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The addition of the events calendar marks a return of the popular feature to Potomac Local News. The events calendar is part of a host of new site improvements that we’ve made since Thanksgiving 2021.
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention will be holding Out of the Darkness Walk in Manassas September 10 at Harris Pavilion in Old Town Manassas. Volunteers are needed for various jobs starting at 6:45am the day of the walk. Volunteers age 16+ welcome, volunteers 15 and below must volunteer with a parent. You’ll feel great supporting this walk which highlights AFSP’s mission to save lives and bring hope to those affected by suicide. Please visithttps://bit.ly/3PiU6qy to sign up. You can also register to walk by visiting www.afsp.org/Manassas. Please email[email protected] to learn more.
If you’re fluent in English and Arabic, Dari, Farsi, French, Amharic, Pashto, Urdu, Spanish, Swahili, Ukrainian, Tigrini, or another language, Catholic Charities wants to meet you! They need volunteers age 21+ to assist with translating various documents or helping families with interpretation. Must pass a background check and complete Adult and Child Protective Services training. Most of these opportunities can be done virtually, and you’ll feel great as your skills help a refugee family adjust to life in the US! Please email [email protected] or call 703.851.6388 for more information.
The festival is an annual family-friendly community arts festival produced jointly by the Prince William County Arts Council, the County Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism, and the Hylton Performing Arts Center.
The festival is free to attend and features Prince William County Arts Council members and other community performers and fine artists. There will be activities for all ages and multiple stages of performances indoors and outdoors, including:
Updated 10 a.m. — Haven Arts, a private, minority-owned art gallery, will open in Historic Downtown Manassas. Located in the U.S. Post Office building at 9108 Church Street, the studio will feature a variety of pop and modern artwork, fashion, and other goods from local talents.
“Haven Arts is a safe place for artists to create and express themselves through art, music, and other forms of creative expression. Community outreach, small business merchandise sales, arts-based programs for underserved locals, music, and creative events are some ways we look to engage our surrounding community while expanding upon the cultural and recreational opportunities available in the Manassas area,” Owner Paul Dallas states in a press release.
Stafford County leaders will crack at reversing course on its downtown development project.
During the Stafford County Board of Supervisors meeting at 3 p.m. Tuesday, September 6, three elected leaders — Crystal Vanuch of Rockhill, Meg Bohmke of Falmouth, and Darrell English of Hartwood — aim to repeal a zoning decision Supervisors made during a 4-3 vote in June 2021 to allow more than 5,400 homes in Downtown Stafford, an area stretching between the county courthouse and Stafford Hospital.
Free dinner? Free parking? Northern Virginia transportation leaders exploring creative options to incentivize commuter behavior — Imagine you’re getting ready to drive to work and suddenly an alert comes across your phone: There’s a disruption on your route causing back-ups, but if you alter your plans – maybe you take the bus or Metro, or you delay your trip slightly – you get free dinner on the higher transportation powers that be. [Insidenova.com]
Independent Hill Library story trail is a hidden gem — The Independence Hill Library’s story trail, which opened in the spring, is the first permanent story trail in Prince William County. The project was a collaborative effort between Prince William Public Libraries, Prince William County’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, and Keep Prince William Beautiful. [Prince William Times / Subscription Required]
On Sunday, September 4, one of the men shot during the multi-agency narcotics task force operation in the 14700 block of Fox Glove Court in Dale City on Thursday, September 1, died from his injuries at an area hospital.
The second individual, identified as a 30-year-old man, remains hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries and is expected to survive.
Overlooking Fredericksburg, the Chatham Bridge, and the Rappahannock River.[/caption]
The Fredericksburg City Council has amended the criminal blight rules to align with state legislation.
The previous city codes related to criminal blight were first adopted in 2012 and were known as "drug blight" provisions. Those provisions were used to designate a building or structure blighted due to unlawful activity such as sales or the use of drugs on an individual property.
Since then, the General Assembly has made many amendments to the criminal blight rule, numbered 15.2-907 in the state code.
The ordinances were designed as a tool to protect public health, safety, and welfare in the circumstances that they addressed and apply to all properties in the Fredericksburg area. However, according to the city's Public Information Officer, Sonja Cantu, this ordinance has never actually been used in the over 10 years it has been in place.
The revised ordinance has also been expanded to include using the property in the use of commercial sex acts and the use of a firearm in the course of a criminal action.
According to the ordinance, property owners have 30 days to take action to prevent the property from being designated a criminal blight. If Fredericksburg were to take such action, it would also include the expenses of that action to be charged to the property owner. Property owners could also ask for an additional 30 days to deal with the issues.
The amended ordinance was read at the Fredericksburg City Council meeting on August 9.
We’re taking today off to enjoy some time with our family and friends. Please feel free to comment below and sound off on recent news coverage or tell us how we’re doing in our ongoing effort to bring you the local news that matters to you.
We’ll be back tomorrow, Tuesday, September 6, with more local coverage from our area. The Boards of Supervisors of Prince William and Stafford counties resume meetings tomorrow after a summer break.
The FredNats put two aboard in the ninth but ultimately could not overcome a 3-2 deficit late Friday at Virginia Credit Union Stadium vs. the Delmarva Shorebirds.
Andry Lara got the start for the FredNats and allowed just three hits and one run (one earned) in six innings. He struck out six in a no-decision. The FredNats trailed 1-0 in the bottom of the seventh before a pair of RBI doubles by Trey Lipscomb and Geraldi Diaz netted the team a 2-1 lead.
