The Trump administration has released a new list of localities and states it considers “sanctuary jurisdictions,” and Fairfax County is no longer on it.
The Justice Department identified some three dozen states, cities and counties as so-called sanctuary jurisdictions on Tuesday (Aug. 5), two months after the federal government quietly removed a much longer list that included many localities that support the Trump administration’s hard-line immigration policies.
Reston Association is kicking off a project to make the Hook Road Recreation Area more safe and accessible for local Little League players.
The park, first created in 1965, is a group of baseball fields, tennis courts and other athletic fields ringed by Hook Road and Fairway Drive in Reston.
A defense contractor that manufactures weapons, armored vehicles, and other military systems is setting up a new base in Merrifield.
Two U.S. subsidiaries of the German company Rheinmetall have leased nearly 10,000 square feet of office space at Metro Place II (2600 Park Tower Drive) in Merrifield, the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) announced yesterday (Tuesday).
A community forum slated for this evening (Wednesday) aims to gather more input as Fairfax County officials work on strategies to support the growing number of electric vehicles on local roads.
The online forum, set to run Aug. 6 from 6 to 7 p.m., will be another step toward the adoption of a Fairfax County Electric Vehicle (EV) Readiness Strategy. The project is being led by Fairfax County’s Office of Environmental and Energy Coordination and Department of Vehicle Services.
A fire that destroyed several units in the Vista of Annandale apartments over the weekend was electrical in origin, the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department said yesterday (Tuesday).
Specifically, an “electrical event involving a surge protector” is what set an apartment building in the 7900 block of Charles Thomson Lane ablaze, the fire department says.
Police Seek Fatal Crash Witnesses — “Virginia State Police are asking anyone who may have witnessed or taken video of Saturday night’s fatal crash on I-66 in Fairfax County to contact the person investigating the incident, according to authorities.” [Patch]
Immigrants Rights Groups Launch Hotline — “The new PODER Virginia campaign is looking for immigrants, their families and allies to call in with stories in order to paint a more complete picture of deportation activity to possibly identify patterns.” Taking calls from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., the hotline at 844-ALERT-VA was announced by Centreville Immigration Forum, the Legal Aid Justice Center and other groups that advocate for immigrants. [NBC4]
Dulles Flight Had Engine Failure — “A United Airlines flight bound for Germany declared ‘mayday, mayday, mayday’ with an engine failure last month, forcing the jet to hastily retreat to the Washington, D.C., area, tower recordings and the carrier said Monday … Flight 108, a Boeing 787 with 219 passengers and 11 crew members, was headed to Munich when it had to turn back for Dulles International Airport.” [NBC News]
Reston Man Deported to Belgium — A 33-year-old Belgian man living in Reston was deported on July 31 after authorities learned he was a fugitive convicted of sexually exploiting a child in his native country, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said. The man allegedly fled to the U.S. in April 2013 to avoid serving prison time and didn’t disclose his criminal history. An immigration judge ordered his removal on June 26, ICE said. [WJLA]
Metro Radio Issues Found — “The Washington Metrorail Safety Commission released its study of Metro’s radio communication system on Monday and revealed that some key deficiencies remain, despite a plan to improve the system after response delays during a deadly 2015 incident.” [WTOP]
Local Restauranteur Wins Award — “The DMV’s premier Laotian chef Seng Luangrath, the owner of several restaurants, including Padaek in Seven Corners, was named Restaurateur of the Year by the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington. The award was presented on Aug. 3 at the 43rd annual RAMMYS Gala at the Walter Washington Convention Center.” [Annandale Today]
McLean Startup Offers Autism Care — “Positive Development Inc. has raised $51.5 million in new funding to expand autism care to more kids and families as demand for its services mounts.” Making headway on getting its services covered by insurance companies, including Anthem in Virginia and CareFirst in the D.C. region, the startup hopes to “double its footprint in the next handful of years.” [Washington Business Journal]
Merrifield Furniture Business Promises Discounts — “Merrifield-based GoodbyHello, founded by longtime friends Michelle Baldwin and Mollie Skopil, works with manufacturers to sell their overstock, canceled orders, and returns in like-new condition. It also sells lightly used items right from its customers. With these methods, it’s able to offer furniture and other home goods for lower prices.” [Northern Virginia Magazine]
It’s Wednesday — There is a 20% chance of showers after 3pm, with mostly cloudy skies and a high near 82°F accompanied by an east wind at 3-7 mph. Wednesday night, expect cloudy skies to turn partly cloudy, with a low of around 67°F and an east wind near 6 mph. [NWS]
The number of Fairfax County residents seeking employment is up by a third year-over-year in new state data, as Northern Virginia continues to grapple with the Trump administration’s slashing of federal government jobs.
A total of 23,561 county residents were reported as looking for work in June’s unemployment figures, provided to FFXnow by state officials on Monday (Aug. 4).
The National Park Service is upgrading 14 of the water fountains along the Mount Vernon Trail and George Washington Memorial Parkway.
The newly upgraded fountains include new water bottle fillers, an amenity that the park services hopes will encourage more trail users to bring reusable bottles.
A man died over the weekend after crashing while riding an electric skateboard on Chain Bridge Road (Route 123) in Oakton, police say.
According to the Fairfax County Police Department, its officers were dispatched to the Chain Bridge and Hibbard Street intersection at 2:51 p.m. on Saturday (Aug. 2) after receiving “a report of an accident involving a motorized skateboard.”
The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department (FCFRD) has confirmed that a recent house fire in Reston was sparked by an electrical issue related to its rooftop solar panels.
Firefighters were dispatched to the 2300 block of Colts Brook Drive around 6 p.m. on Sunday (Aug. 3) for the blaze, which could be seen around the solar panels when they arrived, the FCFRD said yesterday (Monday) in a blog post.
