Fairfax County is expanding the use of electric and hybrid-electric buses in Fairfax Connector in an effort to reduce emissions and “modernize” its transit fleet.
The Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) announced this week that 19 new next-generation hybrid-electric buses are being added, advancing a goal to transition nearly a quarter of the fleet to the technology by the end of the year.
Va. Seeks to Fill SNAP and Medicaid Gaps — “The General Assembly set aside more than $500 million in the 2026-2028 biennial budget to cover new administrative costs and cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.” Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed an executive order Tuesday (Aug. 25) focused on mitigating the impact of the federal spending cuts but “acknowledged that the state will not be able to absorb the full cost.” [Cardinal News]
Flags Lowered for Dolly Parton — “Gov. Abigail Spanberger has ordered all state and local flags to fly at half-staff to honor the memory of country music icon Dolly Parton. Parton died Tuesday at the age of 80.” Her publicist said she passed away after “a brief battle with cancer.” [Inside NoVA]
Two-Way I-95 Toll Lane Study Underway — “News4 has learned that a study is now underway to transform the I-95 express lanes into a two-way operation at all times instead of just the one direction the lanes go in now. There could also be another expansion of those express lanes south past Fredericksburg.” [NBC4]
Legislators Concerned by License Plate Readers — “License plate readers are being used by many governments and law enforcement agencies. But details about the data are secret … Senator [Danica] Roem and Delegate [Irene] Shin both say they would like to see members of the General Assembly allow for more transparency when they gavel into session in January.” [WVTF]
County Adds AI Chatbot to Website — “Our new ‘Ask Fairfax’ Generative AI chatbot is designed to help you quickly find information across fairfaxcounty.gov … It’s similar in style to tools like Copilot, ChatGPT and Claude, but focused exclusively on county information so you can get answers from trusted sources.” [Fairfax County Government]
SOL Scores Tick Up — “Virginia students continued to make progress in reading and math last school year, posting gains that moved them closer to pre-pandemic performance levels, the Virginia Department of Education announced Tuesday.” [Virginia Mercury]
Asphalt Plant Proposed in Springfield Area — “Vulcan Materials Co. is proposing to add an asphalt plant to its Edsall concrete production facility on Industrial Drive in the Springfield area of Mason District. The company plans to file an application with the county within the next few days.” [Annandale Today]
Jeff Goldblum Headlines GMU Arts Lineup — “Actor and jazz pianist Jeff Goldblum will headline a fall performing arts lineup at George Mason University that also includes international dance and vocal groups, two major orchestras and student productions. Goldblum and The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra will perform Oct. 3 during the 21st annual ARTS by George! benefit at the Center for the Arts.” [Patch]
It’s Thursday — Expect mostly sunny skies and a high near 90, though there’s a 30% chance of rain, mainly after 2pm. At night, there’s a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms, especially before midnight, with a low around 69. The sky will be mostly cloudy, and winds will become calm. [NWS]
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The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday (Aug. 25) paused to honor the legacy of former state Sen. Janet Howell (D-32), who died Aug. 2 at age 82.
“She was an institution,” Board Chair Jeff McKay said. “She spent three decades serving the residents of Fairfax County in many ways.”
An oversized vehicle will be heading north through Fairfax County this evening (Wednesday), contributing to what are expected to be “significant travel delays,” the Virginia Department of Transportation warns.
The “oversize load” is scheduled to travel through Virginia on I-77 North, I-81 North, I-66 East and the northbound lanes of the Capital Beltway (I-495) as it heads from North Carolina to Maryland between 7 p.m. today and 5 a.m. tomorrow morning (Thursday).
A new grocery store appears to have been secured for Reston’s Plaza America.
The German discount chain Lidl has “just signed” a lease for the former Whole Foods Market space at 11660 Plaza America Drive, according to a site plan recently updated by CBRE, the retail broker for the shopping center.
Meta has agreed to pay $17 billion and add child-safety measures to its Facebook and Instagram platforms to end a landmark trial over teen social media addiction and settle claims filed by 47 states, state attorneys general announced today (Wednesday).
The agreement guarantees $353 million for Virginia alone, making it one of the largest consumer protection settlements in state history outside of settlements with tobacco companies in the 1990s, Attorney General Jay Jones said in a statement.
As many Fairfax County high school students drive or walk to school this fall, they’re arriving at a building without a dedicated crossing guard — and, only a few days into the new academic year, several elected officials say that absence is already creating problems.
This past spring, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors eliminated funding for crossing guards at all public high schools, a move that was expected to save the county about $1.89 million in police staffing costs.
A 31-year old man is facing a range of criminal charges in connection with multiple thefts and burglaries from vehicles in the Reston area.
According to the Fairfax County Police Department, detectives in its Criminal Investigations Division began investigating after receiving a tip from a community member who met one of them at a National Night Out event on Aug. 4.
DOJ Raises Prospect of Kennedy Center Demolition — “The Trump administration threatened the demolition of the Kennedy Center if the center is not allowed to close for two years for renovations. The Justice Department floated the notion in a court filing Monday.” [NBC4]
Rare Tree Frog Seen in Huntley Meadows — In recent weeks, a rare blue tree frog “has drawn dozens of naturalists, wildlife enthusiasts and hobby photographers to Huntley Meadows, where visitors have tried to catch a glimpse of a frog that has become a local attraction and generated a flurry of social media attention.” [Washington Post]
Judge: Va. Still Improperly Denying Voting Rights — “A federal judge says Virginia officials incorrectly applied his order in a landmark voting rights case ruling that found the commonwealth had wrongly kept people with certain felony convictions from the ballot box for more than a century … Potentially hundreds of thousands of Virginians who should have been able to vote in the August primary were prevented from doing so.” [VPM News]
Police Chief on Great Falls Killing — “Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis says he anticipates harsher charges for the man who confessed to killing a 42-year-old mother in Great Falls,” stating that “the level of premeditation involved in the murder should bring the charges from second-degree murder to first-degree murder.” [WUSA9]
Young Workers Still Living With Parents — “About 4.9% of households in the DMV include what a new Bright MLS report terms a ‘shadow buyer’ — an employed adult between ages 25 and 39 who’s living in their parents’ home. That’s the 10th-highest share among U.S. metros,” a reflection of the region’s high housing prices and cost of living. [Axios DC]
Tysons Startup Bought for $232 Million — “Los Angeles-area manufacturer Navitas Semiconductor Corp. plans to buy Claros Inc., a McLean startup developing technologies to improve data center energy performance, for $232.8 million … The company said it expects to close the acquisition by the end of the year, which would be a rapid exit for Claros and its investors following its launch” in 2024. [Washington Business Journal]
Mount Vernon Trail Joins Hall of Fame — “Trails advocacy organization Rails to Trails Conservancy announced that the Mount Vernon Trail received 58% of public votes to win the Hall of Fame accolade. The other nominees were National Battlefield Trail in Texas and the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail in Ohio.” [ALXnow]
How Local Charity Helps Students — After buying a prom ticket for a student who couldn’t afford one, Mount Vernon High School substitute teacher Ron Fitzsimmons asked local charities “if they paid for smaller things he felt were important to a child’s self-esteem. They all said no … That reality inspired Fitzsimmons and his sister, Laura Fitzsimmons Peters, to launch Alice’s Kids in 2011.” [WTOP]
Record High Enrollment at GMU — “George Mason University undergraduate enrollment will hit a new high this semester with the arrival of more than 7,400 incoming students, thousands of whom packed into EagleBank Arena on Friday for New Student Convocation … Overall enrollment figures are not yet official but undergraduate enrollment is expected to top 29,600.” [GMU]
It’s Wednesday — Today will be mostly sunny with a high of around 88°F. Tonight, expect mostly cloudy skies with a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 a.m.; the low will be around 71°F. [NWS]
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Students attending McLean High School could find another nearby street off-limits for parking starting as soon as next month.
At its meeting today (Tuesday), the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors authorized a public hearing for Sept. 29 to consider a petition for parking restrictions by residents of a portion of Felix Street. They are seeking to have the road in front of the 13-home stretch incorporated into the McLean Residential Public Parking District.
