Countywide

A change in Virginia law will allow police to once again pull over vehicles with excessively loud exhaust systems, starting tomorrow (Friday).

At a Fairfax County Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday (June 28), officials said the change was much needed, citing noisy cars as one of the top complaints they receive from constituents.


Countywide

A slew of new laws are taking effect in Virginia tomorrow (July 1), including a ban on police ticket quotas, a requirement for licenses to deliver alcohol, and a new allowance for hunting on Sundays.

The 2022 General Assembly session finally wrapped this month with the approval of a new budget. All in all, about 800 laws were passed by the legislative body and signed into law by Gov. Glenn Youngkin this year, including some from local lawmakers.


Countywide

(Updated at 7:30 p.m.) The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade today (Friday) in a landmark decision that will effectively ban abortion in more than a dozen states.

Abortion remains legal in Virginia, which doesn’t have so-called “trigger laws” that would go into effect with the court’s ruling.


Countywide

(Updated at 3:45 p.m.) Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has some thoughts on how Fairfax County should handle abortion-related protests outside Supreme Court justices’ homes.

In a letter sent to the Board of Supervisors and County Executive Bryan Hill yesterday (Wednesday), the governor suggested that the Fairfax County Police Department “establish an expanded security perimeter” and limit “unauthorized vehicle and pedestrian access” around the homes of Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Amy Coney Barrett, who all live in the county.


Opinion

Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed a bill yesterday (Wednesday) making masks optional in schools by March 1.

Fairfax County and other Northern Virginia school systems have continued to require students to wear masks, even after Youngkin issued an executive order that gave parents the choice whether their children wore a mask.


News

Fairfax County police can now temporarily take guns away from people deemed a risk.

The procedures allow law enforcement to intervene before violence occurs, rather then retroactively responding to crimes, according to county leaders, who touted Virginia’s legislative change that went into effect July 1 last year.


News

(Updated at 6:45 p.m.) Scores of people called on Fairfax County to adopt a more robust collective bargaining policy for county government workers at a Board of Supervisors public hearing on a proposed ordinance yesterday (Tuesday).

At a rally before the public hearing and at the meeting itself, labor union representatives and other speakers stated that they want more workers to be eligible to participate in collective bargaining, more ability to negotiate working conditions, and more flexibility in discussing labor issues while they’re at work.