Originals Archives - Page 194 of 437

In the wake of trust issues, Prince William schools urged to overhaul personnel improvement process, hire an ombudsman

Published May 29, 2018 at 4:01PM | Updated May 29, 2018 at 9:32PM

Prince William Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Steven Walts.

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY — Prince William County’s highly paid school’s superintendent should hold regular meetings with the public in the same manner as the county’s police chief.

That’s the recommendation of a recent report from Gainesville District Supervisor Peter Candland, who doubts the ability of Schools Superintendent Steven L. Walts’ ability to lead the division following complaints from parents and faculty in the wake of an internal investigation into former Ronald Regan Middle School Alfie Turner.

News

Bull Run Rotary Club awards scholarships to employed CTE students

By Potomac Local News

Published May 29, 2018 at 10:31AM

The Rotary Club of Bull Run recognized five outstanding students from the Greater Manassas area, awarding each with $1,500 in scholarship funds.

Here are the awardees as listed in a press release:

Features

From wasabi pickles to worm fertilizer, North Stafford’s farmer’s market has it all

By Uriah Kiser

Published May 27, 2018 at 9:53PM

Editor’s note: Please enjoy this original story free today in honor of Memorial Day, and thank you to the men and women in uniform who have served our great nation.

NORTH STAFFORD — It’s awfully hard to ignore a van when the markings on the site state that the vehicle is full of a four-letter word that starts with “S.”

News

Dumfries aims to tweak hotel, BPOL, cigarette taxes

By Uriah Kiser

Published May 24, 2018 at 6:19PM | Updated June 11, 2018 at 4:55PM

DUMFRIES — Officials in Dumfries are looking to lower some of the town’s taxes while raising the tax on cigarettes.

Town Manager Robert Ritter says the town will hold a public hearing on June 5 at the town hall where the Town Council will hear from residents about a plan to lower the business and professional license tax (BPOL) and its hotel tax.

News

Transportation planners look to 2045, see fewer free parking spaces, more toll lanes

By Uriah Kiser

Published May 24, 2018 at 10:02AM

WOODBRIDGE — Transportation planners in the Metropolitan Washington region are trying to get a glimpse of what the future holds.

Lyn Erickson, of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Transportation Planning Board, says the future of transportation in our region will hinge on seven new initiatives. They include doubling the number of workers who telecommute, expanding toll lanes, and express bus service in the region.

News

The changes coming to nine Manassas crosswalks you might never have noticed

By Uriah Kiser

Published May 22, 2018 at 6:26PM

MANASSAS — It’s a summer ritual in Downtown Manassas: replacing the bricks in the crosswalks in some of the city’s busiest intersections.

Heavily-trafficked Route 28 runs right through the heart of downtown, where more than 20,000 cars per day travel the street, according to daily traffic counts from the Virginia Department of Transportation.

Business

Serendipity Quilting Studio opens at Tackett’s Mill Lakeside

By Uriah Kiser

Published May 21, 2018 at 4:41PM | Updated May 21, 2018 at 5:37PM

Debbie White

LAKE RIDGE — It didn’t take long for Debbie White to come out of retirement.

The bookkeeper turned professional quilter opened her new fabric store and sewing workshop Serendipity Quilting Studio at Tackett’s Mill Lakeside.

News

In rapidly growing Stafford County, officials take groundwater inventory

By Christopher Hirons

Published May 20, 2018 at 10:57AM | Updated December 3, 2018 at 11:34PM

STAFFORD — There are 2,089 homes planned to be built in Stafford County all needing wells. With some wells underperforming in a rural section of the county, officials ordered a study of the available groundwater residents in those homes would use.

In 2016, residents who lived along Mount Olive Road in the western portion of the county voiced concerns that their wells were slow to recharge. They also voiced concerns about potential impacts to their wells from a nearby developing subdivision at the time.

Schools

Manassas officials huddle to find school funding solution as residents face massive tax increases starting in 2020

By Uriah Kiser

Published May 17, 2018 at 10:30PM | Updated May 18, 2018 at 12:15PM

MANASSAS — Record enrollment in Manassas Public Schools is driving the need to build a new elementary school, which could send the city’s tax rate skyrocketing.

The news of the potential tax hike comes on the heels of a 3.72 percent tax increase approved this week by the city council that takes effect in the fiscal year 2019 starting July 1, which hiked the average homeowner real estate tax bill to $4,075 percent to cover a promise to provide an additional 2.65 percent school funding increase. Last year, taxes jumped five percent to fund new capital improvement projects like a new police station to be built on South Grant Avenue.

News

Manassas Rotary recognizes city police officers as part of 2018 Police Week

By Uriah Kiser

Published May 16, 2018 at 3:16PM | Updated May 17, 2018 at 9:34AM

Manassas Police Officer Marcus Hyde and City Police Chief Douglas Keen.

MANASSAS — The Manassas Rotary honored the city’s police force on Wednesday as part of National Police Week.

Manassas police officers chose their fellow co-worker, Officer Marcus Hyde, 29, as their Officer of the Year. City police Chief Douglas Keen recognized Hyde for his service over the past year, knocking down a door to save the life of a choking woman, applying tourniquets to bleeding victims, and helping to run down a suspect while jogging on his time off.