morning notes

Get Prepared for Flu Season — “The Fairfax County Health Department is encouraging everyone six months and older to prepare for flu season by getting a flu vaccine and reminding yourself of the steps to take to help avoid flu…September through October is typically the best time to get a flu vaccine.” [FCHD]

Car Shot on I-66 Near County Border — “Virginia State Police are investigating a reported shooting on Interstate 66 in Northern Virginia on Monday morning when a car driving on the interstate was struck by a bullet…Police said it happened around 10:30 a.m. near the 47-mile marker near the Prince William County and Fairfax County line.” [WTOP]

McLean Woman Sentenced for Fatally Shooting Daughters — “Prosecutors said [Veronica] Youngblood methodically killed her daughters at her apartment at 1519 Lincoln Circle as an act of revenge toward her former husband, Ron Youngblood.” A jury convicted Youngblood of first-degree murder earlier this year and recommended a prison sentence of 78 years. [Washington Post]

Child Partially Paralyzed After Richmond Highway Crash — “Next month Trenton Gatlin-Ketter will turn 6 years old. Instead of playing outside and enjoying his special day, he’ll be in his wheelchair. The child was partially paralyzed after police say a drunk driver crashed into him and his mom.” [WUSA9]

Early Voting Begins in Fairfax County — Three locations will open for early voting, starting with the Fairfax County Government Center at 8 a.m., and more will follow on Oct. 26. The Nov. 7 general election ballot includes all local and state races, along with a $435 million school bond referendum. [Fairfax County Government]

Coastal Flood Watch Issued for Saturday — “A Coastal Flood Watch is effective late Saturday night. The worst flooding will be with the Saturday afternoon and evening high tides. Turn around, don’t drown. More than half of all flooding deaths occur in vehicles!” [Ready Fairfax/Twitter]

Gallows Road Study Identifies Safety, Traffic Issues — “The Gallows Road Multimodal Study is exploring ways to make the seven-mile corridor safer for pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit users, while reducing traffic congestion…FCDOT found most of Gallows Road is uncomfortable for pedestrians, due to the large number of lanes, the 35 mph speed limit, and narrow buffers between the sidewalk and roadway.” [Annandale Today]

D.C. Area Healthcare Workers Authorize Strike — “Some 3,800 union healthcare workers in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., are threatening to go on strike at the end of this month if the leadership at Kaiser Permanente and the union cannot agree to a new contract addressing staffing shortages and low pay for workers.” The company’s facilities include medical centers in Fair Oaks and Burke. [Maryland Matters]

Local and State Candidate Forum Tonight — “The South County Federation, a non-partisan umbrella group of homeowners, civic and citizens associations in the greater Lorton area, plans to hold an in-person and virtual candidate forum Sept. 20 for several general election races…All 20 invited candidates said they would participate.” [On the MoVe]

Charges Dropped in Sexual Battery Case — At a preliminary hearing Monday (Sept. 18), a Fairfax County judge dismissed sexual battery and abduction charges against a 20-year-old man accused of sexually assaulting a woman in Chantilly in July, saying there wasn’t probable cause for a trial. The man remains in jail on separate charges in Loudoun and Prince William. [WUSA9]

Lawsuit Seeks to Disqualify School Board Candidate — The Fairfax County Republican Party and three residents argue Marcia St. John-Cunning should be removed from the Franconia District race, saying six signatures on her campaign petition are invalid. Endorsed by local Democrats, St. John-Cunning is competing against GOP-endorsed Kevin Pinkney to succeed Tamara Derenak-Kaufax, who isn’t seeking reelection. [Patch]

Singer Challenges Wolf Trap’s Merchandise Sales Commissions — Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts has drawn some criticism after acoustic singer Sarah Beth Tomberlin told fans that the venue was seeking a 41% cut of all her merchandise sales. Tomberlin instead opted not to sell merch when she opened for Ray LaMontagne on Sunday (Sept. 17). [DCist]

One Injured in Herndon Vehicle Crash — Yesterday afternoon (Sunday), Herndon police shut down “two lanes into town and one lane out of town on Sterling Rd…due to a crash investigation. Light pole blocking 3 lanes. Dominion power responding. One patient has been transported w non life threatening injuries.” [Herndon Police/Twitter]

Fairfax City Opens Addiction Recovery Center — “With a ribbon cutting held Friday, the city’s new 6,700-square-feet addiction recovery center run by the Chris Atwood Foundation stands to help those in the community fighting the disease and looking for resources, particularly low-income families.” [WTOP]

Virginia Reps Raise Alarm Over Potential Federal Shutdown — “The fractious, divided House of Representatives has until the end of the month to approve the funding needed to keep the federal government open. If…the government runs out of money, it’ll likely have dire consequences for the D.C. region, which is home to hundreds of thousands of federal workers, contractors, and military service members.” [DCist]

Lee Chapel Road Hill Removals Fully Funded — State Sen. George Barker shared on Wednesday (Sept. 13) that the state will provide $4 million to eliminate two hills along a stretch of road where two teens were killed in a crash, Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity confirmed yesterday. Fairfax County has already allocated $5 million to the project. [WTOP]

FCPD Shares Results of Vehicle Crime Crackdown — “Throughout…August, officers from our 2023 Summer Crime Prevention Initiative made over 50 felony arrests and over 50 misdemeanor arrests in an effort to take dangerous drugs out of our communities and hold criminals accountable. In August, our officers focused on vehicle-related crimes.” [FCPD]

Amazon to Fund Housing for First-Time Owners — “Working with the nonprofit National Housing Trust (NHT), the company said it will give housing developers or local organizations grants to come up with strategies on how to create ‘affordable homeownership’ opportunities. Then, the housing trust and Amazon will offer those organizations loans to build or preserve housing units set aside for low- and middle-income families.” [Washington Post]

Deadline to Pay Car Taxes Looms — “Personal property taxes — better known as car taxes — are due on Thursday, Oct. 5. Bills were mailed this summer, and there are many convenient ways to pay…To help vehicle owners, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved 10% tax relief for personal property taxes” for 2023. [Fairfax County Government]

FCPS Tightens Grading Policy on Missing Assignments — “In an update to its grading policies, Fairfax County Public Schools said teachers can now give students a zero for an assignment that’s not turned in. The change marks a departure from previous guidance, which said 50% is the lowest grade a teacher can give to a student who doesn’t turn in work.” [WTOP]