history | FFXnow

Morning Notes

Published February 28, 2022 at 7:30AM

Angelika Film Center and Cafe in the Mosaic District (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

FCPS Will Start COVID-19 Rollback Plan Tomorrow — Masks will be optional for both students and adults, including staff and parents, in Fairfax County Public Schools after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed its health metrics so that the county is now considered to have low transmission. FCPS said on Friday (Feb. 25) that masks would be optional for students, as ordered by a state law, but still mandatory for adults. [FCPS]

Judge Calls TJ Admissions Discriminatory — The Coalition for TJ on Friday (Feb. 25) won its lawsuit against the Fairfax County School Board over changes to admissions process for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. The judge found that the shift from a standardized test to “experience” factors was done in a way discriminatory to Asian applicants. The school system intends to appeal. [The Washington Post]

Countywide

Hollin Hills recommended for historic district to preserve architecture

By David Taube

Published February 25, 2022 at 11:30AM

Historic homes in Hollin Hills (via Virginia Department of Historic Resources)

Hollin Hills could soon get another layer of oversight to preserve the hundreds of stylistic, mid-20th century homes built in the area.

The Fairfax County Planning Commission voted on Wednesday (Feb. 23) to recommend designating Hollin Hills as a Historic Overlay District, which would require approval from the county’s Architectural Review Board for certain projects, such as demolitions and the design of properties.

Countywide

For Black History Month, Fairfax County students can help create historical markers

By David Taube

Published February 23, 2022 at 1:30PM

Historical marker sign for the Cartersville Baptist Church in Reston (photo by David Taube)

Gone are the days of history textbooks being the dominant source for grade schools.

Now, Fairfax County youth have the chance to help create historical markers that the county has been adding to the area since 1998.

Countywide

New W&OD, cemetery signs explain county’s history of segregation

By Brandi Bottalico

Published February 23, 2022 at 11:15AM

NOVA Parks has installed two new signs to shed light on the effect of slavery and segregation in Fairfax County.

A new sign in Herndon Caboose Park explains how Jim Crow laws affected passengers on the Washington & Old Dominion train line in the 1900s. Another sign in Clifton describes the significance of a graveyard for enslaved people near Bull Run Marina.

News

Report recommends possible names to replace Lee and Lee-Jackson highways

By David Taube

Published February 7, 2022 at 9:30AM | Updated December 9, 2022 at 1:57PM

A report recommending that Fairfax County rename its portions of Route 29 and Route 50 will go before county leaders tomorrow (Tuesday), even as concerns about the financial impact linger.

Compiled by the 26-person Confederate Names Task Force, the report details the process used to determine that Lee Highway and Lee-Jackson Memorial Highway should get new names and recommends five possible replacements for each road:

News

Task force weighs potential cost and benefits of renaming Lee and Lee-Jackson highways

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 21, 2021 at 9:30AM

Fairfax County's Confederate Names Task Force convenes for a meeting on Oct. 18 (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Though they have cropped up with increasing regularity both locally and nationally in recent years, conversations about how to handle symbolic reminders of the Confederacy remain as emotionally charged as ever.

That was evident in the most recent meeting of Fairfax County’s Confederate Names Task Force, which has been charged with determining whether the county should rename Lee and Lee-Jackson Memorial highways.