Updated at 3:50 p.m. — With polls open for another three hours, Fairfax County has hit 45% turnout for the midterm elections, including 28% today, as of 3:48 p.m.
Earlier: With Election Day 2022 now underway, more than 200,000 Fairfax County residents have already voted.
Fairfax County has a new ambassador for poetry.
Danielle Badra will serve as the second Fairfax Poet Laureate through 2024, leading a program to bring poetry-related activities to local parks, ArtsFairfax shared yesterday.
What to Know for Election Day — “Three congressional races and the Town of Herndon council and mayor are one the ballot. Every polling place will be open on Tuesday from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m…Before you vote, double-check your registration status, polling place and congressional district.” [Fairfax County Government]
Fairfax City School Board Could Be All-Female — “All five seats on the Fairfax City school board are up for election this November and for possibly the first time, all elected members will be women. Those women — Stacy Hall, Amit Hickman, Sarah Kelsey, Rachel McQuillen and Carolyn Pitches — are uncontested candidates running for the board” [The Washington Post]
A new data dashboard shows Fairfax County prosecutors are sometimes asking for more detainments of defendants than judges.
The Office of the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney (OCA) released a dashboard in October with data comparing how often and under what circumstances prosecutors are asking for pre-trial detainment and release to a judge’s recommendations.
The ball appears to finally be rolling on Town of Herndon’s first new mixed-use development near its Metro station ahead of its opening next week.
Developer Penzance has submitted revised plans to the town to redevelop a 4.3-acre property at 555 Herndon Parkway.
(Updated at 3 p.m.) It’s official: the first train on phase two of the Silver Line extension project will take off at 1:54 p.m. from the Ashburn Metro Station on Nov. 15, Metro announced today.
The train will travel the full 11.4-mile extension from Loudoun County to Downtown Largo in Maryland.
For the first time, the Fairfax County School Board has approved a contract to install rooftop solar panels on a school building, a move both board members and advocates said has been a long time coming.
Under a solar power purchase agreement (PPA) that the board authorized Thursday (Nov. 3), Annandale High School will receive solar panels as a pilot program to give Fairfax County Public Schools “a working knowledge of these installations,” Mason District Representative Ricardy Anderson said before the vote.
(Updated at 1:45 p.m.) Fairfax County is considering automatically filing vehicle tax returns for residents in the future, potentially saving more than 70,000 residents money.
At last week’s Board of Supervisors meeting, elected officials authorized a public hearing for Dec. 6 to discuss a possible county code change that would eliminate a step for residents when registering a vehicle.
Skyline Towers Homicide Suspect Arrested — “Phil Asare Darkwah turned himself in at the warrant desk. He was transported to the Adult Detention Center, where warrants for 2nd Degree Murder, Use of a Firearm in the Commission of a Felony, and Felon in Possession of a Firearm were served. He was held without bond.” [FCPD]
Former County Detective Destroyed Rape Kits — “A former Fairfax County police detective improperly destroyed evidence in 10 unsolved sexual assault cases that date from the mid-90s, likely meaning the perpetrators in the crimes will never be brought to justice, an investigation by the department has found.” [The Washington Post]
The weekend is almost here. Before you prepare to turn back the clock on Sunday (Nov. 6) 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:
