(Updated at 2:25 p.m.) Annandale High School’s orchestra director is on her way to Los Angeles for the upcoming Grammy Awards.

Annie Ray, who teaches music and leads the orchestra program at the school, is the winner of the 2024 Grammy Music Educator Award, CBS Mornings announced today.


George Mason University is poised to complete the construction of a functional cricket field at its Fairfax campus by the end of this summer and a new ballpark by 2025.

During a virtual town hall meeting on Monday (Jan. 29), GMU staff and Sanjay Govil, owner of the Washington Freedom cricket team and a founding investor in Major League Cricket (MLC), outlined the project and listened to feedback from local stakeholders.


Fairfax County wants to consolidate the duties of its Department of Animal Sheltering (DAS) and Animal Protection Police (APP).

Under the new arrangement, DAS would oversee both animal care services and enforcement of animal protection laws, which would be carried out by animal control officers (ACO), according to the recommendation from DAS and the Fairfax County Police Department.


(Updated at 10:30 a.m. on 2/6/2024) After more than a year of impassioned and often acrimonious public testimony, Reston Association will drop plans for pickleball courts as part of the renovation of Barton Hill’s tennis courts.

At a meeting on Jan. 25, the RA Board of Directors voted to remove pickleball courts from the scope of the renovation, which had inspired passionate testimony from both pickleball lovers and neighboring residents concerned about safety, security, parking and the noise associated with the burgeoning sport.


Sexual Assault Lawsuit Against FCPS Moves Forward — A federal judge has rejected a request by Fairfax County Public Schools to dismiss a lawsuit filed in 2019 by a former student who says she was raped and sexually abused by classmates when she was in seventh grade. The school board said in November that it had evidence that the allegations were fabricated. The lawsuit will now go to trial in March. [Associated Press]

Reston Man Skis to South Pole for Charity — “A Reston businessman recently found himself at the polar opposite of where he hoped to be nearly a year ago — literally. Instead of standing at the North Pole, Len Forkas instead skied 60 nautical miles to the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.” The trek was intended to raise awareness of his nonprofit Hopecam, which helps kids diagnosed with cancer. [Patch]


(Updated at 8:35 p.m.) The Towers Crescent office building in Tysons has been evacuated in response to a reported fire.

Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department units were dispatched to 8000 Towers Crescent Drive around 7:26 p.m. for the high-rise fire, according to scanner traffic on Open MHz.


Legislation banning Virginia’s public colleges and universities from providing special treatment in admissions decisions to students related to alumni and donors is on track to head to Gov. Glenn Youngkin later this session.

On Tuesday, the Virginia House joined the Senate in passing the proposal on a unanimous vote. Both bills, which are identical, must now pass in the opposite chambers before they are sent to the governor for his approval.


A Reston-based nonprofit organization is helping local refugees establish a new life in the U.S. by providing cars to them for free.

Last week, Rides for Refugees donated two cars to refugees living in Northern Virginia. Both of them are Afghan refugees who received special immigration visas.


Fairfax County is changing lanes on some of its long-term transportation plans, veering away from a few road-widening projects in favor of ones that involve transit or pedestrian and bicycle upgrades.

As authorized by the Board of Supervisors on Dec. 5, county staff submitted a list of projects for the region-wide Visualize 2050 transportation plan that no longer includes widenings of Route 29 in the Merrifield area, New Braddock Road, Stringfellow Road and Magarity Road in Pimmit Hills.


Over 600 Lake Anne area residents served by the now-defunct Reston Lake Anne Air-conditioning Corporation (RELAC) may soon be responsible for installing their own air-conditioning units.

After historically requiring certain residences to utilize RELAC, Reston Association’s Board of Directors will hold a referendum vote next month to change its restrictive covenant to accommodate other cooling services and options.


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