There were undeniably hiccups along the way, but Fairfax County’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic earned an overall positive assessment from community surveys conducted this summer.
A general community survey issued in June received 2,148 responses, representing just a fraction of the county’s over 1.1 million residents.
Tolls on First Day of New I-66 Lanes Top $6 — “Washington-bound drivers paid an average of $6.10 during the Monday morning commute to use new Interstate 66 toll lanes from Gainesville to Centreville, according to the toll operator. The highest toll in the eastbound lanes was $6.50 at the peak of the commute, officials said.” [The Washington Post]
Monkeypox Vaccine Eligibility Expands — “The VDH announced eligibility expansion for JYNNEOS, the monkeypox vaccine to include people of any gender or sexual orientation living with HIV/AIDS or who were diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection in the past three months.” [Fairfax County Health Department/Twitter]
A developer that filed a competing proposal for a new Reston library and affordable housing is calling into question Fairfax County’s handling of an unsolicited proposal it received for a new library near the same site.
Developer Norton Scott says the county mishandled the solicitation process after developer Foulger-Pratt filed a proposal to redevelop 4.5 acres of land at the intersection Bowman Towne Court and Town Center Parkway in October 2021.
Metro has officially debuted changes to its 2019 map of the rail system.
This past Friday (Sept. 23), Metrorail began rolling out the new maps — which feature the Silver Line extension and stations with new name — to its stations, trains and transit centers.
Rat Causes Tysons Power Outage — “Rats! Power Outage in Tysons area tonight was caused by a rat that infiltrated a piece of equipment. 1,588 customers lost power. All customers restored in 1 hour and 5 minutes.” [Peggy Fox/Twitter]
Reston Woman Arrested for Leaving Kids With Stranger — “Herndon Police arrested 24-year-old Paola Alejandra Salinas Padilla of Reston for child abuse after she left her two children at a stranger’s home on Thursday, according to a post on the department’s official Twitter account. Salinas Padilla left her two children around 3 p.m., on Thursday…telling the strangers that she would pick them up by 11 p.m., according to police.” [Patch]
The weekend is almost here. Before you double check your Congressional district or head to bed for some much-needed sleep, let’s revisit the past week of news in Fairfax County.
Here are the 10 most-read stories on FFXnow this week:
Reminder: Early Voting Begins — “[It’s] the first day to #voteearly in the congressional #midterms! The 8th, 10th & 11th U.S. House seats are up for election and there are three sites open for #earlyvoting on weekdays” [Office of Elections/Twitter]
Sexual Battery Trial Against Former Teacher Cut Short — “A Fairfax County, Virginia, circuit court judge has dismissed an indictment alleging aggravated sexual battery against a former music teacher who gave lessons to students out of his house. The dismissal came Monday, Sept. 12, in the midst of the jury trial of Roger McKay, according to court records obtained by WTOP.” [WTOP]
(Updated at 9:10 p.m.) In Fairfax County, the battle for control of Congress starts tomorrow (Friday).
The county will open three early voting sites and start mailing out absentee ballots for the Nov. 8 general election, which will decide three seats in the House of Representatives as well as the Town of Herndon’s leadership.
The Fairfax County Police Department is seeking the public’s help identifying suspects in three recent jewelry store robberies, two of which are believed to have been committed by the same people.
The first robbery occurred at the Prince Jewelers in Tysons Corner Center at 2:45 p.m. on Sept. 8, police said in a release last night (Wednesday).
County Needs More Taxing Power, McKay Says — Like other Northern Virginia leaders, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay has long pushed for Virginia to expand local authority, an uphill battle particularly under Gov. Glenn Youngkin. McKay says “he would like the option for the county to levy taxes on personal income or other services to diversify the county’s revenue, which is about 90% dependent on property taxes.” [Axios D.C.]
Democrats Plan Caucus for 35th District Nominee — The Fairfax County Democratic Committee announced yesterday (Wednesday) that it will hold a caucus on Oct. 8 to select its nominee to fill the seat vacated by Mark Keam. Voters in the district, which includes Tysons, Vienna, Dunn Loring and Oakton, will be able to participate at three locations, along with an early voting site at the FCDC headquarters. [Patch]
