Angela Woolsey | FFXnow

Fairfax County COVID-19 cases keep falling, with vaccines for kids possibly coming this week

Published November 1, 2021 at 2:00PM

The Fairfax County Government Center's COVID-19 vaccine clinic (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

After a grim 2020, a more festive winter holiday season could be in store this year, as Fairfax County’s third COVID-19 wave continues to ebb.

The 57 new cases reported today (Monday) are the fewest that the Fairfax Health District has seen in a single day since July 27, when there were 52 new cases and the Delta variant was just starting to emerge locally.

News

Potential for flooding high in Fairfax County into Saturday morning

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 28, 2021 at 4:30PM

Flooding on Old Courthouse Road (file photo)

Waters from the Potomac River could spill over into Fairfax County, with the D.C. area expected to get almost nonstop rain tomorrow (Friday), the National Weather Service warns.

A Coastal Flood Warning will be in place for Northern Virginia, including Fairfax County, starting at 6 p.m. today (Thursday) until 8 a.m. Saturday (Oct. 30).

Opinion

Poll: Have you voted in Virginia’s 2021 general election yet?

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 27, 2021 at 9:30AM | Updated December 9, 2022 at 1:45PM

November is on the horizon, and in Virginia, that means it’s almost time for another Election Day.

This year, voters will determine the Commonwealth’s future for the next four years, casting ballots for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and all 100 seats in the House of Delegates.

News

Flash Flood Watch in effect tonight for Fairfax County

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 25, 2021 at 6:15PM

Fairfax County is under a Flash Flood Watch area for Oct. 25, 2021 (via Fairfax Alerts)

The National Weather Service has issued a Flash Flood Watch for much of the D.C. area, including Fairfax County.

In effect until 2 a.m. tomorrow (Tuesday), the alert says showers and thunderstorms could bring up to 4 inches of rain in some areas, potentially leading to rapidly rising stream and creek waters.

News

COVID-19 cases decline in Fairfax County as options for booster shots expand

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 25, 2021 at 2:00PM

An illustration of a coronavirus (via CDC/Unsplash)

Fairfax County’s COVID-19 case levels haven’t entirely come down from the late-summer Delta variant surge, but they appear to be headed in that direction.

The Fairfax Health District, including the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church, added 72 cases today (Monday) for a total of 92,739 cases over the course of the pandemic. 4,360 residents have been hospitalized by the novel coronavirus, and 1,209 people have died, including eight people in the past week.

News

Task force weighs potential cost and benefits of renaming Lee and Lee-Jackson highways

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 21, 2021 at 9:30AM

Fairfax County's Confederate Names Task Force convenes for a meeting on Oct. 18 (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Though they have cropped up with increasing regularity both locally and nationally in recent years, conversations about how to handle symbolic reminders of the Confederacy remain as emotionally charged as ever.

That was evident in the most recent meeting of Fairfax County’s Confederate Names Task Force, which has been charged with determining whether the county should rename Lee and Lee-Jackson Memorial highways.

News

Fairfax County reports rise in COVID-19 deaths over past week

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 18, 2021 at 2:00PM

An illustration of a coronavirus (via CDC/Unsplash)

Fairfax County’s late summer, Delta variant-fueled surge in COVID-19 cases may have plateaued with fall’s arrival, but an uptick in deaths over the past week suggests the full toll of the pandemic’s most recent wave is only just starting to emerge.

The county has reported 10 deaths from the coronavirus in the past seven days, including one person who died today (Monday), according to Virginia Department of Health data.

News

Inova reports “urgent” need for blood donations with supplies low and beds near capacity

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 18, 2021 at 9:30AM

Inova Bloodmobile (via Inova Blood Donor Services/Facebook)

Local blood supplies have reached critically low levels, creating a potential crisis with hospitals operating at maximum capacity, Inova Health Systems reports.

The dangers of this imbalance between supply and demand became painfully clear last week, when the nonprofit health care system drained its Type B supplies and had to switch to Type O blood in order to stabilize one patient, according to an Inova spokesperson, who described the current need for blood donors as “urgent.”

News

Fairfax County seeks public input on Lee and Lee-Jackson highway names

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 15, 2021 at 9:30AM

For anyone who feels strongly about whether or not Lee Highway and Lee-Jackson Memorial Highway should continue to bear those names, the time to share that opinion has arrived.

The Fairfax County Confederate Names Task Force launched a survey yesterday (Thursday), kicking off the community engagement phase of its review of whether to rename the highways.

News

Fairfax County poised to end fines for overdue library materials

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 13, 2021 at 2:00PM

Friends of Reston Regional Library have dedicated grants for new materials.

After a slight delay, Fairfax County Public Library has come to the same realization as dozens of other library systems in the D.C. area and across the country: that fining patrons for overdue materials doesn’t work.

The library’s Board of Trustees got informal but clear support from the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors at a joint meeting yesterday (Tuesday) to stop FCPL’s practice of charging late fees for unreturned books, DVDs, and other resources.