Opinion

By Ben Purves, pastor, Occoquan Bible Church, Woodbridge

Ben Purves, pastor of Occoquan Bible Church in Woodbridge, submitted this open letter from Virginia pastors urging voters to reject proposed amendments 1 and 2 to the Virginia Constitution. He wrote Wednesday that the letter, posted at virginiapastors.org, had reached 250 signatures, including pastors at churches in Woodbridge, Manassas, Dumfries, and Gainesville.


Prince William

Prince William County Fire & Rescue will host its 3rd Annual Expo and Fall Festival on Saturday, Oct. 3, from noon to 5 p.m. at Pfitzner Stadium in Woodbridge.

The free event marks Fire Prevention Week and includes apparatus displays, food trucks, live music, and family activities.


Features

From a free inclusive festival at the Fredericksburg Fairgrounds and Oktoberfest at 2 Silos in Manassas to a free outdoor band concert in Woodbridge and Friday night music in Market Square, here are things to do Friday evening through Sunday.

According to the disAbility Resource Center, the Fall Family Festival is Saturday, Sept. 19, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Fredericksburg Fairgrounds. A Weekend Roundup Tips media advisory from the center says admission and parking are free, and Deputy Director Seth Whitten said more than 2,700 people attended last year. The festival page promotes a family-friendly day with 80-plus vendors, live music and entertainment, and free family activities.


Prince William

Readers across Prince William, Stafford and nearby towns told Potomac Local they smelled a sulfur, sewage or rotten-egg odor Saturday morning. Some said it faded by early afternoon. One Woodbridge reader said it came back Saturday evening.

Prince William Fire and Rescue took 21 “outside gas leak” calls between 7:20 a.m. and 1:18 p.m. Crews smelled sulfur. Four-gas meters read normal. Washington Gas reported no system issue. No source has been identified. No shelter-in-place order was issued.


News

Wonder says it will open a new location at Smoketown Station in Woodbridge on Thursday, Sept. 17, with a ribbon cutting at 10:30 a.m.

The address is 13257 Worth Avenue. The shopping center, off Prince William Parkway near Potomac Mills, already includes retailers and restaurants such as Best Buy, Lidl, Total Wine & More, Chuck E. Cheese and First Watch.


Prince William

A baby died after a hit-and-run on Richmond Highway in Woodbridge, Prince William County police said Monday.

The crash happened at 9:42 p.m. Sept. 3 in a parking lot in the 14500 block of Richmond Highway, near Gabe’s and Featherstone Road. A 28-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman were walking through the lot when a dark-colored pickup struck both of them and left the scene. The truck has not been found.


Police Blotter

Prince William County police are looking for a man who jumped a counter at a Woodbridge CVS, threatened two employees with a box cutter and an aerosol can, and stole a lighter. Officers also released photos of a man they say exposed himself to a 15-year-old girl at a Dumfries Target.

The daily reports also include a Woodbridge brandishing arrest, a garage burglary in Woodbridge, a commercial burglary at a Bristow water facility, and Stafford cases involving a public intoxication arrest and a rental scam.


Prince William

 

Prince William County planning staff is recommending approval of Potomac Lofts, a 130-unit condominium project on the vacant Kaiser Permanente clinic at 14139 Potomac Mills Road. The Planning Commission is scheduled to hear rezoning case REZ2025-00030 on Sept. 9.


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