Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger has rejected legislation that would’ve opened the door for a casino in Fairfax County.
The governor vetoed SB 756 from Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell today (Thursday) ahead of an April 13 deadline for her to take action on all of the bills passed by the General Assembly during its 2026 session.
An annual event promoting the preservation of a wooded area in Tysons return this weekend.
Led by Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn, the third annual Tysons Forest Cleanup will be held on Sunday (April 12) to “maintain the health” of the 65-acre “hidden green oasis,” county officials announced.
A small new nonprofit organization hopes to help the tens of thousands of Afghans who live in Virginia find employment, build stronger connections with one another, and celebrate their culture.
Volunteers gathered at the United Christian Parish in Reston on Saturday (March 21) to celebrate the opening of the Afghanistan Refugee Rescue Organization’s new U.S. branch there.
Comstock Companies has received a green light from Fairfax County to install new signs around its mostly completed Reston Row project near the Wiehle Metro station.
However, the Board of Supervisors’ vote on March 17 to approve revisions to a sign plan for the development might not spell the end of discussions about what kinds of signs should be permitted, as the county seeks to balance the needs of its growing commercial centers with more traditionally suburban neighborhoods.
Despite weeks of debate and revisions, the Senate Bill 756 that the Virginia General Assembly sent to Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s desk before adjourning on Saturday (March 14) wound up being exactly the same as the one introduced when the legislative session began in January.
After requesting a second conference to some groans from his colleagues, Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-34) reverted to his original language for a new substitute bill to allow casino gaming in Fairfax County, limiting potential sites to a 1.5-million-square-foot mixed-use development in Tysons but otherwise treating Fairfax the same as the five cities in Virginia already eligible to host a casino.
By the narrowest of majorities, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors went on record today (Tuesday) opposing any state legislation authorizing development of a casino property within the county’s borders.
The 5-4 vote was in support of a proposal from Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn to include a plank in the county’s 2026 legislative package stating opposition to any casino legislation until it is formally requested by a majority of supervisors and meets a number of other criteria.
Northern Virginia political leaders have reacted coolly to President Donald Trump’s criticisms of Dulles International Airport and his calls for a major rebuilding project there.
Trump called the airport “terrible” and suggested it was “incorrectly designed” during a Dec. 2 Cabinet meeting. Hours later, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced it would seek proposals for new terminals and concourses to replace or enhance the facility, which straddles the Fairfax and Loudoun line.
Despite political drawbacks, a sales-tax surcharge across Northern Virginia could end up being the main source to increase transit funding in the coming year.
Increasing the sales tax regionally is “probably going to be looked at,” Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn said in a Dec. 4 legislative forum sponsored by the Dulles Area Transportation Association (DATA).
A key regional planning body voted today (Wednesday) to defer until at least 2026 any further consideration of the Virginia Department of Transportation’s plan to extend express lanes on the south side of the Capital Beltway (I-495) across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and into Maryland.
“The project is simply not ready,” said Eric Olson, a member of the Prince George’s County Council who sits on the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ Transportation Planning Board (TPB).
Despite being landlocked, some neighborhoods in Fairfax County’s Hunter Mill District have apparently become awash in boats.
Supervisor Walter Alcorn plans to propose expanding Reston’s Community Parking District in order to also ban boats and other large vehicles from parking on public streets in the McNair Farms area south of Herndon.
