Commuting will be easier for four families in the D.C. area, thanks to their new vehicles from a quartet of Virginia and Maryland automobile dealerships.

The businesses handed off the donated vehicles to their recipients — all single mothers — with a ceremony on March 18 at the National Automobile Dealers Association’s (NADA) headquarters (8484 Westpark Drive) in Tysons.


(Updated at 4:10 p.m.) It has not been a great week for plans to bring professional sports teams to Northern Virginia.

Just a day after negotiations for a Washington Wizards and Capitals arena in Alexandria officially fell through, George Mason University has announced that it’s no longer planning to build a joint baseball and cricket stadium in Fairfax for the Washington Freedom.


The deal to bring the Washington Capitals and Wizards to Alexandria’s Potomac Yard is officially dead, and the developer says suggestions that an arena could be built in Tysons instead were the final nail in the coffin.

Alexandria City officials revealed yesterday (Wednesday) that they had ended negotiations with developer JBG Smith, Wizards and Capitals owner Monumental Sports & Entertainment, and other stakeholders for a stadium in the proposed Potomac Yard Entertainment District. About an hour later, Monumental owner Ted Leonsis and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that the two professional sports teams will stay at Capital One Arena in Chinatown after all.


Fox Mill Road will be closed at the beginning of next month to allow for a pipe replacement.

Virginia Department of Transportation crews are replacing a drainage pipe, prompting the closure between Pinecrest Road and John Milton Drive in Herndon on Monday, April 1 from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.


After years of enjoying the homey Italian cuisine served at Esposito’s Fairfax, Colleen Lester and her family decided the time had come to give back to the woman behind the restaurant.

So, when they learned that Esposito’s would close for good on March 10, ending a 42-year run in Fairfax City, Lester created an online fundraiser to support owner Maria Esposito. The campaign has now raised $4,100 out of a $20,000 goal, as of press time.


N. Va. Sees Rise in Home Sales — “The number of home sales in Northern Virginia rose 2.2% compared to a year earlier, the first year-over-year increase since November 2021. That is in contrast to the national housing market, which saw sales fall 3.3%. Northern Virginia also saw a dramatic increase in home sales from the previous month, up 32%.” [WTOP]

Governor Vetoes Gun Safety Bills — “Gov. Glenn Youngkin has vetoed an assault weapons ban and a slate of other gun-control bills passed by the Virginia General Assembly, but he signed a pair of…measures into law: One bans a device that turns a semiautomatic firearm into a machine gun, and the other allows a parent or guardian to be charged with a felony for allowing a child who has been deemed a threat to have access to a gun.” [Washington Post]


By Brian Trompeter

Citing waiting periods of weeks, months and occasionally more than one year for popular Fairfax County Public Library items, Supervisor Walter Alcorn (D-Hunter Mill) asked his Board of Supervisors colleagues on March 19 to consider a one-time expenditure of $500,000 to bolster the library system’s book-collection budget.


Member jurisdictions will be asked to chip in $5.26 per resident over the coming year to help fund the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority’s fiscal 2025 budget.

But the agency – also known as NOVA Parks – plans to recoup nearly 90 percent of its overall costs through fees charged for use of same facilities and services (such as pools, golf courses, batting cages and snack bars) rather than from tax subsidies.


View More Stories