morning notes

What to Know for Election Day — “Three congressional races and the Town of Herndon council and mayor are one the ballot. Every polling place will be open on Tuesday from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m…Before you vote, double-check your registration status, polling place and congressional district.” [Fairfax County Government]

Fairfax City School Board Could Be All-Female — “All five seats on the Fairfax City school board are up for election this November and for possibly the first time, all elected members will be women. Those women — Stacy Hall, Amit Hickman, Sarah Kelsey, Rachel McQuillen and Carolyn Pitches — are uncontested candidates running for the board” [The Washington Post]

Skyline Towers Homicide Suspect Arrested — “Phil Asare Darkwah turned himself in at the warrant desk. He was transported to the Adult Detention Center, where warrants for 2nd Degree Murder, Use of a Firearm in the Commission of a Felony, and Felon in Possession of a Firearm were served.  He was held without bond.” [FCPD]

Former County Detective Destroyed Rape Kits — “A former Fairfax County police detective improperly destroyed evidence in 10 unsolved sexual assault cases that date from the mid-90s, likely meaning the perpetrators in the crimes will never be brought to justice, an investigation by the department has found.” [The Washington Post]

Search for Suspect in Fatal Mount Vernon Shooting Continues — “Officers conducted a manhunt the afternoon of Nov. 3 for a wanted person reported to be in the basement of a home in the 8700 block of Millbrook Place…A subsequent Tweet from FCPD identified the man as Kyjuan Omar Braxton Trott and said the suspect was not found in the home that was searched.” [On the MoVe]

County Finishes Processing Flood of Voter Registrations — “Thanks to 15-plus hour days by our elections staff, we’ve processed the 11,000 voter registration applications from this summer that the state delayed sending us until Monday. Notices are in the mail!” [Office of Elections/Twitter]

Student, 15, Stabbed at Mount Vernon HS — A student “is in custody after allegedly stabbing another student inside a school bathroom, Fairfax County police Chief Kevin Davis said Wednesday…The victim has non-life threatening injuries, Davis said.” [WTOP]

Metro Shows Off Upcoming Dulles Station — Two days before its 60th birthday, Dulles International Airport will welcome a shiny new Metro station as part of the Silver Line extension, giving Loudoun County its first rail connection to D.C. Officials hope travel will be “more seamless” compared to the 5a bus and shuttle from the Wiehle-Reston station that Metro riders currently need. [DCist]

County Adopts First Climate Resilience Plan — “The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors adopted Resilient Fairfax, the county’s first-ever Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan. Resilient Fairfax focuses on climate effects, helping Fairfax County adapt to increasing climate hazards experienced locally.” [OEEC]

Dog Licensing Services Now Available — “Fairfax County dog licenses are now available through PetData. The county entered a partnership with this company to provide dog licensing services, including processing applications and payments, mailing renewal notices, answering questions, [and] providing and mailing tags.” [Fairfax County Government]

Dense Fog Advisory in Effect — Fairfax County and the rest of the D.C. area are under a Dense Fog Advisory until 10 a.m. The National Weather Service says visibility could be limited to a quarter mile or less, creating potentially hazardous driving conditions. [NWS]

Metro Starts Fare Evasion Crackdown — “Metro Transit Police officers will begin issuing fare evasion citations on Tuesday, November 1, following a monthlong awareness and warning campaign. Citations with associated fines may be issued to anyone jumping fare gates, improperly using emergency gates, or not tapping fare boxes on Metrobuses.” [WMATA]

Nutley Street Roundabout to Open in Vienna — “Beginning during the early morning hours on or about Monday, October 31, the first of two roundabouts on Nutley Street at I-66 will open to traffic as part of the redesigned I-66/Nutley Street Interchange. Drivers traveling to northbound Nutley Street from I-66 East will enter and proceed around the roundabout to go north on Nutley Street.” [VDOT]

Former Commonwealth’s Attorney Dies — “Former Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Robert F. Horan Jr., who prosecuted virtually every high-profile criminal case in Virginia’s largest county for 40 years — from the ‘Roy Rogers murders’ in 1976, to the abduction of 5-year-old Melissa Brannen in 1991, to the D.C. sniper Lee Boyd Malvo in 2003 — died Friday at his home in the Clifton area. He was 90.” [The Washington Post]

Early Voting Sites Open Today — “Fairfax County will open an additional 13 early voting sites starting Thursday, Oct. 27. In total, there will be 16 voting locations available across the county until the last day to vote early on Nov. 5 at 5 p.m. Early voting began last month starting with three sites open.” [Fairfax County Government]

COVID-19 Vaccine Centers Scale Back Hours — “With COVID-19 vaccines now widely available at pharmacies, urgent care centers and medical providers throughout the community, clinics located at the Government Center and Hyland South County Center are scheduled to scale back their hours of operation. Starting the week of Nov. 7, both vaccination sites will be open for three days each week.” [Fairfax County Government]

A Dive into the World’s Data Center Capital — “Most people don’t give data centers a second thought — or even know what they are — until one affects their lives. In Northern Virginia, though, a lot of people do a lot of thinking about data centers.” [WTOP]

County Seeks Proposals for Land Use — “Fairfax County is now accepting nominations or proposals for land-use changes within the county to give people a more hands-on approach to shaping land use. ccording to a news release, the site-specific plan amendment process allows people to propose a land use change in the county’s comprehensive plan.” [Inside NOVA]