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

Park Authority overhauls camp registration to prevent system crashes

By Scott McCaffrey
Fairfax County Park Authority offers a robust summer-camp program (screenshot via Fairfax County Park Authority)

Hoping to avoid a repeat of last year’s technology meltdown, Fairfax County Park Authority officials are making revisions to their 2025 spring and summer camp registration procedures.

The biggest change: The first day of registration will vary depending on where a camp program is located.

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News

Fairfax open to joining Falls Church in ‘Saigon Blvd’ renaming, board chair says

By Scott McCaffrey
Elected officials and the local Vietnamese American community unveil a sign for Saigon Blvd, an honorary designation for Wilson Blvd in front of Eden Center in Falls Church (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

Fairfax County could be next in bestowing the honorary name “Saigon Blvd” on a stretch of Wilson Blvd near Seven Corners.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay nodded in the affirmative when asked at a Wednesday (Jan. 22) ceremony whether Fairfax would be willing to join Falls Church in renaming the area in front of the Eden Center in honor of the one-time South Vietnamese capital.

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News

Herndon leaders plan to give ‘streeteries’ another try in 2025

By Scott McCaffrey
Mile 20 at Mediterranean Breeze set up a 'streetery' in its parking lot under Herndon's pilot program, seen in August 2024 (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Herndon town leaders didn’t find much success with the 2024 “streeteries” outdoor-dining initiative.

However, they’re hopeful some tweaks in 2025 will provide the data needed to determine whether to move forward with the effort on a permanent basis.

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Countywide

Regional airport leaders pursue additional service from Dulles to Asia

By Scott McCaffrey
Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority officials attend an event in Taipei, Taiwan (via MWAA)

Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) officials are hoping connections made in 2024 will pay off in the form of additional service options to Asia in 2025.

Authority staff attended three conferences in Asia over the past year, with a total of 51 face-to-face meetings promoting the D.C. region and Dulles International Airport.

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Countywide

More flexibility needed for food truck operating hours, Fairfax planning commission suggests

By Scott McCaffrey
Himalayan Soul Foods was among the five food trucks at the 10th annual Taste of Vienna in 2023 (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The Fairfax County Planning Commission thinks the county might want to revisit its time limits on food trucks.

Commission members requested at their Jan. 15 meeting that the Board of Supervisors consider increasing the existing limit of four hours at a single location.

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News

County board allows denser development on site near Mosaic District

By Scott McCaffrey
The Alliance Center property in Merrifield (via Fairfax County)

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a comprehensive plan amendment last Tuesday (Jan. 14) that ultimately could lead to the redevelopment of the Alliance Center office condominiums adjoining the Mosaic District in Merrifield.

Though there’s no current development proposal on the table, the amendment would allow nearly 360 residential units with 60,000 square feet of ground-floor uses on the 3.2-acre site, which currently hosts two buildings with 24 aging commercial-condominium units, surrounded by surface parking.

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Countywide

Metro readies for potential ridership boost from federal workers returning to offices

By Scott McCaffrey
Inside a Metro train car (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Metro has the capacity to accommodate federal workers ordered back to the office by the Trump administration, one top transit leader says.

President Donald Trump signed a slew of executive orders after his inauguration yesterday (Monday), including ones to eliminate telework options for all federal government employees, freeze hiring and terminate diversity initiatives.

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News

Fairfax County seeks nearly $91 million in federal transportation grants

By Scott McCaffrey
The Fairfax Connector bus fleet has a growing number of electric buses (courtesy FCDOT)

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors authorized staff on Tuesday (Jan. 14) to make federal grant requests totaling nearly $91 million to fund eight transportation projects.

The application for fiscal year 2031 Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) and Regional Surface Transportation Program (RSTP) funding now goes to the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA), where it will be scored against applications from other jurisdictions in the region.

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News

Planning commission backs new Dunn Loring Elementary School

By Scott McCaffrey
Dunn Loring Elementary School front entrance rendering (via Fairfax County Public Schools)

Fairfax County Public Schools won the Fairfax County Planning Commission’s support yesterday (Wednesday) for construction of a new Dunn Loring Elementary School.

The zoning recommendation, which now goes to the Board of Supervisors, will help support “decades of [student] growth to come,” Providence District Commissioner Jeremy Hancock said.

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News

Revised redevelopment plan for Commons of McLean approved by county board

By Scott McCaffrey
The proposed McLean Crossing redevelopment and its surroundings in Tysons (via LCOR and Fairfax County)

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved an updated conceptual development plan yesterday (Tuesday) that will replace the Commons of McLean apartments (1640 Anderson Road) with a new McLean Crossing mixed-use complex.

The unanimous vote allows property owner LCOR to start moving toward final development plans for an 11-building compound that could add up to 2.72 million square feet of residential, commercial and retail space near the McLean Metro station.

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