News

A resident was transported to a hospital with life-threatening injuries from a house fire in the West Falls Church area early this morning (Friday).

Fairfax County Fire and Rescue units were dispatched to the 2900 block of Lawrence Drive around 1:42 a.m. Upon arriving at the small, single-family home, firefighters reported that “heavy” fire was visible, and they were told someone was still inside, according to scanner traffic.


Countywide

Fairfax County’s top Republican policymaker is entering the race for lieutenant governor.

Pat Herrity, who has represented the Springfield District on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors for more than 15 years, formally announced his candidacy for the office this morning (Friday).


Countywide

Though a flurry of flakes rushed through the area in late November, this weekend could bring D.C. area’s first serious snowfall of the season.

The National Weather Service is currently predicting a 70% chance of precipitation today (Friday), with rain likely turning into snow mixed with rain after 3 p.m. Less than half an inch of snow is expected.


Countywide
Geese on a lake in Fairview Park (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Events to Look Forward to in 2025 — “Northern Virginians have so much to look forward to, from the return of the giant pandas to celebrating 50 years of Kings Dominion to so many new openings. You won’t want to miss any of these 25 events and attractions in 2025.” [Northern Virginia Magazine]

Legislator to Preview General Assembly Session — State Del. Holly Seibold, “who represents Virginia’s 12th House District, including Vienna, Tysons and some adjacent parts of Fairfax County, will preview the upcoming state legislative session” at Patrick Henry Library in Vienna tomorrow (Saturday) at 12:30 p.m. The county’s General Assembly delegation will also hold a public hearing at 9 a.m. [Fairfax County Public Library]

Bill Would Require Political Ads to Disclose A.I. Use — “Virginia State Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax County, already pre-filed a bill before the General Assembly convenes in January that would require political ads to disclose the use of AI. The content can mislead voters by distorting reality, such as deepfake robocalls generated in New Hampshire that sounded like President Joe Biden.” [WUSA9]

Retiring Rep. Wexton Seeks to Raise Awareness of Disease — “In January, Wexton will retire from the House of Representatives, where she has served since 2019. Yet the manner in which she’s making her exit is atypical. Many diagnosed with PSP retreat from the world … But Wexton has chosen to fight, using her platform to bring attention to the disease and working to pass legislation to fund potential new treatments for it and other brain disorders.” [Washingtonian]

Lottery Ticket Bought in Herndon Among $1M Winners — “Five lottery winners have scored a million-dollar prize in Virginia’s New Year’s Millionaire Raffle, including two in Northern Virginia.” One of the winning raffle tickets was sold by the McNair Farms Sunoco at 13470 Coppermine Road in Herndon. [Patch]

Vegetarian Indian Restaurant Coming to Chantilly — “It looks like a vegetarian restaurant chain is expanding into Northern Virginia. It’s called Saravanaa Bhavan and it specializes in meat-free dishes from southern India … Saravanaa Bhavan has taken a roughly 4,800 s.f. space in the Chantilly Crossing shopping center.” [The Burn]

Volunteers Invited to Help Package Oatmeal — “The Rotary Club of Bailey’s Crossroads, the Arlington Moose Lodge, and the Bailey’s Crossroads Lions Club invite community members to take part in an oatmeal packaging event on Jan. 4. Volunteers will assemble 18,000 servings of fortified oatmeal to help low-income people get through the cold winter months.” [Annandale Today]

It’s Friday — Expect rain and snow showers after 1pm, with mostly cloudy skies, a high near 42, and southwest winds of 5-11 mph, gusting up to 18 mph. There’s a 50% chance of precipitation. For Friday night, there’s a 20% chance of snow showers before 10pm, clearing up to mostly clear skies and a low of 25. [NWS]


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.


Around Town

Good Thursday 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 2, 2025.

📅 Upcoming events

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

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

❄️ Friday’s forecast

Expect snow showers that may mix with rain after 1pm, accompanied by mostly cloudy skies and a high near 42. A southwest wind will blow at 6 to 13 mph, gusting up to 20 mph, and there’s a 60% chance of precipitation. Less than half an inch of new snow may accumulate. Friday night will be mostly clear, with a low of 24 and northwest winds ranging from 15 to 17 mph and gusting up to 28 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.


Sports

The West Springfield Spartans continued their strong start to the wrestling season with a second victory at a big invitational high-school meet.

The squad’s most recent title came at the 58-team Battle at the Bridge event Dec. 27-28 at Woodbridge High School. The Spartans won with 228 points, having seven wrestlers finish in the top eight.


Countywide

A new report says Fairfax County leaders need to work on better determining the county’s deer population, explaining the need for deer management to the public and recruiting volunteers for deer-culling efforts.

Those are some of the suggestions made to the Board of Supervisors by the Fairfax County Environmental Quality Advisory Council (EQAC) in its 134-page annual report for 2024.


News

A Maryland man is facing felony charges after an apparent traffic argument escalated into a hit-and-run crash in Tysons that sent a pedestrian to the hospital.

Police officers were dispatched to the 1900 block of Chain Bridge Road at 4:28 p.m. on Dec. 23 for the crash, which reportedly occurred outside the American Girl store at Tysons Corner Center, according to scanner traffic.