Morning Notes

School Board Races Test “Parent Rights” Movement — “While Fairfax County tends to vote for Democrats, right-leaning parent activists here played an instrumental role in Youngkin’s surprise victory in 2021, which fueled a national GOP focus on culture war issues in education. Next week’s school board race, which is non-partisan, may test whether voters will reward the Democratic incumbents for holding the line against conservative policies — or whether the ‘parental rights’ movement remains a significant force.” [NBC News]

FCPS Investigating Release of Sensitive Student Info — “Virginia’s Fairfax County Public Schools has launched an investigation into the district’s release of tens of thousands of confidential documents containing sensitive student information to a parent advocate last month and has issued an apology to those affected.” [The 74]

New Grocery Store Coming to Mount Vernon — “The long vacant Safeway space at Mount Vernon Square has officially been taken over by Fresh World and is expected to start undergoing construction and renovation by year’s end, according to Joshua Kim, a representative of the Fresh World affiliate that purchased the shopping center back in July 2023.” [On the MoVe]

GMU Addresses Recorded Fight Over Poster — “George Mason University responded on social media Tuesday to a video of a woman taking down and tearing up a poster ‘that appears to depict Israeli children kidnapped as part of the Israel-Hamas conflict.’ The video seems to have been recorded at the Virginia university’s Fairfax location and has been reposted thousands of times since it was uploaded on Monday.” [WTOP]

Property Taking Authorized for Oakton Walkway — “Fairfax County supervisors on Oct. 24 unanimously agreed to use eminent-domain powers to obtain land rights from one property owner in order to proceed with the planned Chain Bridge Road Walkway project. The county plans to build a 5-foot-wide concrete sidewalk along the 1,760 linear feet of the south side of Chain Bridge Road in Oakton between Courthouse and Sutton roads.” [Gazette Leader]

Fairfax Artificial Intelligence Firm Acquired — “Fairfax-based ARInspect, a firm specializing in artificial intelligence products for public sector field operations, has been acquired by Texas software company Tyler Technologies, the companies announced Tuesday…ARInspect’s platform allows public sector employees to work independently to manage all activities in the field.” [Virginia Business]

Update Coming on Route 1 Bus Project — “Fairfax County Department of Transportation will host a meeting to discuss updates on the Richmond Highway Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project. Join us to catch up on what has been completed, hear a recap of decisions and milestones, and learn about next steps!” [FCDOT]

Holiday Raffle Supports Herndon and Reston Students — The Rotary Club of Herndon is holding a holiday raffle to fund college scholarships for local high school students. The raffle will be open until Dec. 10 with gift cards worth $1,000 as the grand prize. [Raffle Creator]

It’s Thursday — Frost is expected to clear up by 10am, giving way to a sunny day with a high of about 51°F and a northwest wind around 6 mph. The night will be clear, with temperatures dropping to around 34°F and a southern wind near 6 mph. [Weather.gov]