Countywide

With ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence-based tools becoming increasingly mainstream, Fairfax County Public Schools officials have started discussing potential guidelines to govern how the technology is used in the classroom.

The Fairfax County School Board broached the topic at work session forum on Nov. 28, led by outgoing board chair and Dranesville District representative Elaine Tholen and Sully District representative Stella Pekarsky.


News

Fairfax County is making progress on a stream restoration project at Lamplighter Way in Reston after receiving the needed land rights to move ahead with designing the project.

The project was identified by the county’s management plan for the Difficult Run watershed and a nomination by Reston Association, which owns the land.


Around Town

The Red Bird has landed in Vienna.

The hot chicken chain’s first Northern Virginia franchise is in the midst of a soft opening at 282 Cedar Lane in the Cedar Park Shopping Center, where it has replaced the McDonald’s that closed in 2022. The location is currently open daily from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., according to Instagram posts.


Countywide

At the halfway point of his administration, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin unveiled a budget proposal that calls for significant income tax cuts, increases in state sales and use tax — and a push to get rid of the car tax, which the Republican called “the single most hated tax” in Virginia.

“The car tax belongs in the trash can and not in your mailbox,” he said.


Event

In its 14th year of production, Skye Ballet Center presents The Nutcracker. The absolutely gorgeous ballet will take place on Saturday, November 28th at 2 pm and 6 pm. Join us to a wonderful start to the holiday season!!

SBC Nutcracker
South Lakes High School
2:00 and 6:00 pm


Countywide

Report Recommends Options for Closing Metro Funding Gap — “The report, issued Tuesday by a working group of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, suggests boosting local jurisdictions’ collective subsidies to Metro by as much as $462 million, plus various additional compromise measures.” Suggestions include fare increases and “targeted service reductions” that could be less drastic than the partial Silver Line closure proposed by WMATA. [Washington Business Journal]

Three Arrested for Theft and Fraud at Tysons Clothing Store — “The Tysons Urban Team (TUT) detectives arrested a crew believed to be responsible for multiple fraudulent transactions and recovered property belonging to U.S. Postal Service (USPS). At 2:14 p.m. on December 15, detectives responded to the Diesel store in the McLean area for a suspicious person call. A store employee recognized several suspects from a fraudulent purchase that was made a few weeks prior.” [FCPD]


News

After falling below $1 million in September for the first time since last winter, the average sales price of single-family homes across Fairfax County was back in seven-digit territory two months running and stands at its highest point in four months.

That’s according to new data reported by MarketStats by ShowingTime based on listing activity from Bright MLS, as analyzed by the GazetteLeader.


News

The key issue of Northern Virginia’s 2024 real-estate market could be the same as that of 2023 and 2022 before it – a lack of inventory that will bedeviled prospective purchasers.

“How low can it go? We expect inventories are going to get even tighter. Maybe another 20, 25 percent,” said Terry Clower, director of the George Mason University Center for Regional Analysis, during a 2024 real-estate preview hosted Dec. 13 by the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors.