Countywide | FFXnow

Morning Notes

Published August 18, 2022 at 7:30AM

Fairfax County police investigate a shooting yesterday on Huntington Avenue (staff photo by Matt Blitz)

Silver Line Phase 2 Drill Held Up by Rust — “Metro’s Silver Line is set to start running farther into Northern Virginia soon after years of project delays — but rust on the rails delayed an emergency drill Wednesday in Ashburn. Crews were set to simulate a real-life emergency starting at 8 a.m…Safety devices could not be installed quickly, and the drill was delayed more than two hours.” [NBC4]

Off-Campus GMU Students Moving in May Affect Traffic — “City of Fairfax Police are advising residents and commuters that The Flats on University will be moving in their residents on Friday, August 22. Move in begins at 7:30 a.m. and will end at 5 p.m…One section of Democracy Lane will be one way starting at the intersection of University and Democracy Lane.” [Fairfax City Police/Twitter]

Morning Notes

By FFXnow.com

Published August 17, 2022 at 7:30AM

A mural surrounds the Booz Allen Hamilton headquarters in Tysons (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

County Offers New Covid Vaccine — “Starting this week, adults 18 years of age and older who have never received a COVID-19 vaccine and are interested in getting one, can now make an appointment for the recently authorized Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine, Adjuvanted. Due to limited availability, Novavax will only be offered by appointment only.” [Fairfax County Health Department]

Teen Takes Stand in Springfield Murder Trial — “A teenager on trial in the killings of two Fairfax County high school students took the stand Tuesday and said he was defending a friend when he opened fire inside a Springfield, Virginia, home last year…Ersheen Elaiaiser, 17, was shot twice in the chest and 16-year-old Calvin Van Pelt was shot once in the back at a home in the 8000 block of Winding Way Court, prosecutors said. Both teens died.” [NBC4]

Appeals court sides with transgender woman in lawsuit over treatment at Fairfax County jail

By Angela Woolsey

Published August 16, 2022 at 3:00PM | Updated August 18, 2022 at 4:56PM

The Fairfax County Adult Detention Center (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

(Updated at 3:05 p.m.) A transgender woman’s lawsuit alleging discrimination at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center will be allowed to move forward in a potentially landmark decision in the fight for trans rights.

Former inmate Kesha Williams can pursue her complaint arguing that the harassment she experienced at the county jail violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, a U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled in an opinion released today (Tuesday).

Tysons Forest removed from sites open for Fairfax County’s yearly deer hunts

By Rick Horner

Published August 16, 2022 at 1:30PM

A deer in a wooded neighborhood park (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

A September hunt intended to control the local deer population in Tysons Forest has been canceled.

Voicing safety concerns, residents and other community members near the 33-acre Tysons Forest — also known as Old Courthouse Spring Branch Stream Valley Park — successfully campaigned to get it removed from a list of areas marked for deer hunting.

Fairfax County volunteer’s petition urging Home Depot to stop sales of invasive plants takes root

By Angela Woolsey

Published August 16, 2022 at 11:45AM

English ivy at Home Depot's garden center in Merrifield (photo by Lauren Taylor)

Once McLean resident Lauren Taylor learned how to identify invasive plants in Fairfax County’s parks, she couldn’t stop noticing them.

They take a variety of forms, from shrubs like Japanese barberry — distinctive for the red coloring and spatula-like shape of its leaves — to creeping vines such as wintercreeper and English ivy that essentially strangle trees.

County invites businesses to make their pitch with new portal

By Fatimah Waseem

Published August 16, 2022 at 9:30AM

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)

Local entrepreneurs now have a direct line to do business with Fairfax County.

On Aug. 1, the county launched an online portal that allows businesses to pitch a business idea, product or service to county agencies, departments and Fairfax County Public Schools. County agencies and departments can in turn take advantage of pitches that have already been vetted within the portal.

Morning Notes

By FFXnow.com

Published August 16, 2022 at 7:30AM

Merrifield Lidl from across Gallows Road (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

First Responders Train for Silver Line Phase 2 — “More than a hundred fire and emergency personnel will converge on the new Ashburn Station on the Silver Line Extension as part of a full-scale emergency drill Wednesday, August 17. Metro is conducting the exercise in coordination with Fairfax County, Loudoun County and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) as part of preparations for the opening of the Silver Line Extension expected later this fall.” [WMATA]

Route 1 Trailer Park Residents Build Community — “Poverty often takes from people. It snatches. It steals. It can leave people with empty bellies, low self-esteem and a lost sense of security. That’s why the women want people to know what they’ve created in that trailer park on Route 1. From a shared struggle, they have built something special — a network of moms who regularly check on one another, inform one another and push one another.” [The Washington Post]

Fairfax County now seeing ‘low’ level of COVID-19 in community, CDC says

By Angela Woolsey

Published August 15, 2022 at 1:30PM

Fairfax County's COVID-19 community level is now low, as of Aug. 11, 2022 (via CDC)

Fairfax County’s COVID-19 community level has dropped from “medium” to “low,” as anticipated based on a steady decline in case numbers over the past month.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed the county’s community level with its weekly update on Thursday (Aug. 11), as its case rate of 187.71 cases per 100,000 residents dipped below the 200 mark for the first time since early May.

Expanded W&OD Trail, Occoquan adventure center and more planned for Fairfax County

By Angela Woolsey

Published August 15, 2022 at 11:45AM

The dual W&OD Trail in Falls Church (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Within the next decade, Fairfax County could see pedestrians and bicyclists split up along its stretch of the Washington & Old Dominion Trail, among other potential changes at its regional parks.

In a new, five-year strategic plan released last Tuesday (Aug. 9), the Northern Virginia Regional Parks Authority (NOVA Parks) proposes expanding the “dual trail” design introduced last year in Falls Church to other segments of the 45-mile, cross-county park.

Morning Notes

By FFXnow.com

Published August 15, 2022 at 7:30AM

A goose floats on Lake Accotink (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Man Hospitalized After Bailey’s Crossroads Stabbing — A man was taken to the hospital with injuries initially considered life-threatening after being stabbed in the 6000 block of Argyle Drive on Saturday (Aug. 13). According to police, who later said the man’s condition had improved, the stabbing occurred outside after an argument. [FCPD/Twitter]

Court Hearing on Tysons Gunfire Incident Today — “The man charged with firing a gun inside Tysons Corner Center mall in McLean, Virginia, in June is due to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Monday. Noah Settles, 22, of Washington, D.C., has been charged with three counts of discharging a weapon into an occupied building, attempted malicious wounding and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.” [WTOP]