Fauquier County Department of Economic Development reports the County will soon be used as a model for other Virginia communities that are bidding on blue chip prospects.

A commercial structure in Manassas, near the George Mason University campus, apparently sustained an explosion Monday, Sept. 23, at approximately 11:30 a.m. One person was injured slightly and the building was posted as unsafe.

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell and Alaska Governor Sean Parnell jointly announced today the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish a formal operating relationship between the Virginia Commercial Spaceflight Authority (VCSFA) and the Alaska Aerospace Corporation (AAC).

Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative warns all customers to be alert to anyone who calls them, claims to be a Co-op employee, and directs the customer to pay bills with a specific prepaid debit card. The Co-op says the caller is a scammer. NOVEC customers reported three phone-scam attempts last month.

Melissa Robson, president of Novant Health Prince William Medical Center & COO, Greater Northern Virginia Market, will give an in-depth look at how Novant Health is making healthcare remarkable in Prince William County at a July 30 breakfast sponsored by the Prince William Chamber of Commerce in Haymarket.

Senator Mark Warner and other federal and state leaders will lead a statewide policy forum, What’s Ahead for Housing: A Symposium on Federal Housing Policy Change, sponsored by Housing Virginia and the Weldon Cooper Center at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.

The Manassas Campus of Northern Virginia Community College will present a series of free “ESL for Employment” classes on reading, writing, listening and speaking skills June 24 to July 24.

Prince William County government will increase some building development fees 3.5 percent across-the-board and non-residential fees 12 percent effective July 1, 2013.