Countywide

(Updated at 4:35 p.m.) Employee bonuses, facility improvements, and a study of middle school start times are among the priorities that Fairfax County Public Schools can now fund, thanks to some financial leeway from staff vacancies and state revenue.

The school system has about $90.9 million left over from fiscal year 2022, which ran from July 1, 2021 to June 30 of this year, FCPS leaders reported to the school board during its last regular meeting on July 14.


Around Town

Celebrate Fairfax Inc. will close out the summer tomorrow (Friday) with an outdoor bash and some tunes.

The nonprofit organization best known for staging the annual Celebrate Fairfax! Festival will kick off the third and final Tysons Block Party of the season at 4 p.m. outside The PARC (8508 Leesburg Pike), the events venue it established at a former Container Store.


News

(Updated at 4:40 p.m.) A different kind of ghost will soon take up residence in the former Lord & Taylor at Tysons Corner Center.

A Spirit Halloween pop-up will move into the store’s lower level, mall spokesperson Maurisa Potts confirmed to FFXnow, stating that a specific opening date is still being worked out.


Countywide

Silver Line Phase 2 Drill Held Up by Rust — “Metro’s Silver Line is set to start running farther into Northern Virginia soon after years of project delays — but rust on the rails delayed an emergency drill Wednesday in Ashburn. Crews were set to simulate a real-life emergency starting at 8 a.m…Safety devices could not be installed quickly, and the drill was delayed more than two hours.” [NBC4]

Off-Campus GMU Students Moving in May Affect Traffic — “City of Fairfax Police are advising residents and commuters that The Flats on University will be moving in their residents on Friday, August 22. Move in begins at 7:30 a.m. and will end at 5 p.m…One section of Democracy Lane will be one way starting at the intersection of University and Democracy Lane.” [Fairfax City Police/Twitter]


News

Workers are putting the finishing touches on Vienna’s new police station, which will consolidate all police operations under one roof and provide new community spaces.

After some disruptions earlier this year due to supply chain issues, the $14 million facility is scheduled to finish punch-list items and get a final Fairfax County inspection next week, according to an Aug. 12 update from the Town of Vienna Police Department.


Sponsored

This biweekly column is sponsored by The Mather in Tysons, Virginia, a forward-thinking Life Plan Community for those 62 and better.

Volunteer work is a wonderful use of your time. Doing something worthwhile for others offers a wealth of benefits to your own well-being, from keeping you mentally and socially active to strengthening your sense of purpose and satisfaction with life.


News

In just over a month, Tysons Galleria patrons will be able to get dinner, a drink and a movie — all from the same reclining, leather armchair.

The mall’s new CMX CinéBistro will open on the third floor of the redeveloped Macy’s wing on Sept. 23, as noted on the movie theater company’s website.


Countywide

County Offers New Covid Vaccine — “Starting this week, adults 18 years of age and older who have never received a COVID-19 vaccine and are interested in getting one, can now make an appointment for the recently authorized Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine, Adjuvanted. Due to limited availability, Novavax will only be offered by appointment only.” [Fairfax County Health Department]

Teen Takes Stand in Springfield Murder Trial — “A teenager on trial in the killings of two Fairfax County high school students took the stand Tuesday and said he was defending a friend when he opened fire inside a Springfield, Virginia, home last year…Ersheen Elaiaiser, 17, was shot twice in the chest and 16-year-old Calvin Van Pelt was shot once in the back at a home in the 8000 block of Winding Way Court, prosecutors said. Both teens died.” [NBC4]


Countywide

(Updated at 3:05 p.m.) A transgender woman’s lawsuit alleging discrimination at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center will be allowed to move forward in a potentially landmark decision in the fight for trans rights.

Former inmate Kesha Williams can pursue her complaint arguing that the harassment she experienced at the county jail violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, a U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled in an opinion released today (Tuesday).


Countywide

A September hunt intended to control the local deer population in Tysons Forest has been canceled.

Voicing safety concerns, residents and other community members near the 33-acre Tysons Forest — also known as Old Courthouse Spring Branch Stream Valley Park — successfully campaigned to get it removed from a list of areas marked for deer hunting.


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