The City of Fairfax Police Department is investigating multiple crimes believed to have been perpetrated by a group of “young adults and juveniles.”
Each of the incidents in question occurred over the past weekend at various different locations, the department announced yesterday (Monday).
Plans to raze an aging office building and replace it with 400 residential units in the Fairfax Ridge Road area of Fairfax Center won unanimous support from the Fairfax County Planning Commission last Thursday (Oct. 16).
The proposal to amend the county’s comprehensive plan guiding development of the site will now be considered by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Nov. 18.
The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department is hoping to improve fire response by enlisting the help of the community.
The department re-launched its “Adopt a Hydrant” program earlier this month, allowing residents to assist firefighters by ensuring fire hydrants remain accessible during an emergency.
Amazon Web Outage Stems From N. Va. Data Center — “A massive outage at Amazon Web Services disrupted major websites and apps on Monday, in a show of how one company’s online infrastructure has become essential for many modern businesses to function … Amazon reported ‘increased error rates and latencies’ starting around 3 a.m. ET that involved its facility in Northern Virginia.” [NPR]
Woman Hit by Falling Tree Dies — “A woman crushed by a falling tree on Pimmit Run Trail last month was later pronounced dead at the hospital, ARLnow has learned. The incident happened around 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 23, near the Arlington-Fairfax County border.” [ARLnow]
Warmer Winter Forecast — “La Niña can benefit winter lovers in the D.C. area by tilting odds toward slightly cooler winters, mainly when the event is weak. But that tendency is running headlong into a steadily warming climate, which is one reason forecasters at the Weather Service still lean toward above-normal temperatures this winter.” [Washington Post]
Va. Leaders Dispute Recession Prediction — “The Youngkin administration and the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond are pushing back on a recent analysis saying Virginia is one of 22 states and districts in, or at risk of, a recession … Virginia isn’t immune to a downturn, but local economists and state leaders tell Axios they’re not seeing one yet.” [Axios Richmond]
Founder of Prominent Developer Dies — “Robert “Bob” Youngentob, a founding partner at Bethesda developer EYA LLC, died Saturday after a battle with cancer, according to an online obituary. He was 64.” Started by Youngentob and Terry Eakin in 1992, EYA has been involved in a number of Fairfax County developments, from the Mosaic District in Merrifield to Reston Station. [Washington Business Journal]
Franconia Food Drive Underway — “My office is collecting donations of non-perishable food and household goods to benefit three organizations doing impactful work in the Franconia District: ECHO, The Koinonia Foundation, Inc., and United Community. Donations will be distributed by need … The donation box will be in the lobby of the Franconia Governmental Center through November 30.” [Supervisor Rodney Lusk/Facebook]
Campaign to Reduce Water Bottle Use Awarded — “The Fairfax County Office of Environmental and Energy Coordination is presenting an Environmental Excellence Award to the Friends of Holmes Run and Hispanics Against Child Abuse and Neglect (HACAN) for promoting the use of tap water in Culmore. The groups encouraged residents to use refillable water bottles for tap water instead of buying disposable water bottles that often end up in streams.” [Annandale Today]
Program Brings Ballet to Kids with Down Syndrome — “Program Director Madison Harden brought The Purple Tutu to Alexandria with the goal of teaching ballet to dancers in the special needs community. Every Sunday, young dancers meet up at the Just Dance Studio and receive a free 30-minute ballet class, taught by members of the West Potomac High School Dance team.” [WTOP]
It’s Tuesday — Expect sunny skies and a high of 71 degrees, accompanied by a south wind ranging from 5 to 11 mph and gusts reaching 22 mph. Tonight, there is a 40% chance of showers before 2 am; however, the mostly cloudy skies will gradually clear with a low of around 49 degrees. The west wind will be around 7 mph. [NWS]
Regional transportation planners continue to take the pulse of riders and other local residents as they prepare for a major revamp of the Route 7 bus corridor.
“It’s a good thing” to be out in the community, said Kate Mattice, executive director of the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC), which is overseeing a study that could bring bus rapid transit (BRT) service to the corridor from Tysons to Alexandria.
The Fairfax City Council approved a handful of special exceptions for the forthcoming Willard-Sherwood Health and Community Center last week, but not every official was on board.
Three of the councilmembers — Stacy Hall, Rachel McQuillen and Thomas Peterson — symbolically voted against each of the zoning requests at the council meeting last Tuesday (Oct. 14), though all items ultimately passed by a slim majority vote.
Workdays at 1895 Preston White Drive are getting lonely for the Corporation for National Research Initiatives, the owner and sole occupant of the Reston office building.
After trying without success to attract other tenants, the information technology research nonprofit has given its support to a developer seeking to transform the 4.6-acre office property just south of the Dulles Toll Road into a new residential community.
Fairfax City police have determined that a bomb threat targeting Fairfax High School was unfounded.
A “large” number of police officers descended on the school at 3501 Lion Run this morning (Monday) in response to a bomb threat, the City of Fairfax Police Department said on social media shortly after 9 a.m.
Fairfax County Public Schools officials want to make sure students are using artificial intelligence as a tool rather than a crutch.
FCPS doesn’t have a comprehensive policy governing the use of AI, but officials are working on one. Superintendent Michelle Reid told the Fairfax County School Board at a work session this month (Oct. 7) that it’s important to make sure everyone is on the same page because AI is such a broad topic.
Update — Members of SEIU Local 512’s Fairfax County chapter officially ratified their collective bargaining agreement on Friday, Oct. 24 by a 99.9% vote, the union announced.
If approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, the three-year contract will take effect on July 1, 2026.
