Some potential upgrades are on the horizon for Alabama Drive Park in Herndon, including an overhaul of its soccer field and playground.

The Fairfax County Park Authority is currently seeking community feedback on a proposed renovation of the approximately 11-acre park, which is located within the Town of Herndon but owned and managed by the county.


Like the county government, Fairfax County Public Schools is preparing for a challenging financial year ahead — one that could require further reductions to staffing and other cuts.

With spending commitments for fiscal year 2028 outweighing anticipated revenue, the school board and superintendent will need to identify cost savings and potential reductions, according to FCPS Chief Financial Officer Leigh Burden.


Fairfax County officials are poised to walk back their elimination of high school crossing guards, while pushing for additional measures to improve safety around schools.

At the Board of Supervisors meeting tomorrow (Tuesday), county staff will recommend providing $707,908 to restore 11 crossing guard positions affected by the fiscal year 2027 budget adopted in May, according to a memo that Deputy County Executive Tom Arnold sent to board members last Friday (Sept. 11).


A motorcyclist has died after colliding with a sedan on Braddock Road in the Kings Park area near Burke last Friday (Sept. 11).

According to the Fairfax County Police Department, its officers were dispatched to the intersection of Braddock and Southampton Drive at 9:11 p.m. that night for a crash involving a 2025 KTM SMCR 390 motorcycle and a 2015 Toyota Corolla.


A U.S. flag hangs from the parking garage under construction for the future Vienna-Carter library (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Man Shot in Groveton — “A man was taken to a hospital with severe injuries after a shooting in Groveton, Virginia, late Saturday morning. It happened on Sept. 12 in the 3500 block of Robert E. Lee Place.” Police were searching for a suspect but said the shooting appears to have been “an isolated incident.” [WJLA]

Kennedy Center Officials Recommend Closure — “Leaders of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, installed by President Donald Trump, say the center is on the brink of bankruptcy and argue that putting the president’s name on its facade — and thus ensuring his fundraising efforts — may be the only way to avoid imminent and ‘certain fiscal collapse.” The board could approve a recommended closure as soon as tomorrow (Tuesday). [Washington Post]

Plea Deal in Ex-CIA Official Theft Case — “A former CIA official found with $40 million of gold bars in his home has reached a tentative plea agreement after being charged with theft for fraudulently inflating his salary, according to court records.” The man’s attorney said “the charge against him isn’t related to the gold bars, which she described as ‘a sensational tidbit.'” [Associated Press]

Family Mourns Murder Victim — “Family members are mourning the loss of 31-year-old Lavinia Brown, who was shot and killed in her Fairfax home on Sept. 9. Brown’s mother, Denise Batten-Williams, says she knew something was wrong when she tried calling her daughter and then her son-in-law, Brandon, and neither of them picked up.” [DC News Now]

Survey Open on Homelessness Plan — Fairfax County is accepting input through Friday (Sept. 18) on a new five-year plan to address homelessness. The Way Home Fairfax focuses on “helping people who are homeless now find stable housing faster, preventing homelessness before it happens, improving support for people who have experienced homelessness the longest, and building public understanding and support for solutions that work.” [Sull-E Newsletter]

Va. Rolls Out New Food Benefits Cards — “Virginia is replacing traditional food-assistance benefit cards with chip-enabled versions designed to make it harder for thieves to steal SNAP benefits from families. About 749,000 state residents receive assistance through the program.” [Virginia Mercury]

In-Person Hearings Planned on Dominion Merger — The State Corporation Commission will hold three in-person hearings on the proposed $67 billion merger of Dominion Energy and NextEra. Planned in addition to three days of phone testimony, “the first of the three in-person meetings will be held on the evening of Nov. 5 inside the SCC’s courtroom in Richmond.” [Virginia Mercury]

Metro Revises Bus Fare-Quoting Policy — “Metro’s largest union says it has reached an agreement with WMATA so that only drivers protected by glass shields have to quote the fare to riders … The updated guidance comes more than a month after a man repeatedly punched a Metrobus driver who told him the bus fare and that he couldn’t bring an open alcoholic beverage on board.” [NBC4]

Fort Belvoir Commemorates 9/11 — “Soldiers, first responders and community leaders gathered at Fort Belvoir Thursday to mark the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, honoring the nearly 3,000 people killed and reflecting on the generations of service personnel shaped by the events that followed.” [Inside NoVA]

New Legal Notice — Restaurant applies for ABC permit: beer and wine on/off-premises. [Public Notices]

It’s Monday — It will be sunny with a high of around 80°F, and a north wind blowing at 13 mph, occasionally gusting up to 24 mph. Monday night will be clear, with temperatures dropping to about 57°F and a gentle north wind at 5 to 7 mph. [NWS]

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Both the past and the future were on the minds of elected officials and public safety leaders, as they gathered at the Fairfax County Public Safety Headquarters this morning (Friday) to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.

During the approximately 40-minute ceremony, Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department Deputy Fire Chief Bill Betz led two moments of silence for those lost as a result of the attacks.


Rep. Don Beyer (D-8) and his three challengers expressed wariness of data centers and artificial intelligence in a recent debate that kicked off the eight-week sprint to Election Day.

But several of the contenders also warned against rushed efforts to corral the emerging technology at the expense of the good it could provide.


Rechargeable batteries and pressurized gas tanks erroneously placed in the trash or recycling for regular curbside pickups have been wreaking potentially dangerous havoc on Fairfax County’s waste management operations.

Just last week, some trash collection workers were injured when a compacted gas container exploded, according to the county’s Department of Public Works and Environmental Services (DPWES).


Some of the latest development proposals underway in the City of Fairfax include an 11-story building that would be among the tallest in the city, and an office building that may include “live-work” units.

During a work session on Sept. 1, council members got a preview of three new developments that would bolster the city’s housing supply. The pre-application hearings gave the property owners and developers an opportunity to hear feedback from the council and make adjustments before officially submitting their initial plans.


One adult and five teenagers have been arrested in connection with a fire that burned down a training facility for Fairfax County’s urban search and rescue team this summer, police announced yesterday (Thursday).

The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department was dispatched at 5:20 p.m. on June 27 after receiving reports of heavy black smoke issuing from a storage facility in the 9900 block of Furnace Road in Lorton.


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