Countywide
A sign warns people to keep off a power lines tower by the W&OD Trail in Vienna (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Metro Plans Holiday Rail Closures — “If you’re planning on taking Metro over the holiday season, you might want to plan ahead for some scheduled track construction that could cause delays. Metro will close several stations on the Blue, Orange and Silver lines starting Friday, Dec. 20.” [WTOP]

Gov. Proposes Ending State Taxes on Tips — Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin says eliminating state taxes on tipped employees will be a “foundational piece” of his proposed budget. The move could provide tax relief to “an estimated 250,000 people working in food service and hospitality,” but some worry it will lead employers to shift “more of a worker’s compensation to tips rather than wages.” [Virginia Mercury]

Vienna to Allow Accessory Living Units — The Vienna Town Council signaled on Dec. 9 that it will adopt a measure to allow accessory living units for the first time “in areas zoned for single-unit detached homes, which are RS-16, RS-12.5 and RS-10. Accessory living units may often be referred to as in-law suite or granny suite, as they may accommodate relatives, caregivers and sometimes renters.” [Patch]

Panel Highlights Route 1 Development Potential — Developers recently got an update on revitalization efforts and opportunities in the Richmond Highway corridor. “The ‘Spotlight on Richmond Highway’ event, held Dec. 10 at the Belle Haven Country Club, was the first time since 2016 that the corridor was highlighted for members of NAIOP Northern Virginia.” [On the MoVe]

Boutique Gift Shop Opens in Vienna — “Nutcrackers, gingerbread houses, and sweet pink Christmas trees are nestled amid jewelry, stuffed animals, and cozy winter hats in Vienna’s new boutique gift shop, Cherry Lane. Sarah Randall opened her shop at 115 Church St. NW just in time for the holidays, following a year of preparation.” [Northern Virginia Magazine]

Bitcoin-Happy Tysons Company to Join Nasdaq — “MicroStrategy shares briefly surged on Monday before faltering to end nearly unchanged, after the software company and bitcoin stockpiler was selected to join the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index, further brightening the prospects of the stock.” [Reuters/Yahoo Finance]

County to Consider New Sites for Land Use Changes Next Year — “The nomination process for site-specific plan amendments to Fairfax County’s Comprehensive Plan will start Jan. 13 and run through Feb. 13. The Comprehensive Plan is the guiding document for land use and development decisions and sets forth the community’s vision for the future.” [Annandale Today]

It’s Tuesday — Patchy fog will make way for an initially cloudy morning that will turn sunny with a high around 62. Southwest winds at 6-9 mph shift to the northwest in the afternoon. At night, the sky will be partly cloudy, and the temperature will drop to around 37. [NWS]


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 — Dec 16, 2024.

📅 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

Patchy fog is expected to clear by 8am, leading to mostly cloudy conditions that will gradually become sunnier later in the day, with temperatures reaching around 61 degrees. Winds will shift from southwest at 6 to 9 mph to northwest in the afternoon. Tonight, skies will remain mostly clear with a low of around 37 degrees, and a northwest wind transitioning to a calm state in the evening. 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 annual girls and boys neighborhood varsity basketball doubleheader between the Madison Warhawks and Marshall Statesmen didn’t provide much suspense this year.

The host Warhawks swept the high-school games by comfortable margins the night of Dec. 13. In front of a large crowd, including loud-cheering student sections, the Madison girls won the opener in Vienna, 45-29, and the boys took the nightcap 55-43.


Sports

The Madison Warhawks’ football season unfolded pretty much as the squad’s head coach had envisioned back when practice for the 2024 high-school campaign began in August.

Back then, coach Justin Counts said the team’s defense, with more experienced players, would have to carry the Madison load and lead the way during the early going while a less-experienced offense developed.


News

A driver was killed in a multi-vehicle crash on I-95 near Lorton that brought the northbound lanes to a standstill this afternoon (Monday).

According to the Virginia State Police, two drivers were traveling “at a high rate of speed” around 1 p.m. when one of them — the driver of a 2013 BMW 650I convertible — changed lanes and hit a third vehicle, a 2020 Mercedes E-Class near the 163-mile marker south of Lorton Road.


News

A Herndon man already charged with murder in connection with the killings of his wife and another man in their home is now facing new charges.

A grand jury indicted Brendan Banfield, 39, on one count of felony child abuse and neglect and one count of felony child cruelty for his actions on Feb. 24, 2023, Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano announced today (Monday).


Countywide

Fairfax County’s plastic bag tax has pulled in more than $6 million in revenue and taken an estimated 3 million plastic bags out of circulation nearly two years after it was enacted, county officials say.

“There are 3 million fewer plastic bags in circulation in Fairfax County since the bag tax was enacted, which 100% shows the intention is working,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said during an environmental committee meeting last Tuesday (Dec. 10).


News

Federal prosecutors have charged a travel agent accused of orchestrating a Ponzi scheme and ultimately defrauding the George Mason University men’s basketball team earlier this year.

Maurice Eugene Smith, 44, of Atlanta is believed to have used the nearly $160,000 paid by the school to cover his personal expenses instead of booking the team’s anticipated trip to the Bahamas, according to court records.


Countywide

A number of regional leaders are pushing back on the incoming Trump administration’s goal of having federal workers quickly return to offices five days a week.

Despite concerns about the impact of work-from-home patterns on local transit and the commercial office sector, requiring federal workers to be back in the office full-time brought concerns from speakers at a recent Dulles Area Transportation Association (DATA) forum.