poll | FFXnow - Part 2

Poll: Have you gotten sick this winter?

Published January 12, 2024 at 11:00AM | Updated January 12, 2024 at 12:05PM

A tissue box with a mug (via Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash)

(Updated at 12:05 p.m.) Colds are in the air this winter, as a new COVID-19 variant has joined forces with the flu and RSV to produce a particularly challenging respiratory illness season.

Covid-related hospitalization levels remain low in Fairfax County, where 145 patients were admitted in the week that ended on Dec. 30 — a 46% increase from the previous week. But hospital visits and deaths are on the rise in Virginia and nationally, with the U.S. death toll exceeding 1.1 million people since the first case in 2020.

Around Town

Reston pub voted as D.C. area’s best place to drink in WTOP poll

By Fatimah Waseem

Published August 24, 2023 at 1:30PM

People clinking beer mugs together (via kazuend on Unsplash)

A Reston-based pub was voted as the best place to get a drink in the D.C. area.

A WTOP poll by readers and listeners ranked Makers Union, which is located at 1811 Library Street in Reston Town Center, as the best restaurant to get a drink. The pub beat out hundreds of other bars in the area.

Countywide

Poll: Fairfax County’s air quality is hazardous today. Have you limited your outdoor activities?

By Angela Woolsey

Published June 8, 2023 at 9:45AM | Updated June 8, 2023 at 10:28AM

The Capital Beltway at Lewinsville Road is hazy and congested (via VDOT)

(Updated at 10:30 a.m.) It’s another day of poor air quality for Fairfax County and the rest of the D.C. area.

As wildfires continue to burn in Canada, the resulting smoke has clouded the East Coast in a sometimes orange-tinted haze of particulate matter. As of 9 a.m., Fairfax was at 313 on the Air Quality Index (AQI) — a Code Maroon for hazardous air that’s even more severe than yesterday’s Code Red.

Countywide

Poll: Northern Virginia has D.C. area’s best shopping, survey finds. Do you agree?

By Angela Woolsey

Published April 11, 2023 at 9:30AM

Tysons Corner Center remains the biggest and one of the busiest malls in the D.C. area (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Northern Virginia is the place to be if you’re shopping in the D.C. area, a recent poll of local residents found.

A handy 61% of respondents favored Northern Virginia when asked what’s the best place to shop in the region by the Washington Post and George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government, which conducted the wide-ranging poll from Feb. 17-27.

Countywide

Poll: As state of emergency ends, how are you approaching Covid?

By Vernon Miles

Published March 1, 2023 at 10:30AM | Updated March 24, 2023 at 2:36PM

A worker conducts a COVID-19 test for sick visitor at Fairfax County Government Center site (courtesy Fairfax County Health Department)

This month marks the third anniversary of the first Covid case in Fairfax County, and the Board of Supervisors has voted to bring the state of emergency to a close.

The emergency declaration that has been in place since March 17, 2020 officially ends today (Wednesday).

Countywide

Poll: Are you ‘all in’ on a potential Fairfax County casino?

By Vernon Miles

Published January 23, 2023 at 9:30AM | Updated March 24, 2023 at 2:39PM

Casino (image via Kvnga/Unsplash)

A new set of bills before the General Assembly would allow a casino to be built somewhere along the Silver Line corridor, Washington Business Journal first reported.

The casino could be placed somewhere around Tysons, the Reston Town Center or Herndon based on the stipulations of the proposed legislation, which would allow a casino in an urban county with at least 1 million residents.

Countywide

Poll: How often do you use the express lanes in Northern Virginia?

By Vernon Miles

Published November 22, 2022 at 9:30AM | Updated March 24, 2023 at 2:43PM

The newly constructed I-66 Express Lanes from Gainesville to Centreville will open ahead of schedule (courtesy FAM Construction)

If you’re driving along the highways in Northern Virginia, do you usually hop into an express lane or do you prefer to tough it out in the normal lanes with the rest of the proletariat?

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) announced last week that the new I-66 Express Lanes running from the Beltway down to Centreville are set to fully open today (Tuesday).

Countywide

Morning Poll: How often will you ride Silver Line Phase 2 when it opens?

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 29, 2022 at 9:30AM | Updated September 30, 2022 at 9:43AM

The Fairfax County Department of Transportation advertises the coming opening of Metro's Silver Line extension at the Mosaic District Fall Festival (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

(Updated at 9:40 a.m. on 9/30/2022) Metro’s extension of the Silver Line through Herndon into Loudoun County is finally starting to look like a reality, instead of a hypothetical, albeit expensive, project.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority unveiled new maps for its rail system last Friday (Sept. 23) that featured the six new stations, among other changes. A day earlier, its general manager got the go-ahead to set an opening date, though one has yet to be announced.

Countywide

Morning Poll: Where are you working now — online or in person?

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 13, 2022 at 9:30AM

A person prepares for work with laptop and coffee (via Clay Banks/Unsplash)

There has been no shortage of thinkpieces about how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed workplaces, from the waning demand for office space to widespread staffing deficits as workers reevaluated their goals and working conditions.

One trend that may be here to stay is the growing acceptance of remote work, with many people who can telework saying they would do it all or most of the time, if given the option.

Countywide

Morning Poll: Have you had trouble getting trash collected lately?

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 2, 2022 at 9:30AM

Emptied trash and recycling bins by the street (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Trash collection has become a hot mess in Fairfax County of late.

After FFXnow reported earlier this week on local officials’ efforts to address an avalanche of complaints, many community members added their tales of woe to the ongoing saga of late or entirely neglected pickups, ineffectual communication, and reductions in service without accompanying decreases in fees.