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

Number of Fairfax residents looking for work is up by a third from 2024

By Scott McCaffrey
Employment and jobs picture (via Creative Campalgn/Unsplash)

The number of Fairfax County residents seeking employment is up by a third year-over-year in new state data, as Northern Virginia continues to grapple with the Trump administration’s slashing of federal government jobs.

A total of 23,561 county residents were reported as looking for work in June’s unemployment figures, provided to FFXnow by state officials on Monday (Aug. 4).

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News

Fairfax County to open new public health clinic in October, renames facilities

By Scott McCaffrey
Child receives immunization (via CDC/Unsplash)

The Fairfax County Health Department this fall will be renaming its district offices as public health centers.

“The updated names better reflect the full range of services available at these centers,” county officials said, noting that the change will also help avoid confusion with the county’s district supervisor offices.

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Countywide

Led by Tysons, Fairfax apartment rents continue rise, deviating from national trend

By Scott McCaffrey
The Tysons Towers Apartments at 8500 Tyspring Street (via Google Maps)

Apartment rental rates across Fairfax County continue to rise, even as national costs are falling.

All seven county corridors tracked by Apartment List showed year-over-year increases in July, according to new data reported last Wednesday (July 30).

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Countywide

Fairfax County School Board student rep wants consistency in enforcing phone restrictions

By Scott McCaffrey
2025-2026 School Board student representative Faith Hailu Mekonen (via FCPS)

The new student representative to the Fairfax County School Board is urging school leaders to enforce consistent standards, now that new restrictions on student phone use are being rolled out countywide.

Starting with the upcoming 2025-2026 school year, Fairfax County Public Schools will prohibit students in all grades from using their cell phones at any point during the day — with the exception of high school students during lunch. Teachers can also no longer incorporate phones into instructional activities.

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News

Incoming Woodson High student makes mark in world of historical research

By Scott McCaffrey
Caroline Tso points toward her exhibit on the Family Tea House (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

She’s not yet in high school, but Caroline Tso already is being heralded as an accomplished historical researcher.

Tso, who will enter Carter G. Woodson High School as a ninth-grader in August, created the exhibition “The Family Tea House: Where Culture and Cuisine Met in Arlington” as part of a project for Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

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News

FCPS receives $13 million held up for a month by Trump administration

By Scott McCaffrey
Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid informs the school board about frozen federal grant funds at a July 10, 2025 meeting (via FCPS/YouTube)

Fairfax County Public Schools has received millions in federal funding that was held up for nearly a month by the Trump administration.

FCPS spokesperson Julie Allen told FFXnow yesterday (Wednesday) that the school division has confirmed receipt of the $13.1 million in withheld funding.

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News

Critics press their concerns as vote on I-495 Southside Express toll lanes plan looms

By Scott McCaffrey
Proposed route of I-495 Southside Express Lanes project (via VDOT)

Despite a full-court press from the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), the future of its plan to extend express lanes on the south side of the Capital Beltway (I-495) remains up in the air as the deadline for a decision looms.

The project to add 11 miles of toll roads connecting Springfield with Prince George’s County over the Woodrow Wilson Bridge is a “critical” piece of transportation planning, a top VDOT official told members of the D.C. region’s Transportation Planning Board (TPB) on July 16.

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News

Divided Fairfax City Council breathes new life into Pickett Road Connector Trail

By Scott McCaffrey
Red line shows route of Pickett Road Connector Trail (via City of Fairfax)

Three months after it was put on hold, a divided Fairfax City Council has brought the $6 million Pickett Road Connector Trail project back to life.

After Mayor Catherine Read cast the tiebreaker in a 4-3 vote last week, planning will restart on the proposed 1,260-foot trail running south from Fairfax Blvd to Thaiss Memorial Park on the east side of Pickett Road.

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News

Fairfax City defers vote on Courthouse Plaza redevelopment in search of compromise

By Scott McCaffrey
Rendering of apartments proposed for Courthouse Plaza Shopping Center (via Combined Properties/City of Fairfax)

Plans to redevelop the Courthouse Plaza Shopping Center near Old Town Fairfax were put on hold last week, giving city officials and the developer more time to find compromises on the overall proposal.

“Being good partners requires flexibility not just from the developer, but from the city as well,” Fairfax City Councilmember Anthony Amos said at the July 22 meeting, where council members voted 5-1 to defer final consideration until Oct. 28.

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News

Split Fairfax City Council approves apartment development plan for old house

By Scott McCaffrey
Design rendering for one mixed-use apartment building proposed at 4131 Chain Bridge Road (via City of Fairfax)

A divided Fairfax City Council narrowly approved a major redevelopment plan at its July 22 meeting that will see a century-old home replaced with up to 276 apartment units, plus ground-floor commercial and retail space, on a key parcel in Old Town Fairfax.

The 4-3 vote to support the staff recommendation for redevelopment marked the conclusion of a nearly decade-old process to determine the future of the 2.7-acre site at 4131 Chain Bridge Road.

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