During the new school year, which kicks off Monday (Aug. 19), students at select Fairfax County middle and high schools will be required to hand in their phones in order to turn up their focus.
Starting Sept. 3, Fairfax County Public Schools will begin rolling out a new phone-free pilot program, requiring middle and high school students to secure their cell phones in magnetically sealed pouches or lockers during class to reduce distractions.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s recent executive order to limit phone use in Virginia schools may align with a new pilot program being considered by Fairfax County Public Schools.
Signed Wednesday (July 10), the executive order directs the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) to gather feedback from parents, teachers, and administrators to create guidelines for enforcing “cell-phone-free” classrooms in public schools.
Fairfax County Public Schools is considering a pilot program this fall that would require students to hand over their cell phones during class.
Earlier this month, the Fairfax County School Board directed Superintendent Michelle Reid to develop a plan for students to secure their phones in lockers, magnetic pouches or similar central storage areas — as opposed to their pocket or backpack — with the goal of reducing distractions and improving student focus.
A man from Springfield is facing multiple charges after stabbing another man’s hand and stealing a bus driver’s cell phone while riding Fairfax Connector in Tysons.
Fairfax County police responded to the intersection of Jones Branch Drive and International Drive at 12:52 p.m. on Saturday (Feb. 11) after getting a report that a person had been stabbed.
(Updated at 3:45 p.m. on 1/5/2023) The search is still on for a new site to host a cell tower in McLean that has to be removed to make room for the widening Capital Beltway.
The monopole, which is owned by American Cell Towers and supports AT&T and T-Mobile service, was officially decommissioned on Dec. 9, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.
Fairfax County is refreshing its website.
A website redesign is currently underway as the county looks to update “the look and feel based on new design trends to serve our community better,” the county’s digital content lead Greg Licamele told FFXnow in an email.
A cell tower by the Capital Beltway in McLean must be removed before the end of this year to make way for the road’s widening, leaving Fairfax County and state transportation leaders scrambling to prevent future service disruptions.
The 135-foot-tall monopole stands right next to I-495 at the Old Dominion Drive bridge, which will be replaced by a new two-lane bridge with a shared-use path as part of the Virginia Department of Transportation’s I-495 Northern Extension (495 NEXT) project.
Army Nurse Thanks Fairfax County Firefighters — “Sunday, August 7, was a powerful and inspiring day at Station 11, Penn Daw, C-Shift. U.S. Army Captain Paul Petrie, an OR Nurse at Fort Belvoir, stopped by to thank the shift for their role in saving his life in May. Injuries he sustained are fatal a vast majority of the time. Watch to learn more!” [FCFRD/Facebook]
Long-Term Fix for AT&T Service Issues in Reston Coming — A permanent proposal to restore full cell service in the Lake Anne area isn’t expected to come until later this fall, according to Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn. Alcorn says AT&T is looking at installing equipment on the new Fellowship House roof, but that will require approvals from Fairfax County and the Reston Association Design Review Board. [Patch]
Cellular service issues continue to plague residents in the Lake Anne area of Reston, but a recently added, temporary truck will at least ensure AT&T customers can call 911.
A spokesperson for AT&T said that since Friday (July 29) — when information about the outage was first released — the company has been trying to restore an antenna in the area.
Verizon may soon have a solution for slow cell service in the Lake Anne area.
The cell phone provider is actively looking for sites of a new cell tower after its facility at Lake Anne Fellowship House was removed in anticipation of the building’s demolition.
