Elections have consequences, and now, Northern Virginia leaders are in wait-and-see mode on what those could be for local transit and transportation funding.
The Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) board met Thursday (Nov. 7) for the first time since the 2024 general election, when Donald Trump regained the presidency and Republicans took control of at least one chamber of Congress — an unnerving prospect for Northern Virginia’s mostly Democratic political leaders.
Beneath a bustling stretch of Fairfax County Parkway lies a little-known wildlife crossing that might hold the key to reducing animal-vehicle collisions in Virginia.
Last Wednesday (Oct. 30), Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) and State Sen. David Marsden (D-35) toured the underpass nestled between Davison Army Airfield and Fort Belvoir. Constructed in the 1990s and still one of the state’s few such installations, the 192-foot-long, 20-foot-high structure facilitates safe migration for species from deer and bears to snakes and turtles.
Fairfax County supervisors will advocate for data center regulation to be a primary focus of the General Assembly’s 2025 legislative agenda.
Board members expressed support this week for several new recommendations from county staff aimed at granting state agencies and local governments broader authority to regulate data centers, including increased oversight of their environmental impacts.
Fairfax County’s elected leadership is standing firm in efforts to have the state government fulfill its responsibility for housing those sentenced to incarceration.
But exactly how local leaders will deliver that message in advance of the 2025 General Assembly session remains a work in progress.
Those parking in certain residential lots across Fairfax County with expired registration decals or inspection stickers now have a grace period before facing the possibility of a tow.
Fairfax County supervisors moved on Tuesday (Oct. 22) to bring the county code into compliance with a new state law that requires towing operators to give vehicle owners written notice before any towing action. The vote by supervisors was unanimous and came after a public hearing that didn’t draw any community or board comment.
A battle is brewing once again over the prospect of a casino in Fairfax County.
As opponents continue to organize, including under a No Fairfax Casino Coalition that mostly consists of homeowners’ and citizen associations, several labor unions have now come out in support of the casino and entertainment district envisioned in Tysons by the developer Comstock Companies.
While the environment is generally a priority for Fairfax County, issues related to trees and invasive plants appear likely to take a backseat to other concerns when local elected officials lobby their state counterparts in the General Assembly next year.
At its legislative committee meeting on Tuesday (Oct. 15), the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors reviewed a number of proposals for promoting tree conservation and addressing invasive species from the Fairfax County Tree Commission and Environmental Quality Advisory Council (EQAC).
As the 2025 General Assembly session approaches, Fairfax County leaders are hoping for the best while bracing for the worst when it comes to unfunded mandates and associated costs handed down from Richmond.
“We can’t continue to sustain all these state operations that are dropped in our lap,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said at a meeting of the board’s legislative committee on Tuesday (Oct. 15).
Fairfax County leaders want Gov. Glenn Youngkin to boost state funding for critical services, such as schools, transportation and health care.
The Board of Supervisors voted 9-1 on Tuesday (Sept. 24) to send a letter to Youngkin arguing that chronic underfunding by the state has forced localities like Fairfax County to lean heavily on local tax revenue to maintain “core services” like public education, public safety and transportation infrastructure, straining local budgets and taxpayers.
The Fairfax County County Board of Supervisors is exploring its taxing options, including possible taxes on meals and event admissions, in the hopes of reducing its reliance on property taxes.
Supervisors discussed new revenue diversification proposals at Tuesday’s (Sept. 17) budget policy committee meeting after calling on County Executive Bryan Hill to identify ways to ease the tax burden on homeowners and fill reported shortfalls in state funding for public schools.
