Activists calling for Fairfax County leaders to take a stance on the violence currently devastating the Middle East have again found themselves met with silence.
At the Board of Supervisors meeting yesterday (Tuesday), resident Rob Bradley used the public-comment period to urge local leaders to pass a resolution calling for an unconditional ceasefire between Israel, Hamas, which governs Gaza, and Hezbollah, the paramilitary group in Lebanon.
Fairfax County supervisors want to ensure the county government isn’t caught flat-footed by public policy revisions undertaken by the incoming Trump administration and Republican Congress.
Supervisors voted 9-1 along party lines yesterday (Tuesday) to direct County Executive Bryan Hill and staff to analyze potential impacts on everything from federal government employment and commercial real estate to transportation and climate change.
A fast-casual restaurant that serves halal chicken tenders, gyros and more into the early morning hours is setting up shop in Fairfax — both the county and the city.
Blazin Chicken & Gyro anticipates opening its first Northern Virginia location at Tysons Station (7502 Leesburg Pike) in Pimmit Hills in early December. The 1,849-square-foot eatery will be located next door from China King in the Trader Joe’s-anchored shopping center.
Men Charged With Alexandria Double Shooting — “The Alexandria Police Department (APD) announced that two Fairfax County residents have been arrested for a non-fatal double shooting in the Braddock neighborhood earlier this year … Two juveniles were shot while they sat in a parked car on Wythe Street.” [ALXnow]
Parents Discuss School Boundary Change Priorities — “Parents and community members discussed their priorities for a districtwide boundary review at Glasgow Middle School on Nov. 18. This is the first time Fairfax County Public Schools is looking at school boundaries in a holistic way in nearly 40 years, Superintendent Michelle Reid told approximately 170 attendees.” [Annandale Today]
Donors Still Wanted for McLean Blood Drive — Appointments are still available for the Red Cross blood drive that the VFW Post 8241 in McLean is hosting this Friday (Nov. 22). The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 1051 Spring Hill Road, and all donors will get free holiday socks. “Please help the Red Cross save lives by donating blood before the holidays.” [VFW Post 8241/Facebook]
How Fatal TWA Plane Crash Changed N. Va. — TWA Flight 514 crashed on Dec. 1, 1974, killing all 92 people on board, after a snowstorm forced it to divert from Reagan National Airport to Dulles International Airport. Reporter Buzz McClain, who happened to be on the next flight scheduled to land, looks back on the crash and its aftermath. [Northern Virginia Magazine]
D.C. Region’s First Padel Facility Opens — “Padel Up, the first facility dedicated to the sport of padel in the area, opened in Sterling on Monday. The hope is to grow awareness for the game in the US while offering a community meeting space complete with four enclosed courts and a lounge with a smoothie and coffee bar.” [Washingtonian]
Beagle Sniffs Out Contraband at Dulles Airport — “Found on the streets just a few years ago, Freddie is now one of six dogs on the sharp-nosed Beagle Brigade patrolling Washington Dulles International Airport for plants and meat products that travelers are prohibited from bringing into the country to prevent disease or infestation by foreign plants, insects or microbes.” [Washington Post]
New Restrooms Celebrated at Fort Belvoir Park — “Members of the Woodlawn Little League community joined Fairfax County officials and staff Nov. 16 in celebrating the completion of a new building with restrooms, concessions and storage space at McNaughton Fields Park in Fort Belvoir.” [On the MoVe]
Wakefield Teacher Shares Native American Heritage — “November is Native American Heritage Month. At Wakefield Forest Elementary School in Fairfax, advanced academics resource teacher Tony Gray has added a lifetime of experience to his lesson plan.” [WTOP]
It’s Wednesday — Expect showers after 4pm with mostly cloudy skies and a high of 65. Winds will pick up from the southeast in the afternoon. Night brings a 90% chance of showers and thunderstorms before 4am with a low around 43. Rainfall amounts may range between a quarter and half of an inch. [NWS]
Runningbacks Robert Roncskevitz from the Langley Saxons, Ethan Lebkisher of the Marshall Statesmen and Ethan Buhler of the Herndon Hornets were chosen first-team all-Liberty District for their performances in football this fall.
Each was the leading rusher for his high-school team, helping all three earn 6D Northern Region playoff berths.
Angelique Palmer, a performance poet and teacher, has been chosen as Fairfax County’s new poet laureate.
ArtsFairfax announced yesterday (Monday) that Palmer will serve as its poet laureate from 2024 through 2027. Succeeding Danielle Badra, Palmer will be the third person to hold the title, which was created in 2020 to celebrate poetry and promote it to a wider local audience.
Homebuyers across Fairfax County paid, on average, 7.8% more per square foot in October than they did a year before.
Fairfax’s average per-square-foot price of $374, up from $347 in October 2023, was in the middle of the Northern Virginia pack, but the year-over-year increase was on the high side across the D.C. region and broader Mid-Atlantic corridor.
If it’s possible to sum up a life with two words, then testimony from family, friends and former colleagues suggests “service” and “community” should be top contenders for describing the legacy of longtime Fairfax County volunteer fire chief Homer Johns.
Speakers repeatedly circled back to those concepts at a memorial service on Saturday (Nov. 16), as they paid tribute to the over five decades Johns spent with the McLean and Great Falls volunteer fire departments.
Fairfax County School Board members hope an infusion of $3 million in additional cash will help create an objective evaluation of public school facilities as new renovation timetables are developed.
Board members voted 11-0, with one abstention, on Thursday (Nov. 14) to add the funding to $2 million previously appropriated. It will support upcoming work by consultants evaluating the conditions of all schools, athletic facilities and administrative buildings.
Fairfax Water has sent about 137,000 letters to customers to help determine whether their pipes might contain traces of lead.
The utility says its source water from the Potomac River and Occoquan Reservoir has no detectable lead and maintains it has “always been in compliance” with federal drinking water guidelines.
