A Prince William County delegate intends to file a bill to establish voter registration by political party in Virginia.

December of 2010 brought in the strongest month of sales tax collection in 19 years, which was a great way to start off 2011. Add to that the planned five-year savings of some $3.5 estimated by the Prince William County information technology department specialists, and the county was off to a booming start to the new year. Then, the county’s board of supervisors advertised a tax rate of $1.213 per $100 of assessed value, which was down from the previous rate of $1.236. The approved tax rate was $1.204. Overall, the county's economy in 2011 was strong.

Local Gainesville area drivers may want to stay off US 29 and Linton Hall Road this weekend. The traffic pattern is being changed to allow for new construction.

The year 2011 will go down in the record books for its weather highs and lows. From deadly tornadoes, droughts, wildfires, flooding and high winds in different parts of the country – to a hurricane and an earthquake in the same week in our area!

A great deal happened in 2011. The Observer newspapers picked the top 10. The top story had to be the 150th commemoration of the start of the Civil War. The top four will appear here from Jan. 3 to Jan. 6, 2012. All 10 appear in the print edition of the Observer.

Tranquility Day Spa & Salon moved to Haymarket in the spring. In 2012, the business, owned by Gloria and Wayne Harding, will celebrate 15 years of business.

First-graders at Cedar Point .Elementary School in Bristow take their passports and "visit" other countries. Shown here are Cedar Point's first-grade teachers: Andrea Morgan, Bridget Kiernan, Beth Fredette, Nancy Kulak and Chrissy Johnson

Heritage Hunt Women's Organizations gives more than a dollar a day to help local groups. Shown here, in the front row, from left, are: Eleanor Casey-D’Andrea, Joanne Tuttle (committee chair), Margaret Gorzka, Gerri Risso; in the back row, from left, are: Teri Bisaga, Diane Wilson, Charlotte Klingman, Joan Mitchell and Mary Slevin. Photo by E. Bruce Davis