Scott McCaffrey | FFXnow

Supervisors OK Flagship Carwash express location in Dranesville area

Published February 5, 2026 at 2:45PM

A Flagship Carwash express location in Ashburn (via Flagship Carwash)

Fairfax County supervisors gave their blessing on Tuesday (Feb. 3) to a new Flagship Carwash express location near the intersection of Leesburg Pike and Dranesville Road north of Herndon.

“I’m very happy to see this coming through,” Dranesville District Supervisor Jimmy Bierman said after the 9-0 vote.

Countywide

Fairfax leaders mostly upbeat on Metro budget plan, as state considers funding options

By Scott McCaffrey

Published February 5, 2026 at 10:00AM

A train stops at the McLean Metro station platform in Tysons (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Fairfax County supervisors voiced cautious optimism last Tuesday (Feb. 3) about Metro’s proposed fiscal year 2027 operating and capital budgets.

“A financially stable and reliable transit network is essential to the economic vitality of Fairfax County, Northern Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia and the entire metropolitan region,” county leaders said in a letter to Valerie Santos, who chairs the Metro board of directors.

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Fairfax board, Trump admin in sync on expediting upgrades to American Legion Bridge

By Scott McCaffrey

Published February 5, 2026 at 9:15AM

Traffic entering and leaving Maryland on the American Legion Bridge on Nov. 8, 2025 (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has found itself aligned with the Trump administration on one issue: the need to update the American Legion Bridge.

The span over the Potomac River connecting Fairfax County with Montgomery County, Maryland, is “a critical transportation link,” but at more than 60 years old, it needs immediate attention, Dranesville District Supervisor Jimmy Bierman said when the board met on Tuesday (Feb. 3).

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Fairfax board calls for VDOT to speed up reviews of housing projects

By Scott McCaffrey

Published February 4, 2026 at 3:45PM

Housing under construction in the Westfields area of Chantilly in 2024 (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Fairfax County officials are asking the Spanberger administration to make the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) more responsive to housing developments it must review.

In a letter to three new Virginia cabinet secretaries, Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay expressed concern that current VDOT review process for new housing has placed roadblocks in the way of adding both market-rate and committed-affordable units:

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Fairfax leaders mixed on quality of snow-removal efforts, propose volunteer program

By Scott McCaffrey

Published February 4, 2026 at 10:00AM

A layer of snow and ice covers Bluemont Way in Reston after Winter Storm Fern on Jan. 26, 2026 (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Fairfax County supervisors in coming days will be compiling a list of positives and negatives related to the local and state response to late January’s crippling snow and ice storm.

Their comments and questions will then be forwarded to the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and other agencies responsible for clearing snow.

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Fairfax County seeks more feedback on options for accessory housing units

By Scott McCaffrey

Published February 3, 2026 at 8:30AM

An accessory living unit designed by Backyard Homes located in Arlington (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Local residents have until the end of the month to submit feedback on proposed changes to Fairfax County’s rules for accessory living units (ALUs).

“We see ALUs as a valuable tool in the housing toolkit,” Casey Judge, a deputy zoning administrator in the county’s Department of Planning and Development, said in a Jan. 21 online community forum.

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Visit Fairfax CEO continues to talk up the need for local conference center

By Scott McCaffrey

Published February 2, 2026 at 2:45PM

Visit Fairfax president CEO Barry Biggar (screenshot via Fairfax County)

As he approaches his 18th anniversary as CEO of Visit Fairfax, Barry Biggar has the same item atop his to-do list as when he started on the job: a conference center.

“We needed it 25 years ago, we need it today,” Biggar said during a Jan. 28 presentation to the Fairfax County Planning Commission.

Countywide

General Assembly silences one bill to regulate gas leaf blowers, but another is still alive

By Scott McCaffrey

Published February 2, 2026 at 1:45PM

Gas-powered leaf blower (photo via Wikimedia Commons/Cbaile19)

Legislation allowing local governments to regulate or ban the use of gas-powered leaf blowers is facing an uphill climb in the Virginia General Assembly.

A measure by Del. Rip Sullivan (D-6) was deferred until the 2027 session by a vote on Friday (Jan. 30) in the House Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns.

Countywide

Fairfax apartment market favoring renters for now, but spring may bring changes

By Scott McCaffrey

Published February 2, 2026 at 8:30AM

Lease now sign for the Edmund Apartments at Halley Rise in Reston in winter (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Apartment hunters in Fairfax County are getting better deals than they did a year ago, with prices significantly discounted from the market peak last summer.

Median apartment rents in five major Fairfax corridors all showed declines in January compared to a year before, according to figures reported Jan. 28 by Apartment List. But all remained above the median rate for the D.C. metropolitan area of $2,116 for the month, price-wise.

Countywide

FCPS budget proposal includes funding to expand athletics in middle, high schools

By Scott McCaffrey

Published January 30, 2026 at 2:45PM

Westfield High School's girls wrestling team in action (photo by Karen Bolt/FCPS)

The proposed fiscal year 2027 Fairfax County Public Schools budget includes funding to increase athletic programming and augment stipends to coaches.

“We’re expanding middle school sports again next year, as well as adding junior-varsity boys volleyball,” Superintendent Michelle Reid said during her Jan. 22 budget briefing to the Fairfax County School Board.