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.

News

Planned transfer of Centreville library site to housing authority set for public hearing

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
The Centreville Regional Library (Staff photo by Mary Stachyra Lopez)

Fairfax County has ambitious plans to renovate the Centreville Regional Library and combine it with a new affordable housing development.

But before that project can move forward through a public-private partnership, the county needs to transfer ownership of the property itself: from the Board of Supervisors to the county’s Redevelopment and Housing Authority (FCRHA).

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News

West Springfield community equips school crosswalk with new safety tools

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
People installing a bucket near a stone sign that reads West Springfield High School, Home of the Spartans, with orange flags nearby in a grassy area.
West Springfield High School parent Tamara O'Neil holds a bucket still as Steve Ingraham, also a parent of a West Springfield student, installs it at Rolling Road and Grigsby Drive (Staff photo by Mary Stachyra Lopez)

When students walked to West Springfield High School on Monday morning (Aug. 31), they found a new tool to get the attention of rush-hour commuters along Rolling Road and Grigsby Drive, thanks to concerned community members.

On Sunday, Aug. 30, a small group of West Springfield parents and students had gathered to install small buckets on traffic signs. Those buckets hold large orange flags that pedestrians can carry while crossing Rolling Road.

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Countywide

UPDATED: Crossing guards temporarily restored to some Fairfax County high schools

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
Pedestrians crossing a multi-lane street at a crosswalk while cars wait at a suburban intersection in daylight.
Oakton High School students crossing Sutton Road amid traffic on Aug. 27, 2026 (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Crossing guard services at 10 Fairfax County public high schools will be temporarily reinstated as the county supervisors assess solutions for pedestrian safety issues, the Fairfax County Police Department says.

“In the interim, Fairfax County Police officers and crossing guards will provide traffic and crossing support at 11 high school crossing locations previously staffed,” a spokesperson for the FCPD wrote to FFXnow this morning (Wednesday) in an email.

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News

UPDATED: Teen hit in crash at South Lakes HS, as criticism of crossing guard changes mounts

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
A concrete sign that reads "South Lakes High School" surrounded by brick casing.
South Lakes High School (Staff photo by Mary Stachyra Lopez)

South Lakes High School parents’ worst fears around the well-documented traffic problems at the Reston school came true this morning (Sept. 1) after a teen was struck by a car.

Around 7:54 a.m., parents called 911 to report the crash. According to social media posts from multiple witnesses, the force of the collision sent the youth into the air before he landed. Scanner traffic indicates his foot may have been injured.

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Countywide

FCPS solidifies plan to expand advanced academic programs in all middle schools

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
Front entrance of Poe Middle School with a beige porte-cochère and the sign 'POE MIDDLE SCHOOL 7000 CINDY LANE' above the doors, brick wall facade, sunny day.
Entrance to Poe Middle School in Annandale (courtesy FCPS)

Within the next few years, all middle school age students who qualify for advanced academic programs in Fairfax County Public Schools will have the opportunity to take those courses without leaving their neighborhood schools.

Under a plan approved by the school board on a 10-1 vote last Thursday (Aug. 27), FCPS will transition over several years from a model that let many students opt out of their assigned local school to join other students at one with an established advanced academic program, or AAP, center.

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Countywide

Fairfax Connector launches free fare program, increasing help for some lower-income riders

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
Yellow and red tour bus crossing an urban intersection under a traffic light with tall office buildings in the background and a Sunoco sign nearby.
A Fairfax Connector bus on International Drive at Chain Bridge Road in Tysons (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Some Fairfax Connector riders may now be able to ride free, thanks to help from new state funding, the county bus system announced last Thursday (Aug. 27).

The Connector will offer a new Transit Ridership Incentive Program, called TRIP100, offering 100% off fares to eligible riders, up from the 50% discount previously provided.

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News

Fairfax County conviction of youth who allegedly shot person in the face reversed

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
The Fairfax County Courthouse (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

A man convicted as a teen in a Fairfax County court for allegedly shooting a person in the face during a drug deal had his conviction reversed this summer due to violations of his right to a speedy trial.

Virginia’s Court of Appeals reversed the young man’s 2023 conviction for unlawful wounding on July 14 after finding that a deadline extension granted for the trial didn’t qualify for an exception specifically allowed by the state’s speedy trial law.

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News

FCPD releases video of officer shooting Annandale man who reached for his gun

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
First-person police body‑camera view showing an officer aiming a taser in a leafy outdoor area; on-screen caption says 'Taser! Taser! Taser!'
A Fairfax County police officer falls back into a wooded area after Annandale resident Nehemia Fuentes Banegas appears to have reached for his gun (Screenshot via FCPD)

Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis suggested today (Aug. 26) that the man who last month apparently tried to grab an officer’s gun during a mental health crisis may have been attempting “suicide by police.”

Davis’ remarks came at a press conference during which the Fairfax County Police Department released roughly three minutes of body camera footage depicting the officer searching for and ultimately shooting the man, who had fled into the woods near Americana Drive in Annandale on July 28.

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Countywide

Fairfax County’s discontinuation of high school crossing guards draws criticism

By Mary Stachyra Lopez and Angela Woolsey
Image of a crosswalk with students visible in the distance walking across the road. A brick high school building is visible in the background.
Students from Rocky Run Middle School cross Stringfellow Road in front of Chantilly High School just before the school's dismissal time on the first day of school. (Staff photo by Mary Stachyra Lopez)

As many Fairfax County high school students drive or walk to school this fall, they’re arriving at a building without a dedicated crossing guard — and, only a few days into the new academic year, several elected officials say that absence is already creating problems.

This past spring, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors eliminated funding for crossing guards at all public high schools, a move that was expected to save the county about $1.89 million in police staffing costs.

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News

Approval of new cell tower signals first wave of improved wireless service in Town of Vienna

By Mary Stachyra Lopez

Vienna’s town council unanimously gave its blessing last night (Aug. 24) to a new AT&T rooftop telecommunications facility that could help alleviate some longstanding issues with dead zones and weak cell phone coverage.

The new facility at 527 Maple Ave East, located on top of a three-story building that includes offices for a health care provider, florist, and other businesses, will consist of three antenna arrays and surrounding screening.

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