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 board narrowly votes to oppose any casino legislation not requested by supervisors

By Scott McCaffrey and Angela Woolsey
A lobbying flyer shared with state lawmakers in January 2025 includes a rendering of Comstock's envisioned casino development in Tysons (via Access Point Public Affairs)

By the narrowest of majorities, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors went on record today (Tuesday) opposing any state legislation authorizing development of a casino property within the county’s borders.

The 5-4 vote was in support of a proposal from Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn to include a plank in the county’s 2026 legislative package stating opposition to any casino legislation until it is formally requested by a majority of supervisors and meets a number of other criteria.

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Countywide

Despite decline, Tysons remains priciest area in Fairfax to rent an apartment

By Scott McCaffrey
Now leasing sign for the Lumen Apartments in Tysons (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The cost to rent an apartment is increasing in some parts of Fairfax County, but declining in others.

Four of seven corridors of the county posted year-over-year drops in median rental prices in November, while the other three showed increases, according to new data from Apartment List.

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News

Northern Va. leaders push back on Trump’s criticism of Dulles Airport

By Scott McCaffrey
Dulles International Airport departure level and parking lot (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Northern Virginia political leaders have reacted coolly to President Donald Trump’s criticisms of Dulles International Airport and his calls for a major rebuilding project there.

Trump called the airport “terrible” and suggested it was “incorrectly designed” during a Dec. 2 Cabinet meeting. Hours later, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced it would seek proposals for new terminals and concourses to replace or enhance the facility, which straddles the Fairfax and Loudoun line.

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News

Elected officials suggest higher sales tax could be top contender to fund N. Va. transit

By Scott McCaffrey
An Orange Line train pulls into the Vienna Metro station (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Despite political drawbacks, a sales-tax surcharge across Northern Virginia could end up being the main source to increase transit funding in the coming year.

Increasing the sales tax regionally is “probably going to be looked at,” Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn said in a Dec. 4 legislative forum sponsored by the Dulles Area Transportation Association (DATA).

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Countywide

Forecast: D.C. region could see declining home sales prices during 2026

By Scott McCaffrey
Home sold sign (file photo)

The Washington metro area is the only part of the Mid-Atlantic region where home sales prices are projected to decline next year.

In a forecast issued Wednesday (Dec. 3), multiple-listing service Bright MLS predicts the median sales price of homes sold in the D.C. region in 2026 will drop 1% to $616,700, following a projected 3% increase in 2025.

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Countywide

Fairfax County staff tentatively forecast $131M budget gap, as real estate tax growth slows

By Scott McCaffrey
Joint meeting of county supervisors and School Board members (via Fairfax County)

Fairfax leaders will have another funding gap to fill in the coming months, as they solidify fiscal year 2027 budget proposals for both the county government and school system.

How much additional funding the county will need to generate or cut, and where they will find it, remain very much up in the air.

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News

Fairfax County government preps for impacts of federal policy, funding changes in 2026

By Scott McCaffrey
The U.S. Capitol building dome in D.C. (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Local governments like Fairfax County can expect “increased costs, decreased federal support and decreased local autonomy” as the Trump administration works to further implement its agenda in 2026.

That was the analysis of Mark Ritacco, chief government-affairs officer of the National Association of Counties (NACo), who was among those laying out expectations for the coming year to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors yesterday (Tuesday) morning.

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Countywide

Fairfax County hopes to streamline payments portal, starting in late 2026

By Scott McCaffrey
Fairfax County Chief Information Officer Matthew Harrison (screenshot via Fairfax County)

“One account, one experience” is the mantra adopted by Fairfax County government officials who have begun the complicated process of merging a variety of online customer payment portals into a single customer-friendly site.

The ultimate goal is to provide a “seamlessly interactive” experience for county residents and business owners, requiring only a single login password that will span multiple services, from paying vehicle taxes to renewing a dog license.

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Countywide

Fairfax County staff plan to be ‘ready to go’ when meals tax starts on Jan. 1

By Scott McCaffrey
Sign points to the Department of Tax Administration in the Fairfax County Government Center (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Fairfax County officials say they will be ready when the first installment of the new prepared meals tax comes due in early 2026.

“We are on track — prepared and ready to go,” Robert Barr, division director for revenue systems at the county’s Department of Information Technology, told the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors at a Nov. 25 meeting of its Information Technology Committee.

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News

Idylwood neighborhood gets relief from county trash collection after being billed for no service

By Scott McCaffrey
Fairfax County trash collection (photo via Fairfax County)

Residents of a three-year-old, 16-home subdivision in the Idylwood area south of Shreve Road never realized they were part of Fairfax County’s trash and recycling service.

Neither did the county staff responsible for overseeing trash collection, as service to the neighborhood never began.

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