Countywide

Fairfax County officials are likely headed back to the drawing board after a veto of a bill that would have let Northern Virginia localities host a pilot program to reduce vehicle exhaust noise.

H.B. 2550, which was introduced in the Virginia General Assembly by local Del. Rip Sullivan (D-6), was one of 157 bills vetoed by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Monday (March 24).


Countywide

For the immediate future at least, further expansion of rail lines across the D.C. region is likely to take a back seat to more modest upgrades to transit service moving forward.

That seemed to be a consensus, albeit not a unanimous one, as members of the regional DMV Moves task force met Monday (March 24) to narrow options for improving the area’s transit — and paying for a Metro system that’s now estimated to cost between $450 million and $600 million more per year.


News

The Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NOVA Parks) is turning up the pressure on Dominion Energy to end widespread tree clearings along the Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) Trail.

At the regional agency’s request, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted 9-0 to approve a resolution on Tuesday (March 18) urging Dominion to halt reported plans to cut down any tree along the 45-mile-long trail that might someday interfere with its overhead power lines.


Countywide

The Democratic majority on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday (March 4) called on Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin to use his influence to lobby against potential moves of federal government agencies to areas outside the local region.

The Trump administration sent out a memo last week giving all federal department and agency heads until April 14 to submit proposals for relocating facilities outside the D.C. region to “less-costly parts of the country,” the Washington Post reported.


News

Some tree trimmings and removals were expected when Dominion Energy initated a project last year to replace electrical lines in the Vienna section of the Washington and Old Dominion (W&OD) Trail, but the extent of the clearings has taken local residents, elected officials and even the agency that owns the trail by surprise.

Starting in November, the utility began cutting down trees and vegetation along a 4-mile stretch of the trail from Vienna to Dunn Loring at a much more “aggressive” scale than it has in the past, according to Paul Gilbert, executive director of the Northern Virginia Regional Parks Authority (NOVA Parks).


News

A number of factors reportedly brought Prince William County’s long-gestating plans for a Route 28 bypass to a halt, but top Fairfax County officials say they were surprised to find fingers pointed at them.

The Prince William County Board of Supervisors voted 5-3 on Feb. 4 to cancel the Route 28 Bypass Project, which aimed to relieve traffic congestion by extending Godwin Drive at Sudley Road in Manassas to Route 28 (Centreville Road) near Compton Road in Fairfax County’s Centreville area.


Countywide

A majority of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors criticized Gov. Glenn Youngkin yesterday (Tuesday) for backing the Trump administration’s efforts to shrink the federal workforce, warning that the sweeping cuts could undermine the economy of Fairfax County and, by extension, Virginia.

Led by Chairman Jeff McKay, the mostly Democratic board suggested that Youngkin, a Republican, could support President Donald Trump’s goals or the people in Virginia he was elected to represent, including thousands of federal workers and contractors, but not both.


Countywide

The Trump administration’s sweeping efforts to whittle down the federal workforce have found favor with at least one Fairfax County elected official.

Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity, the only Republican on the county board, revealed earlier this week that he “fully” agrees that the federal government’s “size and scope” needs to be reduced, claiming that there’s a “broad consensus across America” in support of a downsizing.


News

The federal agency that led the search for a new FBI headquarters site provided some inaccurate estimates of the costs associated with a Springfield relocation, possibly hampering Fairfax County’s bid for the project, a new report found.

The inaccurate cost information was one of a few issues with the site selection process identified by the inspector general for the General Services Administration (GSA), which began a review in late 2023 in response to complaints from Northern Virginia’s Congressional delegation and concerns raised by the FBI.


Countywide

The D.C. region is reeling in the aftermath of a crash involving an American Airlines passenger jet and a military helicopter near Reagan National Airport that officials say left no survivors.

Arriving from Witchita, Kansas, the airplane was making its descent when it collided with the helicopter over the Potomac River around 8:50 p.m. yesterday (Wednesday). The crash drew a massive emergency response that included personnel from Fairfax County’s police and fire departments.


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