A temporary statewide moratorium on eviction proceedings will remain in effect from this week through Sept. 7, according to a Virginia Supreme Court Order.
The move comes amid an ongoing Congressional stalemate over the next economic relief package.
In a statement on Monday (Aug. 10) Gov. Ralph Northam said the decision is necessary to ensure all Virginians maintain “safe, stable housing” as the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic continues. He hopes to work with the Commonwealth’s General Assembly this month to craft more permanent legislative protections for homeowners and tenants.
So far, the state has pumped $50 million via the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES) specifically for households facing eviction or foreclosure due to the pandemic. A number of county-based resources to navigate the issue are also available online.
The end of the federal moratorium on evictions, which expired last month, and the lapse of the $600 weekly boost to unemployment benefits, has left many renters in peril.
Roughly 27 percent of adults in the country missed their rent or mortgage payment in July, according to a nationwide survey by the U.S. Census Bureau. Roughly 34 percent of renters said they were unsure how they would make their August payments.
Given this economic backdrop, do you think Northam should further extend the temporary ban on eviction proceedings? Let us know in the comments below. Also, we’d love to hear from readers on their experiences with paying rent and mortgages and their interactions with landlords.
Photo by Tierra Mallorca/Unsplash
Prepare for more rain today (Friday).
A Flash Flood Watch is in effect from noon today through late tonight, according to the National Weather Service.
Here’s more from the alert:
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A FLASH FLOOD WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS MAY DEVELOP THAT LEAD TO FLASH FLOODING. FLASH FLOODING IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION YOU SHOULD MONITOR LATER FORECASTS AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION SHOULD FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS BE ISSUED
More thunderstorms with heavy rain are expected today. A Flash Flood Watch is in effect again this afternoon and tonight for much of our area. pic.twitter.com/Fju53hs38d
— NWS Baltimore-Washington (@NWS_BaltWash) August 7, 2020
Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Scott Brabrand says that the decision for a virtual start to school on Sept. 8 was largely motivated by the health risks associated with COVID-19.
In a letter sent to parents Tuesday, Brabrand said that while cases are relatively stable in Fairfax County, precautionary steps are necessary to ensure the safety of staff and students. FCPS initially planned a hybrid approach of in-person and virtual instruction — a decision that was reversed in late July.
“As educators, there is nothing we want more than to have all students back in school. This school year will be a challenge for us all, but we are doing everything possible to ensure a high-quality education through virtual learning to start the year,” Brabrand said.
Brabrand also said staffing challenges complicated the transition to in-person learning, including the limited availability of substitutes and more leave of absence requests by teachers and other staff.
FCPS staff are developing metrics to determine when and if schools can reopen. Factors under consideration include the trajectory of cases, access to testing and impact on staff and operations. More details are expected to be revealed in mid-August, he said.
The school system also plans to provide laptops to all students for online learning. Schools will provide information on laptop distribution if a student does not already have an FCPS laptop.
Brabrand said his staff is also exploring ways to boost technical support for families and students, including a help desk for parents.
Students who play sports will have to wait at least a few months. All athletic seasons are delayed until December, Brabrand said.
The entire letter, which includes more details on class schedules and a commitment to more communication, is posted online.
Image via Fairfax County Public Schools
A trio of Fairfax County Board Supervisors has pushed for the establishment of the Affordable Housing Preservation Task Force.
The task force was created through a board matter during a Fairfax County Board of Supervisors’ meeting on July 28. Chairman Jeff McKay and supervisors John Foust, Dalia Palchik, who represent the Dranesville and Providence districts, noted that the task force is essential in order to preserve affordable housing, especially as older multifamily rental and mobile home communities are threatened by demolition or redevelopment.
“These trends are slowly eroding the county’s market affordable housing stock and forcing families and individuals out of the communities where they work,” the board matter states.
The move comes as the county continues discussions on ways to improve its affordable housing and workforce dwelling unit policies. In 2016, the board calls for the development of a housing strategic plan that offers guidance on how to strengthen and preserve affordable housing.
According to an analysis by the Virginia Center for Housing Research at Virginia Tech, there are 9,500 housing units in Fairfax County that are considered market affordable and target households earning 60 percent of the area median income and below.
The county is aiming to ensure that no market affordable housing units in the county are lost — a recommendation provided by the board-created Affordable Housing Resources Panel.
The board matter calls on the task force to develop a comprehensive preservation plan. The task force will provide recommendations to the Board of Supervisors on the following issues by the end of the first quarter of 2021:
- “Definitions for the types of preservation that can occur in communities;
- typology of properties at risk and characteristics to guide prioritizing properties or
- neighborhoods in need of action sooner; and
- a comprehensive set of preservation strategies that includes recommended policies and
- tools to achieve the county goal of no net loss of affordability.”
“The way to ensure no net loss is through clear articulation of preservation strategies,” the board matter states.
The task force will include a variety of stakeholders, including the private sector, county officers and local planners.
The Fairfax County Police Department has launched a new webpage to help investigate cold cases in Fairfax County, which include several in the Tysons area.
The platform houses case information spanning 60 years in the hope that anyone with information will come forward to help resolve the cases. Cold case detectives are asking the public to provide any information about the cases — no matter how small.
“We are committing countless hours and all available resources to close these cases and provide long-awaited answers to victims’ families, and bring those who committed these awful crimes to justice,” said Major Ed O’Carroll, the bureau commander of major crimes.
The website currently provides a limited list of cases, including several local ones. More cases will be added as detectives comb through existing incidents.
Cases are categorized by decade and include a description of the incident, a photo and the date of the incident. As of today, 20 of the cases occurred in the Tysons area — mostly in and surrounding Falls Church.
In 2001, the remains of a woman were found near a drainage ditch on the 1500 block of Lincoln Circle in McLean. The woman was likely shot, according to police. Jewelry and clothing were found at the scene.
In other cases, the identity of the victim is known. For example, Jerome McKagen was found shot to death in his Tysons home on George Washington Road in 1992.
Another incident that rocked the local community was the mysterious death of a couple and their 16-year-old son in 1999. Faud Taima, 63, Dorothy Taima, 54, and their son Leith Taima were found dead in their home. Faud was involved in business dealings in Iraq.
To provide information, people can:
- contact the Major Crimes Bureau: 703-246-7800, option 8
- submit tips anonymously through Crime Solvers by phone at 1-866-411-TIPS (866-411-8477), by texting “FCCS” plus tip to 847411 or online
- download the Mobile tip411 App “Fairfax Co Crime Solvers”
The police department says that anonymous tipsters are eligible for cash rewards of $100-$1,000 dollars if their information leads to an arrest.
The cold case squad was founded in 1995 and is housed under FCPD’s major crimes bureau. It investigates unresolved homicides and sex crimes in Fairfax County.
Photo via Bill Oxford/Unsplash
Lee District Supervisor Rodney Lusk has released a new website that serves as a one-stop-shop for all previous and future law enforcement data in Fairfax County to increase transparency.
Lusk, who is also the chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisor’s Public Safety Committee, said the project was launched in response to residents’ requests for clear and detailed data from the Fairfax County Police Department.
The website aggregates all public safety data into one location, including FCPD’s annual report, reports by the police auditor, arrest and traffic citation dates for 2019 and other resources.
“This is about accountability and transparency,” Lusk said in a video announcing the website.
The platform also includes a police reform matrix that tracks the progress of suggested reforms. This year, the board’s Public Safety Committee began pooling together a matrix of reforms. The status of each reform will be updated on the online document as information becomes available.
Lusk noted that the website will change in response to input and feedback from the community.
Photo via YouTube
Many election officers in the county fall in high-risk categories for COVID-19.
The Fairfax County Office of Election is seeking more election officers this year to assist voters on Election Day, which is on Nov. 3.
The county is the largest voting jurisdictions in the state, with 243 precincts nationwide. Officers must be registered voters.
Training for new officers will begin online in September. Compensation begins at $175.
The application is available online. The deadline is Oct. 10 and mandatory online training must be completed by Oct. 14.
More information is available on the county’s website.
Fairfax County has surpassed 15,000 cases as of today (Thursday) as the trajectory of cases continues to remain stable in the county.
One of the most important measures of community transmission — charting confirmed cases by new cases per week — indicates that cases are not growing exponentially. For the last three weeks, the number of new cases has remained relatively stable.
The Virginia Department of Health reported 49 new cases today — a number that is in line with previous daily increases for the last week.
But it’s unclear how complete the data are. The number of total tests administered per week has remained stable since a reported high on the week of May 24. However, the number of positive tests remains low.
Racial disparities continue to remain prevalent in the county. The Hispanic community accounts for 60 percent of total confirmed cases where race is known, even though they comprise just 16 percent of the population.
In Northern Virginia, the number of weekly total cases reported hovers in the 500s, with slight increases reported since last month.
Overall, the state has reported 81,237 confirmed cases, 7,437 hospitalizations, and 2,054 total deaths.
The Fairfax County Health Department is encouraging residents to continue to practice social distancing and wear masks when in public. Cleaning supplies and children’s face coverings are also still needed.
Late Tuesday night, the Fairfax County School Board voted to start the school year virtually, reversing its previous plans for virtual and in-person instruction.
Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Scott Brabrand pitched the proposal at the school board meeting. The change was primarily motivated by a surge in new coronavirus cases. Brabrand also noted that he was concerned that many of the school system’s staff would not return for in-person instruction.
Here’s more from Brabrand’s letter, which was sent to parents and the school community last night:
The online school year will begin, as scheduled, September 8. Should health conditions improve, we would first bring back students for intervention supports on a limited basis. Following that, we would work to bring students back to school as soon as possible starting with elementary school students, select PreK-12 special education students and English Learners.
This was not an easy decision, but after reviewing the best available health data and continuing to gather input from teachers, staff, students, and families, we have determined that full-time online instruction is the only safe option at this time. The pandemic looks much different now than it did even three weeks ago. Although infection rates in Fairfax County have declined and are relatively stable, 33 percent of our employees live outside the county. The threat posed by the virus does not recognize borders or boundaries.
We know this is very disappointing news for the families who chose the two-day-a-week in-person learning option in our recent preference questionnaire. We all want in-person learning to resume as quickly as possible. We will reassess health conditions regularly to determine when students can begin in-person instruction, if science and data suggest it is safe to do so.
Initially, parents were instructed to choose between an online-only approach or a mix of virtual and in-person instruction.
Schools are expected to start virtually. After the first quarter, the school system’s leadership will reassess the situation.
“Should health conditions improve, we would first bring back students for intervention support on a limited basis,” according to the presentation.
The Fairfax County Federation of Teachers lauded Brabrand’s proposal and the school board’s decision.
“Everyone, but nobody more than our educators, want to open schools and get all kids back as quickly as possible, but we must open schools as safely as possible,” Tina Williams, the FCFT’s president, wrote in a statement. “Unfortunately, the health crisis doesn’t make in-person classes possible right now.”
Brabrand said the school system is improving its digital learning model.
“We will dedicate ourselves to spending the weeks before September 8 preparing resources and help for parents and students. We will provide additional training for our teachers to better meet the needs of our students and provide distance learning supports and guidance for our families,” he said.
Earlier this week, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved proposals to move forward several police reform efforts.
On Tuesday, the board approved a board matter by Lee District Supervisor Rodney Lusk and Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn that pushes the county to dispatch unarmed medical, mental health and human services workers for incidents involving mental and behavioral health issues.
County staff will review the local dispatch and response system in order to “enhance our Diversion First strategies by implementing systems for the deployment of trained unarmed medical, human services, and mental health professionals in instances where mental and behavioral health are the principal reason for the call.”
The new system would model Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets (CAHOOTS), an approach adopted in Eugene, Oregon since 1989. The county will determine if a similar approach is suitable for Fairfax County based on potential initial costs, long-term budget savings, overall feasibility, and the expected impact on service.
The county’s Public Safety Committee will review the county’s findings and offer a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors by Oct. 1.
Roughly 20% of calls that FCPD officers respond to are primarily related to mental and behavioral health crises. Currently, only 40 percent of county officers are trained in crisis intervention.
In a board matter, Lusk noted that FCPD should “endeavor to be the smartest” and not only the “safest” jurisdiction of its size in the nation.
Body camera footage of a white Fairfax County firing a stun gun at a Black man in Gum Springs led Lusk and Alcorn to push for the board matter. Officer Tyler Timberlake shot La Monta Gladney with a stun gun and used his knee to hold him down. Gladney was speaking incoherently prior to the use of force incident as officers persuaded him to go to a detox center.
The board also approved a board matter from Braddock District Supervisor James Walkinshaw and Chairman Jeff McKay that encourages the General Assembly to consider police reform efforts.
The General Assembly tentatively plans to meet in August for a special session to talk about the state budget.
Walkinshaw and McKay’s board matter asks that Virginia legislators look into five areas:
- adequate funding for courts, public defenders and commonwealth’s attorneys
- create a statewide database for officer misconduct
- improve data transparency, especially for use of force reports
- funding for strong civilian review panels
- funding process for body-worn cameras
“While we do thorough background checks on our police hires in Fairfax County, a statewide standard for data collection could provide benefits for all police departments as they make hiring decisions,” the board matter says.
The board matter notes that while it’s Police Civilian Review Panel helps with accountability, the state should consider funding the panels so that other localities can create their own ones.
The board approved sending the list to Fairfax County’s General Assembly delegation.
Catherine Douglas Moran contributed reporting
