Countywide | FFXnow

Morning Notes

Published February 27, 2023 at 7:30AM

Man walks dog at Arrowbrook Centre in Herndon (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Passenger in Annandale Truck Crash Dies — The 27-year-old passenger of a 2002 Chevrolet Silverado that crashed into a tree and light pole by Little River Turnpike near John Marr Drive on Jan. 27 died at a hospital from his injuries last Tuesday (Feb. 21). The 29-year-old driver may face additional charges after already being charged with driving under the influence and without a license. [FCPD]

Government Center Affordable Housing Approved — Last week, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved the Residences at Government Center II plan and $14 million in funding. The development will consist of two mid-rise residential buildings with 279 units for those earning between 30 and 70% of the area median income, along with a childcare center and urban park. [Fairfax County]

NEW: FCPS will offer AP African American Studies at a few schools this fall

By Angela Woolsey

Published February 24, 2023 at 11:15AM | Updated March 1, 2023 at 9:50AM

Fairfax County Public Schools

(Updated at 9:45 a.m. on 3/1/2023) The College Board’s much-debated course on African American identity and history will be available in several Fairfax County high schools this fall as part of a pilot program.

While the state scrutinizes the course, Fairfax County Public Schools plans to offer Advanced Placement (AP) African American Studies at the following schools in the next school year, which will begin on Aug. 21:

Morning Notes

By FFXnow.com

Published February 24, 2023 at 7:30AM

Purple crocuses open on an unusually warm February day (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

D.C. Area Sees Record High Temperatures — “It’s official: Thursday is Washington’s warmest Feb. 23 on record and one of the toastiest afternoons so early in the year. The high temperature at Reagan National Airport hit 81 degrees, breaking the previous record of 78 degrees set on Feb. 23, 1874…The high was 80 degrees at Dulles, surpassing the previous record of 77 degrees on Feb. 23, 2017.” [Capital Weather Gang]

Dulles Toll Road Ramp to Close Overnight in Tysons — “The ramp from eastbound Dulles Toll Road/Airport Access Road (Route 267) to northbound I-495 (Capital Beltway) is scheduled to close during overnight hours beginning on or about this Friday night, Feb. 24 through early morning, Monday, March 12. This ramp closure is necessary for crews to demolish the eastern section of the bridge from northbound I-495 to eastbound Dulles Toll Road” [VDOT]

Dick Saslaw to retire from State Senate after representing Fairfax County for almost half a century

By Matt Blitz

Published February 23, 2023 at 3:15PM

State Sen. Dick Saslaw is retiring after nearly five decades in the Virginia General Assembly (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Longtime Virginia lawmaker Dick Saslaw, who’s represented parts of Fairfax County for nearly five decades, is retiring.

The 83-year-old Saslaw (D-35) made the announcement on the State Senate floor on this afternoon that he won’t be running for reelection in November.

Morning Notes

By FFXnow.com

Published February 23, 2023 at 7:30AM

Dulles Toll Road traffic by the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Fire at Commercial Building in Merrifield — Fairfax County Fire and Rescue units responded to a building fire in the 2800 block of Dorr Avenue in Merrifield around 6 p.m. yesterday (Wednesday) that reached two alarms. The fire was extinguished after about an hour, and no injuries were reported. [FCFRD/Twitter]

Ribbon Cut on Penn Daw Development — “I was thrilled to speak at the South Alex ribbon cutting ceremony. In 2020 this entire building complex fell victim to a devastating fire, and now just three years later, we are here celebrating the completion of the renovations!” The grocery store Aldi is set to open at the development next week. [Jeff McKay/Twitter]

Camp Fairfax summer program to restart registrations after technical issues

By Angela Woolsey

Published February 22, 2023 at 3:00PM

Kids play rugby in the Camp Fairfax program (via Fairfax County Department of Neighborhood and Community Services)

Registrations for Fairfax County’s School Age Child Care (SACC) summer program will reopen tomorrow (Thursday) after technical issues disrupted its scheduled launch yesterday.

Camp Fairfax started allowing families to register at 8 a.m. on Tuesday (Feb. 21), but the Fairfax County Office for Children, which oversees the program, reported at 9:13 a.m. that “technical difficulties” had taken the system down.

Fairfax County’s proposed budget sees residential taxes rise again, as supervisors ponder relief

By Matt Blitz

Published February 22, 2023 at 9:30AM | Updated November 27, 2024 at 10:44AM

The Fairfax County logo is shown on the front of the Fairfax County Government Center building at 12000 Government Center Parkway (Staff photo by David Taube)

(Updated at 11:05 a.m.) The proposed 2024 budget has real estate taxes once again increasing for many, as home values across Fairfax County continue to rise.

At yesterday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, County Executive Bryan Hill presented his proposed fiscal year 2024 budget. The $5.1 billion budget is up $280 million from last year — an increase of about 6%, largely due to real estate taxes going up.

Morning Notes

By FFXnow.com

Published February 22, 2023 at 7:30AM | Updated February 22, 2023 at 11:15AM

The clock at Old Town Square in Fairfax City (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

County Task Force Back After Assisting With Turkey Earthquake Rescues — “After an intense 11 days searching for survivors in the wreckage of collapsed buildings, members of Virginia Task Force 1 have returned home. They arrived at their base in Chantilly just before midnight on Monday, to a hero’s welcome organized by family and friends.” [WTOP]

Firefighters Tackle Brush Fires in Springfield — “As winds picked up across the DMV Tuesday evening, crews in Fairfax County dealt with several outside fires. According to a spokesperson from the Fairfax County Fire Department (FCFD), crews worked to extinguish multiple outside fires on Old Keene Mill Road near Harwood Place in West Springfield.” [WUSA9]

Fentanyl and youth overdoses among concerning trends in opioid epidemic, county says

By Angela Woolsey

Published February 21, 2023 at 3:45PM

A bag of fentanyl pills (via DEA/Flickr)

Opioid overdoses have been on the rise in Fairfax County since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

After declining between 2017 and 2019, overdoses increased in the Fairfax Health District from 285 in 2019 — 83 of them fatal — to at least 366 in 2022, including 63 fatalities, as of Sept. 30, according to the data dashboard that the Fairfax County Health Department launched last fall.

Federal funding could give needed assist to Fairfax County’s homeless population

By Vernon Miles

Published February 21, 2023 at 11:45AM | Updated March 24, 2023 at 2:37PM

Encampment set up by people experiencing homelessness (via MWCOG)

Fairfax County hopes to make use of American Rescue Plan funding to help provide housing for some of those most in need.

In a meeting of the Board of Supervisors Housing Committee last week, staff from the Department of Housing and Community Development said a tranche of federal funding could help local residents in more extreme levels of poverty than most affordable housing programs in the county assist.