An anonymous Instagram account that attacked LGBTQ students at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke has been shut down and the perpetrator identified, Principal Daniel W. Smith said in a message to the school community yesterday (Tuesday).
The now-deleted account surfaced Monday afternoon (March 7) with photos of students identified as members of the LGBTQ community and demeaning captions, screenshots show.
Google to Buy Reston Company for Billions — “Reston, Virginia-based cybersecurity company Mandiant will be acquired by Google for $5.4 billion. Mandiant, founded in 2004, has about 2,300 employees, including more than 600 consultants and more than 300 intelligence analysts responding to thousands of security breaches a year.” [WTOP]
Court Hears School Masking Lawsuit — Attorneys for parents of immunocompromised children and Virginia made arguments on Monday (March 7) for and against letting schools mandate masks in some situations to accomodate students with disabilities. The Fairfax County School Board filed a brief in support of the parents, calling the state’s optional mask law unconstitutional. [Inside NoVA]
(updated at 5:20 p.m.) After initially being reported as a shooting, Fairfax County Police believe a man who was found with life-threatening injuries at a parking garage in Fairfax may have injured himself after jumping from the garage.
They said they don’t have reason to believe now that there was a shooting or criminal activity.
Fairfax County is looking for proposals to create a food-centric business accelerator and entrepreneurship center at a historic school.
The Original Mount Vernon High School, once part of President George Washington’s estate, has a former locker room that the county wants to develop.
Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity wants police to get paid more, citing concerns over vacancies and burnout.
In an email and during a Board of Supervisors meeting today (Tuesday), Herrity called for the county to allocate $20 million to increase salaries by 10% for Fairfax County Police Department employees with the rank of second lieutenant and below in the upcoming budget.
Hikers at Turkey Run Park now have safer access to trails alongside the Potomac River, thanks to the hard work of more than 100 volunteers.
The National Park Service and the nonprofit Potomac Appalachian Trail Club officially reopened a half-mile section of trail in the McLean park with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday (March 5), the NPS announced.
(updated March 10) After receiving two complaints in the last year, Fairfax County’s Police Civilian Review Panel is recommending that the police department address swatting incidents before one turns tragic.
In its annual report, the panel urged the Fairfax County Police Department to adjust how it handles “swatting incidents” — when police are called on someone as a hoax, putting residents and officers in danger.
A small McDonald’s in Centreville’s Village Center strip mall is cooking up a big revamp.
The fast food restaurant hopes to move from its small drive-thru-less location at 5633 Stone Road to a bigger space within the shopping center at 5601 Stone Road.
Nonprofit health care system Inova has agreed to settle a lawsuit involving a nurse who failed to monitor a Lorton patient as stroke protocol required, according to a plaintiff’s attorney.
The case involved a 72-year-old woman who suffered a stroke in 2019 and brain bleed in 2020. She was cared for at the Inova Healthplex in Lorton but fell onto the floor when she walked to the bathroom without a nurse, according to Fairfax County Circuit Court documents.
Statewide Tornado Drill Today — As part of its annual Severe Weather Awareness Week, Virginia will hold a statewide tornado drill at 9:45 a.m. today (Tuesday). The signal will be broadcast on NOAA Weather Radio and the Emergency Alert System, but there won’t be an actual tornado warning, which would mean that a twister is imminent or already underway. [Herndon Police/Twitter]
“Coastal” Tex-Mex Restaurant Planned for Tysons — “Long Shot Hospitality, which operates seafood-centric Salt Line and New Orleans hotspot Dauphine’s, is gearing up for a new project. Chef Kyle Bailey and partners will open an 11,000-square-foot Tex-Mex restaurant at the new Capital One Center in Tysons, Virginia, next year.” [Washingtonian]
