The county’s Department of Public Works and Environmental Services launched a solar panel recycling program last week, expanding upon its November 2022 pilot program.

Daniel Brooks, an environmental services specialist at the county’s Solid Waste Management Program, said this new program falls under their electronic recycling program, which focuses on prevention.

“Many of these devices contain toxic heavy metals,” Brooks said. “We want to keep that out of the waste stream … and going directly to the landfill to prevent groundwater contamination, amongst other things.”

Brooks said in addition to protecting the environment, this program enables people to repurpose and reuse the materials from solar panels. He also said this program is first of its kind in the region.

“[Recycling programs] started with the West Coast and they were years ahead of us, sometimes up to as much as 20 to 30 years in various areas,” Brooks said. “It’s a very growing service as a renewable energy source.”

Since solar panels are relatively new to the area, responsible disposal is too. Brooks said Fairfax County wanted to get ahead of environmental contamination and started the pilot program in November 2022.

According to a 2022 study by the Pew Research Center, 8% of American homeowners said they already installed solar panels within the past year, the majority of which were in the western part of the nation.

The county partnered with PC Recycler, Inc. dba Securis to to refine the recycling process; at the start of the program, 50 solar panels were taken in to figure out the exact process for responsible and reasonable recycling.

“Wanted to figure out the cost metrics, if it was viable to do in-house [recycling], or if we needed to outsource that, and if we outsource that, what measures did we have with those materials?” Brooks said.

Brooks also said this was one step further toward Fairfax County’s sustainability goals, specifically zero waste. He said he’s hoping the county’s work inspires neighboring counties and towns to do the same.

The program is now available to Fairfax County residents only and two drop-off sites are available: the Interstate 66 Transfer Station and the Interstate 95 Landfill.

Fairfax County wants to bridge the gap between employers and qualified talent through a work-based learning opportunity initiative.

Talent Up will match local employers facing hiring challenges with qualified talent through paid temporary-to-permanent work-based learning internships, staff explained to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors at an economic initiatives committee meeting last week.

According to the presentation, Talent Up will offer a variety of solutions to employers facing hiring challenges:

• Targets hard-to-fill, entry-level professional gateway jobs
• Repositions work-based learning as low-risk temporary to permanent hiring on-ramp
• Incentivizes employer participation by underwriting work-based learning wages
• Advises employers on revising job descriptions to focus on skills-based hiring, increasing the pool of qualified applicants by up to 50%
• Easy access to hundreds of candidates via talent development partners

“There’s a lot of movement going on in the workforce space right now — movement towards skills-based hiring, and we believe that this can dramatically accelerate that movement,” Bill Browning, workforce innovation manager at the Fairfax County Department of Family Services, said of the initiative.

The focus will be on gateway jobs such as information technology specialists, accounting clerks, sales representatives, and office administrative support.

“These are entry-level professional jobs, where there’s reams of data showing that they’re great springboards for future advancement and career advancement for candidates,” Browning added.

According to his presentation, Fairfax County had more than 67,000 job openings in May of this year, and 71% of employers in Northern Virginia reported it being more difficult to fill jobs now than last year, or even just a few months ago.

The initiative will also address what Browning called the “missing middle.”

“We’re looking at middle-skilled jobs that require some skills beyond high school, but perhaps not a college degree,” he said. “And we’re also looking at some of those midsize employers that don’t have some of the advantages large employers have.”

How it works:

• Business outreach: Initial focus on small to medium-sized employers
• Advise: Address hard to fill occupations and sponsor new temporary-to-permanent internships
• Match: Talent partners’ referrals to generate qualified candidates to interview
• Choose: Employers select interns
• Support: Coaching and training support during internship to increase success rates
• Success: Convert internships into full-time offers or place interns into new jobs

Theresa Benincasa, manager of economic mobility with the Fairfax County Department of Economic Initiatives, said the plan is to get started right away with the board’s approval.

“We’re going to just go ahead and do a launch event in the fall with board approval. We’ll start doing events with workers to communicate, we’ll do some one-to-one engagement,” she continued.

To be eligible for Talent Up, employers must have a physical presence in Fairfax County and be ready to establish a work-based learning internship.

Job seekers must be county residents, meet the skills requirements of an open internship and be impacted by pandemic-related unemployment, underemployed or seeking greater economic mobility.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay voiced support for the initiative, saying it builds resilience.

“If you can help some folks move into these jobs, not only do we help our employers, we help those individuals. But it’s a resilience thing where their lives can change dramatically for the better,” he said.

The program will seek the board’s approval at the July 11 meeting.

Photo via Eric Prouzet/Unsplash

There are homes you can actually afford, and then there are homes that are just fun to look at.

Our list of the most expensive recently-sold homes in Fairfax County, below, is definitely the latter for all but the most well heeled.

• 2220 Cedar Mill Cout — 5 BD/3.5 BA single-family home — $8,770,000
• 1886 Massachusetts Avenue — 6 BD/6.5 BA single-family home — $3,950,000
• 601 Deerfield Pond Court — 7 BD/8.5 BA single-family home — $3,750,000
• 6032 Franklin Park Road — 6 BD/6.5 BA single-family home — $3,500,000
• 1004 Basil Road — 9 BD/8.5 BA single-family home — $3,450,000
• 6638 Langdon Court — 6 BD/6.5 BA single-family home — $2,745,000

Image via Google Maps

There are homes you can actually afford, and then there are homes that are just fun to look at.

Our list of the most expensive recently-sold homes in Fairfax County, below, is definitely the latter for all but the most well heeled.

• 1101 Chain Bridge Road — 7 BD/8.5 BA single-family home — $6,000,000
• 1027 Bellview Road — 6 BD/5.5 BA single-family home — $4,109,375
• 11206 Richland Grove Drive — 7 BD/9.5 BA single-family home — $3,180,000
• 1918 Beulah Road — 6 BD/6.5 BA single-family home — $2,963,389
• 1317 Ballantrae Farm Drive — 6 BD/6.5 BA single-family home — $2,800,000
• 11491 Stuart Mill Road — 4 BD/4.5 BA single-family home — $2,395,000

Image via Google Maps

There are homes you can actually afford, and then there are homes that are just fun to look at.

Our list of the most expensive recently-sold homes in Fairfax County, below, is definitely the latter for all but the most well heeled.

• 1138 Langley Lane (McLean) — 5 BD/5.5 BA single-family home — $6,400,000
• 9514 Georgetown Pike (Great Falls) — 5 BD/5.5 BA single-family home — $3,993,351
• 12206 Henderson Road (Clifton) — 6 BD/8.5 BA single-family home — $2,750,000
• 2003 Mcfall Street (McLean) — 6 BD/6.5 BA single-family home — $2,548,000
• 2934 Fox Mill Manor Drive (Oakton) — 7 BD/7.5 BA single-family home) — $2,450,000
• 303 Salsbury Lane NW (Vienna) — 5 BD/4.5 BA single-family home — $2,370,000

Image via Google Maps

A Tornado Warning is in effect for Fairfax County this evening, per the National Weather Service.

The warning is in effect until 5:15 p.m. today (Monday). A map detailing the area that may be impacted is below.

Tornado Warning including Cherry Hill VA, Triangle VA and Dumfries VA until 5:15 PM EDT pic.twitter.com/Gp0VfQQhyR

— NWS Baltimore-Washington (@NWS_BaltWash) September 12, 2022

More rescued beagles are coming today to the Fairfax County Animal Shelter. The arrival comes after a first wave of 16 dogs arrived at the shelter in early August.

The floppy-eared, tail-wagging beagles come from Envigo research facility in Cumberland after a judge ordered the facility to relate the dogs due to their inhumane treatment. The facility bred the dogs to be sold to laboratories for animal experimentation.

:Our newest ten are all boys, and they were quiet and well-behaved on the drive back. Once back at the shelter they were so happy to stretch their legs, play with each other, and get lots of attention from shelter staff,” according to the animal shelter.

Reasa Currier, the director of the animal shelter, says that the new beagles are not available yet. They will be neutered but should be available later this week.

The first wave of beagles were adopted “immediately and are thriving in their adoptive homes,” Currier told FFXnow. The shelter had “lines out the door of potential adoptors” for them.
The shelter is working with the Humane Society of the United States to bring the dogs to temporary shelters for adoption.

State Sen. Jennifer Boysko, a Democrat representing the 33rd district, is expected to attend a welcoming today for the beagles at the shelter. State legislators recently signed policies — known as the beagle bills — to protect dogs and cats who are bred for research.

This is likely the last wave of beagles that will be available for adoption of the 4,000 that were rescued.

There are homes you can actually afford, and then there are homes that are just fun to look at.

Our list of the most expensive recently-sold homes in Fairfax County, below, is definitely the latter for all but the most well heeled.

• 7972 Georgetown Pike (McLean) — 8 BD/8.5 BA single-family home — $4,175,000
• 9211 Black Riffles Court (Great Falls) — 6 BD/10.5 BA single-family home — $3,442,500
• 2152 Crimmins Lane (Falls Church) — 6 BD/6.5 BA single-family home — $2,150,000
• 9703 Layminster Lane (Vienna) — 5 BD/4.5 BA single-family home — $1,895,000
• 1480 Waterfront Road (Reston) — 5 BD/4.5 BA single-family home — $1,850,100
• 6716 Danforth Street (McLean) — 5 BD/4.5 BA single-family home — $1,780,000

Image via Google Maps

There are homes you can actually afford, and then there are homes that are just fun to look at.

Our list of the most expensive recently-sold homes in Fairfax County, below, is definitely the latter for all but the most well heeled.

• 1012 Founders Ridge Lane — 7 BD/10.5 BA single-family home — $8,700,000
• 6023 Rockton Court — 3 BD/2.5 BA single-family home — $7,292,022
• 203 Carrwood Road — 6 BD/8.5 BA single-family home — $5,000,000
• 637 Innsbruck Avenue — 6 BD/8.5 BA single-family home — $4,500,000
• 8341 Springhaven Garden Lane — 5 BD/6.5 BA single-family home — $3,550,000
• 2200 Trott Avenue — 6 BD/6.5 BA single-family home — $2,828,037

Image via Google Maps

There are homes you can actually afford, and then there are homes that are just fun to look at.

Our list of the most expensive recently-sold homes in Fairfax County, below, is definitely the latter for all but the most well heeled.

• 576 Innsbruck Avenue — 6 BD/7.5 BA single-family home — $10,500,000
• 1000 Turkey Run Road — 5 BD/6.5 BA single-family home — $8,250,000
• 6922 River Oaks Drive — 7 BD/7.5 BA single-family home — $4,141,679
• 101 Mashie Court SE — 7 BD/7.5 BA single-family home — $2,901,365
• 2809 Marshall Lake Drive — 5 BD/5.5 BA single-family home — $2,150,000
• 12796 Rose Grove Drive — 4 BD/5.5 BA single-family home — $2,076,798

Image via Google Maps