Author: FFXnow.com

No Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday After ‘Oversight’ — “In Virginia, every year since 2015, the General Assembly has given folks a break on sales tax for back-to-school supplies and clothing for three days beginning on the first Friday in August.” However, this year, lawmakers neglected to include the break in the state budget, which is still the subject of negotiations. [Washington Post]

Fentanyl Found in Recent Herndon Drug Arrests — “Four suspects arrested in two separate incidents are facing multiple drug charges, according to Town of Herndon Police. In one incident, the arrest followed a traffic stop and the other concerned two people seen sleeping on a picnic table.” [Patch]

Vienna Little Leaguers Compete for World Series Today — “The Big Red Machine’s ‘Summer of Swat’ continues! They won the highest championship for their age group last year and are now vying for a chance to play in the Little League World Series! The quest starts at 1 p.m…with the SE Region Tournament in GA.” [Town of Vienna/Twitter]

Map to Locate County Park Amenities Launches — “The Park Amenity Locator is a web-based application, which allows park-goers to search for parks by geographic location and through more than 30 amenity filters that help target a variety of park features, such as dog parks, playgrounds, mini golf, boating, amusements, skate parks, campgrounds, athletic fields, pickleball courts and many more.” [Fairfax County Park Authority]

Special Education Lawsuit Against FCPS Tossed — “Families who sued the Fairfax County School Board and Virginia Department of Education over services for students with disabilities have asked the state attorney general to investigate the two entities after a judge dismissed their class-action case last week.” [Washington Post]

Historic Marker Unveiled for Gum Springs Voting Rights Figure — “Dozens of top county officials, community leaders, ministers, neighbors and family members gathered July 22 to recognize the major civil rights era contribution of a humble, devout Gum Springs woman, whose name was almost lost to history. The event was the unveiling of a historic marker honoring Annie E. Harper (1885-1983) at her former residence, 7735 Fordson Road.” [On the MoVe]

Man Sentenced in Shots Fired Case at Herndon Bar — The man who fired a gun inside Sully’s Pour House in 2021 was sentenced to five years in prison on Friday (July 28) but will only have to serve eight months, a Fairfax County Circuit Court judge determined. The bar owner said she was “disappointed by what she calls a weak punishment.” [NBC4]

Braddock Road Project Will Affect Fewer Trees — “The Virginia Department of Transportation has reduced the amount of tree loss in the Braddock Road Multimodal Improvements Project, agency officials announced at a recent community meeting. The project would create 10-foot-wide shared-use paths along both sides Braddock Road, as well as intersection improvements” [Annandale Today]

(Updated at 8:50 a.m.) Saturday Storm Affects Power, Trees — “Wind damage — mainly downed trees — occurred all over the region, including northern Virginia, the District and Maryland. Some trees fell onto homes and cars. In many instances, roads were blocked. But the winds also toppled portable toilets and street signs and tore shingles off roofs.” [The Washington Post]

Police Launch Final Week of Road Safety Campaign — “We start our fourth and final wave of the successful ‘Road Shark’ campaign on Monday, July 31 through Sunday, August 6. During this high-visibility and coordinated enforcement, FCPD continues to deter aggressive driving, reduce crashes, and change driving behavior.” [FCPD]