Celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote peak this week.

Help in paying mortgage, rent and utility bills due to COVID-19 is now available for residents of Prince William County, Manassas and Manassas Park through HUD. Prince William County Office of Housing and Community Development is doing the paperwork for the federal program.

The U.S. Department of the Interior and National Park Service report Independence Day celebrations on the National Mall will include flight demonstrations from different branches of our military, in particular the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, and a monumental fireworks display.

U.S. Senators from Virginia Mark Warner and Tim Kaine released the following statement upon House passage of legislation to make D.C. the 51st state:

Questioning the constitutonality of voting by proxy,Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-01), who represents part of Prince William County, on May 27 joined the lawsuit being filed in D.C. Federal District Court challenging the constitutionality of H. RES 965, the House Democrat plan to vote by proxy.

People receiving benefits who did not file 2018 or 2019 taxes, and have qualifying children under age 17, however, should not wait for their automatic $1,200 individual payment.

Andrew Saul, Commissioner, Social Security Administration, announced today, April 13, “The Treasury Department launched a new web tool allowing quick registration for Economic Impact Payments for eligible individuals who do not normally file a tax return, and also announced that it would begin making automatic payments.

Commissioner Saul said. “I want our beneficiaries to be aware that scammers may try to trick you into thinking the pandemic is stopping or somehow changing your Social Security payments, but that is not true. Don’t be fooled.”