News | FFXnow - Part 406

Fairfax Students Complete Global-Citizenship Training Curriculum

Published June 6, 2024 at 6:00AM

The fourth graduating class of the Global Leaders of Fairfax County program was recognized at a ceremony held May 19 at Woodson High School. A total of 130 Fairfax County high-school seniors successfully completed the program.

Global Leaders of Fairfax County, founded in 2020 by Ryan McElveen (a Fairfax County School Board member) aims to prepare “fellows” to be global citizens and change agents in their local community and the world. Throughout their senior year of high school, fellows have opportunities to engage with leaders from various fields and undertake field trips to civic institutions to advance their understanding of international affairs and global issues.

Some Residents Tree’d Off About VDOT’s Revegetation Proposal

By GazetteLeader

Published June 6, 2024 at 6:00AM

By Brian Trompeter

Approximately 50 acres’ worth of trees have been felled to make way for the I-495 Express Lanes Northern Extension (495 NEXT) project and area residents are keen on making sure the area is properly revegetated after the bulldozers and cement trucks leave.

Many local student/athletes earn $5,000 scholarships

By GazetteLeader

Published June 5, 2024 at 6:00PM | Updated October 1, 2024 at 9:04PM

More than 150 applicants applied the the award

The achievements of area graduating high-school seniors were announced and celebrated the morning of May 21 in the grand ballroom at Springfield Golf & Country Club. There, the Northern Virginia Athletic Directors Administrators and Coaches Association (NVADACA) held its annual awards scholarship breakfast banquet.

JUST IN: Former Fairfax County sheriff’s deputy pleads guilty to smuggling drugs into jail

By Angela Woolsey

Published June 5, 2024 at 5:15PM | Updated June 6, 2024 at 10:48AM

The Fairfax County Adult Detention Center (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

A former deputy with the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) has pleaded guilty in connection to a scheme involving bribes and smuggling contraband, including drugs, into the county jail.

Robert Theodore Sanford Jr., 37, brought cocaine, fentanyl and the opioid addiction-treatment medication Suboxone to an inmate in the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center from December 2022 through May 2023, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Youngkin says Virginia won’t follow California’s clean car standards anymore

By Graham Moomaw / Virginia Mercury

Published June 5, 2024 at 3:30PM

Electric vehicle chargers (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said Wednesday that the state will no longer follow car emissions standards set by California, despite his party’s failure to repeal or roll back a 2021 Democratic law that tied Virginia to those regulations.

The move tees up what could be another legal fight over Republican leaders’ efforts to undo climate change-related measures Democrats passed when they had full control of state government a few years ago.

Fairfax County to push for more communication on gas pipeline projects

By Angela Woolsey

Published June 5, 2024 at 2:30PM

A natural gas-powered stove burner (photo via Kwon Junho on Unsplash)

Fairfax County’s leaders agree that natural gas companies need to communicate more with them and the public on major pipeline projects, but they appear divided on how to make that happen.

At a land use committee meeting on May 14, county staff presented the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors with potential options for regulating “high-pressure” pipelines under local streets. The review was specifically prompted by community opposition to a 2-foot-wide pipeline that Washington Gas plans to build through Pimmit Hills.

Middle school students pitch eco-friendly redesign for Fairfax Circle

By James Jarvis

Published June 5, 2024 at 1:30PM | Updated June 6, 2024 at 12:26PM

Eighth-graders from Katherine Johnson Middle School pose in front of diorama depicting an eco-friendly Fairfax Circle (courtesy City of Fairfax)

A group of Katherine Johnson Middle School students has proposed a new design for Fairfax Circle that they hope will be more environmentally friendly.

Several eighth graders presented their ideas to the Fairfax City Council on May 28 for addressing issues such as flooding, runoff, and pollution, which they argue will help to reduce the city’s impact on surrounding ecosystems, such as the Chesapeake Bay.

Grand opening for Shadowood Pool in Reston slated for this month

By Angela Woolsey

Published June 5, 2024 at 11:30AM

The Reston Association's Shadowood Pool (courtesy Reston Association)

Reston Association will welcome the community back to its Shadowood swimming pool later this month with a grand reopening party.

The celebration on Saturday, June 15 will start with a ribbon-cutting at 10:30 a.m., followed by refreshments, pool games, DJ entertainment and other activities, RA announced yesterday (Tuesday). With six other pools opening that day, this summer is the first since 2019 where all 15 of RA’s aquatics facilities will be operating.

Vienna inches closer to launch of Capital Bikeshare stations

By Angela Woolsey

Published June 5, 2024 at 10:30AM

A Capital Bikeshare station at the West Falls Church Metro station (file photo)

The Town of Vienna may soon be getting its long-planned Capital Bikeshare stations.

During its meeting on May 16, the town’s Board of Architectural Review approved site plans for three rental bicycle docking stations: one at the Vienna Community Center (120 Cherry Street SE), one in the Town Hall parking lot at 127 Center Street South, and one near the entrance to Navy Federal Credit Union’s headquarters at 801 Follin Lane SE.

FCPD targets ‘street takeovers’ with summer crime prevention campaign

By Angela Woolsey

Published June 5, 2024 at 9:30AM

Fairfax County police officers on foot (via FCPD)

The Fairfax County Police Department hopes to slam the brakes on street racing and rowdy car meets, among other issues, with a new summer crime prevention initiative.

The three-month campaign launched yesterday (Tuesday) with an initial focus on “community-based crimes,” particularly the “reckless street takeovers” that have periodically cropped up around the county and activities at bars and other late-night businesses, the FCPD said in a press release.