Countywide

Houston is the place to be this week for the robotics community, and several Fairfax County students scored exclusive invitations.

Fairfax County Public Schools has three teams in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) World Championships, which kicked off today (Wednesday) at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas.


Countywide

The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office has 71 vacancies. There are over 200 vacancies at the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board. And that’s not all.

Staff vacancies continue to be a challenge at county agencies across the board, administrators and employee leaders told the Board of Supervisors at budget hearings last week.


News

(Updated at 6 p.m.) Construction work has moved above ground on a pair of buildings that will bring 300 new apartments for older residents to Tysons.

Vertical construction began earlier this month on The Mather at 7929 Westpark Drive, the senior living provider Mather announced in a news release yesterday (Tuesday).


Countywide

It’s been a turbulent couple of years for air travel.

For more than a year, face masks have been a required accessory for flyers due to COVID-19. That ended Monday (April 18) when a federal court ruled against the Biden administration’s mask mandate for public transportation.


Countywide

Two Hospitalized in West Springfield Crash — “Yesterday at 4:09 PM, units responded to three-car crash on Old Keene Mill Rd at Hillside Rd. #FCFRD used “jaws of life” to free 2 persons from one car. Both transported to hospital w/serious, non-life threatening, injuries. 1 person from another car transported w/minor injuries.” [FCFRD/Twitter]

Virginia Hits 14-Year High in Crash Fatalities — “In 2021, 968 people died in crashes on Virginia roads. That’s up 14.3% from 2020, when there were 847 crash fatalities. And it’s the highest number of annual deaths since 2007, which saw 1,026 fatalities.” [WTOP]


Countywide

While Fairfax County regularly makes headlines for its diversion initiatives and other criminal justice reform efforts, an imbalance in funding for prosecutors and defense attorneys remains unaddressed, the local public defender’s office says.

Dawn Butorac, the county’s chief public defender, said her office’s 25 attorney positions are around half the number of lawyers that Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano’s office has, and that gap is only going to worsen if a proposed county budget is adopted without changes this May.


Countywide

Lezzet’s first week in Vienna went down as smoothly as a bite of buttery rice pilaf.

The Centreville-based Mediterranean restaurant has gotten a warm welcome at the Cedar Park Shopping Center (262 Cedar Lane), where its second location opened on April 10, General Manager Burcin Can says.


Countywide

Fairfax County’s work release program remains shut down due to the pandemic, keeping one option for inmates off of the table for a little over two years.

Due to concerns about the transmission of COVID-19, the county’s sheriff’s office says its is unclear when and if the program will resume. The program first shut down in March 2020.


Countywide

Fairfax County plans to reduce service on some bus routes due to budget constraints, even as a program allowing free transfers to and from Metrorail could become permanent.

On the Newington Circulator (Route 334), Fairfax Connector has proposed reducing weekday service from every 30 minutes to rush hours and a single mid-day trip.


Countywide

At many businesses, the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed worker frustrations and fueled labor conflicts, but that apparently isn’t the case at two of Tysons’ most prominent employers.

The hospitality giant Hilton and financial corporation Capital One both made the top 10 of Fortune’s 2022 list of the “100 Best Companies to Work for” in the U.S., released on April 11.


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