Two months after the death of Rep. Gerry Connolly, voters will begin casting ballots to determine his successor.
The early voting period for the 11th Congressional District special election begins tomorrow (Friday). It will run through 5 p.m. on Sept. 6, ending three days before the scheduled election day on Sept. 9.
D.C. Leads Nation in Traffic — A new report from Consumer Affairs has ranked D.C. as the city with the worst traffic in the U.S., putting it above Los Angeles, which previously held the no. 1 spot. “The average commute to work in DC is 33.4 minutes — the longest in the U.S. On an average weekday, traffic congestion lasts more than 6.5 hours. That’s the equivalent of spending 71 days in traffic each year.” [Northern Virginia Magazine]
GMU Professors Criticize Board — “A group of George Mason University professors declared that the Board of Visitors had failed to defend President Gregory Washington and the institution from political attacks in a vote of no confidence.” The vote was “overwhelmingly approved” by the GMU chapter of the American Association of University Professors (GMU-AAUP) as the university faces a series of investigations launched by the Trump administration. [Virginia Mercury]
More Data on ICE Arrests — “Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests of people without criminal charges or convictions have jumped in D.C., Virginia and Maryland … In Virginia and D.C., people without criminal charges or convictions made up an average of 60% of daily ICE arrests in early June, per agency data obtained by the UC Berkeley School of Law’s Deportation Data Project.” [Axios DC]
Man Wanted for Hit-and-Run Arrested — According to the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office, a 29-year-old man was pulled over by deputies on Tuesday (July 22) after he was seen drifting out of his lane on I-95, forcing another driver to swerve to avoid a collision. Showing signs of intoxication, the man is wanted by Fairfax County on a felony hit-and-run charge and was previously convicted of a DUI in 2018, the sheriff’s office says. [DC News Now]
Metro Investigates Duplicate Charges — “It’s been about two months since Metro gave riders the option to pay by simply tapping a contactless credit card or using Apple Pay at the gates, but rider Tanya Lervik — who commutes from College Park to Gallery Place — recently noticed some strange charges on her credit card account … She quickly started wondering how she could have been charged on the credit card even though she only uses her SmarTrip to pay.” [NBC4]
Stream Restoration Underway — “A stream restoration project underway in Seven Corners is aimed at reducing erosion in the Long Branch stream within the Hollybrooke community, between Patrick Henry Drive and Arlington Boulevard … Work on the $1.3 million Patrick Henry Outfall Restoration Project started in June and is expected to be completed in September.” [Annandale Today]
Drug Maker Plans Va. Facility — “In a vote of confidence for Virginia’s growing life sciences sector, pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca announced plans to build its largest drug manufacturing facility in the world somewhere in the commonwealth — marking the company’s single biggest investment ever.” The facility will be part of a planned $50 billion expansion in the U.S. for the U.K.-based company [Virginia Mercury]
Temporary Library Open in Vienna — A temporary Patrick Henry Library opened Monday (July 21) at the Cedar Park Shopping Center in Vienna, offering limited services with construction on a permanent library expected to begin this fall. Local officials welcomed the facility at 262C Cedar Lane SE with a ribbon-cutting ceremony yesterday (Wednesday) that included free samples from nearby Toby’s Homemade Ice Cream and an open house. [Fairfax County Public Library]
Free Trees Available for Planting — “Community-based organizations in Fairfax County can apply to receive free trees for planting on private properties, through a program by Fairfax County’s Urban and Community Forestry Division (UCFD) of the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services.” The program aims to increase tree coverage “in economically disadvantaged communities.” [DPWES]
It’s Thursday — Expect sunny skies and a high temperature near 90 degrees, accompanied by a south wind of 3 to 8 mph. Thursday night will be mostly clear, with the temperature dropping to around 74 degrees, and the south wind continuing at 6 to 8 mph. [NWS]
A post-Covid boom in international travel has put Dulles International Airport atop a ranking for service to Africa.
The local airport, which sits on the border of Loudoun and Fairfax counties, has now surpassed John F. Kennedy International in New York for the most nonstop destinations to the continent, with eight cities to JFK’s six.
Should McLean stick with green and gold or change things up as it pursues a downtown revitalization?
That is one of the questions awaiting responses in a new survey on street banners from Fairfax County and the McLean Revitalization Corporation (MRC), a volunteer-run nonprofit dedicated to enhancing the McLean Community Business Center (CBC).
A 25-year-old man has been arrested after police allege that he forced his way into two Fairfax County hotel rooms earlier this week.
Arlington resident Eric Isler was taken into custody yesterday (Tuesday), hours after the second of two incidents, the Fairfax County Police Department says.
A woman was sexually assaulted this past weekend at a Giant Food in Centreville, Fairfax County police say.
Officers responded to the grocery store (14125 St Germain Drive) in Centrewood Plaza around 6:10 p.m. on Sunday (July 20) for a “sex offense case,” according to the Fairfax County Police Department.
Drivers who block bus traffic across Northern Virginia could someday receive fines based on video evidence from cameras mounted on Metrobuses, Fairfax Connector buses and those of other transit systems.
The Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) board of directors discussed the possibility of advocating for the General Assembly to lift the state’s existing prohibition on using cameras to enforce bus-only lanes at its meeting last Thursday (July 17).
A Fairfax County substance abuse treatment and rehabilitation program is getting its first major renovation and expansion since the building opened in 1994.
A zoning application filed with Fairfax County says the Crossroads rehab facility, operated by the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board, has assorted maintenance issues that have gone unaddressed for years.
Reston Association’s Design Review Board recently got a fresh look at the latest plan for developing Reston Town Center North (RTC North), and for the most part, members were encouraged by what they saw.
“I don’t see any reason for a motion of … approval from my sense, because we’re still working,” Design Review Board Chair Michael Wood told the development team after a presentation on July 15. “You guys got some feedback from us. I think you guys have some actionable things that you guys can provide, and you’re in the right direction for sure.”
Significant responses were needed this morning (Wednesday) to address two-alarm fires reported almost simultaneously at townhouses in Kingstowne and a shopping center in Springfield.
Firefighters were first dispatched at 4:44 a.m. to the Coventry townhomes in the 5000 block of Dunstable Lane for a fire that consumed all three floors of one building, according to scanner traffic.
