Polls Open for Presidential Primaries — Super Tuesday has arrived in Virginia and 15 other states that will help determine each party’s prospective nominee “ahead of the Republican National Convention from July 15 to 18 and Democratic National Convention from Aug. 19 to 22.” Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. An acceptable form of ID is required to vote in person, and all precincts will accept drop-off ballots. [Patch]
Burke Resident Advocates for Renaming — “The namesake of the unincorporated town of Burke has a dark history associated with slavery, leading some to speculate whether the time has come to change the name.” Resident David Martosko proposes renaming the area after Fenton, an enslaved child bought by Silas Burke, “but keeping the street names and shopping center names in order to force a conversation.” [WUSA9]
State Senate to Consider Metro Funding — “Funding for Metro is back on the table in Virginia as budget talks continue…Senate Finance Committee Chair Sen. L. Louise Lucas posted on X that she has decided to put extra funding into the senate’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year after commitments for long-term reform from Metro leadership.” [WTOP]
County Proposes Raising Permit Fees — “Fairfax County building and rezoning fees could rise as much as 35 percent under a proposal drafted by county staff. Bill Hicks, the director of Land Development Services, told the Board of Supervisors’ Land Policy Committee that the fees have to be raised because of inflation, increased staffing, increased employee compensation, and the requirement that fees have to cover the department’s expenses.” [Annandale Today]
Mount Vernon Reps Question Proposed FCPS Budget — “Elected officials from the Mount Vernon District have made it clear they will not automatically be green-lighting the initial $254 million budget ask from Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) for fiscal year 2025.” School board member Mateo Dunne and Supervisor Dan Storck urged school officials to find ways to trim costs, while stressing “the need above all else to get more public-school funding from the state.” [On the MoVe]
Vienna Church to Add Solar Panels — “Aiming to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2030, the leaders of Church of the Holy Comforter (Episcopal) in Vienna are advancing with plans to build a solar array on the site’s lower parking lot. Leaders of the church…are seeking permits from Fairfax County and the town of Vienna, but hope to break ground on the project in mid-April and have it finished sometime this summer, said Rev. Jon Strand, the church’s rector.” [Gazette Leader]
Dog Adopted After Long Stay at County Shelter — “An animal shelter employee’s lunch order led to an incredibly happy ending for one patient rescue dog. On Saturday, Feb. 10, Grubhub driver Alan Moncayo delivered lunch to a manager at the Fairfax County Animal Shelter’s Lorton, Virginia, campus. When he walked in Moncayo saw a dog in the front window…Jihoo had been at the shelter for 240 days since his owners surrendered him.” [People]
Vienna Opens Applications for Annual Photo Contest — “Snap to it! Put your skills to the test in the Vienna Photo Show! Enter your best pieces in the contest at the Vienna Community Center (VCC) from 5-8 p.m. on March 14 and 12-3:45 p.m. on March 15. Applications are available online or at the VCC.” [Town of Vienna/Twitter]
It’s Tuesday — Rain is likely, mainly before noon, with patchy fog between 7 and 11am. The sky will gradually clear up to be mostly sunny, with a high near 59. Expect a 70% chance of rain. At night, there’s a slight 20% chance of rain after 4am, with increasing clouds and a low around 50. [Weather.gov]
Newspaper publisher Gannett has left its longtime home in Tysons.
The media company behind USA Today and hundreds of local news outlets across the U.S. moved out of its headquarters at Valo Park (7950 Jones Branch Drive) in February, setting the stage for a relocation to New York City.
In its latest annual report to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gannett said it has leased an approximately 24,000-square-foot space in New York City that will serve as its new corporate headquarters, starting March 31.
However, the journalists and other staff at USA Today’s now-shuttered newsroom in Tysons will work remotely or out of its existing D.C. bureau, which will be maintained, according to Gannett.
“We’re embracing our flexible working model by investing more in our people and technology — rather than real estate,” a Gannett spokesperson told FFXnow. “We remain firmly committed to the sustainable future of journalism as we adapt to a progressively digital world.”
Some USA Today workers commemorated the closure of their newsroom in social media posts. Senior reporter Mike Snider reflected on buying a home in the area when Gannett moved to Tysons, as news staff gathered to “toast the building” on Feb. 15, a day before they had to clear out the office where he’d worked for more than 22 years.
In a Jan. 27 Instagram reel, newly hired visual editor Alexa Julianaard shared a recap of her first and only week working at the building, describing the office’s emptiness as “a little bittersweet.”
“I think it’s really cool how they’re embracing remote work,” she said in the reel.
Founded in 1906, Gannett operates approximately 340 news outlets that cover 220 different communities in the U.S., along with the U.K.-based subsidiary Newsquest. Including USA Today, the company employs around 3,200 journalists, according to its SEC report.
Though Gannett is the country’s biggest newspaper publisher in terms of circulation, hundreds of unionized journalists walked out in a one-day strike last June, criticizing a 2019 merger with GateHouse Media that they said had left the company burdened in debt and created “news deserts,” the New York Times reported.
The company built its corporate headquarters at Valo Park in 2001, opening two office towers on a 30-acre campus that included a jogging path, a fitness center, athletic facilities and a helipad.
As advertising and circulation rates declined in the early 2010s, Gannett started shedding some of its office space through sub-leases, the Washington Business Journal reported in 2013. Rumors that the company was looking to sell its headquarters came to fruition in 2015, when the London-based real estate investment company agreed to buy the site for $270 million, per the WBJ.
Around that same time, Gannett split up its media publishing and digital/broadcast operations. Tegna, the spin-off company created to house the digital and broadcast operations, including the local news channel WUSA9, is still headquartered in Tysons at 8350 Broad Street in The Boro.
According to the SEC report, Gannett is still leasing approximately 176,000 square feet at Valo Park under a deal that won’t expire until October 2030. Broker CBRE lists 83,651 square feet — the entire second floor — as available for sub-leasing.
Without taking a recorded vote, a Virginia House of Delegates committee on Wednesday [Feb. 27] again blocked legislation that would bring the state in line with the rest of the country by banning the personal use of campaign funds.
By a voice vote, the House Appropriations Committee chose to continue the bill until the 2025 General Assembly session.
“It is our hope that during the course of the 2025 session that both Senator Boysko and Delegate Simon will be able to come back to us and bring us a piece of legislation that not only do I want to see passed out but the speaker would like to see passed out as well,” said House Appropriations Chairman Luke Torian, D-Prince William.
He was referring to Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax, and Del. Marcus Simon, D-Fairfax, who were spearheading efforts (link added by FFXnow) to craft a law that would clarify campaign funds have to be used for legitimate political activity and cannot be used on personal expenses such as mortgage payments, school tuition, vacations, clothing and cars.
Torian’s committee did not docket Simon’s bill earlier in the session. Boysko’s bill had passed the state Senate 35-4, and Wednesday’s hearing was a do-or-die moment for her version as lawmakers prepare to wrap up the session [this] week.
Del. Mark Sickles, D-Fairfax, said he would “reluctantly” second the motion to punt the bill to 2025.
The proposed ban, which has been blocked for years, is pitched as a basic good government measure that would prevent politicians from funding their personal lives with money given to them by corporations and wealthy donors.
Previous promises to work on the issue at a later date haven’t been borne out.
In 2021, the General Assembly created a special subcommittee to study campaign finance reform, and the personal use ban was considered one of its top priorities. That subcommittee barely met in 2021. The legislature re-upped it for another year, but the panel never held a meeting in 2022.
The subcommittee — which never produced a final report — is now listed as inactive.
This article was reported and written by the Virginia Mercury, and has been reprinted under a Creative Commons license.
(Updated at 11:20 a.m.) A boy was taken to the hospital yesterday (Sunday) after a crash near Inova Fairfax Hospital.
The Fairfax County Police Department reported at 6:32 p.m. that officers were on scene of a crash involving a sedan and a bus on Gallows Road at Anderson Road in Merrifield.
A passenger in the sedan, the boy was hospitalized with injuries initially considered life-threatening. His condition is no longer believed to be critical.
“The juvenile remains hospitalized, and his condition has been upgraded to non-life-threatening injuries,” the FCPD said this morning (Monday).
According to police, the bus in the crash was a Metrobus.
“There were passengers on the bus but there were no reported injuries to passengers on the Metrobus,” an FCPD spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority suggested FFXnow reach out to the FCPD when contacted for comment, noting that the police department is the lead in traffic investigations.
One lane of Gallows Road was closed last night while Crash Reconstruction Unit detectives investigated, but it reopened around 9:18 p.m.
Officers are on scene of a two-vehicle crash involving a bus and a sedan at Gallows Rd & Anderson Dr in Merrifield. A juvenile occupant in the sedan was taken to hospital w/injuries considered life threatening. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/knTR2v1biO
— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) March 3, 2024
Image via Google Maps
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is marking Women’s History Month with a menstrual supply drive.
Starting today (Monday) through March 29, sites throughout the county will collect new, sealed packages of tampons, pads, liners and menstrual cups.
Those supplies will go to local shelters and nonprofits, including Bringing Resources to Aid Women’s Shelters (BRAWS), Western Fairfax Christian Ministries and Food for Others.
All Fairfax County Public Library branches are collecting donations, as are all nine magisterial district offices, Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay’s office and the Sully Community Center. The PARC at Tysons (8508 Leesburg Pike) is also accepting supplies from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. tomorrow (Tuesday).
Support our local shelters and nonprofits by donating new and sealed packages of tampons, pads, liners, and menstrual cups, from March 4-29 https://t.co/pHXnhzXeow
Questions? Email: [email protected] pic.twitter.com/yeziKqOh4U
— Fairfax County Government
(@fairfaxcounty) February 29, 2024
At the board’s Feb. 20 meeting, Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik announced that all supervisors would support the drive to help community members “for whom access to menstrual supplies can pose a financial burden.”
“These essential hygiene products are costly, and the lack of access to safe and clean menstrual products can negatively impact someone’s overall physical and emotional well-being,” Palchik said at the meeting.
This is the first time that Fairfax County has conducted this drive, and it comes more than a year after Virginia stopped charging sales tax on menstrual products.
BRAWS, one of the supply drive’s beneficiaries, says one in five Virginia residents don’t have access to needed menstrual supplies.
“By hosting this drive with collection sites all over the county, we are raising awareness while helping meet these basic needs,” Palchik wrote in a statement to FFXnow.
Other Women’s History Month events in the area include classes and programs from the Fairfax County Park Authority and a panel of local female authors at the City of Fairfax Regional Library.
Photo via Natracare on Unsplash
Free Bikeshare Rides Offered During Bus Strike — “Fairfax County is offering free Capital Bikeshare rides for the duration of the Fairfax Connector work stoppage. Enter promo code TRYCABIFFXMAR24 for a free 45-minute ride on a classic bike. This is just one transportation alternative. Please visit our website…for more travel options.” [Fairfax Connector/Facebook]
Fairfax Connector Strike Disrupts Commutes — “On Thursday evening, a succession of Fairfax County residents took refuge in bus shelters next to the Vienna-Fairfax Metrorail station, bracing themselves against frigid temperatures and piercing winds…After learning about the strike from a reporter, the Fairfax residents waiting at the bus stop pulled out their phones and booked rides home on ride-share apps.” [Washington Post]
Norovirus Outbreaks Reported in County — “Norovirus spreads very easily and quickly. There have been recent reports of outbreaks across the county. Help prevent infections by washing your hands, practicing food safety, and taking steps to avoid spreading it to others if you do get sick.” The U.S. sees about 2,500 reported outbreaks of the sickness every year. [Fairfax County Health Department/Twitter]
Tysons Rents Highest in Region — “Apartment rents in Tysons are the highest in the Washington area, according to new data from Apartment List. With a median rental price of $2,495 for the preceding month — $2,269 for one-bedroom units and $2,720 for two bedrooms — Tysons edged out Arlington for top spot among dozens of Washington-area communities part of the survey.” [Gazette Leader]
County to Reveal Route 29 Improvements Survey Results — “The Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) will present feedback compiled from the recent Route 29 Study survey at a virtual public meeting on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, at 7 p.m. The study focuses on the Route 29 corridor between Buckleys Gate Drive/Summit Drive near the Fairfax County Parkway (VA 286) and Jermantown Road.” [FCDOT]
Huntington Condo Considers Security Updates — “The Montebello Condominium Unit Owners Association (MCUOA) has considered over a dozen ways to improve on-site security since a Jan. 25 carjacking in a parking garage tower and has begun implementing several…measures,” including a license plate reader that “will scan vehicles entering the property, transmit data to the Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD) and flag stolen vehicles.” [On the MoVe]
Lincolnia Gets New Afghan Restaurant — “A new Afghan restaurant has opened in Landmark Plaza in Lincolnia. Its name, ‘Afghan Restaurant,’ reflects the original Afghan Restaurant that operated in Crystal City from 1993 to 2010. That was the first Afghan restaurant in Northern Virginia and was founded by the father and uncle of Amanullah Abbasi, the owner of the new place.” [Annandale Today]
Reston Restaurant Assists With Marriage Proposal — “A local couple got engaged at The Melting Pot in Reston. That’s a restaurant that specializes in cheese fondue among other delicious menu items. And that’s exactly where a lucky guy named James decided to pop the question to his girlfriend Kristen Thursday night.” [WUSA9]
It’s Monday — Expect a mostly cloudy day with a high around 66 and calm winds. Rain is likely at night, mainly after 1am, accompanied by a low of about 47. The chance of precipitation is 70%, with potential rainfall amounts between a quarter to half an inch. [Weather.gov]
Detectives have charged a 17-year-old boy with DUI-related manslaughter and maiming in a Nov. 20 crash that killed one teen and seriously injured four others in Fairfax County’s Idylwood area.
In a news release, Fairfax County police said the boy was driving under the influence in a 2003 Lincoln Aviator when he crested a hill on Shreve Road “at a high rate of speed” around 5 a.m. that morning.
The boy struck a tree near Pioneer Lane and the vehicle spun, ejecting the five teenage passengers, the release said. None were wearing seatbelts.
One of the teens died Nov. 27 from his injuries. The four other passengers were seriously injured and have since been released from the hospital.
On Thursday (Feb. 29), detectives obtained warrants charging the driver with DUI-related manslaughter, four counts of DUI maiming and refusal to take a breath test, the release said.
Last night, patrol officers arrested the driver at his Pimmit Hills home. He was held without bond at the Fairfax County jail. His name has not been released because he is a juvenile.
Image via Google Maps. This article was written by FFXnow’s news partner InsideNoVa.com and republished with permission, though the headline has been changed. Sign up for InsideNoVa.com’s free email subscription today.
Some teenage volunteers in Vienna have teamed up with a national nonprofit to show their support for American military service members.
The town’s Club Phoenix Teen Council launched a donation drive this week to collect clothes, non-perishable food and other items that will be assembled into care packages for military troops serving around the world.
Donations will be accepted through March 7 at the Vienna Community Center (120 Cherry Street SE), the town announced on Wednesday (Feb. 28) in a press release. Wanted items include:
- New socks and undershirts
- Non-perishable food items such as beef jerky, canned tuna, or dried fruit
- Hygiene items such as body wipes, hand sanitizer, and sunscreen
- Other common supplies like pens, books, or journals.
The teen council is a volunteer program in Club Phoenix, the town-run teen center that offers after-school programs and services to students in sixth through 12th grade. The council consists of nine members in seventh through 12th grade.
To organize the donation drive, the council has partnered with the nonprofit HeroBox, which aims to “provide physical and emotional support” to deployed service members, according to its website.
Designed to give the council members volunteering experience, the initiative builds on a letter-writing campaign that Club Phoenix conducted during the recent winter holiday season with A Million Thanks, another nonprofit dedicated to supporting members of the military.
“We wanted to continue supporting them, so we teamed up with HeroBox, an organization that helps
troops year-round,” Ianna Alhambra, the town’s after school program coordinator, said.
According to the Town of Vienna, the teen council hopes to collect enough donations to “fill at least 20 medium size USPS care packages for 20 military personnel with 15-20 items per package.”
Items can be dropped off at the community center’s lobby on Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.-10:30 p.m., Saturday from 8 a.m.-9 p.m. and Sunday from 12-6 p.m. The Club Phoenix Teen Center, which is located in the community center’s basement, will also accept donations from 2:30-6:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 2:30-9 p.m. on Fridays.
To further its environmental goals, Fairfax County’s to-do list should include building an electric vehicle charging network, addressing “critical” staff shortages, and addressing development pressure, the Environmental Quality Advisory Council (EQAC) says in a new report.
An employee compensation policy update to attract and retain workers in departments such as wastewater and solid waste was the top recommendation in the 2023 Annual Report on the Environment (ARE), EQAC Chair Larry Zaragoza told the Board of Supervisors during its environmental committee meeting on Tuesday (Feb. 29).
“If you had a problem in a facility or in operations that caused some other issues, the consequences could require a lot of corrective action, or they could be publicly undesirable,” he said.
Although it has seen some progress, Zaragoza said the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services (DPWES), in particular, is seeing higher vacancy rates of 16 to 22%. In some “major functions,” rates have climbed as high as 32%, according to the presentation.
Zaragoza acknowledged that the recommendation to develop a network of charging stations for electric vehicles would be challenging to implement, but necessary.
“This seems to be an issue that is challenging the nation with respect to the conversion to EVs,” Zaragoza said. “People have a fear that they won’t have options for charging their vehicles.”
Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said that, while it’s true more EV charging stations are needed, the biggest issue is maintenance, speculating that, on a typical day, about 50% of chargers don’t seem to work.
He advised the council to look into ways to address the maintenance issues, including potential legislative measures.
“The EV charging people are racing to get as much federal money as they can to install these and then don’t have anybody to come back and repair them,” McKay said. “And to me, that’s a huge threat to EV utilization because [when] you see them on a map, you expect them to be working.”
Reiterating a recommendation made last year, the report calls for the county to provide more funding for its stormwater program through either one of two options:
- An increase in the Stormwater Service District tax in 2024 by at least one-quarter penny, from 3.25 cents to 3.5 cents per $100 of assessed real estate value
- A change in the base property tax rate
Mason District Supervisor Andres Jimenez asked the council to keep equity and low-income residents in mind when considering these adjustments.
“I would hope that there will be something in place to ensure that the cost increases are equitable and do not disproportionately affect low-income residents,” Jimenez said.
The report also highlights a need to address pressure from development while preserving trees and minimizing ecological degradation.
“As you have development, you often have the loss of trees, you often have loss of habitat, and to the extent that it’s possible, it’s good to try to preserve as much as you can in this process,” Zaragoza said.
McKay agreed with the need to minimize environmental damage but said the council should also carefully consider how that priority intersects with the “oldest parts of the county that are in desperate need of revitalization.”
According to the report, proposed topics that the EQAC will review this year include the impacts of data centers, flood risks, and water security.
County staff have been developing guidelines for regulating noise, water pollution, power usage and other issues raised by data centers. In a new ARE recommendation, EQAC suggests that the county collect energy consumption data on its current and planned data centers, including the extent to which they utilize green energy.
Three Fairfax County Public Schools teachers will now be able to pursue unique arts projects with their students, thanks to financial assistance from the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts.
A nonprofit that supports and programs Wolf Trap National Park, the foundation announced on Feb. 20 that it has awarded 13 grants from an annual program for D.C. area educators who teach music, dance or theater at public schools.
This year’s FCPS recipients were Fairfax High School dance arts teacher Meredith Barnes, Groveton Elementary School music and orchestra teacher Karine Chapdelaine-Walker, and Robinson Secondary School’s middle school bands director, Tiffany Hitz.
In addition to getting funding for their projects, the grant winners get to bring their classes to Wolf Trap for a “celebratory day of learning” on April 25 that will include performances by the high school students at The Barns at Wolf Trap, according to a press release.
“Wolf Trap’s Grants for Performing Arts Teachers provides teachers with grants to fund innovative performing arts projects,” said Cate Bechtold, Wolf Trap Foundation’s director of internships and community programs. “Because of their grants, teachers can expand the scope of their projects, bring in professional artists, incorporate new technologies, or create additional resources, providing extra learning opportunities for their students.”
According to the release, Barnes requested a grant for a show called “Dance for a Change” that Fairfax High School students will develop with a dance historian and guest artists from the Bethesda-based theater organization Imagination Stage.
“Students will choreograph small group pieces by drawing inspiration from American dance icons who used their work to address injustices,” the release said. “This will allow students to leverage the power of the arts as a means of social commentary.”
Chapdelaine-Walker and Hitz are both among the recipients of the program’s first-ever middle school grants.
For her project, titled “Musicians for a Change,” Chapdelaine-Walker will work with Groveton Elementary’s sixth-grade orchestra students to create a “unique musical piece centered around student-identified social justice issues” to demonstrate music’s value “as a tool for advocacy and self-expression.”
Meanwhile, Hitz’s band students will learn the piece “All My Heart” — with its composer Michael Markowski as their mentor.
“Students will have the opportunity to connect with a professional composer and meaningfully engage with the composition process, allowing them to experience a new instrumental arrangement, and explore the composer’s experience in creating work,” the press release said.
Funded by contributions from the defense contractor General Dynamics, the Grants for Performing Arts Teachers program awards up to $5,000 to high school teachers and up to $2,500 to middle school teachers. The exact amount depends on each project’s scope and needs, but the majority “require the full amount,” according to the Wolf Trap Foundation.
Last year, the foundation awarded only eight grants, including ones to Annandale High School orchestra director Annie Ray and Mount Vernon High School music teacher Al Rodriguez. Ray more recently gained national recognition as the winner of the 2024 Grammy Music Educator Award.
In addition to the FCPS grantees, the 2024 grant recipients include teachers from D.C. and Loudoun, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.
