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Good Morning, Dale City! 🌞
Good morning, neighbors! If this week felt long, congratulations—you’ve reached the part where you get to start telling people, “Have a great weekend!”
In today’s Dale City Spotlight:
😂 Make Me Laugh
📰 Local News
🎉 Local Events
🏫School News
🔥 What’s Trending
🍏Health-Wise
💰 Smart Money Daily
💡Business Spotlight
🍽️ Recipe of the Week
🌤️ Sky Watch: Weather Forecast
“If you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.
~ Erica Jong
Reflection: Playing it safe has risks too. Sometimes moving forward requires courage.
Make Me Laugh😂
A woman got her first pair of reading glasses.
Her husband asked,
“How do you like them?”
“They're amazing.”
“You can see better?”
“Much better.”
she looked around the room.
“Unfortunately, now I can see what needs cleaning.”
Local News 📰
🗳️ Woodbridge Gets Expanded Early-Voting Hours
Prince William County announced this week that early voting at the Woodbridge DMV, 2731 Caton Hill Road, now follows the same schedule as the county's main Office of Elections in Manassas.
Both locations are open weekdays from 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. through October 16, with extended Wednesday hours until 7 p.m.
Beginning October 18, early voting expands to six Prince William locations, including the A.J. Ferlazzo Building in Woodbridge. Early voting ends October 31. More→
🚙 New Towing Rule Is Now in Effect
A significant Prince William parking-enforcement change took effect yesterday.
Vehicles with three or more unpaid parking citations can now be towed under existing state law and county ordinance.
The county says more than 3,000 vehicles currently have at least three unpaid parking citations.
There's an important option for residents who owe multiple citations: vehicle owners may contact the Police Department Licensing Section to establish a payment plan. Vehicles whose owners enroll in and comply with an approved plan will not be towed under this initiative. More→
🚗Prince William Car Tax Deadline Is Getting Close
Here's one deadline worth putting on the refrigerator.
Prince William County personal-property taxes—commonly called the car tax—and business tangible-property taxes are due Monday, October 5.
The county says unpaid balances after October 5 face a 10% late-payment penalty, with interest also accruing.
Taxpayer Services is extending its hours until 6 p.m. on October 1, 2 and 5 at its Woodbridge and Manassas locations. More →
Prince William County’s Recycling Rate Climbs to 47.7%, Nearing National Goal
Prince William County’s latest verified recycling rate reached 47.7% in 2025, up four percentage points from the previous year. The figure covers more than items placed in recycling bins: it measures materials kept out of the disposal stream through recycling, reuse and composting.
That puts the county well above Virginia’s mandated minimum recycling rate of 25%. Prince William’s rate is nearly twice the state requirement and just 2.3 percentage points shy of the Environmental Protection Agency’s national goal of 50%.
The distinction between recycling alone and the verified rate matters. By counting reuse and composting alongside recycling, the figure offers a broader measure of how much material avoids disposal. It also makes the year-over-year change a useful snapshot of the county’s progress: a greater share of materials was diverted in 2025 than in the previous year.
The latest result leaves Prince William short of the national goal, but close to it. For now, the county’s verified rate marks a clear gain over the prior year and a substantial margin above Virginia’s required minimum.
Local Events 🎉
🏫School News
🌱 Forest Park Students Win $8,000 Grant for Mentoring Program
Forest Park High School's FCCLA chapter has received an $8,000 Lead4Change grant to expand its Roots of a Bruin mentoring program with Ashland Elementary School.
High-school students mentor younger students through gardening, cooking, nutrition and leadership activities. The grant will help create a learning garden, expand culinary and nutrition programming, provide mentoring resources and support community events. More→
🎓 College & Career Fair Coming to Forest Park
Eastern Prince William families should mark Wednesday, October 14, from 6–8 p.m.
PWCS's eastern College & Career Fair will be held at Forest Park High School, bringing together representatives from colleges and universities, trade and technical schools, businesses, the military and other organizations. More→
💰 College Financial-Aid Help Is Coming
PWCS will host a Paying for College — FAFSA and VASA webinar Tuesday, October 6 from 6:30–7:30 p.m.
The session is aimed primarily at high-school seniors and their families and will cover FAFSA, Virginia's Alternative State Aid application, grants, scholarships and other financial-aid resources. More →
👮 PWCS Wants Your Opinion on School Resource Officers
This is the strongest fresh PWCS story tonight.
Prince William County Public Schools is seeking public feedback on its memorandum of understanding with the Prince William County Police Department governing the School Resource Officer program.
The agreement establishes the roles and responsibilities of SROs working inside county schools. PWCS says the review is part of its regular process for evaluating the agreement, and community members are being invited to provide feedback.
🔥 What’s Trending
US Mortgage Costs Hit Nearly Three-Year High, Squeezing Homebuyers
The cost of a home mortgage in the US has jumped to its highest level in nearly three years, putting borrowing costs in the spotlight for anyone considering a home purchase.
A more expensive mortgage can mean a higher monthly payment, even when a home’s price has not changed. It can also narrow the range of homes a buyer can afford, making the financing decision as important as the search itself.
For households weighing whether to buy, the jump raises a practical question: move ahead with today’s borrowing costs, or wait and see whether they ease? There is no one answer for every budget, but the nearly three-year high makes the trade-off harder to ignore. The headline may be about mortgages, yet its impact comes down to a familiar concern: how much of a household’s income a home will require each month. More→
Walmart Says It Won’t Use AI to Set Personalized Prices
Walmart says it will not use AI to set personalized prices, drawing a line around one potential use of the technology in retail. The pledge addresses a simple concern: whether a shopper’s price could be determined by an AI system for that shopper specifically.
As AI becomes part of more everyday decisions, pricing raises a question for customers: should technology be used to decide what different people pay? On AI-set personalized prices, Walmart’s answer is no. The statement offers an assurance to shoppers concerned about prices tailored to individuals, while leaving broader questions about the company’s pricing practices unanswered.
The distinction matters. Walmart’s vow is not a promise to avoid AI altogether, nor does it spell out every way prices might be set. It is a specific commitment that AI will not be used to set personalized prices—a boundary shoppers can understand, even as the wider debate over AI in retail continues. More→
Health-Wise🍏
Pomegranate Compound Could Help a Hard-to-Treat Form of Heart Failure
Researchers found that urolithin A — a compound the body produces after eating pomegranates, walnuts, and some berries — improved heart function by up to 80% in experimental models of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. More→
💰 Smart Money Daily
💵Is Your Savings Account Earning 11 Times Less Than It Could?
When did you last check the interest rate on your savings account? The FDIC says the average traditional savings account pays just 0.38% APY, while some of today’s best high-yield savings accounts offer up to 4.25% APY—more than 11 times the national average.
That gap makes your current rate worth a look. If your savings are still earning close to the average, comparing high-yield options could help you get more from money you’re already setting aside. More→
Elon's new company is private. These 3 tickers aren't.
The next Apple may already exist. Insider sources say Elon has spent two years building a secret device inside Tesla's facilities — one he claims will be "10x bigger than the largest product in history."
There's just one problem: the company is private, and unless you know Elon personally, you can't buy a single share. That was true until Guardian's research team found three public ticker symbols sitting in the launch supply chain.
Click here to see all 3 tickers, free of charge.
You won't hear these names on CNBC — Wall Street hasn't published a word on the connection. But when the launch hits September 21, that quiet ends.
Some are already calling this the biggest opportunity since AI. For anyone who missed Apple before the iPhone, this may be a second look at that kind of setup.
Business Spotlight🔦
Bistro L'Hermitage
Refined French cuisine & wines are served in a quaint setting with the feeling of a village auberge.
Located in the historic Occoquan Waterfront Area, Bistro L'Hermitage is a Classic French Bistro offering a romantic and sophisticated dining experience.
Montclair Family Restaurant
We offer a large selection of menu options, from our hearty breakfast platters and daily specials, to our slow-roasted rotisserie chicken and gourmet desserts.
Down Home Comfort Cafe
At our cafe, we strive to bring you the flavors and traditions of the South through our carefully crafted menu. From classic Southern favorites such as fried chicken, fried and smothered pork chops, red beans and rice, potato salad, collard greens, and cornbread to innovative dishes that blend traditional flavors with modern culinary techniques, our culinary team ensures every dish is a memorable taste sensation. Visit Them Here→
Recipe of the Week 🍽️
Baked Ziti: A Classic Italian-American Comfort Dish
Baked Ziti is a popular Italian-American pasta casserole that's loved for its hearty, cheesy goodness. It's a dish that's often served at family gatherings and potlucks, offering a comforting blend of pasta, tomato sauce, cheese, and sometimes meat. Originating from Italian immigrants in the United States, it's a dish that brings together traditional Italian flavors with a touch of American creativity. More→
🌤️ Weather
Thank you for making us part of your morning. As you step into the day ahead, remember that life is bigger than any single moment. A disappointment can become a lesson. A detour can reveal another road. An unanswered question can eventually lead somewhere you never expected. Deal with today, learn from it, and give tomorrow the opportunity to bring something different. There’s more to your story than what you can see from here. “Think beyond right now.” Until next time!
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