News

George Mason University’s efforts to diversify its workforce violate a civil rights law intended to end segregation, according to the Trump administration.

Following a roughly six-week-long investigation of GMU’s hiring practices, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has found that the Northern Virginia-based university violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race in public education.


News

Residents concerned about a proposal for additional single-family homes in one Franconia neighborhood may not have much recourse, they learned at a recent community meeting.

“I don’t have the ability to stop this process,” Franconia District Supervisor Rodney Lusk said at a community forum last Thursday (Aug. 14) attended by about 35 residents.


Countywide

The new student representative to the Fairfax County School Board is urging school leaders to enforce consistent standards, now that new restrictions on student phone use are being rolled out countywide.

Starting with the upcoming 2025-2026 school year, Fairfax County Public Schools will prohibit students in all grades from using their cell phones at any point during the day — with the exception of high school students during lunch. Teachers can also no longer incorporate phones into instructional activities.


News

Fairfax County Public Schools has received millions in federal funding that was held up for nearly a month by the Trump administration.

FCPS spokesperson Julie Allen told FFXnow yesterday (Wednesday) that the school division has confirmed receipt of the $13.1 million in withheld funding.


Countywide

The next meeting of George Mason University’s Board of Visitors could be among the most heavily scrutinized in the Northern Virginia school’s 53-year history.

In addition to revisiting an anti-diversity-programs resolution that was tabled in May, the board is scheduled “to discuss the performance goals” of GMU President Gregory Washington during a closed session at its annual meeting tomorrow morning (Friday).


News

Three months after it was put on hold, a divided Fairfax City Council has brought the $6 million Pickett Road Connector Trail project back to life.

After Mayor Catherine Read cast the tiebreaker in a 4-3 vote last week, planning will restart on the proposed 1,260-foot trail running south from Fairfax Blvd to Thaiss Memorial Park on the east side of Pickett Road.


News

Plans to redevelop the Courthouse Plaza Shopping Center near Old Town Fairfax were put on hold last week, giving city officials and the developer more time to find compromises on the overall proposal.

“Being good partners requires flexibility not just from the developer, but from the city as well,” Fairfax City Councilmember Anthony Amos said at the July 22 meeting, where council members voted 5-1 to defer final consideration until Oct. 28.


News

A divided Fairfax City Council narrowly approved a major redevelopment plan at its July 22 meeting that will see a century-old home replaced with up to 276 apartment units, plus ground-floor commercial and retail space, on a key parcel in Old Town Fairfax.

The 4-3 vote to support the staff recommendation for redevelopment marked the conclusion of a nearly decade-old process to determine the future of the 2.7-acre site at 4131 Chain Bridge Road.


News

Fifteen years after Clifton Elementary School shut its doors, Fairfax County Public Schools leaders are at last taking steps toward demolishing it.

“It’s time we close this chapter,” at-large Fairfax County School Board member Kyle McDaniel said as the board debated taking action to officially declare the building uninhabitable last Thursday (June 26).


News

A deeply divided Fairfax County Planning Commission voted on Wednesday (June 4) to recommend that the Board of Supervisors authorize staff study the possibility of housing on the Reston National Golf Course site.

The 8-4 split reversed a preliminary 6-1 vote with four abstentions taken on May 15, when commissioners indicated support for county staff’s recommendation not to move forward with the proposal.


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