The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department is investigating a fire at a home in the Herndon area where two people were found dead.
Firefighters were dispatched to the 1500 block of Shellbark Place in Dranesville around 7:20 a.m. for the house fire. They arrived at the single-family home to see visible fire and “a large amount of black smoke in the area,” according to scanner traffic.
Just under 10% of Fairfax home-sellers cut their asking prices last week, but more prospective buyers were on the hunt for homes in the county, according to new data.
Countywide, listing prices were reduced for a total of 9.9% of active listings during the week that ended last Sunday (Nov. 2), according to figures reported by Bright MLS, the region’s multiple-listing service.
Herndon police believe they have arrested everyone involved in the stabbing of a teen late last month, a department spokesperson says.
The 15-year-old boy was reportedly stabbed by three people at a home in the 600 block of Center Street around 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 24. He was transported to a hospital with serious injuries, though his condition later stabilized.
Va. Constitutional Amendments Loom — “Four proposed amendments to Virginia’s state constitution could reach voters as early as the spring, after Tuesday’s election gave Democrats a bigger edge in the House of Delegates.” Measures to enshrine the right to reproductive freedom, prohibit denials of marriage licenses for same-sex couples, restore felons’ right to vote and allow redistricting could be on the ballot if they pass the General Assembly a second time. [WTOP]
N. Va. Support Decisive for Spanberger — “In the region’s four counties and five cities, Spanberger, the Democrat, won 72.3% of the total vote to just 27.4% for her Republican opponent, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears. Across the rest of Virginia, the margin was much tighter, with Spanberger winning 51.2% to 48.7% for Earle-Sears.” [Inside NoVA]
South Lakes Alum Elected NJ Governor — “Mikie Sherrill was elected to be New Jersey’s next governor, and she was born right in Northern Virginia … Sherrill was born in Alexandria in 1972 and grew up in NoVA. She graduated from South Lakes High School in Reston in 1990.” [Northern Virginia Magazine]
Reston Contractor Leaders Take Pay Cuts — ICF International executives agreed to temporary 20% pay cuts “to show support for affected federal employees and clients” during the government shutdown. The company estimates it will lose $8 million in revenue due to the shutdown, on top of a nearly 30% year-over-year decline attributed “to contract funding curtailments and a slower pace of new requests for proposals.” [Virginia Business]
Reston Company Considers Layoffs — “Data analytics provider Qbase LLC, an affiliate of Reston technology contractor Tyto Athene LLC, announced it could lay off up to 60 employees” starting on Dec. 30, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification dated Oct. 31.” A spokesperson declined to comment on the reason for the filing, which could be rescinded if contract funding is restored. [Washington Business Journal]
Lawyers Road Closure Planned — Lawyers Road will be closed for a second consecutive weekend for construction work to replace drainage pipes. Through traffic will be detoured around the closure, which will be in place between Hunter Mill Road and Garrett Street from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. this Saturday (Nov. 8). [VDOT]
HVAC Issues Close Vienna Library — The temporary Patrick Henry Library at Cedar Park Shopping Center has been closed in recent days due to an HVAC issue. “Temperatures in the public area were too cold to comfortably open. It is likely going to be completely resolved today or tomorrow,” a Fairfax County Public Library spokesperson says, though patrons are advised to check the library website for updates. [FCPL]
It’s Thursday — Expect sunny skies and a high of around 57 degrees, accompanied by a northwest wind blowing at 8 to 11 mph and gusts reaching up to 22 mph. As for Thursday night, the weather will be mostly clear and the temperature will drop to a low of about 38 degrees, with a light and variable wind. [NWS]
After Virginia Democrats exceeded expectations in yesterday’s elections, optimism is high among Fairfax County lawmakers.
Flipping each of Virginia’s statewide offices with Abigail Spanberger, Ghazala Hashmi and Jay Jones winning, respectively, for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general was only a portion of the party’s statewide success on Election Day.
By LISA MASCARO and MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The government shutdown has entered its 36th day, breaking the record as the longest ever and disrupting the lives of millions of Americans with federal program cuts, flight delays and federal workers nationwide left without paychecks.
Nearly two months after Krop’s Crops was devastated by a fire, its owners are hopeful they’ll be able to recover, thanks to an outpouring of support from the community.
The Sept. 9-10 fire consumed a one-story barn and the main marketplace building at the family-owned produce farm in Great Falls (11110 Georgetown Pike). No injuries were reported, but everything in storage, including its antique collectibles and Christmas sleigh, was lost, co-owner Andy Krop says.
Just a few months after Greenheart Juice abruptly closed its doors in Vienna, a new homegrown, health-focused cafe has moved into the nearly-century-old building it occupied off the Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) Trail.
As rumored, the gourmet toast chain Toastique took over Greenheart’s space at 208 Dominion Road NE and now anticipates opening to the public at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 15.
Dems Sweep N. Va. House Seats — “Democratic candidates won all 30 of Northern Virginia’s seats in the Virginia House of Delegates on Tuesday as the party seemed likely to significantly expand its 51-49 majority in the state’s lower chamber. As of 9 p.m. Democrats had already picked up four seats statewide, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.” [Inside NoVA]
Virginia Launches Statewide Food Drive — “Building on a temporary state-level version of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) announced last week, state agencies are collaborating on a food drive effort to further bolster food-insecure communities around Virginia, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Tuesday morning.” [Virginia Mercury]
DCA Flight Evacuated for Bomb Threat — “All flights were grounded at Reagan National Airport midday Tuesday while a United Airlines jet was evacuated over a reported security threat … The main runway reopened at 12:50 p.m. but many flights were delayed by about an hour ‘due to security,’ according to the FAA.” [ARLnow]
Bus Driver Crashes on Dulles Toll Road — “Crews with the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department responded to a crash involving a bus at around 6 a.m. on Route 267, just before the Wiehle Avenue exit.” The Fairfax Connector bus had hit a guardrail, and the trapped driver had to be extracted before getting taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. No passengers were on board, as the bus wasn’t in service at the time. [DC News Now]
Former Va. Rep. Weighs in on Shutdown — Former Virginia Rep. Tom Davis, “a Republican who served on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and preceded the late Rep. Gerry Connolly in Congress, said the House of Representatives has done its part to try and end the shutdown by passing a continuing resolution. But, he said, the Senate needs to take action, which would require ‘bipartisan buy-in, and at this point, we don’t have it.'” [WTOP]
Fairfax City Names New Schools Head — “At Monday night’s regular meeting, the City of Fairfax School Board announced that it will be appointing Dr. Dustin Wright as the new superintendent, effective Dec. 1. He will succeed former Superintendent Jeff Platenberg, who retired in July.” [Patch]
Algae Bloom Spotted at Reston Lake — “Lake Thoreau is experiencing a minor algae bloom impacting cove areas in the areas surrounding South Lakes shopping center. RA Environmental staff members are testing the area and advise people and animals avoid contact with the water at this time.” [Reston Association]
McLean Student Tests Drinking Water — “Virginia high schooler Hera Lu-Yang set out in the spring to determine how safe drinking water is in Northern Virginia by conducting tests in numerous localities, including Alexandria, for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl substances, also called PFAS.” The BASIS Independent School student found “that Alexandria’s water contains a high level of PFAS chemicals — almost three times that of neighboring localities.” [Alexandria Times]
It’s Wednesday — Expect sunny skies and a high near 70, accompanied by a southwest wind of 7 to 16 mph, with gusts reaching up to 32 mph. Wednesday night will be mostly clear, with temperatures dropping to around 45. The southwest wind will blow at 13 to 16 mph but will shift to the northwest after midnight, with potential gusts as high as 43 mph. [NWS]
Democrat Abigail Spanberger won the governor’s race in Virginia today (Tuesday), defeating Republican Winsome Earle-Sears, the Associated Press declared at 7:58 p.m.
Spanberger will succeed Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who is not allowed to run for a second consecutive term. Her victory aligns with recent voting patterns in Virginia, which picks its governors the year after a presidential election and tends to elect someone of the opposite party of the president.
