I-66 Lane Closure in Vienna Area Starts Tonight — “The left travel lane on I-66 East between Cedar Lane and I-495 will be closed beginning around 9 p.m. Friday, August 19, through 5 a.m. Thursday, August 25, to allow for continued construction of the future I-66 Express Lanes…Drivers should plan for traffic delays and consider alternative routes during this period.” [VDOT]

Superintendent Says FCPS Prepared for New School Year, Despite Gaps in Staff — “Out of the 15,000 teachers employed by FCPS, about 150 of them are part of the residency program. But a look at Fairfax County openings still shows a lot. By our count, more than 350. The county says that where they still have vacancies, central office staff with teacher licenses will be asked to cover until a permanent teacher has been hired.” [WUSA9]


(Updated at 4:35 p.m.) Employee bonuses, facility improvements, and a study of middle school start times are among the priorities that Fairfax County Public Schools can now fund, thanks to some financial leeway from staff vacancies and state revenue.

The school system has about $90.9 million left over from fiscal year 2022, which ran from July 1, 2021 to June 30 of this year, FCPS leaders reported to the school board during its last regular meeting on July 14.


Celebrate Fairfax Inc. will close out the summer tomorrow (Friday) with an outdoor bash and some tunes.

The nonprofit organization best known for staging the annual Celebrate Fairfax! Festival will kick off the third and final Tysons Block Party of the season at 4 p.m. outside The PARC (8508 Leesburg Pike), the events venue it established at a former Container Store.


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]


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]


(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).


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.


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.


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.


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]


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