuesday.

Stevens received 6,216 votes (19.70%), Still 6,102 (19.34%) and Dove 5,941 (18.83%). Incumbent Sara J. Brescia finished fourth with 5,928 votes (18.79%) — 13 votes behind Dove. Raul O. Campoverde Lindao and Javanese M. Hailey each received 3,626 votes (11.49%). Write-ins totaled 110 (0.35%).

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