Ankita Balaji, a seventh-grader at Rachel Carson Middle School in Herndon, will represent Fairfax County Public Schools in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, starting next Tuesday, May 28.
Balaji still remembers the moment she spelled the winning word correctly and won the 2024 Fairfax County spelling bee in March.
ViVa Vienna will celebrate four decades of food, carnival rides and charity when it returns this Memorial Day weekend.
Ahead of the festival’s annual take over of Church Street on May 25-27, the Vienna Town Council issued a proclamation on Monday (May 20) commemorating ViVa Vienna’s 40th anniversary and designating this coming Sunday (May 26) as ViVa Vienna Day.
Completion of Route 7 Widening Celebrated — Local and state officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony yesterday (Wednesday) to celebrate the completion of “driver, bicycle and pedestrian improvements along seven miles of Route 7 (Leesburg Pike)…The project widened Route 7 from four to six lanes between Reston Avenue and Jarrett Valley Drive” and added a shared-use trail. [VDOT]
Tree Falls on Car in Lake Barcroft — “It’s been more than a week, yet still, giant chunks of tree trunk remain embedded in a car in Lake Barcroft. The tree fell, according to neighbors, around 6 p.m. last Tuesday.” The vehicle’s owner “told WUSA9 that first responders arrived quickly, and luckily no one was injured, but several vehicles were destroyed.” [WUSA9]
More than 4,000 properties in Fairfax City lost electricity in a power outage that affected local traffic signals as well as residents and businesses.
The City of Fairfax Police Department announced at 5:40 p.m. that all traffic signs and signals have now been restored to “normal operations,” though power outages are still affecting homes and businesses.
Reston Association is working to update its capital improvement plan (CIP), which will prioritize facility maintenance, renovation and development projects over the next five years.
In a shift from previous years, projects in the 2025-2029 CIP will be ranked based on criteria identified through the recently adopted strategic plan, last year’s community survey and other sources of feedback, including a study of the condition of existing amenities that started on April 22, staff told the Board of Directors at a work session on May 9.
A Fairfax elementary student might soon see her artwork on Google’s homepage.
Google announced today (Wednesday) that Arya Pribadi, a student at Greenbriar West Elementary School in Chantilly, has been named a finalist in its “Doodle for Google” contest. Her drawing, which depicts a family of four celebrating the COVID-19 vaccine, was selected from tens of thousands of K-12 student submissions nationwide.
The results are in for the McLean Community Center’s 2024 governing board elections.
A total of 1,237 residents of the tax district that funds the community center cast ballots during last week’s McLean Day festival and more than a month of absentee voting to determine the new occupants of six board seats — four for adults and two for youth.
A 38-year-old man from Fairfax was killed in a shooting yesterday (Tuesday) at a gas station on Richmond Highway in Belle Haven, police say.
Officers found Arthur Edward Mann II suffering from a gunshot wound at the Citgo (6241 Richmond Highway) in the Fair Haven neighborhood around 6:07 a.m., according to the Fairfax County Police Department.
Fairfax County is once again chewing on the possibility of a meals tax — and this time, it won’t need a public vote for approval.
The Board of Supervisors voted 9-1 yesterday (Tuesday) to instruct County Executive Bryan Hill and his staff to develop strategies for broadening the county’s revenue sources as it seeks to reduce the growing tax burden on homeowners. One option could be a tax on food and drink sales.
Audit Identifies Metro Safety Issues — “Metro has deployed rail cars that failed operations tests and neglected to follow occupational safety guidelines, according to an audit the transit agency’s regulator released Tuesday. The audit…provides a damning portrait of Metro operations, though it doesn’t suggest the system poses a significant danger to riders.” [Washington Post]
Dulles Greenway Toll Hike Discouraged — “A State Corporation Commission senior hearing examiner recommends the agency deny a proposed toll hike on the Dulles Greenway that would increase the toll to $8.10 during peak hours.” A report found that the toll road operator hadn’t proven that the proposed increases “are reasonable to the user in relation to the benefit obtained.” [Northern Virginia Magazine]
