When Nadir Naimi talks about his new restaurant Sheeba, the words “authenticity” and “customer experience” frequently crop up.
The first franchise of a growing, family-owned chain to open outside its home state of Michigan, the Yemeni eatery served dinner to its inaugural patrons in Vienna at 111 Church Street NW last Friday (Aug. 21).
Va. Seeks to Fill SNAP and Medicaid Gaps — “The General Assembly set aside more than $500 million in the 2026-2028 biennial budget to cover new administrative costs and cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.” Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed an executive order Tuesday (Aug. 25) focused on mitigating the impact of the federal spending cuts but “acknowledged that the state will not be able to absorb the full cost.” [Cardinal News]
Flags Lowered for Dolly Parton — “Gov. Abigail Spanberger has ordered all state and local flags to fly at half-staff to honor the memory of country music icon Dolly Parton. Parton died Tuesday at the age of 80.” Her publicist said she passed away after “a brief battle with cancer.” [Inside NoVA]
Two-Way I-95 Toll Lane Study Underway — “News4 has learned that a study is now underway to transform the I-95 express lanes into a two-way operation at all times instead of just the one direction the lanes go in now. There could also be another expansion of those express lanes south past Fredericksburg.” [NBC4]
Legislators Concerned by License Plate Readers — “License plate readers are being used by many governments and law enforcement agencies. But details about the data are secret … Senator [Danica] Roem and Delegate [Irene] Shin both say they would like to see members of the General Assembly allow for more transparency when they gavel into session in January.” [WVTF]
County Adds AI Chatbot to Website — “Our new ‘Ask Fairfax’ Generative AI chatbot is designed to help you quickly find information across fairfaxcounty.gov … It’s similar in style to tools like Copilot, ChatGPT and Claude, but focused exclusively on county information so you can get answers from trusted sources.” [Fairfax County Government]
SOL Scores Tick Up — “Virginia students continued to make progress in reading and math last school year, posting gains that moved them closer to pre-pandemic performance levels, the Virginia Department of Education announced Tuesday.” [Virginia Mercury]
Asphalt Plant Proposed in Springfield Area — “Vulcan Materials Co. is proposing to add an asphalt plant to its Edsall concrete production facility on Industrial Drive in the Springfield area of Mason District. The company plans to file an application with the county within the next few days.” [Annandale Today]
Jeff Goldblum Headlines GMU Arts Lineup — “Actor and jazz pianist Jeff Goldblum will headline a fall performing arts lineup at George Mason University that also includes international dance and vocal groups, two major orchestras and student productions. Goldblum and The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra will perform Oct. 3 during the 21st annual ARTS by George! benefit at the Center for the Arts.” [Patch]
It’s Thursday — Expect mostly sunny skies and a high near 90, though there’s a 30% chance of rain, mainly after 2pm. At night, there’s a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms, especially before midnight, with a low around 69. The sky will be mostly cloudy, and winds will become calm. [NWS]
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Good Wednesday evening, Fairfax County. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.
The following articles were published earlier today — Aug 26, 2026.
Here is what’s going on Thursday throughout the county, from our event calendar.
Showers and thunderstorms are possible this afternoon, with a 40% chance, and a high nearing 90°F with mostly sunny skies. Winds from the south will be around 7 to 9 mph. Tonight, showers and thunderstorms may occur before midnight, followed by patchy fog and mostly cloudy conditions, with a low around 68°F. Winds will calm from the south at 6 mph. There’s a 50% chance of precipitation. See more from Weather.gov.
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.
Join artist Nora Naranjo Morse (Kha’p’o Owenge ([Santa Clara Pueblo]), creator of Always Becoming, and the community that cares for the museum’s ephemeral outdoor sculpture family, to learn about the project’s evolution over the past two decades, and what the future holds.
Learn about the art of clay, traditions of sustainability in Pueblo building techniques, and more. Visitors can enjoy family-friendly art activities, dance performances by the Zuni Olla Maidens, watch a short film, and multiple opportunities to hear from the artist, her family, and museum experts that have contributed to the care and revitalization of the sculptures.
A driver was taken to a hospital earlier this afternoon (Wednesday) after crashing into a tree on Route 123 (Dolley Madison Blvd) in McLean during rush hour.
Police officers and Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department personnel were dispatched at around 3:51 p.m. for the single-vehicle crash at the intersection of Dolley Madison and Mayflower Drive.
BrownTown returns to the DC Improv with headliner Nina Kharoufeh; also featuring Badar Tareen, Yasmin Elhady, Mahmoud Jaber, and Mike Kurtz. Come for stand-up, stay for a civil-rights lawyer grilling a white comedian about race. Every show has sold out—get tix now!
Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis suggested today (Aug. 26) that the man who last month apparently tried to grab an officer’s gun during a mental health crisis may have been attempting “suicide by police.”
Davis’ remarks came at a press conference during which the Fairfax County Police Department released roughly three minutes of body camera footage depicting the officer searching for and ultimately shooting the man, who had fled into the woods near Americana Drive in Annandale on July 28.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday (Aug. 25) paused to honor the legacy of former state Sen. Janet Howell (D-32), who died Aug. 2 at age 82.
“She was an institution,” Board Chair Jeff McKay said. “She spent three decades serving the residents of Fairfax County in many ways.”
An oversized vehicle will be heading north through Fairfax County this evening (Wednesday), contributing to what are expected to be “significant travel delays,” the Virginia Department of Transportation warns.
The “oversize load” is scheduled to travel through Virginia on I-77 North, I-81 North, I-66 East and the northbound lanes of the Capital Beltway (I-495) as it heads from North Carolina to Maryland between 7 p.m. today and 5 a.m. tomorrow morning (Thursday).
A new grocery store appears to have been secured for Reston’s Plaza America.
The German discount chain Lidl has “just signed” a lease for the former Whole Foods Market space at 11660 Plaza America Drive, according to a site plan recently updated by CBRE, the retail broker for the shopping center.
Meta has agreed to pay $17 billion and add child-safety measures to its Facebook and Instagram platforms to end a landmark trial over teen social media addiction and settle claims filed by 47 states, state attorneys general announced today (Wednesday).
The agreement guarantees $353 million for Virginia alone, making it one of the largest consumer protection settlements in state history outside of settlements with tobacco companies in the 1990s, Attorney General Jay Jones said in a statement.
