Morning Notes

Flood Watch Issued for Tonight — “If Tuesday’s soaker of a storm left you wanting, an encore is on the way. The National Weather Service has just issued a Flood Watch for Friday night, warning of heavy rain and the potential for localized flooding in the D.C. area. The watch will take effect at 6 p.m. Friday and run through 6 a.m. Saturday.” [ARLnow]

Winners of First Hike Fairfax Photo Contest Revealed — “The annual First Hike Fairfax photo contest is…a way for residents to begin a new year with fitness and outdoor activity, while enjoying the experience with friends, neighbors and family. This year, more than 350 contestants submitted photos showcasing the sights and scenes they experienced. The results were spectacular!” [Fairfax County Park Authority]

Chantilly Realtor Buys Dulles Town Center — “In 1999, 25-year-old Srinivas Chavali came to the U.S. from India with two bags, $100 in his pocket and a job offer from a U.S. software company. Today, he’s the new owner of the Dulles Town Center mall — the largest mall in Loudoun County — which he purchased in December for $46 million.” [Loudoun Times-Mirror]

State May Tie Metro Funding to Sports Arena — “Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin responded Thursday to a demand from state Democratic leaders that putting more money toward Metro would need to be included in negotiations as Youngkin pushes for a new arena in Alexandria for the Capitals and Wizards.” [WTOP]

Dog Bites Adult in Falls Church — “City of Falls Church Police and Animal Control are looking for a dog that bit an adult on Wednesday, January 10, at about 9:30 a.m. on the pedestrian bridge adjacent to the Oak Street Elementary School in Howard E. Herman Stream Valley Park…The dog owner briefly stopped to apologize, but left in the direction of the school without giving any information.” [City of Falls Church]

Mount Vernon Supervisor Leaves Twitter — Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck shared yesterday (Thursday) that he will no longer use Twitter, the social media site rebranded as X last year. Storck said the platform has stopped being “a conducive environment to inform residents or engage in community dialogue,” encouraging constituents to get updates through other channels. [Dan Storck/Twitter]

County Tracks Usage of Completed Mount Vernon Trail — “The Fairfax County Department of Transportation’s (FCDOT) Active Transportation team has begun capturing data about usage of the Mount Vernon Memorial Highway Trail, which opened last May…Between late July and mid-December 2023, FCDOT found that an average of 102 people used the trail on weekdays and 120 on weekends.” [On the MoVe]

Region’s Airports Saw Slight Uptick in Firearms — “Transportation Security Administration officers stopped 122 firearms last year at airport security checkpoints in the Washington, D.C. region and Richmond, Virginia. That was five more than the 117 stopped at the same four airports in 2022.” [Patch]

It’s Friday — Expect rain after 4pm with increasing clouds and a high near 56. There’s a 50% chance of precipitation during the day, but that will rise to 100% chance at night. Between a half and three quarters of an inch of new rainfall are possible, with a low around 43.  [Weather.gov]