Countywide

(Updated at 4:10 p.m.) It has not been a great week for plans to bring professional sports teams to Northern Virginia.

Just a day after negotiations for a Washington Wizards and Capitals arena in Alexandria officially fell through, George Mason University has announced that it’s no longer planning to build a joint baseball and cricket stadium in Fairfax for the Washington Freedom.


News

Fox Mill Road will be closed at the beginning of next month to allow for a pipe replacement.

Virginia Department of Transportation crews are replacing a drainage pipe, prompting the closure between Pinecrest Road and John Milton Drive in Herndon on Monday, April 1 from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.


Countywide

N. Va. Sees Rise in Home Sales — “The number of home sales in Northern Virginia rose 2.2% compared to a year earlier, the first year-over-year increase since November 2021. That is in contrast to the national housing market, which saw sales fall 3.3%. Northern Virginia also saw a dramatic increase in home sales from the previous month, up 32%.” [WTOP]

Governor Vetoes Gun Safety Bills — “Gov. Glenn Youngkin has vetoed an assault weapons ban and a slate of other gun-control bills passed by the Virginia General Assembly, but he signed a pair of…measures into law: One bans a device that turns a semiautomatic firearm into a machine gun, and the other allows a parent or guardian to be charged with a felony for allowing a child who has been deemed a threat to have access to a gun.” [Washington Post]


News

The Town of Herndon’s indoor tennis center has closed early for the season, the Herndon Parks and Recreation Department announced yesterday (Tuesday).

The closure was prompted by damage to the tennis enclosure, according to Reid Okoniewski, a spokesperson for the town’s parks and recreation department. 


Countywide

Fairfax County police officers issued almost 5,700 citations and warnings during the first phase of their year-long “Road Shark” safety campaign, the department announced this morning (Wednesday).

A collaboration with the Virginia State Police, the initiative aims to crack down on aggressive and unsafe driving by increasing patrols in high-crash areas and promoting education about traffic laws and responsible driving behavior.


Sponsored

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Around Town

Reston founder Bob Simon Jr. will once again be the focus of celebrations next month during the annual Founder’s Day celebration.

The festivities are set to take place at Lake Anne Plaza (1609 Washington Plaza North) on April 6 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It began as a celebration of Simon’s 90th birthday in 2004, when artist Zachary Oxman unveiled a sculpture commemorating him.


Countywide

Inova Health Systems is working to boost the capacity of its emergency room in Merrifield with the help of a $10 million gift from the co-founder of an international IT consulting firm.

The nonprofit announced last Thursday (March 21) that it received the planned gift commitment from Apex Systems co-founder Win Sheridan. The money will go to Inova’s Greatest Needs fund, which is administered by its CEO to support “critical projects and initiatives.”


Countywide

Arrests Made After Annandale Barricade — “Fairfax County Police arrested 13 people March 25 following a dispute at the Parliaments Apartments in Annandale. Police responded to a report of a brandishing incident in the 7300 block of Englewood Place at about 8:30 p.m.” A 19-year-old “displayed a firearm, then threatened to shoot” one of the occupants. [Annandale Today]

Trial Underway in Sexual Assault Lawsuit Against FCPS — “A 24-year-old woman told jurors Tuesday that she was repeatedly raped and sexually harassed a decade ago as a seventh-grade student in Virginia, and that school officials reacted to her pleas for help with indifference…The case involving B.R. stretches back to allegations she was raped and harassed as a 12-year-old student at Rachel Carson Middle School in Reston.” [Associated Press]


Countywide

Fairfax County is taking steps to make affordable housing more accessible to people dealing with serious mental illness.

The Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority (FCRHA) will implement a major increase in rental assistance for people with serious mental illness, thanks to a $20 million agreement approved earlier this month with the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS).


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