The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors directed County Executive Bryan Hill on Tuesday (Feb. 4) to develop proposals refining how the county government deals with illegal dumping.
The directive was based on a Jan. 15 memorandum from the county’s Environmental Quality Advisory Council (EQAC) that laid out both concerns and possible solutions.
Before it became Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, Caroline Ware’s farm in Wolf Trap served as the staging area for a noteworthy yet little-known battle in the civil rights movement’s long struggle against segregation.
A constitutional history and social sciences professor at Howard University, Ware hosted a picnic on May 14, 1944 for friends and students, four of whom got arrested after refusing to move to the back of the bus they boarded to return to D.C.
Fewer Flights Will Be Allowed at National Airport — “The Federal Aviation Administration plans to announce it is reducing flight arrivals at Washington Reagan National Airport to address safety concerns, after a deadly collision between a helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet killed 67 people, according to an email seen by Reuters.” [Reuters]
Man Injured in Richmond Highway Crash — Officers responded last night (Thursday) to “a two-vehicle crash at Route 1 and Dawn Dr. in Groveton. One of the drivers, an adult male, was taken to the hospital in life-threatening condition.” The crash closed northbound Route 1 between Beddoo Street and Fairview Drive. [FCPD]
Judge Halts Deadline for Federal Worker Resignations — “A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s ‘deferred resignation’ program, which is part of a sweeping effort to eliminate government jobs … The ruling came hours before the midnight deadline for workers to apply for the deferred resignation program, which the administration promoted as a buyout.” [NBC4]
Three-Alarm Fire at Lorton Warehouse — “Fire crews in Fairfax County [were] working to extinguish a large commercial fire in Lorton early Thursday morning. The fire was first reported just after 5 a.m. in the 8100 block of Terminal Road, near the Sharpshooters Indoor Range and Pro Shop.” [WUSA9]
Gas Station Makeover Gets Support — “The owner of a Shell gas station and auto repair shop on the corner of Backlick Road and Industrial Road in the Springfield area of Mason District is planning to replace them with a new gas station and convenience store. The Fairfax County Planning Commission endorsed the project on Feb. 5.” [Annandale Today]
Tysons Company Renamed to Reflect Bitcoin Focus — “MicroStrategy, one of Northern Virginia’s oldest technology companies, has a new corporate name that it said reflects its new focus on Bitcoin. Tysons-based MicroStrategy is now Strategy. Its new logo follows the name with a stylized Bitcoin ‘B.'” [WTOP]
Popeyes Reopens in Hybla Valley — “The Popeyes restaurant at Mount Vernon Crossroads shopping plaza officially reopened Feb. 5. The New Orleans-style chicken restaurant, located at 7832 Richmond Highway, had been closed since Nov. 23 due to a kitchen fire.” The Cut Butchery and F45 Training will also open in the corridor in the coming weeks. [On the MoVe]
High School Athlete Recruitment Bill Stalls — “Legislation aimed at cracking down on high school athletic recruitment tactics — specifically barring officials from using the ‘homeless’ designation to lure student athletes — hit a roadblock Tuesday, failing to advance at the session’s midpoint. Despite the setback, the fight isn’t over, according to Del. Dan Helmer, D-Fairfax, who sponsored House Bill 1656.” [Virginia Mercury]
It’s Friday — Expect mostly sunny skies and a high of 47 degrees, accompanied by northwest winds between 8 to 11 mph and gusts reaching up to 20 mph. On Friday night, the sky will turn mostly cloudy with temperatures dropping to around 31 degrees. The north wind will blow at 5 to 7 mph, eventually calming as the evening progresses. [NWS]
The Langley Saxons’ streak of five straight boys postseason swimming and diving championship meets came to an end this season — but barely.
The two-time defending Class 6 state champions finished second in this winter’s Liberty District meet by just 23 points. The McLean Highlanders won the Saturday (Feb. 1) event with 488 points. Langley had 465.
The seeding meeting that will determine the setups of the 17 divisions for the 2025 Northern Virginia Swimming League summer season has been scheduled for Sunday, March 2 at Key Middle School in Springfield.
Representative from each of the league’s 102 teams will be present to discuss and arrange the divisions. There are six teams in each division.
A man has been charged with an alleged armed carjacking in Annandale yesterday (Wednesday) that led to an arrest in Tysons.
Fairfax County police officers were dispatched to the 7000 block of Columbia Pike around 7:32 p.m. after a caller reported being carjacked “at gunpoint,” according to scanner traffic.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors tooks steps on Tuesday (Feb. 4) that it hopes will ease the administrative burden on those organizing small-scale outdoor special events throughout the county.
Supervisors voted unanimously to amend administrative-permit rules for special events that are open to the public. The vote came at the very tail end of the board meeting.
FFXnow can now publish legal notices for Fairfax County.
FFXnow’s publisher Local News Now LLC was notified this week that a circuit court judge had approved its petition in December. That followed the enactment of a new state law last July that made Virginia the first in the nation to allow legal notices on online-only local news sites.
George Mason University has begun raising money in earnest to help fund a $70 million makeover of its performing arts center in Fairfax.
Publicly launched yesterday (Wednesday), the “Give Voice” initiative seeks to raise $35 million for a renovation of the Center for the Arts, the 1,935-seat concert hall at 4373 Mason Pond Drive. The university itself is expected to match the private donations with an additional $35 million.
Local superstar Ilia Malinin and other figure skaters will convene in D.C. next month to pay tribute to the victims of last week’s airplane and helicopter crash near Reagan National Airport.
Set for Sunday, March 2, at Capital One Arena, the “Legacy on Ice” benefit will raise funds to support the families and loved ones of the 67 people killed in the Jan. 29 crash, while serving as a showcase for the American figure skating community, which lost 28 members.
