Architect of the Capitol Fired After Reckless Driving Probe — “President Joe Biden has fired the embattled Architect of the Capitol, Brett Blanton, following a scathing inspector general report on his personal and professional management and calls for his removal.” The inspector general found that Blanton’s family was misusing his work vehicle after a 2021 reckless driving incident involving his daughter near the Tysons Walmart. [NBC4]
Springfield Lego Center Chooses Master Builder — “Andrew Litterst’s [most impressive LEGO creation] is a bunch of LEGO Star Wars spaceships mounted on an electric LEGO train so that they chase each other on tracks around the room. So it’s no wonder he was just named LEGO’s Master Builder in the D.C. region — the first to hold that title at the soon-to-open LEGO Discovery Center” [DCist]
Man Arrested for Mount Vernon Carjacking — “Authorities in Fairfax County say a man is under arrest and faces charges after an 81-year-old woman was assaulted and carjacked Saturday night in Alexandria. The attack happened around 4:50 p.m. in the 7600 block of Richmond Highway.” [FOX5]
Bill Would Require Schools to Spend Covid Relief Funds — “Legislation backed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin that would require Virginia school divisions to spend any federal pandemic funds they haven’t yet used or forfeit them is headed to the Senate for consideration. An October report from the Virginia Department of Education shows Fairfax County Public Schools have the most unspent relief funds, representing more than $170 million.” [Virginia Mercury]
Nonprofits Brace for End to Emergency SNAP Benefits — “Southeast Fairfax County food pantries operated by nonprofits like United Community and Lorton Community Action Center may experience unusually strong demand the weekend of March 18-19, if families remain unaware of the change, said Araujo.” The final emergency allotment will be tomorrow (Thursday). [On the MoVe]
Vienna Leaders to Discuss Public Safety Trends — “Vehicle break-ins will be one topic of discussion at the first Mayor and Chief at Your Service of 2023 on Thursday. Mayor Linda Colbert and Police Chief Jim Morris will participate in the public forum at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Vienna Police Department’s Community Room” [Patch]
Mosaic District Chocolate Shop Marks Valentine’s Day — “When Neuhaus, a Belgian chocolate shop, set out to open its first Virginia location, this Fairfax neighborhood’s bustling, upscale environment stood out. The store opened its doors on District Avenue last October, and has since embraced enthusiastic and welcoming local customers.” [Northern Virginia Magazine]
Mount Vernon Town Hall Flies Over District — “From development news to the Bus Rapid Transit progress, Supervisor Dan Storck shared updates on the Mount Vernon District over the last year at the annual Mount Vernon Town Meeting…One of the meeting highlights is a virtual flyover tour overviewing updates in the Mount Vernon District, which has approximately 133,000 residents.” [Patch]
It’s Wednesday — Mostly cloudy throughout the day. High of 64 and low of 45. Sunrise at 7:01 am and sunset at 5:47 pm. [Weather.gov]
Recent Stories
Fonts Books and Gifts in McLean (staff photo by Angela Woolsey) For this year’s Independent Bookstore Day, local bookworms will be encouraged to collect not just new literary titles, but…
Live Fairfax is a bi-weekly column exploring Fairfax County. This recurring column is sponsored and written by Sharmane Medaris of McEnearney Associates. Questions? Reach Sharmane at 813-504-4479. Sold by Sharmane and Style by Valentine teamed up…
The Franconia-Springfield Metro station entrance (staff photo by James Jarvis) The cost of riding Metro trains and buses will go up, starting July 1, when the transit agency’s new budget…
For this year’s Independent Bookstore Day, local bookworms will be encouraged to collect not just new literary titles, but also places to buy them. More than a dozen shops across…
