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

Future tobacco and vape shops could face restrictions in Fairfax County

By Scott McCaffrey
Smoking (via Reza Mehrad/Unsplash)

Fairfax County leaders are taking preliminary steps to potentially restrict new tobacco and hemp retailers from locating in close proximity to schools and day-care facilities.

The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously yesterday (Tuesday) to direct county staff to begin studying the regulatory options available to localities under a law passed earlier this year by the Virginia General Assembly.

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Countywide

Growth at some voting precincts puts pressure on Fairfax County leaders, election officials

By Scott McCaffrey
Voting for the 2024 general election at the Fairfax County Government Center (staff photo by Jared Serre)

Despite continued growth in early voting, Fairfax is facing an increasing space crunch at its Election Day voting locations.

“Many precincts are growing rapidly,” Fairfax County Electoral Board chair Kate Hanley told the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors yesterday (Tuesday) during a review of the 2024 election season.

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Countywide

Jobs and wages both tick up in Fairfax County, latest data says

By Scott McCaffrey
Men working in an office (via Austin Distel/Unsplash)

Those employed in Fairfax County saw the 10th highest average weekly paycheck among the nation’s 370 most populous localities, according to new federal figures.

The average weekly wage for those who work in the county, no matter where they might live, was $2,143 in the second quarter of 2024, according to data reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in November.

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Countywide

Fairfax officials may seek common ground with Trump on keeping federal workers in region

By Scott McCaffrey
The CIA headquarters at Langley seen from the air (staff photo)

Fairfax officials have promised resistance to Trump administration policies that conflict with their values.

But when it comes to keeping the federal workforce rooted in the local area, they may try another tack: flattery, or at least finding common ground.

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Countywide

Fairfax County board likely to seek more authority for penalizing noisy vehicles

By Scott McCaffrey
Automotive exhaust (photo via Oscar Sutton/Unsplash)

If the Virginia General Assembly allows it, Fairfax County leaders are willing to be the guinea pigs in any effort to find more effective ways to tamp down on noisy vehicles.

The Board of Supervisors’ legislative committee took steps last Tuesday (Nov. 26) to request legislation allowing the county to host a pilot program that would use technology to catch drivers whose after-market mufflers pump out more noise than the 85 decibels allowed under state law.

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Countywide

Fairfax County faces nearly $300 million deficit to fill in next year’s budget

By Scott McCaffrey
Fairfax County Government Center (staff photo by James Jarvis)

Fairfax County leaders have a nearly $300 million budget gap to fill between now and the time the fiscal 2026 budget is adopted in springtime.

“We have a lot of work to do,” County Executive Bryan Hill said last Tuesday (Nov. 26) at an occasionally testy joint meeting between the county’s Board of Supervisors and School Board.

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News

Fairfax leaders still eager to see FBI HQ relocated to Springfield

By Scott McCaffrey
The current FBI headquarters in D.C. (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Fairfax County leaders have not given up hope that Northern Virginia will ultimately land the new FBI headquarters.

As part of their 2025 legislative package slated for adoption tomorrow (Tuesday), county supervisors are reiterating their call to put the facility in Springfield, rather than a parcel in Greenbelt, Maryland, that the federal government selected last year.

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Countywide

Fairfax County ramps up efforts to support manufactured home communities

By Scott McCaffrey
The Harmony Place mobile homes front office in Hybla Valley (via Google Maps)

Fairfax County officials are working to get to know roughly 1,750 residents of the area’s eight manufactured homes better.

“We are really hoping to understand the needs,” Fairfax County Department of Housing and Community Development Affordable and Manufactured Housing Program Manager Ivana Escobar told the Board of Supervisors housing committee at a Tuesday (Nov. 26) meeting.

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Countywide

Revamp of Metrobus network approved, will take effect next summer

By Scott McCaffrey
Metrobus in Fairfax City (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The first major redesign of Metro’s bus operating network since the system’s founding in the early 1970s will help Fairfax County riders and those across the region, local transit leaders say.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s (WMATA) board of directors approved the Better Bus Network redesign last Thursday, Nov. 21. Two years in the making, the changes aim to create a more seamless, easy-to-understand system for riders that’s also more efficient for the transit agency.

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Countywide

Metro officials eye impacts of return-to-office push by incoming Trump administration

By Scott McCaffrey
Commuters wait for a train at the McLean Metro station (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

It’s something that hasn’t been seen in nearly five years: A large percentage of the federal workforce exclusively back in the office — with many using Metro to get there.

But the incoming Trump administration has signaled it plans a major back-to-the-office push, and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) leaders are watching carefully to see how it plays out.

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