Countywide

Fairfax County Casino Bill Advances — A Senate committee voted 10-4 yesterday (Wednesday) to advance the bill that would make Fairfax County eligible for a casino despite opposition from many local residents, homeowners’ organizations and some county and state elected officials who represent Reston and Tysons. “The bill now goes to the Senate Finance Committee for another round of review.” [Associated Press]

Vote Deferred on Housing at Franconia Government Center — “The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to defer its decision on the transfer of the Franconia Governmental Center property to the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority. At a public hearing prior to the Board of Supervisors’ vote, many residents expressed opposition to plans to build multifamily affordable housing at the site.” [Patch]

Annual Homelessness Count Starts Tonight — “Fairfax County, along with the greater Washington D.C., Maryland, and Northern Virgina region, will conduct a ‘Point-In-Time’ count of individuals and families experiencing homelessness, beginning in the evening on January 24, 2024, and continuing through the morning of January 25.” [Housing and Community Development]

Region’s Economy Lagging, Forum Speaker Says — “The Vienna Department of Economic Development’s first-ever ‘State of the Economy’ event provided information, spectacle, tasty food and town-promoting swag to about 70 people who filled the Vienna Community Center’s auditorium Jan. 18.” Keynote speaker Keith Waters said the D.C. region’s “economic output has been lagging the nation’s for about 13 years.” [Gazette Leader]

D.C. Area Restaurant Week Extended — “The Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington has decided to keep Winter Restaurant Week going from Jan. 22 to Jan. 28, doubling the amount of time visitors to participating D.C. restaurants can get multi-course meals at high-end restaurants for much cheaper prices. RAMW decided on the extension after this week’s snowstorms moved through the area.” [NBC4]

Fairfax Man Pleads Guilty to Having Machine Guns — “A 67-year-old Fairfax man pleaded guilty on Friday to one count of possessing an unlawful machine gun, according the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. [The man] admitted in court that he possessed four fully automatic machine guns” without “a valid Federal Firearms License or a Special Occupational Tax.” [Patch]

N. Va. Officials Push State to Pay More for Metro — “In Virginia (as usual), the funding picture is more complicated. The state pays a little less than half of the regular bill for Metro, with the six Northern Virginia jurisdictions served by Metro picking up the rest of the tab. Now, those jurisdictions say they’re counting on the state to also go halfsies on the stopgap funds.” [DCist]

Rules for Temporary Outdoor Dining Advance — “Proposed new outdoor-dining rules, modeled on ones implemented during the pandemic, on Jan. 10 earned the unanimous recommendation of the Fairfax County Planning Commission.” Hunter Mill District Commissioner John Carter got support for a motion to have no size limits on outdoor dining areas and an amendment to require the same operating hours as the restaurant. [Gazette Leader]