Morning Notes

Prospect Iffy for Wiz and Caps Stadium in Alexandria — “A visibly frustrated Gov. Glenn Youngkin made a last-minute appeal to the Virginia legislature to support the Potomac Yard arena ahead of the General Assembly adjourning on Saturday…Senate Finance and Appropriations Chairwoman L. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth) told the Washington Post [on Wednesday] that the Potomac Yard arena won’t be in the budget compromise.” [ALXnow]

Design of Route 1 BRT Stations Under Revision —  Fairfax County’s “Richmond Highway Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project team continues to work on art design concepts for five of the nine future BRT stations…The county finalized artwork for windscreens to be located at the Lockheed, Hybla Valley, Woodlawn and Fort Belvoir stations” based on concepts submitted last year by high school students. [On the MoVe]

How FCPD Defused Barricade Situation — “It was a bitter cold February night, and the townhouse community along Butterfield Lane in Annandale was flooded with officers…responding to a call of shots fired inside of one of the homes that quickly escalated into a barricade situation. The first responders on the scene, however, were not alone in de-escalating the situation.” [WJLA]

FCPS Adopts Guidelines for Meditation Spaces — “FCPS has developed a regulation to ensure all students and staff have reasonable accommodation and access to meditation and silent reflection spaces within the school division.” The regulation took effect on March 1 and sets guidelines for designated areas where students and staff can “engage in prayer, meditation, or silent reflection, inclusive of their religious or non-religious beliefs.” [Fairfax County Public Schools]

GMU Gets Donation for Domestic Violence Research — George Mason University “received a $4.85 million gift to help continue…research in detecting injuries caused by domestic violence, which will now include the use of artificial intelligence…The anonymous donation will allow researchers to build a new AI software that can help identify bruising injuries with a database of different skin colors.” [WTOP]

Vienna Council Reverses Rejection of Sidewalk Project — “The Vienna Town Council, in an unusual third vote taken one week after two previous tallies came up short, voted 5-2 March 4 to proceed with design work for a sidewalk on Johnson Street, S.W.” The council previously voted against awarding a contract, with opposing members “citing opposition to the project from some residents on the street.” [Gazette Leader]

Tree Rescue Event Coming to Park Near Lake Barcroft — “Community members are invited to gather in Sleepy Hollow Park on Sunday, March 10, 12-2 p.m., to learn how to rescue trees being strangled by invasive vines…Participants will learn how to save trees in their yards and take the first steps toward doing this restorative work in local parks. All are welcome; you don’t need experience.” [Annandale Today]

Prep for St. Patrick’s Day With Dancing in Fairfax — “On March 10, celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with Irish social dancing. From 3-5:30 p.m., dancers of all levels are invited to step onto the Sherwood Center’s dance floor to live music by the Shepherd’s Pie Ceili Band…Cost is $12/adults, $6/youths” [City of Fairfax]

It’s Friday — Expect mostly cloudy skies, with temperatures reaching a high near 59 degrees. An initial northeast wind of 5 to 7 mph will shift to southeast in the afternoon. Tonight, there’s a 30% chance of showers after 1am, and the cloudy conditions will continue with a low around 43 degrees. [Weather.gov]