By MORIAH BALINGIT AP Education Writer
ANNANDALE, Va. (AP) — As lawmakers voted on a budget deal at the U.S. Capitol, a different kind of balloting was taking place a dozen miles away in a sun-filled Virginia preschool classroom. At stake: which animated dog was the best character on the cartoon “PAW Patrol.”
As the heat of summer starts to fade, some Fairfax County churches are refocusing their charitable efforts on the community’s needs for the coming winter.
With support from the Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington, four churches in the county launched a winter coat drive earlier this month with the goal of collecting 10,000 coats for refugees, people experiencing homelessness and other community members in need.
The annual Taste of Annandale street festival is set for this weekend, bringing food, entertainment and community fun to the area.
The festival kicks off Saturday, Sept. 21, from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Eileen Garnett Civic Space (7200 Columbia Pike).
Fairfax County is giving financial boosts to several local startups that are developing technology to improve communications, make agriculture more efficient and more.
The county’s Department of Economic Initiatives (DEI) announced last Thursday (Sept. 5) that it has selected eight companies for the second round of its Fairfax Founders Fund (FFF), which provides up to $50,000 in grant funding and technical assistance to “promising, early-stage startups” that could “disrupt industries” and create new jobs.
A private school that provides special education for students in first through 12th grade is looking to expand in Annandale (7010 Braddock Road).
The school is part of Phillips Programs, a nonprofit that provides education, family support services and advocacy for students with developmental disabilities and behavioral health needs.
A Springfield man has been convicted for his role in a string of mail thefts from the West Springfield Post Office.
Kenshaun Thompson, 26, faces up to 15 years in prison after a federal jury convicted him last Thursday (Aug. 15) of three charges of possessing and receiving stolen mail, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.
Capital Bikeshare’s familiar red stations might soon start popping up in another section of Fairfax County.
The Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) will host a virtual community meeting on Thursday (Aug. 22) at 7 p.m. to share its plans for expanding the rental bicycle program into the Mason and Braddock Districts.
Bonchon Chicken is plotting a comeback in Herndon and Annandale.
The Korean fried chicken chain plans to reopen its Herndon location under different owners, and it has secured a new space in Annandale within the same shopping center where the business saw its previous restaurant destroyed by a fire.
The Fairfax County Park Authority is considering changing up the mix of tennis and pickleball courts at Wakefield Park in Annandale.
The park authority will host a virtual community meeting tomorrow (Tuesday) at 7 p.m. to present a proposal to convert a tennis court into four pickleball courts.
Two teens have been arrested following a shooting in Annandale on Friday (June 28) that killed a 14-year-old and left another teen injured.
Detectives believe the two boys were walking together around the Fairmont Gardens Apartments when a vehicle approached them, and its occupants began shooting, the Fairfax County Police Department said in a news release published last night (Sunday).
