(Updated at 11:35 a.m.) Smoke drifting south from wildfires in Canada has introduced unhealthy levels of air pollution in the D.C. area.
A Code Red Air Quality Alert has been issued for the entire region, including Fairfax County, signaling that the air is unhealthy for everyone today (Wednesday), according to AirNow.
Traffic Enforcement Campaign Underway — “This week, the Fairfax County Police Department has started our second ‘Road Shark’ campaign throughout the county. Road Shark is a high-visibility and coordinated enforcement and education effort to deter aggressive driving, reduce crashes, and change driving behavior.” [FCPD]
Fairfax HS Locked Down Over 911 Hangup — “Police put the high school located at 3501 Lion Run in Fairfax City on lockdown around 1 p.m., in order to investigate a 911 hang-up call. Matt Kaiser, a spokesman with Fairfax City, told Patch that the police response and lockdown were standard procedure for any 911 call received from a school.” Police later determined there was no threat. [Patch]
The Fairfax County Police Department is partnering with Zencity to roll out a community survey tool that markets itself as a way to “reimagine” local policing.
Chief of Police Kevin Davis described Zencity Blockwise as a tool to measure public sentiment and build trust in the community at a press conference yesterday (Monday) to provide more information about the new countywide initiative. He was joined by Zencity Chief Strategy Officer Michael Simon.
Dulles Toll Road Ramp to Beltway Closed Overnight — “Between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m. starting Monday, June 5, and continuing nightly through Friday, June 9, 495 NEXT project crews will close the ramp from the westbound Dulles Toll Road to northbound I-495. The nightly ramp closure is necessary to safely allow crews to conduct joint repairs at the top of the ramp to the Beltway lanes.” [VDOT]
Metro Halves Fares for SNAP Recipients — “Low-income residents who are enrolled in SNAP benefits will qualify for a new Metro half-off fare discount. The program, called Metro Lift, starts June 20…The transit agency estimates more than 90,000 riders will benefit from Metro Lift, which is estimated to cost about $4 million, but is expected to generate an additional 1.6 million trips.” [DCist]
Fairfax County’s child welfare system has seen abuse and neglect cases surge over the past year, taxing the dozens of volunteers charged with advocating for those children in foster care and court.
As of May, over 188 new kids have been placed in foster care or under a protective court order since July 1, 2022 — nearly double the 98 cases added the previous year, according to Fairfax CASA, a nonprofit that trains and supervises volunteer, court-appointed special advocates for children.
Reported Boom Came From Military Planes — “Fighter jets caused a sonic boom heard and felt throughout the D.C. area after they were scrambled from Joint Base Andrews to intercept a Cessna jet that flew over” D.C. and later crashed in southwest Virginia yesterday. Fairfax County’s police and fire departments were among the emergency responders that got reports of a loud noise around 3 p.m. [NBC4]
Student Repping Fairfax County Finishes Second at Spelling Bee — “Charlotte Walsh, an eighth-grader representing Fairfax County, was the runner-up in the 95th Scripps National Spelling Bee. Walsh, 14, from Compass Homeschool Enrichment, based in Herndon, survived 13 rounds of spelling and word definitions before being tripped up by ‘daviely’ in the 14th round of the finals Thursday night.” [Inside NoVA]
Fairfax County Public Library is kicking off its summer reading program with a different approach this year.
The Fairfax Library Foundation will launch its inaugural Children’s Summer Reading Festival at two libraries this month to celebrate the beginning of FCPL’s annual summer reading program.
Vienna Featured Live on TV Right Now — “Lights. Camera. Action! Tune into the @fox5dc Zip Trip LIVE from the Town Green [today] from 6-11 a.m. as the Town gets its 15 minutes of fame (really it’s five hours, but who’s counting?)! See familiar faces, businesses, favorite spots, and more!” [Town of Vienna/Twitter]
Air Quality Alert Issued — “The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has issued a Code ORANGE Air Quality Alert Friday for Northern Virginia. A Code Orange Air Quality Alert means that air pollution concentrations within the region may become unhealthy for sensitive groups.” [National Weather Service]
If you find trips on the Capital Beltway into Maryland nightmarish now, imagine what they would be like without any transit options.
That’s the scenario posed by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) in a new study on the value of the region’s transit network, including Metro, local bus services like Fairfax Connector and the Virginia Railway Express (VRE).
Pride Month starts today (June 1), and opportunities to celebrate in Fairfax County extend through the month.
This Saturday (June 3) features events in the Mosaic District, Reston and the City of Fairfax. Closer to the end of the month, folk-rock musician Brandi Carlile will headline the Out & About Festival at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts.
