Parents, school administrators, and students are invited to attend an ”expo” at the Virginia Department of Forensic Science's Nothern region laboratory in Manassas this Thursday, Nov. 29.

A Manassas city official says a phone scam is being used on some city residents. Residents are being telephoned by a fraudulent caller who says he or she is from the "utility company and is going to shut off the person's power unless a credit card number is given to the caller.

Virginia Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services offers food safety tips for preparing food & cooking a full course Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings, so everyone stays well and happy this holiday season.

Virginia Congressman Gerry Connolly will hold his annual Open Season Workshop on Saturday, Nov. 17, at WT Woodson High School in Fairfax VA to assist federal employees and retirees in navigating through the many changes in the 2013 Federal Employees Health Benefits Plans (FEHBP), dental and vision insurance programs, and flexible spending accounts.

The Virginia Department of Fire Safety has answered the most frequently asked questions about smoke detectors. Safety officials recommend changing smoke alarm batteries when turning the clocks back Nov. 4.

This Sunday, Nov. 4, residents are reminded to set their clocks back one hour for the end of Daylight Savings Time. Also change the batteries in all smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors when you change your clock. This is the 25th year of "Change you clock, change your battery" slogan.

Manassas city officials tipped their collective hats to city public works and utility crews, volunteer and career firefighters and police officers for their work in the wake of Hurricane Sandy and dubbed them "Hurricane Heroes," according to a news release from Patty Prince, public information director.

Scammers-or "storm chasers"-will likely try to take advantage of vulnerable storm victims as well as those who want to donate money to help them because Hurricane Sandy left behind power outages, downed trees, and property damage, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli warned about danger from scammers & what to look for.