As the No Casino Coalition embarks on its second year of lobbying, it has learned some lessons in political realities.
Among them: Be careful when accepting help from anonymous sources.
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Reston
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The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is seeking answers to what it feels was an inadequate response to last week’s Jan. 6 snowstorm by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT).
“Planning, execution and communication fell far short of the service level that our residents demand and deserve,” supervisors said in a joint board matter adopted at the governing body’s meeting today (Tuesday).
Fairfax County is officially reviving long-gestating plans to redevelop the Crescent Apartments near Lake Anne in Reston.
At Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn’s request, the Board of Supervisors authorized staff today (Tuesday) to begin the process of conveying the 16.49-acre property at 1527 Cameron Crescent Drive to the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority (FCRHA).
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Inauguration Day is less than a week away, inviting either celebration or terror, depending on your political leanings.
The latter emotion is likely more prevalent in Fairfax County, where voters in all but two precincts favored Democratic nominee and current Vice President Kamala Harris even as a rightward shift in Virginia overall helped secure the 2024 election for former and incoming president Donald Trump.
Fairfax County Public School teachers have more rights than they did a week ago after the school board unanimously approved the Fairfax Education Unions’ (FEU) first collective bargaining agreement in nearly 50 years on Thursday (Jan. 9).
The agreement promises better wages, hours, benefits and working conditions, but questions still remain about how much funding the Board of Supervisors will provide when it finalizes the county budget in May.
D.C. Area on ‘High Alert’ for Bird Flu — “Bird flu outbreaks have been detected at three poultry operations in Maryland and Delaware, impacting more than 500,000 chickens and leading to heightened alert among officials in the Washington region.” The Maryland H5N1 case was reported on Friday (Jan. 10) and detected in a chicken in Caroline County. [Washington Post]
FCPS Not Affected by Data Breach — “K-12 education vendor PowerSchool experienced a data breach. While FCPS is a customer of PowerSchool, we do not utilize their Student Information System product, which was the system impacted by the data breach.” [Fairfax County Public Schools]
Governor Highlights Priorities for Final Year — “Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin launched his priorities in his State of the Commonwealth speech Monday morning. The speech, and the start of the 2025 Virginia General Assembly, was postponed until after the water crisis in Richmond could be resolved.” [WTOP]
High School Stadium Bathrooms Expected This Summer — “The long-awaited permanent restroom facilities at several high school athletic stadiums around the Richmond Highway Corridor are expected to be ready this summer, according to leaders at Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS).” [On the MoVe]
Proposed Bill Would Make School Breakfasts Free — “Public school students across Virginia would soon be getting free breakfasts under a newly proposed bill by Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (D-5) and Sen. Danica Roem (D-30) … The new bill only covers breakfast and costs $43 million, Bennett-Parker said.” [ALXnow]
Annandale Cancer Patient Finds Solace in Singer — “It’s been an incredibly tough year for Cassidy Rajala, an Annandale sixth-grader who’s spent months in the hospital since being diagnosed with leukemia in December 2023. One of the bright spots has been her discovery of pop singer Benson Boone.” [Annandale Today]
N. Va. Social Services Nonprofits Merge — “Northern Virginia Family Service, which offers a variety of help to those in need, last week announced its merger with Alexandria-based Stop Child Abuse Now of Northern Virginia. The entities will be combined under the Northern Virginia Family Service, or NVFS, name and will broaden services to better aid children in the region, a spokeswoman for NVFS said.” [Inside NoVA]
It’s Tuesday — Scattered flurries are expected after 4pm, accompanied by increasing clouds and a high near 32. Winds will be from the northwest at 9 to 11 mph, gusting up to 23 mph. For Tuesday night, expect scattered flurries to cease before 9pm, leading to partly cloudy skies and a low around 19. Northwest winds will be stronger, at 13 to 16 mph, and may gust as high as 30 mph. [NWS]
Advocates for a referendum to allow a casino in Tysons have a formidable ally in the General Assembly this year.
State Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-34) is carrying the 2025 bill to add Fairfax County to Virginia’s short list of casino-eligible localities, taking over from Sen. Dave Marsden (D-35), who introduced legislation in 2023 and 2024.
In its 85th year of existence, Fairfax County Public Library (FCPL) saw a surge in demand for digital materials, reflecting the ongoing expansion of its services beyond traditional print books.
The library system recorded 3.8 million digital checkouts in 2024, pushing it past the all-time milestone of 25 million checkouts, FCPL shared in an overview of the last calendar year published on Jan. 2, 2025.
Reston Community Center (RCC) will celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day for a 40th consecutive year with a full weekend of events and community service projects.
Set for this upcoming Saturday and Sunday (Jan. 18-19), RCC’s celebration will come after the actual anniversary of the civil rights leader’s birthday, which falls on Wednesday (Jan. 15), but precede the observed federal holiday next Monday (Jan. 20).