Fairfax County is among several localities across the country leaning on a new partner for 911 calls: artificial intelligence.
An AI-powered system will provide the Fairfax County Department of Public Safety Communications (DPSC) with support for handling non-emergency calls, Scott Brillman, the agency’s director, told the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday (Oct. 1).
Fairfax County has hired a new library director who brings a wealth of experience with him.
Eric Carzon will assume Fairfax County Public Library’s top position on Nov. 4, the county announced on Monday (Sept. 30). Recruited from Montgomery County, Maryland, where he was a regional manager, he succeeds Jessica Hudson, who left the position earlier this year.
The owner of a gas station in Tysons is seeking to formalize the property’s side hustle as a U-Haul vehicle rental site.
Petroleum Marketing Group submitted an application to Fairfax County on Sept. 25 requesting a special exception amendment to allow a truck rental establishment in conjunction with its BP gas station at 8217 Leesburg Pike.
Work will start this month on improvements to pedestrian and bicyclist connectivity around the Innovation Center Metro Station.
Fairfax County public officials broke ground yesterday (Wednesday) on the Innovation Station North Neighborhood Access Project, which will directly link the Metro station’s kiss-and-ride parking lot to adjacent neighborhoods at Farougi Court and Apgar Place.
Cell Service Disruptions Resolved — Fairfax County announced at 8:40 a.m. that a “fiber line issue” affecting cell phone service for multiple carriers in several areas has been resolved. The disruption temporarily may have impacted people’s ability to call 911. [Fairfax County Government/Twitter]
Error Jeopardizes Fatal Police Shooting Case — Defense attorneys for Wesley Shifflett will seek a mistrial after prosecutors played body camera footage during their closing arguments yesterday (Wednesday) that wasn’t admitted into evidence. The former Fairfax County police officer is on trial for involuntary manslaughter after fatally shooting Timothy Johnson in Tysons last year. [Washington Post]
Shelter Takes Animals Rescued From Hurricane — “Homeless animals rescued from flooding caused by Hurricane Helene arrived in Fairfax Tuesday night, thanks to Homeward Trails Animal Rescue. The shelter took in nearly 70 cats, over 20 puppies, and eight dogs from Yancey and Mitchell counties in North Carolina.” [Northern Virginia Magazine]
Details Emerge on Post Office Relocation — The U.S. Postal Service says its new facility at 2923 E. Lee Street in Groveton “is nearly ready” and could start operating “in the next month and a half.” With the Alexandria Community Post Office in Mount Vernon Plaza closing, the Engleside office will expand to accommodate some routes and carriers. [On the MoVe]
Engineering Company Opens Dunn Loring Office — “Congratulations to @ENSCO_Inc on your new office in Dunn Loring! I hope this space will help serve your needs as you continue to grow in the aerospace, national security, and transportation sectors. We look forward to another 50 years of success!” [Gerry Connolly/Twitter]
Korean American Bank Adds Fairfax County Branches — PromiseOne Bank, which is based in Duluth, Georgia, and focuses on Asian American communities, opened new branches in Annandale and Centreville this month. The locations were acquired from Bank of Hope, a Los Angeles-based company that now has no physical base in the D.C. area. [Washington Business Journal]
Frontier Airlines Plans Dulles Return — “Discount carrier Frontier Airlines announced it’s launching 22 new routes in December, including nonstop service from Dulles International Airport to Tampa International Airport…Frontier returns to Dulles after discontinuing its operations at the airport in the first quarter of 2022.” [WTOP]
Blind Reston Woman Finds Footing as Ballroom Dancer — “Davida Luehrs raises her arm to indicate to her dance partner her readiness to begin. Typically, in ballroom dancing, the dancer who leads gives this signal. But Luehrs is legally blind and cannot see her dance partner, so this is one of the many modifications devised to enable her to fulfill her dream of competing in ballroom dance.” [Northern Virginia Magazine]
It’s Thursday — Expect partly sunny skies and a high around 74 degrees, accompanied by light and variable winds. As night falls on Thursday, the sky will transition to being partly cloudy with a low temperature of about 62 degrees, and a gentle breeze from the south. [NWS]
Reston Association is throwing its support behind federal legislation that would exempt community associations from having to report information about their owners under a law designed to root out fraud and other shady dealings.
The organization sent letters to Rep. Gerry Connolly and senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner yesterday (Tuesday) urging them to co-sponsor the Community Association Reporting Exemption Act, which would exempt some homeowners and community associations from requirements that RA calls “burdensome.”
The Fairfax County Circuit Court has introduced a new e-filing system for criminal cases, phasing out the need for physical case files, and plans for more judicial reforms are in the works.
Circuit Court Clerk Chris Falcon officially announced the launch of the tool — which builds on the existing e-filing system for civil cases launched in 2022 — to the Board of Supervisors yesterday (Oct. 1) during a Safety and Security Committee meeting.
A new sanitary district may soon form in Reston, allowing several properties to get trash and recycling services from Fairfax County instead of private haulers.
Last week, the county’s Board of Supervisors authorized a Nov. 9 public hearing for a petition to add 51 Hunter Mill District homes to its solid waste collection program.
More residents are starting to move into The Mather Tysons with the recent completion of a second building.
The senior living community at 7929 Westpark Drive opened its 18-story south building in early September, adding another 114 independent living apartments to the 179 units delivered with the initial north building in March.
The Capital Area Food Bank (CAFB) has begun operations at its newly expanded Northern Virginia Distribution Center.
After more than a year of construction, the nonprofit unveiled the 43,000-square-foot warehouse in Newington with a ribbon-cutting ceremony last Thursday (Sept. 26), celebrating the facility as a critical step forward in its ability to help feed people across the D.C. area.
