Fairfax County Public Schools is rolling out a new plan to tackle traffic and pedestrian safety concerns at its 200 schools, but not everyone on the school board is sold on the idea.
The School Traffic and Pedestrian Safety Assessment Program, discussed during a school board work session on Tuesday (Jan. 14), aims to streamline how schools identify and address issues like clogged “Kiss and Ride” loops, bus congestion and pedestrian safety.
Virginia students would be allowed to take the state’s annual learning assessments in a language other than English under a bill that advanced out of a House Education subcommittee on Tuesday.
Del. Laura Jane Cohen, D-Fairfax, introduced the legislation, after the Virginia Board of Education recently made changes to include more testing results from English learners, who have typically been excluded because of the language barrier, into a school’s accountability calculations.
Fairfax County’s homes market saw year-over-year upticks in sales and prices in 2024.
A total of 11,787 properties changed hands during the year, according to preliminary figures reported by Bright MLS, the region’s multiple-listing service.
Park Police Officers in Bijan Ghaisar Shooting Reinstated — “The two U.S. Park Police officers who shot and killed Bijan Ghaisar are back on the job after federal investigators cleared them in the case.” Lucas Vinyard and Alejandro Amaya had been on paid administrative duty and then paid leave since the Nov. 17, 2017 shooting. [NBC4]
Person Critically Injured in Springfield House Fire — “#FairfaxBravest are on scene of a house fire in the 7500 block of Long Pine Dr. Crews arrived with fire showing. The fire is under control. One civilian was transported with life-threatening injuries. No firefighter injuries.” [FCFRD/Twitter]
Lawsuit Alleges Fraud by Compass Coffee Owner — “The co-founders of the popular Compass Coffee chain in Washington have severed ties, with the company’s former chief executive accusing its owner of fraudulently misusing pandemic relief funds in a lawsuit filed Monday.” The chain’s 20 D.C.-area shops include locations in Fairfax City and West Falls Church. [Washington Post]
Police Make Arrest in Business Burglaries — A 32-year-old man was arrested and charged on Monday (Jan. 13) for allegedly burglarizing a business in the 9400 block of Mathy Drive in Mantua the previous day. Police say they found the man outside a business in Annandale that had reported a larceny and recognized him from surveillance footage. [FCPD]
Japanese Grocery Store Sets Opening Date — Marufuji Japanese Market will celebrate the grand opening of its new store in Tysons starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25. Plans for the event are still being finalized, but expect plenty of giveaways, deals and demonstrations, Fuji Mart Corp. Vice President Joshua Nakama says. [FFXnow]
Stream Restoration Planned at Lincolnia Park — “The Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services is planning a major stream restoration project at Turkeycock Run in Bren Mar Park. The design is expected to be completed in late summer or early fall of 2025.” [Annandale Today]
New Fairfax City School Board Sworn In — “The five members of Fairfax City’s new school board were officially sworn in during a ceremony at City Hall on Monday night. Lauren A. Bartelme, Kristina M. Cecere, Amit S. Hickman, Sarah M. Kelsey and Carolyn S. Pitches were elected during the Nov. 5, 2024 general elections.” [Patch]
GMU Professor Shares Vision for Use of A.I. — In a podcast interview, Dr. Amarda Shehu, George Mason University’s inaugural chief artificial intelligence officer, “discusses her groundbreaking role at Mason, the university’s proactive approach to AI, and the transformative impact of artificial intelligence on education, the workforce, and the economy.” [Potomac Local News]
It’s Wednesday — Expect a sunny day with highs near 30 and northwest winds of 14 to 16 mph, gusting up to 31 mph. The night will be mostly clear with lows around 17, as northwest winds decrease to 6 to 11 mph, turning light westerly after midnight, and potentially gusting up to 18 mph. [NWS]
As the No Casino Coalition embarks on its second year of lobbying, it has learned some lessons in political realities.
Among them: Be careful when accepting help from anonymous sources.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is seeking answers to what it feels was an inadequate response to last week’s Jan. 6 snowstorm by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT).
“Planning, execution and communication fell far short of the service level that our residents demand and deserve,” supervisors said in a joint board matter adopted at the governing body’s meeting today (Tuesday).
Fairfax County Public School teachers have more rights than they did a week ago after the school board unanimously approved the Fairfax Education Unions’ (FEU) first collective bargaining agreement in nearly 50 years on Thursday (Jan. 9).
The agreement promises better wages, hours, benefits and working conditions, but questions still remain about how much funding the Board of Supervisors will provide when it finalizes the county budget in May.
D.C. Area on ‘High Alert’ for Bird Flu — “Bird flu outbreaks have been detected at three poultry operations in Maryland and Delaware, impacting more than 500,000 chickens and leading to heightened alert among officials in the Washington region.” The Maryland H5N1 case was reported on Friday (Jan. 10) and detected in a chicken in Caroline County. [Washington Post]
FCPS Not Affected by Data Breach — “K-12 education vendor PowerSchool experienced a data breach. While FCPS is a customer of PowerSchool, we do not utilize their Student Information System product, which was the system impacted by the data breach.” [Fairfax County Public Schools]
Governor Highlights Priorities for Final Year — “Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin launched his priorities in his State of the Commonwealth speech Monday morning. The speech, and the start of the 2025 Virginia General Assembly, was postponed until after the water crisis in Richmond could be resolved.” [WTOP]
High School Stadium Bathrooms Expected This Summer — “The long-awaited permanent restroom facilities at several high school athletic stadiums around the Richmond Highway Corridor are expected to be ready this summer, according to leaders at Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS).” [On the MoVe]
Proposed Bill Would Make School Breakfasts Free — “Public school students across Virginia would soon be getting free breakfasts under a newly proposed bill by Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (D-5) and Sen. Danica Roem (D-30) … The new bill only covers breakfast and costs $43 million, Bennett-Parker said.” [ALXnow]
Annandale Cancer Patient Finds Solace in Singer — “It’s been an incredibly tough year for Cassidy Rajala, an Annandale sixth-grader who’s spent months in the hospital since being diagnosed with leukemia in December 2023. One of the bright spots has been her discovery of pop singer Benson Boone.” [Annandale Today]
N. Va. Social Services Nonprofits Merge — “Northern Virginia Family Service, which offers a variety of help to those in need, last week announced its merger with Alexandria-based Stop Child Abuse Now of Northern Virginia. The entities will be combined under the Northern Virginia Family Service, or NVFS, name and will broaden services to better aid children in the region, a spokeswoman for NVFS said.” [Inside NoVA]
It’s Tuesday — Scattered flurries are expected after 4pm, accompanied by increasing clouds and a high near 32. Winds will be from the northwest at 9 to 11 mph, gusting up to 23 mph. For Tuesday night, expect scattered flurries to cease before 9pm, leading to partly cloudy skies and a low around 19. Northwest winds will be stronger, at 13 to 16 mph, and may gust as high as 30 mph. [NWS]
Advocates for a referendum to allow a casino in Tysons have a formidable ally in the General Assembly this year.
State Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-34) is carrying the 2025 bill to add Fairfax County to Virginia’s short list of casino-eligible localities, taking over from Sen. Dave Marsden (D-35), who introduced legislation in 2023 and 2024.
In its 85th year of existence, Fairfax County Public Library (FCPL) saw a surge in demand for digital materials, reflecting the ongoing expansion of its services beyond traditional print books.
The library system recorded 3.8 million digital checkouts in 2024, pushing it past the all-time milestone of 25 million checkouts, FCPL shared in an overview of the last calendar year published on Jan. 2, 2025.
