Opening

The City Council recently made a tough, controversial decision to stop funding the George Snyder Trail. While some people see this as a step backward for recreation, I see it as a win for common sense, fiscal responsibility, and the environment.

OAKTON, VA — A January 8 letter from the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), combined with allegations of manipulated survey data and concerns raised by local civic groups, is intensifying scrutiny of the proposed redevelopment of the former AT&T campus at 3033 Chain Bridge Road. While the VDOT letter does not directly address the survey, some residents believe its findings may have heightened pressure around the project and contributed to efforts to demonstrate community support for the proposed “Rosehaven Solution.”

It was a cold and blustery day on January 13, 2024. A small crowd had gathered at the picnic pavilion at Manassas Battlefield, the same meadow where — 162 years earlier –  John Hood’s Texans had collided with the Army of the Potomac in one of the most violent moments in American history.

For several years, Prince William County sat at the center of one of the most consequential land-use debates in Virginia’s recent history. At stake was the proposed Digital Gateway, a large-scale data center project planned near Manassas National Battlefield Park that would have included dozens of buildings spread across more than 2,000 acres.