The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors directed County Executive Bryan Hill on Tuesday (Feb. 4) to develop proposals refining how the county government deals with illegal dumping.
The directive was based on a Jan. 15 memorandum from the county’s Environmental Quality Advisory Council (EQAC) that laid out both concerns and possible solutions.
A man was convicted yesterday (Thursday) of assaulting a fellow passenger during a flight from San Francisco to Dulles International Airport.
In an incident that made national headlines, Everett Chad Nelson, a 44-year-old man from Stafford, was arrested by the FBI on Oct. 28, 2024 after he repeatedly punched a deaf passenger who was sleeping on United Airlines Flight 2247 “without provocation,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Fewer Flights Will Be Allowed at National Airport — “The Federal Aviation Administration plans to announce it is reducing flight arrivals at Washington Reagan National Airport to address safety concerns, after a deadly collision between a helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet killed 67 people, according to an email seen by Reuters.” [Reuters]
Man Injured in Richmond Highway Crash — Officers responded last night (Thursday) to “a two-vehicle crash at Route 1 and Dawn Dr. in Groveton. One of the drivers, an adult male, was taken to the hospital in life-threatening condition.” The crash closed northbound Route 1 between Beddoo Street and Fairview Drive. [FCPD]
Judge Halts Deadline for Federal Worker Resignations — “A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s ‘deferred resignation’ program, which is part of a sweeping effort to eliminate government jobs … The ruling came hours before the midnight deadline for workers to apply for the deferred resignation program, which the administration promoted as a buyout.” [NBC4]
Three-Alarm Fire at Lorton Warehouse — “Fire crews in Fairfax County [were] working to extinguish a large commercial fire in Lorton early Thursday morning. The fire was first reported just after 5 a.m. in the 8100 block of Terminal Road, near the Sharpshooters Indoor Range and Pro Shop.” [WUSA9]
Gas Station Makeover Gets Support — “The owner of a Shell gas station and auto repair shop on the corner of Backlick Road and Industrial Road in the Springfield area of Mason District is planning to replace them with a new gas station and convenience store. The Fairfax County Planning Commission endorsed the project on Feb. 5.” [Annandale Today]
Tysons Company Renamed to Reflect Bitcoin Focus — “MicroStrategy, one of Northern Virginia’s oldest technology companies, has a new corporate name that it said reflects its new focus on Bitcoin. Tysons-based MicroStrategy is now Strategy. Its new logo follows the name with a stylized Bitcoin ‘B.'” [WTOP]
Popeyes Reopens in Hybla Valley — “The Popeyes restaurant at Mount Vernon Crossroads shopping plaza officially reopened Feb. 5. The New Orleans-style chicken restaurant, located at 7832 Richmond Highway, had been closed since Nov. 23 due to a kitchen fire.” The Cut Butchery and F45 Training will also open in the corridor in the coming weeks. [On the MoVe]
High School Athlete Recruitment Bill Stalls — “Legislation aimed at cracking down on high school athletic recruitment tactics — specifically barring officials from using the ‘homeless’ designation to lure student athletes — hit a roadblock Tuesday, failing to advance at the session’s midpoint. Despite the setback, the fight isn’t over, according to Del. Dan Helmer, D-Fairfax, who sponsored House Bill 1656.” [Virginia Mercury]
It’s Friday — Expect mostly sunny skies and a high of 47 degrees, accompanied by northwest winds between 8 to 11 mph and gusts reaching up to 20 mph. On Friday night, the sky will turn mostly cloudy with temperatures dropping to around 31 degrees. The north wind will blow at 5 to 7 mph, eventually calming as the evening progresses. [NWS]
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors tooks steps on Tuesday (Feb. 4) that it hopes will ease the administrative burden on those organizing small-scale outdoor special events throughout the county.
Supervisors voted unanimously to amend administrative-permit rules for special events that are open to the public. The vote came at the very tail end of the board meeting.
FFXnow can now publish legal notices for Fairfax County.
FFXnow’s publisher Local News Now LLC was notified this week that a circuit court judge had approved its petition in December. That followed the enactment of a new state law last July that made Virginia the first in the nation to allow legal notices on online-only local news sites.
George Mason University has begun raising money in earnest to help fund a $70 million makeover of its performing arts center in Fairfax.
Publicly launched yesterday (Wednesday), the “Give Voice” initiative seeks to raise $35 million for a renovation of the Center for the Arts, the 1,935-seat concert hall at 4373 Mason Pond Drive. The university itself is expected to match the private donations with an additional $35 million.
This is a sponsored column by attorneys John Berry and Kimberly Berry of Berry & Berry, PLLC, an employment and labor law firm located in Northern Virginia that specializes in federal employee, security clearance, retirement and private sector employee matters.
By John V. Berry, Esq
With the deadline approaching today (February 6, 2025) for federal employees considering whether to take up the administration’s offer to resign and get paid through the end of September (“Fork in the Road” email), many still have questions.
There have been multiple changes to the offer and proposed settlement terms over the last few days so employees accepting the deferred resignation are facing risks as to whether or not the program will work as planned.
Many federal employees offered the deferred resignation opportunity could benefit from it, but one of the problems is that the program has been rushed out too quickly. With the speed that the program was put in place, most federal employees have been confused about how it applies, whether they will have to do any work during the resignation period and whether it is binding. Most agency administrators have been unable to properly advise subordinate federal employees on what type of work they will have to do during the resignation period and many other questions.
One version of the Fork in the Road email suggests that vacations are an option, which is likely not the case. Federal employees can expect to work to some degree (or perhaps full time) from home if they accept the deferred resignation offer. We just don’t know what will happen.
The Reality of the Resignation Offer
We are advising federal employee clients to seriously consider the risks before accepting OPM’s deferred resignation offer. While the offer is appealing to many, it involves a leap of faith. If something goes wrong with the resignation offer in the courts, such as it is found to have not been appropriated correctly by Congress, or whether it complies with the Administrative Procedures Act and other laws, individuals could be left without any option to challenge the agreement. We wrote about these issues when it first came out.
Local superstar Ilia Malinin and other figure skaters will convene in D.C. next month to pay tribute to the victims of last week’s airplane and helicopter crash near Reagan National Airport.
Set for Sunday, March 2, at Capital One Arena, the “Legacy on Ice” benefit will raise funds to support the families and loved ones of the 67 people killed in the Jan. 29 crash, while serving as a showcase for the American figure skating community, which lost 28 members.
If it seems like you know or have encountered more sick people this winter, it might not be your imagination.
The Fairfax Health District, which includes Fairfax County, Fairfax City and Falls Church, is experiencing high levels of respiratory illnesses, driven particularly by influenza, according to the Fairfax County Health Department.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors took less than 10 minutes on Tuesday (Feb. 4) to approve land-use changes allowing for a continuing-care facility along Route 7 in the Reston/Great Falls area.
The proposal by Silverstone Senior Living calls for up to 130 units — a mix of independent-living and assisted-living options — on the 22.5-acre parcel at 10819 Leesburg Pike, across from Riva Ridge Road and west of Baron Cameron Avenue.
