Fairfax County supervisors on Tuesday (Jan. 13) set a pair of future public hearings on proposed revisions to zoning rules for large-scale battery storage in the county.
The proposed changes would impact what are known as Battery Energy Storage Systems, or BESS. Language in the amendments would add a new definition for BESS and add new use standards and submission requirements, including minimum setbacks and the completion of a noise study before a site plan can be approved.
The Fairfax County delegation to the General Assembly heads to Richmond this week with plenty of requests from constituents.
Nearly 100 of them descended on the Fairfax County Government Center Saturday morning (Jan. 10) to make their case on issues ranging from social services to economic development.
Fairfax County Public Schools needs $1.1 billion over the next five years to fund planned renovation, maintenance and construction projects.
The school system released its latest draft Capital Improvement Program (CIP) ahead of a presentation to the school board this afternoon (Tuesday).
A group of protestors blocked traffic at Capital One’s headquarters in Tysons this morning (Tuesday).
Organizers called for the finance giant to drop a $90 million loan to the Arlington-based weapons company Elbit Systems, which they say supplies the Israeli military and federal immigration enforcement agencies.
Fairfax County election officials say they are holding their own as a series of special elections keeps local voters on their toes.
“We’ve got a fantastic team,” said Eric Spicer, the county’s registrar and elections director, at the Jan. 7 Electoral Board meeting.
Investigation Into FCPS Abortion Claims Finished — “Allegations that a Fairfax County school social worker facilitated student abortions are untrue, Superintendent Michelle Reid said in a letter to Centreville High School families on Friday.” A finished investigation reaffirmed initial findings that determined “the allegations to be … based on statements that were ‘misinterpreted, mistranslated, taken out of context, or in some cases knowingly fabricated.'” [WTOP]
Forum Held for Democratic Primary Candidates — Candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for today’s 39th Senate District firehouse primary “fielded several questions during a packed public forum [last night], with topics ranging from the primary’s scheduling to affordability, right-to-work and more.” [ALXnow]
Feedback Wanted on Trash Districts — “The Board of Supervisors in August deferred action on a proposal for Unified Sanitation Districts (USDs) to evaluate alternative options. The USD concept has now resurfaced, and the Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services has scheduled two meetings to solicit feedback.” [Annandale Today]
Community Members Share Boundary Change Concerns — “Dozens of parents and students in Fairfax County were up early Saturday morning at Luther Jackson Middle School in Falls Church, Virginia, to express their concerns over proposed school boundary changes … FCPS leaders say the boundary changes would address overcrowding and reduce the amount of split feeder schools.” [NBC4]
Traffic Stop Leads to Gun and Drug Charges — “Three men from Alexandria are facing charges after a traffic stop led to the seizure of firearms and the discovery of narcotics distribution evidence, police said.” Patrol officers initially pulled over a car near Russell Road and Norwood Drive on Jan. 6 “for having a loud, modified exhaust.” [DC News Now]
Local ‘Quad God’ Secures Olympics Spot — “Vienna-based figure skater ‘Quad God’ Ilia Malinin will head to next month’s Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, U.S. Figure Skating announced Sunday. The news comes after Malinin spun more gold on Saturday night at the 2026 Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis, Missouri.” [Northern Virginia Magazine]
Falls Church Grocery Schedules Opening — “Grocery Outlet, the replacement for a shuttered small-format Target store at 500 S. Washington Street, plans to open on Feb. 12, the company announced in a press release today (Monday). This will be Grocery Outlet’s first store in Virginia, but it’s expected to ‘kick off a series of openings across the state,’ the press release says.” [ARLnow]
Retired Capitals Star Sells McLean Home — “Nicklas Backstrom ditched the DC area for his native Sweden last year, capping a 17-season career as a center for the Washington Capitals. In April, he listed his ritzy McLean mansion for sale at $14.99 million … The property sold on Wednesday for $11 million.” [Washingtonian]
It’s Tuesday — Expect sunny skies and a high near 50, along with a calm wind turning south at 5 to 9 mph in the afternoon. At night, the sky will be mostly cloudy, accompanied by a low around 40. A southwest wind will blow at 8 to 11 mph, with gusts reaching up to 20 mph. [NWS]
Fairfax County elected officials seem in alignment on their top priority for the 2026 Virginia General Assembly session.
“Number one is always K-12 education funding,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said at the annual legislative public hearing, held Saturday (Jan. 10) at the Fairfax County Government Center.
A Tysons man will spend nearly two years in prison for fraudulently claiming that he didn’t receive more than $1 million in luxury watches he had ordered, when he was actually attempting to resell them for profit.
Jaivin Raj Karnani, 45, was sentenced Thursday (Jan. 8) to one year and nine months in prison after pleading guilty to one count of mail fraud, announced federal prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
A preschool-aged child diagnosed with measles recently visited the medical center at Fort Belvoir, among other locations in the D.C. region, the Virginia Department of Health says.
The child, who lives in Northern Virginia, was present at the Alexander T. Augusta Military Medical Center Emergency Department and Executive Medicine Suite (9300 DeWitt Loop) at Fort Belvoir between 9:30 a.m. and 3 p.m., and from 10 p.m. to midnight last Friday (Jan. 9), potentially exposing other patients, visitors and staff.
A near-constant cacophony of car horns issued from the core of Maple Avenue in Vienna yesterday afternoon (Sunday), and this time, it wasn’t an expression of frustration with congestion.
Instead, passing drivers were honking in support of protestors lining both sides of the town’s main street in response to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent fatally shooting poet and mother Renee Good in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Wednesday (Jan. 7).
