A newly released report shows Fairfax County’s population decreased, reversing a trend of growth.
According to the report from the Department of Management and Budget, the county’s population decreased during 2020-2021 from 1,171,800 to 1,170,000 people — a decline of 1,800 people, or 0.2%.
Recent drug overdoses by teenagers in the Richmond Highway corridor and emergency care statistics have led Fairfax County officials to intensify their efforts to address the opioid epidemic.
Hospitals and urgent care centers in the county have seen nonfatal overdoses rise in the last three years, from 232 to 324 and 354 as of last year. Most of the opiate cases involve fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that’s 80-100 times more powerful than morphine, while heroin cases are declining, the county health department told FFXnow.
Worker resignations for Fairfax County government positions jumped up nearly 62% from 2020 to 2021, from 507 departures to 821 departures.
Fairfax County leaders are debating how to improve recruitment and retention, citing private-sector wages that created competitive environments for positions from police to information technology.
New Issues Hamper Silver Line Phase 2 — While a summer opening is still possible, don’t expect the Silver Line extension from Reston into Loudoun County before July 1, Metro officials said yesterday (Thursday), citing waterproofing and insulation issues around power cable connections. Past problems with “the orange boot” have caused fire and smoke incidents. [DCist]
County Residents Report Lags in Rent Assistance — “Sarah Allen, regional director of Fairfax County Human Services, told InsideNoVa in October the county was rolling out a separate online portal that tenants could also use to apply for assistance. The online portal has yet to launch, according to a county spokesperson who said it’s still in development.” [Inside NoVA]
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and other Northern Virginia officials are looking for ways to help commuters during a lengthy planned shutdown of Metro’s Yellow Line for rehabilitation work.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority will stop service on a key section of the line for seven to eight months to repair a Yellow Line bridge over the Potomac River and tunnels that are over 40 years old.
Fairfax County will soon require property owners and residents to prevent running bamboo from spreading and take steps to contain it.
After holding a public hearing in February, the Board of Supervisors approved the new ordinance yesterday (Tuesday), but officials reiterated that county staff will first seek to educate community members and let them correct issues voluntarily before fines are imposed.
Pulte Homes wants to replace three office buildings built in the early 1980s on Sunset Hills Road with a new residential development.
The Georgia-based company submitted an application to Fairfax County on March 16 to build 100 multi-family residential units and 90 stacked for-sale townhouses at 11111 Sunset Hills Road.
Fairfax County Park Authority officials and others are calling for changes in funding to ensure people are able to access recreational amenities and address repairs.
Staff and community groups like the Fairfax County NAACP say the upcoming budget being considered by the county Board of Supervisors is inadequate for addressing the park system’s needs. It could even take longer to take care of those needs with a proposal to lengthen the amount of time between bond votes.
With property tax assessments skyrocketing, Virginia lawmakers passed a bill this year to change how data centers are valued, which could influence how quickly a local tax district can repay debt for projects that widened Route 28.
The Route 28 Highway Transportation Improvement District’s Fairfax County portion consists of over 1,000 parcels south of the Dulles Toll Road. New assessments for commercial and industrial properties in that area are relatively in line with increases seen in previous years.
The Mount Vernon RECenter could shutter for two years as part of a multi-phase expansion and renovation worth tens of millions of dollars.
The Fairfax County Park Authority is expected to vote Wednesday (March 23) on a staff proposal that recommended the temporary closing. If approved, the facility would close starting in early 2023, the authority told FFXnow.
