Countywide

Laasya Mohan, a fourth-grader at Floris Elementary School in Herndon, won the 2026 Fairfax County Spelling Bee on Sunday (March 22).

Mohan, who is 9, and first runner-up Aadhya Vijayakumar, 13, an eighth-grader at Rocky Run Middle School in Chantilly, will both advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington in late May.


News

Mark Crutchfield said his son Brandon was a typical teenager with a quick wit, a love for sports and acting and a knack for making others laugh — until he lost his life to a fentanyl overdose Nov. 4, 2022 at 20 years old.

Crutchfield, a Fairfax County resident and licensed counselor working in addiction treatment, said his son was raised on a strong anti-drug message, and he believed his son understood the risks of drug use. But, as the grieving father says, drugs do not discriminate.


News

Jim Larranaga liked to bring in sports psychologist Bob Rotella for two reasons.

The George Mason University men’s basketball coach did so if he believed an individual player needed some help. Or he did so if he felt he had a good team that needed some extra clarity to tap into their potential.


Countywide

Inova Health on Wednesday released new data finding nearly half of adults in Northern Virginia are either personally impacted by substance use or know someone who is, with even higher numbers among millennials.

The survey data is part of Inova’s Act on Addiction Campaign, which aims to spark dialogue around the realities of substance use, promote harm reduction and prevention strategies, reduce stigma and highlight the impact addiction has on families and communities, according to a news release.


Countywide

Fairfax County is set to host its inaugural expungement clinic on Saturday, Sept. 13 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Hybla Valley Community Center (7950 Audubon Avenue).

The event offers an opportunity for those with non-conviction criminal charges from Fairfax County or Fairfax city to determine eligibility and petition for removal of the charges from their records, Fairfax County Circuit Court spokesperson Rafael Arancibia, Jr. said in a news release.


News

A jury on Wednesday found a 31-year-old Reston man guilty in the murders of two people at a 2020 Halloween party in Dale City.

Jurors convicted Karriem Jackson of two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated malicious wounding, four counts of use of a firearm in commission of a felony and one count of maliciously discharging a firearm in an occupied building, Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney Amy Ashworth’s office said in a news release.


News

West Falls Church siblings Noelle and Lucca Thompson have more in common than just their last name and love for music.

Both children – 4-year-old Noelle and 1-year-old Lucca – inherited an extremely rare, immune-related condition called Chediak-Higashi Syndrome, or CHS, a disorder that puts them at high risk for infections.


News

A crowd of 100 new citizens from 95 different countries was indeed pumped up Friday as former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, an actor and former bodybuilder, delivered the keynote address at George Washington’s Mount Vernon during a Fourth of July naturalization ceremony.

Employees of the hallowed estate estimated about 1,000 attendees were on hand for the festivities, with members of the public joining media members and families of new citizens.


Around Town

The govenator is coming to Northern Virginia, and he’ll be here to welcome some of the nation’s newest citizens.

Former California governor and “Terminator” star Arnold Schwarzenegger will give the marquee address at a naturalization ceremony at George Washington’s Mount Vernon on the Fourth of July. Schwarzenegger will address over 100 newly sworn-in citizens at 10 a.m.


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