Jeff McKay | FFXnow

Published June 2, 2025 at 9:15AM

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers detain a person on Jan. 27, 2025, in Silver Spring, Maryland (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Fairfax County and hundreds of other localities across the country were labeled “sanctuary jurisdictions” last week by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for limiting their cooperation with federal immigration officials.

The department accused the localities on the list — which was published on its website last Thursday (May 29) before apparently being removed over the weekend — of obstructing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from enforcing federal immigration laws, stating that they will all receive formal notices of non-compliance.

Countywide

D.C.-area transit task force pumps brakes on suggested local bus systems merger

By Scott McCaffrey

Published March 31, 2025 at 11:15AM

Fairfax Connector bus to Oakton (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Finding better ways for bus networks across Northern Virginia to better collaborate seems to be a priority for local representatives on the DMV Moves task force.

However, the possibility of consolidating the disparate systems into one appeared to be a non-starter, especially for Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay.

Countywide

Fairfax leaders ‘disappointed’ by Youngkin’s veto of vehicle noise monitoring bill

By Jared Serre

Published March 27, 2025 at 1:15PM

Gov. Glenn Youngkin speaks at Google's office in Reston in April 2022 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

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

Regional transit funding task force mostly pessimistic on possibility of future Metrorail expansion

By Scott McCaffrey

Published March 27, 2025 at 9:00AM

An Orange Line train pulls into the Vienna Metro station (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

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

Fairfax leaders urge Dominion to stop cutting trees along W&OD Trail

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 20, 2025 at 9:45AM

Tree stumps under Dominion Energy power lines along the W&OD Trail in Vienna (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

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

Democrats on Fairfax County board press Youngkin to oppose federal agency relocations

By Scott McCaffrey

Published March 4, 2025 at 1:15PM

Gov. Glenn Youngkin speaking at the Capital One headquarters in Tysons on Feb. 24, 2025 (staff photo by James Jarvis)

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

NEW: Tree clear-cutting along W&OD Trail alarms local officials and residents

By Angela Woolsey

Published February 27, 2025 at 9:00AM

A tree stump left by Dominion Energy near the Washington & Old Dominion Trail (courtesy NOVA Parks)

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

Fairfax officials reject blame for collapse of Prince William’s Route 28 bypass project

By Angela Woolsey

Published February 24, 2025 at 1:15PM

Construction crews continue work along Route 28 on Monday, March 7, 2022 (photo by David Taube)

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

Fairfax County board urges Gov. Youngkin to support federal workers amid ‘reckless’ cuts

By Angela Woolsey

Published February 19, 2025 at 9:00AM

Gov. Glenn Youngkin discusses concerns about sweeping federal workforce cuts at a Feb. 18, 2025 press conference (via Governor of Virginia/Facebook)

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

Herrity backs federal workforce cuts, breaking from other Fairfax County supervisors

By Angela Woolsey

Published February 12, 2025 at 9:45AM

The White House (via René DeAnda on Unsplash)

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.