SPORTS: Experienced Colgan baseball team planning deep postseason run. PAGES 14-15
May 11, 2023 | Vol. 22, No. 19 | www.princewilliamtimes.com | $1.00 Covering Prince William County and surrounding communities, including Gainesville, Haymarket, Dumfries, Occoquan, Quantico and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park.
Va. 28 bypass blues
Manassas residents are on edge over the proposed Va. 28 bypass that would raze at least 58 houses, mobile homes By Jill Palermo
Times Staff Writer
PHOTO BY JOHN CALHOUN
In the path of the Va. 28 bypass: This line of eight mobile homes along the north side of Jacobs Lane in the Bull Run Mobile Home Park in Manassas would have to be torn down or relocated if the proposed Va. 28 bypass is approved by both the Fairfax and Prince William County boards of supervisors next year.
Last weekend, Claudia Quinteros, her daughter and her parents were tending the yard outside their home in the 7500 block of Alleghany Road in Manassas. The flower bed in front of the house had a fresh layer of mulch, newly planted annuals and several rose bushes already flush with pink and red blooms. Quinteros said she and her family have lived in the home for about seven years. They like the neighborhood because it’s quiet, convenient and affordable. The house was built in 1964, when developers were still willing to build smaller single-family homes. Quinteros said her parents bought it in 2017, and seven family members, including Quinteros and her 6-year-old daughter, call it home. See BYPASS, page 4
Tax bills rising in Manassas
School board OKs weapons-detection systems for middle, high schools
New budget includes raises for police, teachers
By Anya Sczerzenie
Times staff Writer
fire and rescue levy 1.7 cents from 0.207 cents to 0.19 cents per $100 in assessed value. The new combined real estate tax and fire and rescue levy totals $1.26 per $100 in assessed value which is an 8-cent reduction over the current overall tax rate of $1.342.
The Prince William County School Board voted unanimously Wednesday, May 3 to install the Evolv weapons detection system in 35 middle, high and K-8 schools starting in August. The Evolv Express detectors use artificial
See TAXES, page 2
See WEAPONS, page 6
By Cher Muzyk
Times Staff Writer
The Manassas City Council passed a $452.6 million budget for fiscal year 2024 on Monday that cuts the real estate tax rate while providing raises for police officers, teachers and city workers. But the spending plan will also result in an average $181 increase in real estate tax bills for city homeowners next year. The council reduced the existing real estate tax rate by 6.5 cents from $1.135 to $1.07 per $100 in assessed value. It also reduced the
TIMES STAFF PHOTO/JILL PALERMO
Penny Taylor and her fiancé, Dale Garrigan, in front of the mobile home Taylor shares with her aunt on Jacobs Lane in the Bull Run Mobile Home Park. The home is one of eight that would need to be torn down or moved for the proposed Va. 28 bypass.
City of Manassas city hall
Innovation Elementary School to open next fall, page 2
Hiking Blooms Park the ‘Grand Canyon of Manassas,’ page 11
88 DULLES, VA
It’s all about people . . . and always will be. www.vnb.com
TIMES STAFF PHOTO/ANYA SCZERZENIE
Evolv weapons detection system on display during the Wednesday, Feb. 22 security briefing at Gainesville High School.