Author: Mary Stachyra Lopez

Mary Stachyra Lopez is a staff reporter covering business, public safety, education, and other community issues for Local News Now. She has previously worked at Patch.com, the Arlington Catholic Herald, and The Atlantic.

Countywide

Fairfax County may expand ‘Beyond the Bell’ program, sunset School Age Child Care

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
The Fairfax County seal at the Fairfax County Government Center (staff photo by James Cullum)

Several Fairfax County supervisors this week signaled an interest in expanding the “Beyond the Bell” child care program following a reportedly successful pilot over the previous school year. 

County staff proposed at the Board of Supervisors’ Health and Human Services Committee meeting on Tuesday (June 16) transitioning all existing School Age Child Care (SACC) sites to Beyond the Bell over the next few years, starting with an additional 21 schools this fall. 

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Countywide

New FCPS calendar framework standardizes holidays, length of student breaks

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
A Fairfax County Public Schools bus (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The Fairfax County School Board voted last week to approve a new policy that prioritizes full five-day school weeks throughout the year, confirms the length of spring and winter breaks, and sets a framework for the calendar year going forward.

After a tense discussion, the school board voted 8-4 on June 11 to approve a motion by Providence District member Karl Frisch revising an earlier draft of the policy.

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News

FCPS: State police, Congress close investigations into Centreville HS abortion claims

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
Centreville High School (file photo)

A Senate committee and Virginia State Police have concluded their separate investigations into a Centreville High School teacher’s claims that school staff facilitated abortions without parental consent, Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid said this week.

“Neither investigation found any evidence of wrongdoing or any need for further action,” Reid wrote in a letter to the school’s staff and families. “This situation has had a significant impact on all of those involved, and it reminds us of the responsibility we all share to act thoughtfully, with integrity, and compassionately as a caring, connected community.”

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Countywide

DACA recipients in Fairfax County concerned about delayed renewals

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
Rep. James Walkinshaw, of Virginia's 11th Congressional District, speaks to local DACA recipients and immigration advocates during a round table discussion June 15 (staff photo by Mary Stachyra Lopez)

When the U.S. celebrates its 250th birthday next month, one Fairfax man could see the end of his American dream.

Over the years, the South Korean immigrant and medical professional has regularly renewed his lawful immigration status under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Act (DACA), the federal policy that offered relief from removal proceedings and the ability to work in the U.S. for young immigrants.

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Around Town

King Arthur Baking Company to close Fairfax Corner pop-up this June

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
King Arthur Baking Company's pop-up store in Fairfax Corner (Staff photo by Mary Stachyra Lopez)

King Arthur Baking Company’s popular pop-up store at Fairfax Corner is getting ready to close, as the company shifts its focus to a permanent location coming later this year to Northern Virginia.

The pop-up at 11948 Grand Commons Avenue, which opened in September 2024, is slated to close on June 25. As of yesterday (Monday), the remaining inventory is on sale until the store’s closure.

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News

New U.S. citizens celebrate end of long journeys at Gunston Hall, home of founding father

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
Candidates raise their hands and repeat the oath of allegiance that makes their citizenship official during a naturalization ceremony at Gunston Hall on June 12. (Staff photo by Mary Stachyra Lopez)

Fifty new citizens took an oath of allegiance to the U.S. last week during a naturalization ceremony held at a founding father’s home 250 years to the day that Virginia adopted his seminal prelude to the Declaration of Independence.

As part of two days of “Declaration Day” festivities, citizens from 17 different countries on Friday (June 12) raised their right hands and promised to “support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States” on the grounds of Gunston Hall, once owned by George Mason, who wrote the Virginia Declaration of Rights.

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News

Centreville ‘town center’ concept wins planning commission’s support

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
New Braddock Road near Centre Ridge Elementary School in Centreville (Staff photo by Mary Stachyra Lopez)

A proposed amendment to Fairfax County’s comprehensive plan that could transform Centreville over the next few decades gained a key endorsement from the county’s planning commission this week.

The commission voted Wednesday (June 10) to recommend adoption of the amendment, which envisions a more walkable 2,700-acre area with a defined “town center,” more affordable and mixed-use housing, and enhanced public transportation.

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Around Town

IKEA assembles Chantilly store for opening next week

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
IKEA's new store in Chantilly, at the site of the former Dulles Expo Center (staff photo by Mary Stachyra Lopez)

IKEA will open its new Chantilly store at the site of the former Dulles Expo Center on June 18, the company announced yesterday.

The 107,000 square-foot space at 4320 Chantilly Shopping Center Drive is the Swedish furniture company’s first full-sized store in Fairfax County and its third in Virginia.

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News

Mount Vernon debuts $20 million redesigned education center as ‘birthday gift to America’

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
A look inside the new exhibition, “George Washington: A Revolutionary Life” (Courtesy Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association)

Just in time for the nation’s 250th birthday, an immersive new exhibit that includes household objects owned by the first president will open inside a fully reimagined education center at George Washington’s Mount Vernon.

A ribbon cutting for the $20 million transformation — touted by Mount Vernon officials as a “birthday gift to America” — is slated for today (June 11).

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News

Fairfax City Council unanimously updates noise restrictions, adds criminal penalty

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
Traffic on North Street in Fairfax City passes the clock in Old Town Square (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The Fairfax City Council has unanimously approved an updated noise ordinance that clarifies the maximum possible sound levels, tweaks the hours the law is applicable, and gives the city more ability to enforce noise violations — including a new criminal penalty intended for rare cases.

Passed at yesterday’s city council meeting, the ordinance expands prohibitions on certain noises that are currently banned from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. Starting July 15, restrictions will change to be in effect from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. daily.

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