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

County board taps Celebrate Fairfax to manage 250th U.S. anniversary programming

By Scott McCaffrey
Fairfax County is organizing its own 250th anniversary celebrations to mark the founding of the U.S. (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors tapped Celebrate Fairfax on Tuesday (July 15) to manage logistics of the county’s celebration of the nation’s upcoming 250th birthday.

The organization will work with the Fairfax County 250th Commission and community groups to support an “inclusive-community-driven experience,” Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck said.

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News

Change to Reston Midline building could help address evolving senior living trends

By Scott McCaffrey
A senior living building is planned to replace the existing office building at 1831 Wiehle Avenue in Reston (via Fairfax County)

Comstock Companies is making progress on plans to shift from independent living services to age-restricted housing for seniors in a future Reston residential building.

The Fairfax County Planning Commission on July 9 recommended that the Board of Supervisors approve the proposed option, which could affect 127 units in Reston Station’s Midline district.

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News

New master plan for Dulles Airport envisions growth to 90 million annual passengers

By Scott McCaffrey
Washington Dulles International Airport development plan (via MWAA)

A 230% increase in passengers — to 90 million per year — is planned for Dulles International Airport later toward the end of the 21st century.

That aspirational figure was contained in the new master plan for the airport, approved Wednesday (July 16) by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) board of directors.

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News

Proposal to redevelop Fairfax Square office park mostly wins praise from city’s planning body

By Scott McCaffrey
Conceptual design for portion of Fairfax Square project (Van Metre via City of Fairfax)

Members of the City of Fairfax Planning Commission reacted generally favorably to a conceptual plan that would massively redevelop a key stretch of Main Street (Route 236).

“I like the concept, I like the responsiveness,” commission chair James Feather said Monday night (June 14) after a briefing on the proposal by Van Metre Companies plan to redevelop the Fairfax Square Professional Center, an office and retail park at 9840-9946 Main Street.

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News

Some of Reston’s earliest rental housing takes another step on road to redevelopment

By Scott McCaffrey
Crescent Apartments in Reston (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Plans to redevelop the Crescent Apartments, which trace their lineage nearly back to Reston’s founding, took a key procedural step forward on Tuesday (July 16).

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted 9-0 to transfer the 16.5-acre site to the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority, enabling the agency to work on finding a private partner for the redevelopment project.

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News

Dominion substations approved to support Dulles-area data centers

By Scott McCaffrey
Site of proposed Park Center Road power substation (via Dominion Energy)

Despite objections to one of the projects from nearby residents, the Fairfax County Planning Commission at its July 9 meeting approved Dominion Energy’s requests for two new electrical substations to support future data centers in the Dulles area.

A 300-megawatt Towerview substation will be wedged between Sully Road (Route 28) and Park Center Road in the Floris neighborhood, just east of Dulles International Airport. Dominion will lease the site from the owner of the Dulles Gateway data center, which is being constructed immediately to its south.

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Countywide

Supervisors declare Fairfax County Virginia’s ‘musical capital’ for summer entertainment

By Scott McCaffrey
Flyer for the Fairfax County Park Authority's 2025 Summer Entertainment Series (via Fairfax County Park Authority)

Fairfax County supervisors were all singing from the same songbook yesterday (Tuesday), unanimously declaring the county to be the “Music Capital of Virginia.”

Others across the commonwealth might disagree, but Fairfax leaders said the sheer breadth of musical performances throughout the year, but particularly in summer, made the county deserving of the title.

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Countywide

Fairfax staff ‘in compliance’ with new law to speed up development plan reviews

By Scott McCaffrey
Development plan documents (via Pedro Miranda/Unsplash)

Fairfax County planning officials say they have the resources to meet new, stricter turnaround requirements for submissions by property developers.

“We’ve already changed our process. We’re in compliance,” Jerry Stonefield, a Land Development Services staff member, told the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors at a land use policy committee meeting last Tuesday (July 8).

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Countywide

Number of unemployed Fairfax residents reaches a level not seen since mid-2021

By Scott McCaffrey
Virginia unemployment rate from June 2023 through May 2025 (via Virginia Department of Workforce Development and Advancement)

Federal workforce cuts implemented by the Trump administration and, as of July 8, enabled by the U.S. Supreme Court have helped drive the number of unemployed Fairfax County residents to heights not seen in nearly four years.

A total of 21,705 county residents were counted as unemployed in May, according to new data reported by the Virginia Department of Workforce Development and Advancement. That’s up 35% from a year before.

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Countywide

Fairfax County demographics report shows record population, dip in income

By Scott McCaffrey
Cover of demographics report (via Fairfax County)

A record population count, higher home values and a rare year-over-year decline in household income are among the data highlights of Fairfax County’s latest annual demographic report.

Released in late June, the new report covers data from 2024. It is one of a host of tools offered by the county government on demographic and economic trends across Fairfax.

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