Around Town

The Virginia Native American Festival is set to return to Riverbend Park (8700 Potomac Hills Street) in Great Falls for its 24th year.

Scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 14 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the annual celebration of Native American cultures and traditions has been a staple in the county since 1997. However, it was put on hold for a couple of years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


Countywide
A Lime e-scooter parked on the sidewalk in Fairfax City (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Construction Begins on Pickleball Facility — “Construction has started on the Down the Line indoor pickleball center in the long-vacant Kid’s Choice building. The facility, at 4317 Ravensworth Road, Annandale, will have 18 full-size pickleball courts, seven state-of-the-art golf simulators, and a sports bar, says developer Jenni Bae. She anticipates opening in 2025.” [Annandale Today]

Poll Shows Support for Nonpartisan Fairfax City Elections — “Fairfax Commonsense PAC, a political action committee formed in 2021 by former Democratic State Sen. Chap Petersen, commissioned the poll to determine how much support there was for the city to continue its tradition of nonpartisan elections.” Most respondents (67%) said city elections should stay nonpartisan. [Patch]

Lawmakers Divided Over Dulles Greenway’s Future — “Greenway critics, including former Republican state delegate David Ramadan and current Democratic state Sen. Suhas Subramanyam (D-Loudoun), now want to push the SCC to force Greenway tolls down and ideally force its owners to sell the road to the commonwealth.” [Washington Post]

Tysons Play Among D.C. Theatre Week Options — “Theatre Week brings shows by more than DC-area companies under their umbrella with discounted prices” from Sept. 26 through Oct. 13. Ticket sales began yesterday (Monday), including “The Waverly Gallery” from the Tysons-based company 1st Stage. [Northern Virginia Magazine]

Flooring Stores Might Stay Open After All — “Richmond, Virginia-based LL Flooring, the former Lumber Liquidators, which announced plans to liquidate and close all stores last week, has agreed to a last minute deal that will save thousands of jobs and keep hundreds of its stores open.” The private equity firm F9 Investments will buy 219 stores, their inventory and a distribution center. [WTOP]

Sculpture Exhibition Coming to McLean — “The McLean Project for the Arts (MPA) and Washington Sculpture Group are collaborating on the upcoming ‘Sculpture NOW 2024’ exhibition, to be held Sept. 12 to Oct. 26″ inside the McLean Community Center.” The exhibit will feature works finished within the past two years by over 60 sculptors. [Gazette Leader]

Oktoberfest Celebrations Along Richmond Highway –“In two weeks, the 189th Oktoberfest kicks off in Munich, Germany. Around the Richmond Highway Corridor meanwhile, preparations are underway for several local celebrations. Following are some details on the festivities, listed in order by date.” [On the MoVe]

It’s Tuesday — Expect sunshine and a high temperature close to 85 degrees. Night will be mostly clear with a low temperature near 59 degrees; the northeast wind at approximately 5 mph will become calm during the evening. [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 — Sep 9, 2024.

📅 Upcoming events

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

☀️ Tuesday’s forecast

Expect a sunny day with a high temperature of around 82 degrees and a northwest wind at approximately 7 mph. As for Tuesday night, the sky will be mostly clear with a low temperature near 58 degrees. There will be a northeast wind of around 5 mph which will become calm as the evening progresses. 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.


Countywide

Fairfax County school officials fear Virginia’s new accreditation system could disproportionately harm schools with large populations of English learners and students with disabilities.

Adopted last month by the Virginia Board of Education, the School Performance and Support Framework places more weight on standardized test scores and graduation rates — a move state officials argue will hold schools to higher educational standards and improve accountability.


News

The former Fairfax County Police Department officer who fatally shot a D.C. man suspected of shoplifting two pairs of sunglasses from Nordstrom at Tysons Corner Center might not face a trial after all.

Defense attorneys for Wesley Shifflett filed a motion in Fairfax County Circuit Court on Friday (Sept. 6) seeking to “quash” the grand jury indictment that charged the former police sergeant with involuntary manslaughter and reckless discharge of a firearm for killing Timothy Johnson on Feb. 22, 2023.


Around Town

An annual fundraiser supporting Special Olympics Virginia is set to return to Dulles International Airport next week.

The 32nd annual Dulles Day is scheduled to be held Saturday, September 14. Entry to the event is free, but visitors can participate in a variety of activities with a donation.


Countywide

Fairfax County let loose its archery program aimed at controlling the local white-tailed deer population this past Saturday (Sept. 7). 

The Fairfax County Deer Management Archery Program allows qualified bowhunters to hunt deer in areas where firearm use is restricted or not an effective or sustainable method. The program started in 2010 to minimize the impacts of an overabundance of deer. 


Around Town

A sweet staple at Lake Anne Plaza is set to close its doors later this month.

Chesapeake Chocolates announced last Tuesday (Sept. 3) that it will shutter at the end of September after 17 years in Reston at 11426 Washington Plaza West.


News

Fairfax County police have identified a man who allegedly exposed himself in public at two different Tysons shopping centers.

The 22-year-old McLean resident was arrested last Tuesday (Sept. 3) for reportedly “exposing himself and attempting to touch customers inappropriately” in Tysons West (1500 Cornerside Blvd) earlier that day, the Fairfax County Police Department said on Friday (Sept. 6).