Author: Scott McCaffrey

A Northern Virginia native, Scott McCaffrey has four decades of reporting, editing and newsroom experience in the local area plus Florida, South Carolina and the eastern panhandle of West Virginia. He spent 26 years as editor of the Sun Gazette newspaper chain. For Local News Now, he covers government and civic issues in Arlington, Fairfax County and Falls Church.

News

Planned senior living complex on Shipgarten site praised for ‘striking’ architecture

By Scott McCaffrey
Exterior image of proposed Corso Tysons development (via Torti Gallas + Partners and Galerie Development)

Fairfax County planning commissioners are recommending approval of a three-tower continuing-care compound on a 5-acre Tysons site currently occupied by the Shipgarten dining and entertainment complex.

If approved by the Board of Supervisors, the parcel at the intersection of Chain Bridge Road and Colshire Drive will be transformed into Corso Tysons — a 427-unit assisted-living facility along with a theater, restaurants and retail outlets that will be open to the public.

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News

Va. transportation head pledges more cooperative approach to revamped I-495 Southside project

By Scott McCaffrey
Traffic heading west on I-495 in Alexandria near South Van Dorn Street (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Virginia’s top transportation official hopes to get regional buy-in on the controversial I-495 Southside proposal early next year.

“This is a really, really important project,” Virginia Secretary of Transportation Nick Donohue said at a meeting on Wednesday (Oct. 21) of the region’s Transportation Planning Board (TPB).

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News

Local leaders wary of state legislature’s push to consolidate N. Va. bus systems

By Scott McCaffrey
Yellow transit bus at a curbside stop in a shopping center parking lot, with storefronts and parked cars in the background under a blue sky.
A Fairfax Connector bus at a stop in Springfield (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Regional leaders agree more collaboration could be beneficial, but see little reason to pursue a consolidation of four Northern Virginia bus systems into one.

“I did come here … with an open mind, open to any compelling reason [to support consolidation],” Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn said at an Oct. 21 roundtable convened by the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT). “I’m still looking for it — I don’t see it.”

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News

Dulles Airport slated to open VIP facility for travelers by end of this decade

By Scott McCaffrey
Outdoor upscale lounge with people chatting on a sectional sofa and a couple standing near glass walls; warm ambient lighting and potted plants create a social, corporate atmosphere.
A conceptual rendering of the terrace garden at daa International's planned VIP terminal at Dulles International Airport (courtesy daa International, Corgan)

Details are coming into sharper focus for a planned VIP terminal and lounge facility serving Dulles International Airport.

As FFXnow reported in July, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) signed an agreement with Ireland-based daa International to locate the 37,000-square-foot facility on a 1.2-acre parcel of land located near the airport’s Cargo 6 building.

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News

Flock camera debate has Fairfax leaders weighing privacy concerns, public safety

By Scott McCaffrey
Solar-powered street light with a tilted solar panel on a tall black pole amid greenery and a sidewalk.
A Flock camera in Centreville (Staff photo by Mary Stachyra Lopez)

Fairfax County’s elected leaders struggled yesterday (Oct. 20) to formulate the correct balance between public safety and individual privacy, as they discussed the future of automatic license plate readers (LPRs) in the county.

“There are questions that still need answers,” said Franconia District Supervisor Rodney Lusk, who chaired the supervisors’ Safety and Security Committee that spent two hours going over the subject.

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News

Lufthansa retires aircraft that was once the world’s longest after final Dulles flight

By Scott McCaffrey
Lufthansa four-engine wide-body jet taking off from a runway with gear down and airport buildings in the background
Lufthansa Flight LH419 lands in Frankfurt, Germany, on the morning of Oct. 19, 2026 (courtesy Lufthansa Group)

Dulles International Airport said goodbye Sunday evening (Oct. 18) to an aircraft type the local region is unlikely to see again.

Lufthansa Flight 419 to Frankfurt-Main Airport in Germany marked the carrier’s official retirement of its small remaining fleet of 281-passenger Airbus A340-600 aircraft.

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News

County board takes steps to boost redevelopment in Fairfax Center corridor

By Scott McCaffrey
Map of planned development zones with colored polygons (green, blue, orange, pink) and dashed borders, showing surrounding roads I-66 and Route 29; labels indicate different study areas and planning commissions.
Timeline of Fairfax Center area actions (screenshot via Fairfax County)

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday (Oct. 13) approved comprehensive plan amendments that could lead to the redevelopment of key parcels near the intersection of I-66 and Route 50.

“These plans have all really come as a result of I-66. It increases the development potential,” said Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity, whose district contains one of the three parcels.

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News

Volunteer fire departments in Fairfax brace for new year of change, commission chair says

By Scott McCaffrey
Group of award recipients posing with plaques at a formal ceremony, including uniformed officers and civilians.
Volunteer firefighters are honored by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Oct. 13, 2026 (screenshot via Fairfax County)

Fairfax County’s volunteer fire departments are persevering in an era of change, local leaders were told earlier this week.

The current situation can be summed up as “good,” but “nothing is ever just a one-word answer,” Shawn Stokes, chair of the seven-member Volunteer Fire Commission, said when delivering the organization’s annual report to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Oct. 13.

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News

County seeks more leeway to address cost increases for historic Mount Vernon HS redevelopment

By Scott McCaffrey
The Commons Mount Vernon under construction on the site of the Original Mount Vernon High School (staff photo by Mary Stachyra Lopez)

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday (Oct. 13) gave itself a little more financial breathing room as redevelopment of the Original Mount Vernon High School moves toward expected substantial completion next spring.

Supervisors voted 10-0 to allow county staff to increase from $90 million to $110 million the existing master credit agreement with the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association for the project.

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Countywide

Fairfax County prepares to tax marijuana when retail sales begin in mid-2027

By Scott McCaffrey
Cannabis cultivation (via Richard T/The CDB on Unsplash)

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors set the stage yesterday (Oct. 13) for a tax on recreational marijuana at the highest rate allowed when retail sales become legal next summer.

On a 10-0 vote, the supervisors directed staff to develop an ordinance that would impose a 3.5% cannabis tax on top of the state sales tax and a 6% state marijuana tax, all slated to take effect when Virginia starts permitting retail sales on July 1, 2027.

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