Traffic on South Lakes Drive outside South Lakes High School in Reston on Aug. 24, 2026 (courtesy Hunter Mill District School Board Representative Melanie Meren's office)
Reston Association’s Board of Directors is tentatively wading into the growing furor over Fairfax County’s elimination of crossing guards at public high schools.
Citing media reports, videos on social media and personal observations of harrowing traffic around South Lakes High School, RA Board President Travis Johnson suggested drafting a letter to Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay sharing parents’ safety concerns and supporting a restoration of funding for high school crossing guards.
A Fairfax Connector bus on International Drive at Chain Bridge Road in Tysons (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)
Some Fairfax Connector riders may now be able to ride free, thanks to help from new state funding, the county bus system announced last Thursday (Aug. 27).
The Connector will offer a new Transit Ridership Incentive Program, called TRIP100, offering 100% off fares to eligible riders, up from the 50% discount previously provided.
FAZ Creative Education Learning Center in Tysons (via Google Maps)
An Alexandria woman has been charged with assault after allegedly hitting two children at the Tysons daycare center where she was teaching.
Detectives went to the FAZ Creative Education Learning Center at 1776 Old Meadow Road last Thursday (Aug. 27) after receiving a report of an assault, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.
A goldfinch perches on a branch, silhouetted against a blue sky with clouds in Vienna (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)
N. Va. Residents Missing After Nepal Floods — PKP Tender Hearts Foundation, a service organization that assists the D.C. region’s Nepali community, is raising funds to support rescue missions in Nepal, where nearly 2,500 people remain missing after flash floods and mudslides last week. Those unaccounted for include “at least 10 Northern Virginia hikers who were visiting Nepal as a part of a group trip.” [NBC4]
Power Outages a Recurring Issue for FCPS — “The strain on Northern Virginia’s electrical grid is now being seen – and felt – inside some of the region’s schools. Ten different public schools in Fairfax County lost power [on Aug. 23], hours before the first day of school, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid said.” Dominion Energy said in a statement that it had no record of those outages. [NBC4]
Park Service Backs Trump Arch — “A new National Park Service report backs President Donald Trump’s proposed arch, despite what it says are adverse effects to the sightline between a host of iconic landmarks in Washington, including the Washington Monument and Lincoln and Jefferson memorials.” [Associated Press/ARLnow]
How ICE Has Affected Region’s Schools — Students, school administrators, workers and nonprofit leaders share how the impacts of the Trump administration’s “historic deportation push” have “also rippled across aspects of education — from a drop in multilingual students to a rise in absenteeism; from shifting school funding to a loss of immigrant school bus drivers.” [NBC4]
Anti-Abortion Advocates Poised to Challenge Referendum — “A legal challenge to amend the ballot language for Virginia’s pending reproductive rights constitutional amendment has been in limbo since June. Even if no movement on the case happens before Election Day, counsel for the plaintiffs said this week, they will seek to invalidate the vote.” [Virginia Mercury]
Reston Eye Doctor in Fashion Contest — Fairfax resident Dawn Devaney, a “55-year-old optometrist and former owner of The Eyewear Gallery at Reston Town Center[,] is competing in Next Runway Star, a national contest whose winner will receive $20,000 and an opportunity to walk in a show during New York Fashion Week.” [Patch]
A Look at Metro’s Customer Service Team — “Commuters complain about everything … But for the customer service team at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, it doesn’t matter what passengers are bemoaning. It’s their job to respond; they try to address every complaint.” [Washington Post]
Reston Community Center Head Shares Journey — “When BeBe Nguyen arrived in the United States in the early 1980s as part of the exodus following the Vietnam War, her family initially settled in Silver Spring, Maryland … More than four decades later, Nguyen is leading Reston Community Center, an organization she joined in 2007.” [Patch]
New Legal Notice — Restaurant seeks ABC beer/wine on and off premises license. [Public Notices]
It’s Monday — Expect mostly sunny skies with a high of around 92°F and a light wind from the northwest. Monday night will be partly cloudy, with temperatures dropping to about 75°F. Winds from the southeast at 5 mph will become calm in the evening. [NWS]
Daryl Washington honored by the Board of Supervisors on Aug. 25, 2026 (courtesy Fairfax County)
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday (Aug. 25) saluted the work of Daryl Washington, who earlier this year stepped down as executive director of the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board (CSB) to accept a state government position.
Washington spent 30 years at the CSB, rising through the ranks to become executive director in 2018.
Hunter Mill District Planning Commissioner John Carter announces his retirement at the commission's July 22, 2026 meeting (via Fairfax County)
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday (Aug. 25) paid formal tribute to John Carter, who recently retired as Hunter Mill District’s representative on the Planning Commission, and named his successor on the panel.
Carter, who served on the body for nine years, departed the post on Aug. 31.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has approved a comprehensive plan amendment allowing mixed-use development at Lake Fairfax Business Park in Reston (via Fairfax County staff report)
After a public hearing on Tuesday (Aug. 25), the Board of Supervisors approved an amendment to its comprehensive plan to allow up to 1,250 residential units with supporting retail on the commercial property at 1780 Business Center Drive.
New wayfinding sign at the McLean Metro station near Capital One Center (courtesy Tysons Community Alliance)
Pedestrians in Tysons still have to contend with heavy traffic on routes 123 and 7, but a few changes recently implemented by the Tysons Community Alliance (TCA) will hopefully make parts of the urban center easier to navigate.
Last week, the community improvement organization announced that it has completed a redesign of the Westwood Center Drive and Cornerside Blvd intersection near the Tysons West shopping center, adding a crosswalk, sidewalk, painted road median and other improvements.
An Amazon data center in Sterling, seen from Route 28 (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)
Politicians are scrambling nationally to address growing public concern over data centers, and in Northern Virginia, where many local elected leaders will be on the ballot in 2027, the issue is proving a delicate balancing act.
Fairfax County residents expect “fair rules of engagement” when it comes to addressing the impacts of data centers, Board of Supervisors Chair Jeff McKay said at the 11th annual Northern Virginia Regional Elected Leaders Summit, held on Wednesday (Aug. 26) in Arlington.
Barber and Men's Spa in Reston (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)
An individual who passed through Reston earlier this month might have exposed community members to measles, the Virginia Department of Health says.
The VDH was notified yesterday (Thursday) that a resident of another state with a confirmed measles case had traveled through Northern Virginia while infections on Aug. 16.
