A driver hospitalized by a three-vehicle crash in McLean last Wednesday (March 9) has died, the Fairfax County Police Department confirmed today (Monday).
Karla Boggess, a 62-year-old resident of Berryville, is the first person killed in a vehicle crash in the county this year who wasn’t a pedestrian, according to police. At this time in 2021, there had been one non-pedestrian fatality.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin and many Northern Virginia officials disagree over whether a repeal in the 2.5% grocery sales tax will adversely affect transit or not.
The governor has made eliminating the tax a priority, but proponents and opponents are painting vastly different portraits of how a repeal could affect transportation funding.
Fairfax County Public Schools has found savings to provide a second year of expanded summer learning programming.
The $12.5 million needed for the enhanced summer school will come from reserve staffing funds that went unused due to FCPS’ decreased student enrollment, according to the district.
A groundbreaking ceremony today (Monday) marked the beginning of construction on the much-debated I-495 Northern Extension project to build express lanes on a notoriously congested stretch of the Capital Beltway.
The $660 million 495 NEXT project will create two northbound and two southbound lanes between the Dulles Toll Road in Tysons and the Potomac River north of McLean, adding 2.5 miles onto the existing I-495 Express Lanes operated by the toll road company Transurban.
The Fairfax Health District continues to report declining COVID-19 case levels.
The district, which includes Fairfax County and the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church, added 60 new cases today (Monday), bringing its total for the pandemic up to 178,109 cases. There have been 4,442 hospitalizations and 1,470 deaths due to the disease caused by the coronavirus.
Another golfing and restaurant business has officially opened at the site of the former Topgolf in Kingstowne.
Rudy’s — a golf recreation and entertainment facility — opened earlier this month at 6626 South Van Dorn Street. The venue, which is similar to Topgolf, includes a golf driving range, restaurant and bar.
(Updated at 8:45 a.m.) Car Crash Closes Old Dominion Drive — “Old Dominion Dr is closed between Balls Hill Rd & Mottram Dr in McLean, likely for several hours. A car crashed into a utility pole. No injuries. Please avoid the area while crews work to repair the pole.” [FCPD/Twitter]
Judge Denies FCPS Request to Keep TJ Admissions Process — “A federal judge has denied the request of Fairfax County Public Schools for a stay of his order invalidating the admissions system at prestigious magnet school Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, marking another serious blow for Virginia’s largest school system.” [The Washington Post]
(updated at 6:40 p.m.) The National Weather Service has issued winter weather and wind advisories for Fairfax County tomorrow (Saturday).
NWS warns that there may be snow accumulations of between 2 to 4 inches. The winter weather advisory is between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday, coinciding with a wind advisory that will take effect between 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. on Sunday.
The weekend is almost here. Before you spring forward for daylight saving time 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:
A property tax paid by businesses in the Silver Line Phase 2 corridor has been helping to fund the infrastructure upgrades, even as delays have repeatedly stalled the Metrorail expansion.
The special tax has been 20 cents per $100 of assessed property value for nearly a decade and applies to commercial and industrial real estate. It can be used to pay up to $330 million of Fairfax County’s $527.3 million obligation for the project, which will extend the Silver Line from Reston to Ashburn.
