Loudoun Times-Mirror

06/19/2026

This week’s front page 🗞️🗞️

06/19/2026

Cynthia McAlister recalls the long wait for help as she comforted a woman who’d been thrown from her Jeep and lay in the road after a crash in 2021.

McAlister, then chief of of the Purceillville Police Department, had been on her way to work around 8 a.m. and was behind the Jeep, which she said sideswiped a truck at the intersection of Hughsville Road and Telegraph Springs Road south of Purcellville.

She said it took 40 minutes for a Virginia State Police trooper to arrive from Ashburn. A Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office deputy arrived about 20 minutes after that.

“That is far too long to be waiting,” McAlister said in an interview earlier this month. “To me, that’s unacceptable.”

Response times from the VSP are unlikely to shorten. While the number of crashes in Loudoun are up over the last several years, the number of troopers assigned to the county is down, and half the positions are unfilled.

Cynthia McAlister recalls the long wait for help as she comforted a woman who’d been thrown from her Jeep and lay in the road after a crash in 2021.

06/18/2026

The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors weighed an attempt to raise their yearly salaries by about $33,300 for the next term.

The board forwarded the issue to a September meeting after five of the nine members said June 16 that they wouldn't support the increase.

Little River Supervisor Laura TeKrony, Algonkian Supervisor Juli Briskman and Broad Run Supervisor Sylvia Glass proposed raising the annual salary for supervisors to about $116,300 in 2028, $119,800 in 2029, $123,400 in 2030 and $127,100 in 2031.

The board chair's annual salary would be about $127,930 in 2028, $131,800 in 2029, $135,700 in 2030 and $139,800 in 2031.

That totals to about $4.43 million over the next four-year term. Board salaries for the current 2024-2027 term total about $2.95 million.

The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors weighed an attempt to raise their yearly salaries by about $33,300 for the next term.

06/18/2026

Loudoun County officials say it's too early to gauge the local effect of a proposed retail cannabis market agreement announced by Gov. Abigail Spanberger and state legislators June 16. It awaits approval by the General Assembly.

Under the proposal, the legal ma*****na possession limit would increase from one ounce to two ounces. If approved, the agreement would be effective July 1, 2027.

Thomas A. Julia, Loudoun County Sheriff's Office spokesman, didn't answer a series of questions from the Loudoun Times-Mirror regarding aspects of the agreement, but said Loudoun Sheriff Michael L. Chapman opposes reducing penalties for ma*****na possession.

Loudoun County officials say it's too early to gauge the local effect of a proposed retail cannabis market agreement announced by Gov. Abigail Spanberger and state legislators June 16. It

06/18/2026

A motorcyclist was killed June 17 after colliding with an SUV in South Riding.

The crash occurred around 7 p.m. at the intersection of Tall Cedars Parkway and South Riding Boulevard, according to a Loudoun County Sheriff's Office news release.

Brian Dan, 44, of South Riding, was northbound on Tall Cedars when he struck an SUV driven by Suellen Rovder that was turning left onto South Riding Boulevard, according to an email from Leah E. Paul, an LCSO spokeswoman.

A motorcyclist was killed June 17 after colliding with an SUV in South Riding.

06/18/2026

Purcellville Vice Mayor Carl “Ben” Nett — a former town police officer who was fired in April 2025 — is petitioning the Loudoun County Circuit Court to get his job back with back pay.

Nett’s attorneys, John Cook and Kyle Moodhe of Cook Legal Solutions, filed an 80-page “petition for implementation of grievance panel decision” against the town on June 17 in Loudoun County Circuit Court.

Nett is also seeking attorney’s fees in his court filing.

Purcellville Vice Mayor Carl “Ben” Nett — a former town police officer who was fired in April 2025 — is petitioning the Loudoun County Circuit Court to get his job

06/18/2026

It's a great day for solar power, Gov. Abigail Spanberger told the crowd sweating under the hot June sun, rows of solar panels behind her.

Spanberger was visiting the Piedmont Environmental Council's farm in Aldie on June 17 to sign legislation defining agrivoltaics in state code. The solar panels were part of PEC's own project, the first one in Virginia to put solar and crops on the same patch of land.

It's a great day for solar power, Gov. Abigail Spanberger told the crowd sweating under the hot June sun, rows of solar panels behind her.

06/16/2026

A popular long-running business, and a staple in the downtown Leesburg bar scene, is under new ownership.

The Downtown Saloon at 5 and 7 King St. — previously known as Payne’s Biker Bar from the 1970s — was sold June 16 to Evan and Meaghan Malone and Kathleen Malone of Tuskie’s Hospitality Group.

The bar’s longtime owner, Scott Warner, purchased the Downtown Saloon in 2001, in the same month he retired from the Leesburg Police Department.

About a year ago, he realized that it was time for a change, he said, but he wanted to find the right buyer that would preserve the nostalgia of the business.

Working with his realtor, Beckwith Bolle of Carter Braxton Properties, he said he found the perfect next steward for the 225-year-old buildings and the business with the Malone family as the new owners.

A popular long-running business, and a staple in the downtown Leesburg bar scene, is under new ownership.

06/16/2026

Descendants of a prominent Black family in the Watson area want a new Loudoun County high school to be named Thornton Summit High School.

The $202 million school will hold 2,100 students and is expected to open in August 2028. The 346,700-square-foot facility will be located by Watson Mountain Middle School outside Brambleton.

The top name recommended for HS-14 by a 29-person naming committee is Beacon Heights High School, according to Loudoun County School Board documents. Summit High School is the second choice, and Thornton the third. The board is expected to choose a new name at its meeting June 23.

Descendants of a prominent Black family in the Watson area want a new Loudoun County high school to be named Thornton Summit High School.

06/16/2026

The Class of 2026 at Tuscarora High School in Leesburg was encouraged to embrace doubt and fear during its commencement ceremony June 15.

The Class of 2026 at Tuscarora High School in Leesburg was encouraged to embrace doubt and fear during its commencement ceremony June 15.