Scott McCaffrey | FFXnow

Fairfax sees jump in number of unemployed residents with latest state data

Published April 14, 2025 at 2:30PM

Virginia unemployment rate from February 2023 through February 2025 (via Virginia Employment Commission)

The number of Fairfax County residents counted as unemployed and looking for work in February spiked 17% from the same month in 2024 in new data.

The city and county-level unemployment figures released by the Virginia Employment Commission last Thursday (April 10) kickstarted what could be a series of punishing monthly jobless reports in coming months, as the D.C. region begins to adjust to the ripple effects of the Trump administration gutting the federal government and tariff-related uncertainty.

Countywide

Fairfax County looks to improve ambulance fee collections after contractor data breach

By Scott McCaffrey

Published April 11, 2025 at 2:30PM | Updated April 14, 2025 at 10:31AM

Fairfax County Fire and Rescue ambulance (file photo)

A new audit report suggests ways Fairfax County leaders can improve collection rates and recoup more of the costs of providing ambulance services.

Even as that discussion starts, the county is working to collect payments for ambulance services provided last year after encountering problems with a contractor that left many bills in limbo.

Countywide

Local leaders seek united front as D.C. region responds to economic upheaval under Trump

By Scott McCaffrey

Published April 10, 2025 at 2:30PM

D.C. Councilmember Charles Allen, Franconia District Supervisor Rodney Lusk and Charles County Board of County Commissioners President Reuben Collins at the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments' April 9, 2025 board meeting (via COG/YouTube)

Regional leaders seem to agree that they must cooperate and coordinate in an effort to blunt impacts of Trump administration’s gutting of the federal workforce.

But that may not be so simple in a region where jurisdictions across the D.C. metropolitan area typically have competed, rather than collaborated, to achieve economic development goals.

Countywide

D.C.-area leaders pledge ongoing support as WorldPride festival hits hurdles

By Scott McCaffrey

Published April 10, 2025 at 11:30AM

Singer Alessia performs in front of the U.S. Capitol Building at the 2018 D.C. Pride Festival (courtesy Capital Pride Alliance)

Organizers of the WorldPride 2025 celebration coming to the D.C. region on May 31 through June 8 are reevaluating their attendance expectations, especially among international participants.

Event organizers have anticipated upwards of 2 million visitors for the LGBTQ community celebration, but with foreign travel to the U.S. plunging amid reports of visitors being detained and the Trump administration barring changes to the gender marker on passports, they may not meet that figure — another potential setback for an economy already facing multiple headwinds.

News

Planned ‘commuter path’ from Newington Road to Springfield Metro met with ongoing concern

By Scott McCaffrey

Published April 9, 2025 at 3:45PM

Cinder Bed Road Bikeway's proposed route (via Fairfax County)

After staying largely dormant since 2021, plans for a 2-mile bicycle/pedestrian path from the Franconia-Springfield Metro station south to Newington Road are back — as is opposition from some neighbors and advocacy groups.

Fairfax County officials in recent months have ramped up efforts to obtain easements from property owners along the planned route of the Cinder Bed Road Bikeway.

Countywide

In stormy meeting, Fairfax leaders rip VDOT again on January snow cleanup

By Scott McCaffrey

Published April 9, 2025 at 1:15PM

Enterprise Avenue at Dewberry Court in McLean remains snowy and icy on Jan. 8, 2025 (courtesy Jennifer Myers)

Fairfax County supervisors piled on the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) yesterday, criticizing the agency’s response to the Jan. 6-7 snowstorm — and what local leaders saw as a seeming indifference to concerns raised about it.

“You failed miserably, [and] it doesn’t seem to me you have a plan to go forward. All you have are excuses, and I don’t want to hear excuses,” Mason District Supervisor Andres Jimenez said during a Tuesday (April 8) meeting of the Board of Supervisors’ Transportation Committee.

Countywide

DMV Moves task force might not deliver specific recommendations for future transit funding

By Scott McCaffrey

Published April 8, 2025 at 3:45PM

Metro logo (file photo)

A task force empaneled to look at strategies for making transit service in the D.C. region sustainable long-term might not, in the end, deliver specific recommendations on a funding mechanism.

“It is, at this time, I think, still up in the air,” Nick Donohue, a staff facilitator for the DMV Moves task force, told the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) Board of Directors last Thursday (April 3).

Countywide

Fairfax County apartment rents still rising, with Tysons leading region in cost

By Scott McCaffrey

Published April 7, 2025 at 9:45AM

Heming apartments in Tysons' Scotts Run neighborhood (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Year-over-year apartment rents continue to trend upward in Northern Virginia, even as fears of economic upheaval loom.

The growth also comes despite a national year-over-year decline in median apartment rental prices.

Countywide

School board debates consistency versus individuality in FCPS graduation ceremonies

By Scott McCaffrey

Published April 4, 2025 at 1:15PM

Students at Langley High School's 2023 graduation ceremony (photo by Brian Trompeter/GazetteLeader)

Members of a Fairfax County School Board committee appear divided on whether high schools should adopt blanket rules and regulations for their graduation ceremonies, or whether each school should retain a degree of autonomy.

The matter arose as members of the board’s governance committee met Tuesday (April 1) to evaluate proposed updates to a host of Fairfax County Public Schools policies.

Countywide

Fairfax County police make jobs pitch to recruit displaced federal workers

By Scott McCaffrey

Published April 3, 2025 at 8:15AM

A Fairfax County police officer at the Mosaic District in Merrifield (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The Fairfax County Police Department has a message for those affected by the Trump administration’s downsizing of the federal government: Come check us out.

The department launched a dedicated recruitment initiative on Tuesday (April 1) “aimed at hiring experienced professionals seeking stable and rewarding career opportunities in public safety.”