Gainesville Supervisor Peter Candland, Occoquan Supervisor Ruth Anderson, Jack Kooyoomjian of the Lake Ridge Occoquan Communities Ciivic Association (LOCCA) and Elizabeth Ward, of PW Soil & Water Conservation District will lead a community conversation Aug. 20 in Lake Ridge about proposed changes in Prince William County development policies affecting rural areas of the county.

“Last Thursday’s SCC decision to approve the Haymarket transmission project and include it in the underground pilot program, as outlined in the Grid Transformation and Securities Act of 2018, moves us one step closer to meeting the growing energy demands in western Prince William County," said Charles Penn Sr., spokesman for Dominion.

Gov. Ralph Northam announced July 26 that Cascades Inc. (TSX: CAS), a Canadian leader in the recovery and manufacturing of green packaging and paper tissue products, plan to invest $275 million to establish a lightweight recycled containerboard operation in the former Bear Island Paper Mill in Hanover County. The project will create 140 new jobs.

Residents visiting the E.G. Smith Baseball Complex should expect to see a cleaner public park soon due to a significant grant made possible by Dr. Pepper Snapple Group (NYSE: DPS) in collaboration with national nonprofit Keep America Beautiful.

Virginia’s recently established Beehive Distribution Program provides beehives to both new and established beekeepers in an effort to increase the number of actively managed bee colonies across the Commonwealth. The program is administered by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS).

Prince William Conservation Alliance is heading up a "community conversation" on "Keep the Green: Lower Taxes, Less Traffic, More Trees" on Monday, July 16, at 7 pm, at Giuseppe’s Italian Restaurant,15120 Washington St, Haymarket, VA 20169.

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) announced June 27 that the winter losses of honeybee colonies over the 2017-2018 season were greater than expected and greater than the average of 30 percent per year for the past decade. “The winter losses were 59.5 percent,” said Keith Tignor, State Apiarist. He adds that this is the highest rate since 2000 when the state began monitoring winter losses. There was a decrease in colony losses reported for the summer of 2017 when compared to the 2016 summer season.

City of Manassas Planning Commission will lead a Comprehensive Plan update Kickoff Session & Community Conversation on Land Use on Tuesday, June 19 at 7 PM, at the Boys and Girls Club, 9501 Dean Park Lane. The public is invited to attend this session and the others to follow.