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.

Countywide

Fairfax County’s proposed $5.7B budget keeps property tax rate flat, leaves school funding gap

By Scott McCaffrey
County Executive Bryan Hill presents his FY27 budget (screenshot via Fairfax County)

Fairfax County’s real estate tax rate would remain the same, but the typical homeowner would still pay $357 more due to higher assessments under the $5.98 billion fiscal year 2027 budget proposed today (Feb. 17) by County Executive Bryan Hill.

“Fairfax County is stable, competitive and positioned for growth. We are stabilizing and we are also advancing,” Hill told the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, officially kicking off the two-and-a-half month budget process.

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Countywide

Virginia House passes Fairfax County-supported bill targeting excessively noisy vehicles

By Scott McCaffrey and Angela Woolsey
Del. Rip Sullivan presents his vehicle noise monitoring bill before the House innovations subcommittee on Feb. 5, 2026 (via Virginia House of Delegates)

Fairfax County officials are cautiously optimistic about the prospects for state legislation that would let certain localities use monitoring equipment to fine owners of excessively noisy vehicles.

House Bill 55, patroned for a second year by Del. Rip Sullivan (D-6), passed the House of Delegates yesterday (Tuesday) on a 64-34 vote after a third reading.

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Countywide

Slow winter storm recovery drives D.C. region leaders to seek improvements

By Scott McCaffrey and Angela Woolsey
Snow and ice remain uncleared on a sidewalk along Old Dairy Road in Herndon's Franklin Farm neighborhood (photo by Marie Baraldi)

Fairfax County Public Schools resumed regular classes on Monday (Feb. 9) for the first time since a double whammy of snow and ice hit the D.C. region in late January, but many students still encounter blocked sidewalks and intersections on the way to their school or bus stop.

That was the case earlier this week in the Franklin Farm neighborhood near Herndon, where sidewalks around a school bus stop at Old Dairy Road and Tyburn Tree Court remained stubbornly covered in ice.

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Countywide

Fairfax sees uptick in January home sales, while much of region posts declines

By Scott McCaffrey
House for sale sign (file photo)

Fairfax County bucked a regional trend downward by recording higher year-over-year home sales in January.

A total of 568 properties went to closing for the month, according to figures reported Feb. 10 by MarketStats by Showing Time. That’s up slightly — 1.4% — from the 560 transactions in January 2025.

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Countywide

Fairfax County leaders pledge more outreach after rare panhandling survey

By Scott McCaffrey
A person can be seen panhandling on the median of International Drive in Tysons (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Fairfax County officials are pledging more outreach in their efforts connecting panhandlers with services to stabilize their lives and get them off the streets.

“We want to drive people who have need to organizations that can help,” Board of Supervisors Chair Jeff McKay said at a Feb. 10 meeting of the Board’s Health and Human Services Committee.

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News

Fairfax supervisors back DCA flight-path changes to ease noise over neighborhoods

By Scott McCaffrey
Red lines show current southbound departure corridors from Reagan National Airport, while blue lines show arrivals (via Vianair)

Fairfax County supervisors went on record at their Feb. 3 meeting asking the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to move forward on recommendations dispersing air traffic south of Reagan National Airport.

The voter reaffirms supervisors’ support for recommendations made last October by the Reagan National Community Noise Working Group.

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Countywide

‘Aggressive’ push needed to replace aging commercial properties, McKay says

By Scott McCaffrey
A sign advertises office space available for leasing in a building near Route 28 in Chantilly (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Fairfax County needs to take a more hands-on approach to helping owners repurpose aging commercial properties, one local government leader says.

“We know where they are. We have this information. Let’s identify the top 10, 15 opportunities and let’s go to them,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said at an Economic Initiatives Committee meeting on Tuesday (Feb. 10).

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Countywide

N. Va. closed 2025 with more jobless residents than it started the year

By Scott McCaffrey
Men working in an office (via Austin Distel/Unsplash)

Northern Virginia ended 2025 with nearly 44% more people unemployed than it had started the year.

A total of 57,728 residents were counted as jobless for December, up from 40,203 a year before, according to figures reported Feb. 6 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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News

Planning commission supports affordable housing on Franconia Governmental Center site

By Scott McCaffrey
Rendering of affordable housing on Franconia Governmental Center site (via Soto Architecture & Urban Design/Fairfax County)

A proposal to build 120 units of affordable housing on a site now occupied by the Franconia Governmental Center has won the support of the Fairfax County Planning Commission.

Commission members voted without opposition on Feb. 4 to approve the plan by Franconia Development Partners, a consortium of several housing groups seeking to redevelop the 3.3 acres of leased county land at 6121 Franconia Road with a four-story apartment building.

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News

Fairfax County might consolidate ‘placemaking’ groups to reduce costs

By Scott McCaffrey
The Tysons Community Alliance held its official launch event on Feb. 22, 2023 (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors directed County Executive Bryan Hill last Tuesday (Feb. 3) to consider ways a number of “placemaking” organizations — including Visit Fairfax, Volunteer Fairfax and the Tysons Community Alliance — could be consolidated or restructured to reduce costs and be more operationally strategic.

“While each provides value, fragmentation and duplicative services dilute impact and reduce efficiency,” board members said in the directive to Hill.

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