The Fairfax County Police Department will utilize automated technology to analyze body-worn camera footage in real time.
Seeking to improve its training and interactions with the public, the FCPD is the first jurisdiction in Virginia to sign on with Truleo, the Chicago-based technology company announced yesterday (Tuesday).
Fairfax County Public Library is giving away free solar eclipse viewing glasses in anticipation of next month’s event, but to snag a pair, you’ll have to move fast.
Each branch will have “a very limited allotment” of a few hundred glasses at most, FCPL Board of Trustees chair Brian Engler confirmed. Though some branches received shipments early, the glasses were expected to be ready for distribution at all locations today (Wednesday), according to FCPL Director Jessica Hudson.
Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid is urging national elected officials to step up their efforts to safeguard local schools from cybercrime threats.
During a Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce event in Tysons on Monday (March 11), Reid asked Sen. Mark Warner about Congress’s strategy to address privacy threats to FCPS students and staff and other communities nationwide that are susceptible to ransomware attacks.
County to Update Zoning for Data Centers — “Several board members expressed concern that some zoning districts currently allow for the development of data centers by right…Committee Chair Karen Smith (D-Sully) suggested that the board begin the process of updating the zoning ordinance at its next meeting on March 19, which received unanimous support from the other board members.” [Patch]
Covid Survivors Revisit Inova Fairfax Hospital — “This week marks four years since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic and 7News Health and Wellness Reporter Victoria Sanchez caught up with two survivors after first sharing their stories in 2020. Titou Phommachanh and Rodrigo Valderrama greeted each other with a hug in front of Inova Fairfax Hospital. Before the two became the faces of COVID-19 in Northern Virginia four years ago, the men had never met.” [WJLA]
South Lakes HS Wins State Basketball Title — South Lakes High School’s varsity boys team handily defeated Patriot High School 65-39 on Saturday (March 9) to win the Class 6 state boys basketball championship. The Seahawks won with a “stellar supporting cast” led by junior guard Jordan Scott, who scored a game-high 23 points. [Washington Post, Inside NoVA]
Virginia’s Prison Population Drops — “Virginia’s prison population shrank 10.5% between 2021 and 2022, per the latest Justice Department data…That’s the greatest decline of any state during a period when the U.S. was seeing its prison population increase for the first time in nearly a decade.” [Axios Richmond]
(Updated at 3:35 p.m.) Congress has passed another short-term budget package, averting a partial shutdown of the federal government just hours before a midnight deadline.
In addition to funding the Justice Department, Housing and Urban Development, and other key agencies, the slate of bills passed 75-22 by the Senate on Friday (March 8) includes $12.7 billion in “pork” — money designated for local projects requested by lawmakers for their constituents.
General Assembly Approves State Budget — “Virginia lawmakers wrapped up their 60-day legislative session Saturday by approving a two-year budget that includes pay raises for teachers and state employees, increases education funding and extends the state sales tax to cover digital services.” [Associated Press]
Man Gets Prison for Killing Lorton Landlord — “A Prince William County man was sentenced Friday to 25 years in prison for slaying his 72-year-old landlord in Lorton. Brian Sayrs Jr., 28, pleaded guilty in August to second-degree murder and concealing a body in the June 2021 killing of Emily Lu, who was found dead about 50 days after she vanished following what authorities said was a rent dispute with Sayrs.” [Washington Post]
Hopes that Gov. Glenn Youngkin might sign a bill legalizing retail sales of marijuana in Virginia faded fast this week as Democrats blocked one of the governor’s top priorities: the plan to bring a professional sports arena to Northern Virginia.
As recently as Wednesday, according to multiple Capitol sources, the cannabis bill was being raised in closed-door budget talks with the governor as one of several Democratic priorities that could conceivably have been part of a package deal with the arena.
Prospect Iffy for Wiz and Caps Stadium in Alexandria — “A visibly frustrated Gov. Glenn Youngkin made a last-minute appeal to the Virginia legislature to support the Potomac Yard arena ahead of the General Assembly adjourning on Saturday…Senate Finance and Appropriations Chairwoman L. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth) told the Washington Post [on Wednesday] that the Potomac Yard arena won’t be in the budget compromise.” [ALXnow]
Design of Route 1 BRT Stations Under Revision — Fairfax County’s “Richmond Highway Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project team continues to work on art design concepts for five of the nine future BRT stations…The county finalized artwork for windscreens to be located at the Lockheed, Hybla Valley, Woodlawn and Fort Belvoir stations” based on concepts submitted last year by high school students. [On the MoVe]
Final consideration of state Sen. Saddam Salim’s (D-37) proposal to expand the availability of accessory housing units in Virginia will wait until next year.
A Virginia House of Delegates committee voted on Feb. 23 to table Senate Bill 304, until 2025, suggesting that the delay would give Salim and other legislators more time to refine the bill and collect data on existing local policies allowing accessory dwelling units (ADUs), which are known in Fairfax County as accessory living units (ALUs).
