Governor Terry McAuliffe announced Jan. 9 that the Virginia Research Investment Committee (VRIC) has approved a $1.1 million grant to Virginia Tech to support a medical device that will use low-energy electric fields to treat brain tumors, the second-leading cause of death in people under the age of 20.

Lillie G. Jessie, of the Occoquan District, was reelected to a third term as vice chairman for 2018 at the School Board’s annual organizational meeting on Jan. 3. Jessie first joined the School Board in 2012 and was reelected in November 2015.

A new broadband upgrade is under way in Prince William County Schools. It will ultimately result in faster and easier access to the internet. When complete, the PWCS digital information pipeline will be five times larger, from two gigabytes to 10 gigabytes, expanding teaching, learning, and family engagement resources.

Students in the cabinet-making class at Hylton High School and students in an after-school program at Beville Middle School have been working with Prince William County Public Schools to build Little Free Libraries for use in or near schools. Little Free Libraries are small cabinets filled with free books that are placed in public areas in communities in more than 80 countries.

Two Greater Prince William area residents will be among the 37 young Virginians who will be appointed as Senate Pages when the legislature convenes on Wednesday, Jan. 10, according to a news release.

Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative has opened applications for area public, private or home-schooled high school sophomores or juniors for the annual National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) Youth Tour, June 10-14, 2018, to see government in action.

Due to inclement weather conditions, Manassas Park City Schools will be closing early today, Jan. 8 (MPMS and MPHS at 11:45am; CES and MPES at 12:30pm).

Prince William County Public Schools will close three hours early today, Monday, Jan. 8, due to predicted inclement weather and freezing road surfaces in some areas.