Countywide

(Updated at 5:20 p.m.) A new bill that would let Virginia law enforcement use facial recognition technology is headed to the governor’s desk.

Senate Bill 741, which was proposed by Sen. Scott Surovell (D-36), would let local law enforcement agencies use the technology to investigate specific criminal incidents related to certain acts of violence and to identify deceased individuals and victims of online child sexual abuse material.


Countywide

The autonomous Relay shuttle that has been puttering around Merrifield will stay in operation at least through the end of this year.

Fairfax County accepted additional funding from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation last week to extend its pilot project through December 2022, as it hopes the recent decline in COVID-19 cases will boost the shuttle’s ridership.


Countywide

Worker resignations for Fairfax County government positions jumped up nearly 62% from 2020 to 2021, from 507 departures to 821 departures.

Fairfax County leaders are debating how to improve recruitment and retention, citing private-sector wages that created competitive environments for positions from police to information technology.


Countywide

A 140-year-old Italian chocolate manufacturer is setting up shop in Tysons — and no, a golden ticket won’t be required for entry.

Venchi Fine Italian Chocolates will open a boutique store in Tysons Corner Center, its first outside of the New York tri-state area, the company announced yesterday (Tuesday).


Countywide

(updated at 4:30 p.m.) Police identified the second man who died at the Fairfax County Detention Center this week as the allegedly unlicensed masseuse who was charged with sexually assaulting a woman at an Annandale clinic.

Kyung Pil Chang, 55, of Haymarket was being held at the jail without bond on four felony charges related to a sexual assault at an Annandale location reported on Jan. 25. Chang was found unresponsive in quarantine housing at the jail around 4:25 p.m. yesterday (Tuesday). After medical staff and deputies rendered life-saving efforts, City of Fairfax Fire and Rescue pronounced him dead at 4:49 p.m.


Countywide

County Libraries to Resume Standard Hours — Fairfax County Public Library will once again open its eight regional branches seven days a week, and its 14 community branches on Mondays, effective this Sunday (April 3). The system truncated its hours starting in January due to the surge in COVID-19 cases and high staff vacancies. [FCPL]

Omicron Subvariant Identified in Fairfax County Patients — “BA.2 is now estimated to be responsible for about one in three COVID-19 infections in the country and one in five COVID-19 infections in Virginia. While BA.2 appears to be more contagious and can spread faster, it is not known to make people sicker.” [Fairfax County Health Department]


News

A central traffic signal in Vienna is set for an overhaul.

The Vienna Town Council voted unanimously on March 21 to award a contract for a reconstruction of the Maple Avenue and Park Street traffic signal, a project that has been in the works for more than a decade.


Countywide

The Fairfax County School Board intends to approve policy revisions next month that would make recess a requirement at all elementary and middle schools.

Under the proposed changes to Fairfax County Public Schools’ student and staff health and wellness policy, all middle school students would be guaranteed at least 15-minute, supervised recess breaks during the day. Elementary school students will get two recess breaks per day, totaling at least 30 minutes.


News

McLean has a new hot spot for Middle Eastern tea, cookies and honey.

Sayyareh Parsa and her brother opened Parsa Bakery less than a month ago, but the Persian shop is already starting to attract buzz, primarily through word-of-mouth on the social media app Nextdoor.


Countywide

A 65-year-old man incarcerated at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center died yesterday (Monday), triggering a police investigation.

According to the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office, a sheriff’s deputy found the man “unresponsive” in his cell at around 9:20 a.m.


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