Around Town

Good Wednesday 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 — Jan 29, 2025.

📅 Upcoming events

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

🌧️ Thursday’s forecast

Clouds will increase throughout the day, reaching a high temperature of around 48 degrees. A light and variable wind will pick up in the morning, becoming southwest at 5 to 7 mph. Thursday night will bring rain, primarily after 1 am, with a low of around 39 degrees. South winds will increase to 6 to 10 mph and there’s an 80% chance of precipitation. Rainfall amounts could range from a tenth to a quarter of an inch. 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.


Sports

With a little more than two weeks remaining in the regular season, there were eight outright first-place leaders through Tuesday (Jan. 28) action in the four different public-school basketball districts in the 6D North Region.

In girls play, the Langley Saxons at 8-0 were among the leaders, atop the Liberty District by two games over the McLean Highlanders.


Sports

Girls wrestling continues growing as a high-school sport in Northern Virginia, and the Langley Saxons recently won the initial Liberty District tournament.

With four individual champions, Langley won with 121.5 points. The Marshall Statesmen were second (102 points), the McLean Highlanders third (58) and the host Herndon Hornets (52) fourth.


News

Police are investigating a shooting in the area near the Worldgate Shopping Center in Herndon.

Officers with the Town of Herndon and Fairfax County police departments were dispatched to the 2100 block of Centreville Road around 2:40 p.m. Wednesday (Jan. 29), though there was some confusion about where exactly the reported shooting occurred.


Event

Local author and Fairfax County Public Library librarian Luis D. Aponte invites parents and community leaders to an empowering discussion inspired by his book “A Safe Place: How to Prevent the Next School Shooting.” Drawing on seven years of research into more than 1,200 U.S. school shooting incidents, he shares practical, nonpartisan, research‑based steps families and schools can use to strengthen safety and emotional well‑being. Discover hopeful, community‑building solutions that help every child feel supported and able to thrive. Attendees receive two free ebooks, with a paperback signing to follow.

Adults. No registration required. Free event. For more information, visit ASafePlaceBook.com.


Countywide

Fairfax County is proposing new zoning regulations for utility substations that could limit where they can be built and impose stricter standards on projects near residential neighborhoods.

The draft amendments, discussed at a Board of Supervisors Land Use Policy Committee meeting on Tuesday (Jan. 28), aim to address community concerns about the noise and industrial appearance of substations, while accommodating the region’s growing energy needs, zoning administrative staff said.


News

Fairfax City hopes to advance its master plan for the 36-acre Van Dyck Park under an updated capital improvement program (CIP) for fiscal years 2026 to 2030.

Laid out in a master plan approved back in 2018, the upgrades at Van Dyck Park (3720 Blenheim Blvd) are the most substantial investment proposed in the CIP, which is heading to the Fairfax City Council after getting the city planning commission’s recommendation on Monday (Jan. 27).


News

The future will bring new services and, potentially, a brand-new facility to Reston Hospital Center.

The hospital opened a new, 8-room unit for patients receiving cancer treatment on Dec. 20, 2024, completing the first phase of an expansion of its oncology program, HCA Virginia Health System announced last Thursday (Jan. 23).


Countywide

It hasn’t taken long for Fairfax County’s own Pat Herrity to become the GOP’s top fundraiser in the lieutenant governor race.

The 64-year-old’s campaign announced more than $200,000 in total contributions within a week of its Jan. 3 launch, handily surpassing the $645.53 raised by Williamsburg businessman John Curran, who was the first Republican to declare his candidacy for Virginia’s second-highest statewide office.