New Orleans-style beignets are on the menu at a new coffee shop opening Friday (Aug. 7) in Herndon.
Beignets & Brew will open at 348 Elden Street #460. The grand opening starting at 7 a.m. will include a ribbon cutting with Herndon Mayor Keven LeBlanc.
Flood Watch Wednesday in Fairfax County — “🌧️ Flood Watch in effect for Fairfax County 4:00 AM–11:00 AM Wednesday (Aug. 5). Heavy rain may bring 2–4 inches in a short time, causing flash flooding in low-lying areas, urban streets, and along creeks and streams.” [Ready Fairfax/X]
Fairfax Hospitals Rank High on Best Virginia Hospitals List — Inova Fairfax Hospital, Inova Fair Oaks Hospital and Reston Hospital Center ranked among the top hospitals in Virginia on the 2026-2027 U.S. News and World Report list. This year, the report added regional specialized rankings for cancer, cardiology, heart and vascular surgery, orthopedics and rehabilitation. [Patch]
Metro Touts Reduction in Crime — “For the second year in a row, Metro officials are touting reductions in crime on Metrorail, Metrobuses and at Metro parking lots. ‘We are the safest Metro has ever been. We believe we are the safest transit agency in the country,’ said Randy Clarke, general manager of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Crime still occurs in and around the Metro system, but Clarke and Metro’s police chief say it continues to get safer.” [NBC Washington]
Fairfax Connector Store Changes Coming — “Effective Wednesday, Aug. 19, the West*Park Fairfax Connector Store in McLean will permanently close, and a new Fairfax Connector Store will open at the Monument Drive Commuter Parking Garage and Transit Center in Fairfax.” [Fairfax Connector]
Adopt-A-Student Backpack Runs Through Aug. 7 — “Volunteer and Partner Services is excited to once again partner with Roonga, this time for our annual School Supply and Backpack Drive! In order to get started, all you need to do is log onto the live site. July 1 through August 7, 2026, you are invited to Adopt-A-Student and help them start the school year prepared and confident.” [Fairfax County]
Residents Asked to Report Flooding from Sunday Rainstorms — “Some areas of Fairfax County received almost a month’s worth of rain in just a few hours this past Sunday! If you saw any flooding near your home during the recent storms or if you still see standing water, please report it.” [Fairfax County Public Works/X]
It’s Wednesday — Expect showers and thunderstorms, especially before 3pm and again after 4pm, with mostly cloudy skies and a high of 87°F. Winds will be light, becoming south at 5 to 7 mph, and there’s a 60% chance of precipitation, with rainfall amounts between a quarter and half an inch possible. Wednesday night will have a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11pm, then a slight chance of showers until 2am, with a low around 74°F and a south wind at 6 mph. [NWS]
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Fairfax County voters turned out in a trickle for Democratic and Republican primaries Tuesday (Aug. 4) to choose who will move on to the congressional midterm elections in November.
In the lone Democratic primary, Rep. Don Beyer (D-8) earned the nomination in the 8th Congressional District, the Associated Press called at 7:34 p.m. The congressman, vying for his seventh term, defeated four challengers — former Alexandria City Council Member Mo Seifeldein, fired State Department worker Michael Duffin, veteran and former CIA officer Adam Dunigan and military family advocate Lorena Bruner.
In-person voting turnout has been low in Fairfax County for the dual primary elections, according to Office of Elections data.
Democratic and Republican primaries for the congressional midterms are being held Tuesday (Aug. 4). Fairfax County has a Democratic primary in the 8th Congressional District, and Republican primaries include U.S. Senate and the 10th Congressional District.
A data center operator with multiple locations in Northern Virginia is establishing company headquarters in Reston.
Reston Station developer Comstock Companies announced that QTS Data Centers signed a lease at 1800 Reston Row Plaza in Reston Station. The data center operator will occupy 77,000 square feet in the building’s entire 11th, 12th and 13th floors.
Fairfax County recorded a 10% year-over-year increase in the number of residents counted as unemployed in June, according to new state data.
With 611,867 residents in the civilian workforce and 22,888 looking for jobs, the county’s non seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for June was 3.6%.
The planned redevelopment of Lake Fairfax Business Park into a large residential development is on track for consideration by Fairfax County officials this fall.
EYA Development provided a presentation on the proposed redevelopment to the Board of Directors of the Reston Association on July 23. The business park is at 1780 Business Center Drive, off the Dulles Access Road and near the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station. It has several office buildings, a Lifetime Fitness gym, Homewood Suites hotel, Reston Montessori School and a data center.
It’s Election Day — Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. for the 8th Congressional District Democratic primary and U.S. Senate and 10th Congressional District Republican primaries. [FFXnow]
Church Severs Ties With Pastor After Sexually Explicit Accusations — “‘Pastor Kenny Baldwin has been removed from all ministry responsibilities,’ says a statement from the church’s leadership. “Our first concern is for everyone who may be affected by this situation.'” [Annandale Today]
Sen. Warner Calls for Accountability on DOJ Election Monitoring — “This letter follows DOJ’s July 7, 2026, announcement that it would deploy election monitors to 15 jurisdictions across Arizona, Michigan, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Virginia during the 2026 primary election season, with plans to expand the program for the general election. While DOJ characterized the effort as ‘routine’ and ‘nonpartisan,’ the senators are concerned that monitors are being disproportionately assigned to jurisdictions in states led by Democrats.” [Sen. Mark Warner news release]
TJ Students Use AI to Summarize School Board Meetings — “It’s a free, web-based app that [Ronit] Singh said detects when a new school board meeting gets published. It then, using Claude AI, summarizes the meetings and posts the summary online. The group reviews the summaries the tech produces ‘because we know that some people don’t trust AI fully, so every single meeting is human reviewed,’ Singh said. As of June, Singh said the site is able to produce summaries for Fairfax, Loudoun, Arlington and Prince William counties.” [WTOP]
Judge Upholds Medicaid Work Requirements Challenged by Virginia — “States will have to meet a Jan. 1 deadline to implement new Medicaid work requirements, after a federal judge denied 25 Democratic-led states’ request to pause implementation of the rule. The broad tax and spending law President Donald Trump signed last summer, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, requires states that have expanded Medicaid to cover more adults under the Affordable Care Act — 42 states plus the District of Columbia — to mandate that those adults work, go to school or volunteer for at least 80 hours a month to keep their coverage.” [Virginia Mercury]
Chain Bridge Road Work Completed in Oakton — “The Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) recently completed work on a new sidewalk along Chain Bridge Road between Courthouse Road and Sutton Road, improving pedestrian connectivity between neighborhoods and providing safer access to transit, schools, parks and other community destinations.” [Fairfax County Department of Transportation]
Sunday Marked Rainiest Day for Region — “Although 1 to 3 inches was most common, totals ranged from less than a half-inch in parts of the western suburbs to more than 3 inches in isolated locations. Arlington, which has missed many storms this summer, hit the jackpot, with more than 3 inches in several areas. A broad swath of eastern Fairfax County also received 2 to 3-plus inches. Other corridors of heavy rain, with 2 to 4 inches, stretched across parts of Fauquier, Stafford and Charles counties.” [Capital Weather]
It’s Tuesday — Partly sunny with a high of 86°F. Expect northeast winds at 5 to 7 mph. Tuesday night, there’s a 30% chance of showers mainly after 5 a.m., with mostly cloudy skies and a low of 71°F. East winds around 5 mph will become calm in the evening. [NWS]
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The popular D.C.-area restaurant Founding Farmers is preparing to bring on-site distilleries to its Fairfax County locations.
According to Fairfax County zoning records, Founding Farmers’ existing Tysons and Reston locations each plan to operate a small-scale distillery producing no more than 5,000 gallons of spirits per year for patrons of the farmer-owned restaurant.
Fairfax County voters will head to the polls Tuesday (Aug. 4) to cast their votes in Democratic and Republican primaries, which will determine nominees for the 2026 midterms.
Polls will be open between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. Tuesday. Voters are not registered by party in Virginia, so they can choose to vote in either the Democratic or Republican primary. As of Aug. 1, Fairfax County has over 817,000 registered voters.
