Fairfax County planning officials say they have the resources to meet new, stricter turnaround requirements for submissions by property developers.
“We’ve already changed our process. We’re in compliance,” Jerry Stonefield, a Land Development Services staff member, told the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors at a land use policy committee meeting last Tuesday (July 8).
Fairfax County Democrats are going on the offensive over the Trump administration’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” calling the legislation a “betrayal” that will hurt Virginians.
Speaking last Thursday (July 10) at a virtual roundtable, three local lawmakers took aim at the nearly 1,000-page budget reconciliation bill, which was signed into law on July 4.
Federal workforce cuts implemented by the Trump administration and, as of July 8, enabled by the U.S. Supreme Court have helped drive the number of unemployed Fairfax County residents to heights not seen in nearly four years.
A total of 21,705 county residents were counted as unemployed in May, according to new data reported by the Virginia Department of Workforce Development and Advancement. That’s up 35% from a year before.
Reston Association is reviewing the state of its many recreational facilities, and so far, it’s encouraged by the results.
An initial conditions assessment completed in May found that the five oldest swimming pools all need varying levels of maintenance or repair work, but none of them have deteriorated to the point where they need to be fully replaced.
A record population count, higher home values and a rare year-over-year decline in household income are among the data highlights of Fairfax County’s latest annual demographic report.
Released in late June, the new report covers data from 2024. It is one of a host of tools offered by the county government on demographic and economic trends across Fairfax.
Task Force Deployed to Texas Floods — “Capt. Marc Campet, the search team leader with Virginia Task Force 1, is taking a search and rescue team from Fairfax and Montgomery counties to Texas to help after disastrous floods last weekend left over 120 people dead or missing … They left Friday evening and hoped to be ready to work Saturday morning.” [WTOP]
Federal Funding for FCPS Frozen — “Over $13 million in federal funding for Fairfax County Public Schools has been frozen while the U.S. Department of Education reviews the grants, a step that school leaders said could impact teachers and multilingual learners. Superintendent Michelle Reid said she learned about the funding freeze in a message from the Virginia state superintendent’s office this week.” [WTOP]
Vienna Killings Still a Mystery — “Imagining the final moments of Bobby and Patricia Quisenberry’s lives still haunts their son, Clint Quisenberry, 28 years later … Quisenberry said he saw his parents not long before police say they were killed in July 1997. Investigators believe they were shot sometime after midnight in a random attack and burglary at their Vienna, Virginia, home.” [NBC4]
Metro Buys New Railcars — “The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) announced Thursday that the agency has purchased hundreds of new 8000-series railcars that are expected to be delivered in the coming years … While announcing the purchase, WMATA shared details about the railcar design, including gangways, digital displays and more handholds.” [WUSA9]
Opioid Makers Settle Lawsuit — “In another major legal win in the fight against the opioid crisis, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares announced Thursday that the commonwealth could receive up to $16.4 million as part of a sweeping $720 million multi-state settlement with eight generic drug manufacturers accused of flooding communities with addictive painkillers.” [Virginia Mercury]
Korean Cafe Now Open in Falls Church — “Semicolon Cafe, a small New York City-based chain that also offers classic cafe beverages and pastries, opened late last month at 103 Founders Avenue … The new cafe is Semicolon’s only Virginia location. Its previous location in a Chantilly food hall closed about a year and a half ago.” [ARLnow]
Local Business Owner Featured on TV Show — “Melissa Romano, co-owner of Nordic Knot Scandinavian Pretzels and Lake Anne Brew House in Reston, was recently featured on ‘The Blox: The Greatest Show On Entrepreneurship.’ Romano was one of the season seven cast members on the self-proclaimed ‘Largest Competition TV Show On The Planet For Startups.’ All eight episodes from season seven are available to view on BetaBlox, Prime, and Facebook.” [Patch]
Delayed Openings for Some Reston Pools — “North Shore Pool will open 1 hour late at 1:00pm on Tuesday, July 15th. Lake Newport Pool will open 5 hours late at 5:00pm on Wednesday, July 16th. Both of these delayed openings are to perform routine maintenance. We do not anticipate these times to change.” [Reston Association/Facebook]
It’s Monday — Mostly cloudy skies and a high near 89, with a 70% chance of precipitation after 2 p.m. At night, the chance of precipitation ticks up to 80% with temperatures dropping to a low of 73. [NWS]
Herndon is officially taking legal action against Comstock Companies after the developer backed out of its long-stalled downtown redevelopment project last year.
The town filed a lawsuit in Fairfax County Circuit Court this afternoon (Friday) demanding that Comstock return the nearly 5-acre site that it planned to transform into a mixed-use block with an arts center, apartments, retail space and a parking garage.
Per-square-foot home-sales prices were flat across Fairfax in June, and other data points were mixed as the county’s real-estate market closed out the first half of 2025.
The average per-square-foot sales price for homes that went to closing last month in Fairfax was $369, according to figures reported yesterday (Thursday) by Bright MLS, the Mid-Atlantic’s multiple-listing service.
Lake Anne Brew House is getting a bigger space.
The Reston establishment announced on Wednesday (July 9) that, as of July 1, it has officially leased the neighboring storefront at 11426 Washington Plaza West, which has been empty since Chesapeake Chocolates closed its doors at the end of September 2024.
Fairfax County has many highly rated restaurants where one can enjoy a steak dinner.
Here are the nominees for “Best Steakhouse in Fairfax” as part of our FFXnow Readers’ Choice Awards. See your favorite place below? If not, write them in!
Voting will close in two weeks. Be sure to cast your vote before 9 a.m. Friday, July 25.
Voting for the Best Music Venue in Fairfax is still taking place. Be sure to cast your vote before voting closes next Friday at 9 a.m.
Two weeks ago, we voted on the Best Sandwich Shop in Fairfax. The results are now official:
