LETTER: Bad headline, great community
Published: April 29, 2009
It was with disappointment that I read the headline of your otherwise excellent article about our community’s effort to work together to improve the image of Woodbridge.
Although the article did a great job in recognizing our businesses and community partners, your headline, mentioning “Hoodbridge,” was insulting and inflammatory. The use of such slang terminology
only draws negative attention to an area that so many are trying to improve and detracts from the good work that is being done.
As a community partner, we look to you to help us highlight the positive change that is occurring. Abandoned buildings are being demolished, graffiti is being removed and volunteers are working to clean
up our parks and landscape our roadways. We are very proud of our community and the work we are doing to make improvements where they are needed
Forbes Magazine has reported that Woodbridge is one of the areas in the nation that has shown positive signs of correction in the housing market. It points out that the transaction rate of home sales has
returned to 2005 levels. We need to make sure that we work together to let people know that Prince William County is a great place to live.
I invite the community to visit http://www.NewWoodbridge.org to learn how they can become a part of this vision for a New Woodbridge. As we continue to move forward, I hope the News & Messenger will
highlight the efforts of the Woodbridge Civic Association, the faith based community, service organizations, local businesses and countless citizens who are part of this grassroots effort.
FRANK J. PRINCIPI
Woodbridge District Supervisor
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Reader Reactions
ching,
I agree with what you say about Hilda Barg. Woodbridge had been a bad shape a decade or more than she took office. The southern end of the county has always been less than desirable.
I won’t say it’s all bad, but I think there’s way more bad than good. Sorry to the good citizens of Woodbridge.
I do not live in Woodbridge yet living in proximity, I gladly participate in volunteer clean-up efforts regularly in Woodbridge along with several other visiting volunteers. Primarily involving clean-up in areas of water.
I once lived and worked in Woodbridge many years back and I am dumbfounded by the mentality of those who refuse to see the correlation between the group gatherings of dayworkers and others of their likeness and the filth that is Route 1. I realize this as only part of the entire nasty problems and well know the contributors, yet to deny it as part of the issue will leave change no opportunity for sustainable future improvement.
I have refused until recently to even consider stopping along the route in Woodbridge, yet because of forced circumstances I did and after this experience I shall not again. The smell of urine alone where I parked my car to enter the store was enough to gag a maggot. The town where I live enforces the laws of dog excrement better!
interesting the whole time she was in office the city was going down in smoke, guess everyone has a different opinion of what “better” actually means. I guess the more illegals that are seen gathering in “hoodbridge” the better it gets. I wonder if that’s on the website that the supervisor presented. when I drive down route-1 these days I have to suppress the urge to vomit. the route-1 corridor is what defines woodbridge no matter what nice places exist in the city.
First of all we need the Police to enforce the Laws on the Books. It is not legal to gather in groups on property that does not beling to you.The Illegals or dayworkers, were to be gone by 10am. Big Deal,they were not and nothing has been done.
It’s time to clean Rt. One with all the loiters. That dirt and mud at R1 &Parkway;looks horrible.The entire area is nothing but dirt and I am sure it stinks from all the human waste that is left there. Where is the Health Dept.????
Barg said for 20 years ,Woodbridge is improving. Wow. Now Principi will say the same as he’s heading for A higher Political Office. We need to send him Packing.
I used to travel route 1 to work and often stopped by the 7-11 on route-1/parkway for a coffee. 100 percent of the time I was approached by illegals looking for day labor. Head down the street a bit at the taco place and they are hanging out there (in fact, many places along route-1 look just like that scene) I’m not sure where the supervisor say’s it’s getting better but I would have to disagree by saying it’s not. potomac mills is a pretty nice place to shop, but it’s not exactly a safe place at night when all the freaks come out. Woodbridge used to be nice, however in the last 20 years it’s really headed downhill fast. It’s totally my opinion but I place the blame on the supervisors for this.
I participated in a Charity Golf Tournament at the Ospreys Golf Club last Friday. From Manassas we took PW Parkway to Route 1. At the corner of Route 1 and the Parkway there is a 7-11. I counted over 25 Hispanic males congregating at that site. All the grass is now gone. Many looked as if they had just climbed out from under a rock. Miserable looking bunch to say the least. Until such time that the community rids themselves of such congregations on its street corners, Woodbridge will still be considered a dump. No amount of BS from Principi will change that situation. You can blame Nancy Lyall and here ilk for that mess. They would be happy to see them on every street corner in Woodbridge.
From Swoopingidiot,
“It’s too bad we can’t all work together to improve this place we call home”.
We did work together in PW County which resulted in the election of a Board of Supervisors who took action to rid the community of its undesirables. It was you Liberals who cried foul and wanted to protect those same law breakers who now sit at every 7-11 looking to again circumvent the laws of the US by working for wages paid under the table. You can have it both ways. Typical Liberal response.
there’s nothing wrong with calling a dump a dump. Trust me, I’ve lived there and route-1 is horrible along with many other places there. potomac mills on a saturday night is horrible (actually potomac mills on any night).
woodbridge could be better, but it’s not looking like that’s coming soon enough. the first step in fixing a problem is realizing it’s there, owning up to the fact that a place is a dump is the first sign of resolution. people dont call it hoodbridge for nothing, even the people that live there call it that. people that can afford to move usually do
People don’t like their home towns defamed, especially when they are trying very hard to make their areas improve quality and image.
People like Ching just contribute to the negativity this county is encouraging.
It’s too bad we can’t all work together to improve this place we call home.
Thank you, Mr. Principi, for trying to defend those of us who want to help and not hurt.
definition of “hoodbridge” in the urban dictionary:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=hoodbridge
wow frankie! you are either seriously deluded or something in stating woodbridge is turning around.
it’s getting worse! do you even live there? the place is horrible, like a third world country. I’ve seen woodbridge in the last 15 years turn into a cesspool under hilda’s leadership and now yours.
when you can safely walk down route-1 in the evening hours without getting robbed or beaten then I’ll agree we are getting somewhere. likewise, when I pull into a 7-11 and get mobbed by illegal immigrants seeking day labor work.
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