Countywide

After weeks of speculation and reported angst within the Democratic Party, President Joe Biden announced yesterday (Sunday) that he will no longer seek a second term, instead endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as his party’s nominee.

Reps. Gerry Connolly and Don Beyer, who represent parts of Fairfax County in the House, and Virginia senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner quickly expressed support for Biden’s “difficult decision” and joined him in backing Harris.


Countywide

Fairfax County is set to receive close to $51 million from the federal government to buy 60 new diesel-electric hybrid Connector buses.

Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner announced yesterday (Wednesday) that the county has been awarded over $50.5 million for the buses from the Federal Transportation Administration’s Low or No Emission Grant program, which has funded more than 1,100 buses in 47 states.


Countywide

(Updated at 3:35 p.m.) Congress has passed another short-term budget package, averting a partial shutdown of the federal government just hours before a midnight deadline.

In addition to funding the Justice Department, Housing and Urban Development, and other key agencies, the slate of bills passed 75-22 by the Senate on Friday (March 8) includes $12.7 billion in “pork” — money designated for local projects requested by lawmakers for their constituents.


News

A planned 14-gate concourse at Dulles International Airport received a major federal lift this week.

Yesterday, Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine announced that the Tier 2 Concourse East project will get $35 million in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that Congress passed in 2021.


News

Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine is calling on the federal government to investigate whether Navy Federal Credit Union has discriminated when approving loans to homebuyers.

The country’s largest credit union, which is headquartered in Vienna, rejected more than half of the Black people who sought a conventional home purchase mortgage in 2022, despite approving over 75% of white borrowers seeking the same loan, CNN reported last month.


Countywide

Instead of jail-time, a restaurant job could be waiting for some individuals facing non-violent criminal charges in Fairfax County if they finish a newly launched job training program.

The Pathfinder Kitchen initiative unveiled Monday (Jan. 8) by the Fairfax County Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney builds on the office’s nascent Taking Root diversion program, which offers case management, mental health and substance use assessments, affordable housing and other services to people accused of non-violent crimes in lieu of incarceration.


News

(Updated at 6 p.m.) A project to enhance the capacity of a key rail line through Fairfax County is chugging along, thanks to a major infusion of federal cash.

The Virginia Passenger Rail Authority has been awarded $100 million in federal funds to design and build a bridge that will allow Virginia Railway Express and Amtrak trains to cross over tracks approaching the Franconia-Springfield station (6880 Frontier Drive), Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner announced yesterday (Thursday).


Countywide

There has been another change in criteria for determining where the new FBI headquarters will go, prompting annoyance and even anger from several local officials.

Late last week, the General Services Administration (GSA) announced that it will now weigh cost and “advancing equity” as factors of higher importance when deciding if the new FBI headquarters will end up in Springfield or one of two sites in Prince George’s County, Maryland, per an updated site selection plan.


Countywide

Metro’s bus facility in Franconia is a step closer to going electric, thanks to a big infusion of funding from the federal government.

The Federal Transit Administration has awarded Metro a $104 million grant to convert its Cinder Bed Road Bus Division garage at 7901 Cinder Bed Road into a fully electric facility, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority announced Monday (June 26).


News

A proposal for more long-distance flights at Reagan National Airport (DCA) is catching the ire of some of Virginia’s Congressional representatives, who say it could undermine efforts to grow Dulles International Airport (IAD).

Proponents led by Capital Access Alliance argue that current restrictions at Reagan National — an airport owned by the federal government — are outdated and hurt the economy. They want to increase the number of flights that travel beyond 1,250 miles from the airport, allowing as many as 25 daily round trips.


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