News

Fairfax County is taking a closer look at the older office sites in Tysons to determine whether they might be more suitable now for alternative uses.

The county launched a planning study last week that will evaluate the potential for parcels currently designated as office in the Tysons Comprehensive Plan to support future residential or mixed-use development.


News

Seven years ago, Jonathan “Jack” Ham took his newly earned associate’s degree from Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) and stepped into the next phase of his life.

Then, on Monday morning (May 18), Dr. Ham — just 24 hours removed from having received his medical degree at the University of Virginia — stepped to the stage of EagleBank Arena in Fairfax to inspire NOVA’s Class of 2026.


Around Town

Developer Comstock Companies is taking another shot at bringing a golf-related attraction to Reston Station after its previous attempt fizzled.

The Back Nine Golf, a Utah-based company that offers indoor golf simulators, has signed a lease for 4,500 square feet at 1860 Reston Row Plaza, Comstock announced yesterday.


Countywide
Construction on Route 29 approaching Meadow Estates Drive in Fair Lakes (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Heat Record at Dulles Airport — “Monday brought the heat. Dulles set a record at 95, while DC (93) and Baltimore (95) came close. Not done yet — Tuesday could bring more records with highs in the mid–upper 90s. Scorching through Wednesday.” [Capital Weather Gang/Bluesky]

Increased Traffic Enforcement for Memorial Day — “Officers will conduct increased enforcement efforts throughout the holiday weekend as part of ongoing traffic safety initiatives, including the national ‘Click It or Ticket’ campaign, which continues through the end of May.” Police stressed the importance of safe driving behaviors after a crash in Oakton killed two people who reportedly weren’t wearing seat belts. [FCPD]

Possible Replacement for Closing JCPenney — A site plan submitted to Fairfax County on May 1 identifies Dick’s Sporting Goods as the future occupant of the space at Springfield Town Center that JCPenney is vacating after 53 years on May 24. The application seeks to demolish a 10,208-square-foot addition to the department store and replace it with a running track and synthetic turf field, suggesting the new store could be a Dick’s House of Sport like the one coming to Tysons. [Washington Business Journal]

Job Losses Hitting Unevenly — “Job losses directly and indirectly tied to President Donald Trump’s policies have hit Black workers in the D.C. area the hardest, a new study found.” As of March, the region had about 115,000 fewer jobs than before Trump took office for his second term in January 2025, the Economic Policy Institute says. [WTOP]

Electricity Legislation Signed — “Gov. Abigail Spanberger on Thursday signed legislation that directs regulators to assign electricity costs to data centers and allows Dominion Energy to spend $900,000 a mile burying local distribution lines.” [Inside Climate News]

Reston Contractor Accuses Rival of Poaching Workers — CACI filed a federal lawsuit on May 14 alleging “that T2S LLC of Belcamp, Maryland, recruited at least 20 high-skilled CACI employees in defiance of a non-solicitation pact the companies agreed to while CACI (NYSE: CACI) was assisting T2S on its bid for a $600 million U.S. Army cybersecurity-related contract.” The contractor wants a trial as it seeks to recoup lost profits and legal fees, along with $350,000 in punitive damages. [WBJ]

Boxing Gym Adding Retail Shop — “Z’s Boxing Gym in Annandale is opening a shop selling high-end boxing equipment a couple of doors away. Z’s Boxing Gear will open at 4113 John Marr Drive within the next few weeks, says Monica Zimmerman, the wife of Z’s Boxing Gym owner Eric Zimmerman.” [Annandale Today]

Asian Festival Draws a Crowd — “Morning rain failed to dampen the spirits of the thousands of people who turned out Sunday for the Sixth Annual Asian Festival on Main in the City of Fairfax.” More than 120 vendors, about half of them offering food and drinks, participated in the festival, which has been organized for six years now by the Old Town Fairfax Business Association. [Patch]

It’s Tuesday — Expect a sunny day with a high temperature of around 96°F and a southwest wind blowing at 6 to 10 mph. Tuesday night will be partly cloudy, with temperatures dropping to about 75°F. A south wind will persist at around 10 mph, with gusts reaching up to 20 mph. [NWS]

Want more local news? Check out our newest sister site, WSHnow, with the latest from across the region.


Event

On Sunday, November 15 at 4:00 PM, the St. Andrew the Apostle Concert Series proudly presents The Catholic University of America Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Simeone Tartaglione, for a free afternoon of orchestral masterworks at St. Andrew the Apostle Catholic Church in Clifton.

Program:
• Paul Dukas – The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, best known from Disney’s Fantasia!
• Camille Saint-Saëns – Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor
Soloist: Vasily Popov, cello
• Camille Saint-Saëns – Symphony No. 3 in C minor, “Organ Symphony”
Organist: Michael Murphy


Around Town

Good Monday evening, Fairfax County. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.

🕗 News recap

The following articles were published earlier today — May 18, 2026.

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on Tuesday throughout the county, from our event calendar.

  • No events today. Have one to promote? Submit it to the calendar.

☀️ Tuesday’s forecast

It will be sunny with temperatures reaching a high of 96 degrees, accompanied by a west wind blowing at 5 to 9 mph. In the evening, expect partly cloudy skies with a low of around 75 degrees. The southwest wind will blow at approximately 10 mph, with gusts potentially reaching 20 mph. See more from Weather.gov.

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

The MonumentCam screenshot above is used with permission of the Trust for the National Mall and courtesy of EarthCam.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.


Around Town

Reston’s own water park is suiting up for a new season, just in time to provide relief from a blast of summer heat.

The Water Mine Family Swimmin’ Hole will reopen for 2026 at 11 a.m. this Saturday, May 23 at Lake Fairfax Park (1400 Lake Fairfax Drive), giving local families an aquatic escape for Memorial Day weekend.


News

The Fairfax City Council recently approved an updated waste management plan that it says is needed due to projections that landfills across Virginia may reach capacity in less than 20 years, a rising population, and soaring costs for disposing of municipal waste.

Council members unanimously voted May 12 to accept the 87-page plan with 54 actions planned across two decades. The plan emphasizes developing effective government systems; education and outreach to city residents; reducing waste overall and emphasizing reuse; increasing the amount and quality of items recycled; and resource recovery for food and yard waste.


Countywide

As soon as Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) signed one of the more polarizing gun safety bills from the 2026 General Assembly session — a ban on assault-style firearms — the Fairfax-based National Rifle Association vowed to fight the ban with a lawsuit.

The pair of bills from state Sen. Saddam Azlan Salim (D-37) and Del. Dan Helmer (D-10), who represent parts of Fairfax County, will ban the sale and manufacture of “assault firearms” and magazines with the capacity of more than 15 rounds. The legislation provides exemptions to guns owned before the law becomes effective on July 1, 2026 but will ban new purchases starting on that date.


News

The Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) has embarked on a new round of community engagement in its Envision Route 7 effort to upgrade transit options.

NVTC has opened an online feedback form, asking a host of questions about how bus riders in the Route 7 corridor between Seven Corners and Alexandria’s Mark Center/Southern Towers areas currently interact with the system, and what they would like to see in the future.