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 leaders name education funding as top ask from 2026 state legislature

By Scott McCaffrey
Fairfax legislators listen to public testimony in advance of the 2026 General Assembly session (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

Fairfax County elected officials seem in alignment on their top priority for the 2026 Virginia General Assembly session.

“Number one is always K-12 education funding,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said at the annual legislative public hearing, held Saturday (Jan. 10) at the Fairfax County Government Center.

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News

Planning commission backs new express Flagship Carwash for Dranesville area

By Scott McCaffrey
A Flagship Carwash express location in Ashburn (via Flagship Carwash)

Plans for a new Flagship Carwash express location near the intersection of Leesburg Pike (Route 7) and Dranesville Road north of Herndon have won support from the Fairfax County Planning Commission.

“I think we’ve gotten to a really good point with this application,” Dranesville District Commissioner Alyssa Batchelor-Causey said after discussion and before a final vote on Wednesday night.

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News

Anonymous clothing distributor takes large warehouse lease in Springfield

By Scott McCaffrey
Interior of warehouse space at 7201 Wimsatt Road (courtesy Boosalis Properties)

A national apparel and textile distributor has leased approximately 95,600 square feet of warehouse space at the historic Robinson Terminal property in Springfield.

The transaction “stands as one of Northern Virginia’s largest industrial lease commitments this past year,” according to George Boosalis, principal broker of Boosalis Properties, which represented the tenant for the lease at 7201 Wimsatt Road.

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Countywide

Apartment rents higher to end 2025 in some parts of Fairfax County, down in others

By Scott McCaffrey
A sign advertises leasing for the Halstead Square apartments near the Dunn Loring Metro station in Merrifield (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Median apartment rents across Fairfax County showed a mix of increases and declines in 2025.

Median rental rates were higher at the end of the year than at the beginning in Annandale, Herndon and Reston, but they declined in Centreville, Fair Oaks, Fairfax and Tysons, according to data reported Dec. 31 by Apartment List.

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Countywide

Fairfax’s single-family homes market expected to be strong, condos mixed in 2026

By Scott McCaffrey

The new year is expected to bring ongoing, but slower, increases in home prices across Fairfax County.

“The prices are going to continue to rise, but slightly, not nearly the rate of increase we’ve seen in other years,” said Terry Clower of the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University. “It’s not going to be as dramatic.”

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News

N. Va. officials prepare to make statewide appeal for dedicated transit funding in 2026

By Scott McCaffrey
Tysons Community Alliance CEO Katie Cristol (screenshot via Northern Virginia Transportation Commission)

A key Tysons leader is working to ensure state leaders provide dedicated new funding for transit that she says will help the region thrive.

“Transit in Northern Virginia is cool again,” said Katie Cristol, CEO of the Tysons Community Alliance.

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News

Heavily used Groveton dog park to receive turf, accessibility upgrades

By Scott McCaffrey
Shih tzu puppy running on grass (via Joe Caione/Unsplash)

An ongoing public-private partnership will support improvements to benefit both dogs and their human companions at Westgrove Park in Groveton.

The Fairfax County Park Authority Board on Dec. 10 approved $10,084 from its Mastenbrook Volunteer Matching Fund Grant Program to cover half the cost of the planned upgrades. The Westgrove Pumphouse Association for Canine Kindness — known as Westgrove PACK — will fund the other half.

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News

Planned transformation awaits Fairfax City’s Gateway Regional Park in 2026

By Scott McCaffrey
The picnic area in Fairfax City's Gateway Regional Park (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Efforts to repurpose Gateway Regional Park in the City of Fairfax into a wetlands education facility could both start and be completed in the coming year.

“That’s the plan,” new NOVA Parks executive director Justin Wilson told members of the Fairfax City Council at its Dec. 9 meeting.

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Countywide

Ahead of Christmas, report finds drop in impaired driving deaths across D.C. region

By Scott McCaffrey
Metropolitan Police Department Assistant Chief Carlos Heraud helps launch the 2025 St. Patrick's Day SoberRide effort (via Washington Regional Alcohol Program)

Fairfax County saw no year-over-year change, but across the D.C. region overall, deaths connected to impaired driving were down 26% from 2023 to 2024, according to new data.

The recently released annual “How Safe Are Our Roads? Report” by the Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) and Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments recorded 74 fatalities connected to alcohol- and/or drug-related vehicle incidents last year — 100 fewer deaths than in the previous year and below the five-year average of 90.

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Countywide

Delayed data shows jump in Fairfax joblessness, as region’s federal workforce shrinks

By Scott McCaffrey
A yard sign in Vienna expressing support for federal workers (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The number of Fairfax County residents reported as unemployed spiked 24% year-over-year in September jobs data delayed by the federal government shutdown.

A total of 621,315 county residents were counted as employed in the civilian workforce, with 20,897 reported unemployed, according to figures reported Dec. 18 by the Virginia Department of Workforce Development and Advancement.

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