Countywide

How many Northern Virginia residents have lost their jobs as part of federal cutbacks and their ripple effects on the economy? Nobody seems to know for sure — including members of the U.S. Senate.

“We’re still trying to get the right numbers,” Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) told the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ (COG) board of directors at a meeting last Wednesday (June 11).


News

The Tysons economy appeared to be heading in an encouraging direction to start 2025. Visitations and residential and retail occupancy rates were up, and office vacancies at least held steady instead of rising.

However, the impacts of federal spending and workforce cuts by the Trump administration have yet to emerge in the data tracked by the Tysons Community Alliance (TCA), which released its latest quarterly market report today (Thursday).


Countywide

Local economic development organizations have joined forces to launch a comprehensive initiative aimed at assisting federal employees, contractors and other professionals facing career disruptions.

The Pivot” is an initiative of the Northern Virginia Economic Development Alliance, which includes the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority.


Countywide

Virginia may need to enact more food safety requirements at the state level in response to cutbacks and deregulation efforts by the Trump administration, two legislators and several advocates said at a recent forum.

“We have historically, in my opinion, not done the kind of oversight we need to do. We’ve let the federal government do most of it,” Del. Mark Sickles (D-17) said during the press event on May 28.


News

Fairfax County leaders now have a new tool in addressing the flood-prone properties in the county.

The Board of Supervisors unanimously accepted a new report last Tuesday (May 13) updating and detailing the county’s list of “repetitive-loss areas” — properties that have seen two or more claims of over $1,000 in losses through the National Flood Insurance Program, or NFIP.


News

As the Trump administration continues to gut the federal workforce and budget, a Reston contractor recently got an inadvertent head’s up that one of its research projects could be next on the chopping block.

A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) spreadsheet mistakenly emailed to grant recipients on April 30 listed over 150 projects to support child welfare that are apparently being considered for termination, including Child Care and Early Education Research Connections, the Associated Press reported.


Countywide

Fairfax County arts organizations have not been immune from the Trump administration’s efforts to downsize the federal government.

Both the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) have started rescinding funding awards from projects and organizations they say don’t fit the priorities of President Donald Trump.


Countywide

If you don’t need one immediately, Virginia Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) officials suggest waiting out the current rush for REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses and identity cards.

“At the Virginia DMV, there’s no deadline to get a REAL ID — just plenty of good days to apply, as customers are able to apply for one year-round,” Camila Barco, a spokesman for the state agency, told FFXnow.


Countywide

The ranks of unemployed Fairfax County residents ticked up nearly 8% month-over-month and 37% year-over-year in March, according to new state data, as Northern Virginia’s economy takes a hit from the federal government’s downsizing and collateral economic impacts.

A total of 20,836 Fairfax residents were counted as unemployed for March, according to figures reported this week by the Virginia Employment Commission. That compares to 19,315 in February and 15,171 in March 2024.


Countywide

Fairfax County Public Schools is one of two Virginia school divisions that reportedly declined to sign a form committing it to complying with federal anti-discrimination laws and a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that barred race from being considered in college admissions.

Superintendent Michelle Reid instead sent a “modified certification and assurance document” to Virginia education leaders last week affirming FCPS’ compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Virginia Mercury reported yesterday morning (Tuesday).


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