Protest Precedes Police Meeting at Fairfax County Government Center
Themed subcommittees announced at second police review commission meeting.
Increased Fairfax County Police presence was noticeable at the rear of the room after three masked men entered the second meeting of the Ad Hoc Police Practices Review Commission.
Transurban Begins Grant Program for Express Lanes Corridor Nonprofits
Transurban, the company that operates the 95 and 495 Express lanes, announced earlier this month the launch of a community grant program for non-profit organizations working in or benefiting the Express Lanes corridor.
Completed Sidewalk Connects Burke Commons Road to Roberts Parkway
Construction of a new stretch of sidewalk along Burke Commons Road only took about six months to complete. But getting to that point took much, much longer.
Thomas Jefferson Class of 2019: 70% Asian, 1.6% Black
Some say unbalanced admissions demographics at Northern Virginia’s top high school speaks to system-wide equity problems.
Consider: 70.2 percent Asian, 20.7 percent White, 5.1 percent Multiracial/Other, 2.4 percent Hispanic, 1.6 percent Black: This is the ethnic breakdown of the 493 students admitted to the 2019 class of the Fairfax County Public Schools magnet institution Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.
Fairfax County Pays $2.95 Million to Settle John Geer Wrongful Death Suit
More than seven months after the Geer family lawyer Michael Lieberman filed a $12 million wrongful death civil suit in Circuit Court against Fairfax County Police, the two sides reached a $2.95 million settlement, announced Tuesday, April 21.
Fairfax County Task Force to Recommend Sexual Assault Education Reforms
Fairfax County is examining how it prepares students to prevent and respond to sexual assault. In December, Supervisor John Cook (R-Braddock) brought forward a board matter concerning sexual assault culture. County staff responded in March with a report that assesses what Fairfax County Public Schools is doing in this area.
Burke School Set to Celebrate 75th Anniversary
The Burke School is turning 75. The building at the corner of Burke Lake and Lee Chapel Roads, dedicated in 1940, was built to accommodate the student population overflowing older three-room schoolhouse that was first built in 1912. The new school project benefited from the Works Progress Administration under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s “New Deal.”
Burke United Methodist Church Supports Dominican Republic Mission
Members of Burke United Methodist Church are finishing what they started three years ago in the Dominican Republic. A mission team from the church began working on a house for local clergyman in Sosúa, Pastor Jeremias. During construction, Jeremias died of complications from brain cancer. Funds for the house went to help with the pastor’s medical bills so the building was never completed.
Northern Virginia Nereids Send Synchronized Swimming Duet of Woodson and Robinson Students to Nationals
High school juniors Margot Baden and Jackie Hafner, students at W.T. Woodson High School and Robinson Secondary School respectively, and their coach chose to set their duet synchronized swimming routine to a medley of music from the “Batman” franchise.
Prisoner Escapes from Fairfax Hospital, Gets Recaptured
Social media aids manhunt
Around 3 a.m. on Tuesday, March 31, Wossen Assaye overpowered the female member of his two-guard private security detail while the male was out of his hospital room. Assaye was reportedly in shackles on a hospital gurney before the struggle.
Springfield: Getting into Marian Homes
Remodeling project to provide for residents with intellectual and or physical disabilities.
When the new residents of Marian Homes’ latest remodeling project move in to the Gresham Street house in north Springfield, Fairfax resident and Marian volunteer John Germain hopes they feel at home.
Northern Virginia Training Center in Fairfax to Close by March 2016
From institution to community, finding homes for those hard to place.
Joseph McHugh has lived at the Northern Virginia Training Center for 35 years, moving in when he was a teenager. McHugh has cerebral palsy and colostomy and severe spasticity issues. At the training center, McHugh works with a speech pathologist, nurse, on-campus dietician and is close to an X-ray machine, dental facility and clinic on the grounds.
Fairfax County School Board Votes Down Veterans Day School Holiday
Fairfax Station resident Steven Hunt, retired U.S. Navy, put it bluntly: “Votes count, words don’t.” That was following a vote in which all but two members of the Fairfax County School Board voted against an amendment to the 2015-2016 calendar that would have made Veterans Day a school holiday.
Del. Dave Albo to Seek Re-election
Del. Dave Albo (R-42) recently announced he had submitted paperwork on March 18 to run in the Republican primary and seek re-election for his seat.
West Springfield High School Hosts Job and Opportunity Fair
Robinson graduate Jackson Muse was looking for some professional direction. Currently a junior political science major at Shepherd University in West Virginia, he’s worked at Barnes & Noble but is potentially interested in counseling for the Fairfax County Park Authority, or helping open the new Wegmans at Hilltop Village Center.
Classes Canceled after Bomb Threat at Lake Braddock Secondary School
Lake Braddock Secondary School staff received a bomb threat via email, according to the school and Fairfax County Public schools representative John Torre.
Police Investigating Reported Assault of Two Mongolian Students in Burke
Two students from Mongolia were reportedly given alcohol and sexually assaulted in a Burke area house on March 8, according to Fairfax County Police.
League of Women Voters Hosts Forum on Firearms, Domestic Violence and Suicide in Burke
Among intimate partner homicides in Fairfax County in 2009 and 2010, firearms were the fatal weapon 60 percent of the time, nearly double the next closest implement: knives. Fairfax County domestic violence coordinator Sandra Bromley shared this and further information at an information forum on gun use in domestic violence and suicide held at Pohick Library on March 22.
Emotional Beginning for Fairfax County Ad Hoc Police Practices Review Commission
While several other members of the recently created Ad Hoc Police Practices Review Commission stated their general intent to listen and learn and help, Salvatore Culosi had a more specific request.
Students From Around Fairfax County Recognized for Promoting Peace
After a friend of South County High School senior Sakira Coleman was sexually assaulted while running on a local public path, Coleman decided to take action and started the “Fight for Your Right to Run at Night” program.
Lake Braddock and Robinson Update Security
According to school releases, Lake Braddock and Robinson Secondary Schools have each updated security features on their campuses.
First Meeting Set for Fairfax County Police Commission
With endorsement, albeit non-unanimous, from the Board of Supervisors, the ad hoc commission organized by board chairman Sharon Bulova to review Fairfax County Police Department practices will hold its first meeting March 23.
John Cook Announces Re-Election Bid for Braddock Supervisor
Supervisor John Cook (R-Braddock) was first elected to represent the Braddock district in a 2009 special election. He won his first full term in 2011 and on March 3 formally announced he would seek another term to sit on the Board of Supervisors.
Fairfax League of Women Voters to Hold Firearms Forum in Burke
What is Fairfax County doing to cut down on firearms-related suicide and domestic violence? The Fairfax-area League of Women Voters will host an informational public forum to discuss the topic at Pohick Regional Library in Burke on March 22.
Public Commission To Review Police Policy
Over some objections, Bulova launches ad hoc commission in wake of police shooting and obfuscation.
Supervisor Michael Frey did not mince words when voicing opposition to Chairman Sharon Bulova’s establishment of an ad hoc police commission on Tuesday, March 3.
Swimmers From Around Fairfax County Raise $23,000 for Breast Cancer Research
In the last five years, young swimmers on the Shark Tank Racing Squad have seen one family lose a mother from breast cancer and another’s grandmother diagnosed.
Burke Racquet & Swim Club Celebrates 30 Years with Fitness Fair
Lynnda Gendron of Burke has worked at the Burke Racquet & Swim Club for 27 of its 30 years of operation.
2015 General Assembly Session Draws to a Close
The 45-day 2015 session of the Virginia General Assembly came to a close last week, one which Del. Scott Surovell (D-44) described as “pretty calm, mainly because guys on either side have stayed away from divisive social issues they’ve pushed in the past,” and Sen. Toddy Puller (D-36) assessed, “For the most part, I think they did accomplish some good things.”
New Packaging Brewing Company Opens in Lorton
With the capacity to churn out over 4,000 barrels annually, Fair Winds Brewing Company in Lorton can claim the title of Fairfax County’s largest packaging brewery.
“Oliver!” To Open at Church of the Good Shepherd in Burke
Springfield resident Nancy Lavallee is an attorney by day, but has done theater all her life. And for the last three years, in her free time, she’s traded the courtroom for the director’s chair, leading the Good Shepherd Players in productions of “The Sound of Music” and “Godspell.”
Fairfax County Swimmers Shine at States
Swimmers from 36 high schools from around Virginia competed in the Virginia High School League 6A state championship held in Richmond on Feb. 20.
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova Bulova to Create Transparency Review Commission
Group would include citizens, legal community and other organizations.
When Alexandria resident Natasha McKenna was removed from life support and died on Feb. 8, the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office posted a release on the county website.
Fairfax County Park Authority Passes on Commercial Proposal for Burke Lake Golf Park
Burke resident Meg Hanrahan likes Topgolf in Alexandria. “To go out on a date with my husband,” she said, “but it’s not some place I want to go when I want to mentally prepare to go out on a course and play 18 holes.”
Community Reviews Plans for Silas Burke Property
Members of the Burke and West Springfield communities were invited to review the plans of Sunrise Development, LLC to build an assisted living facility on the property of the Silas Burke House.
Fairfax County School Board Discusses New AAP Center at Poplar Tree
Board seeks more community feedback before taking action.
Greenbriar West Elementary School is far from the only Fairfax County Public School with an overcrowding problem.
Dead or Alive: Virginia General Assembly Lawmakers Pick Their Legislative Highlights at the Crossover
HB1872: Would have required the Board of Education to arrange a special training program for principals working with struggling schools.
Virginia General Assembly Reaches Crossover
Bills live, die or fold into other legislation before review by the opposite chamber.
As the current meeting of the Virginia General Assembly neared the one-month mark, legislators in the House of Delegates and Senate had to finalize work on bills they would send to their counterparts for consideration.
New Civil War Marker Honors African-American Woodcutters in Burke
Centreville resident Debbie Robison hasn’t chopped a cord of lumber or laid a railroad trestle. But for more than a year she’s done hard labor at the National Archives and Records Administration, researching Civil War-era railroad workers in Northern Virginia.
Public Hearing Scheduled in Burke to Discuss Potential VRE Fare Increase
Increased operation costs are forcing the Virginia Railway Express to consider a 4 percent fare increase.
Citizens Hold Meeting on Burke Lake Golf Park
Though not typically a winter sport, talk of golf is heating up a chilly February.
Burke, Fairfax Station, Springfield and Mount Vernon: Describe your ideal Valentine's Day Date
Sev Kerat, senior at South County High School, Springfield resident: “We’d go ice skating, or something else active to move about and set the mood. Doing an activity makes me feel relieved instead of uptight.”
Sixth Friends of Sadie Blood Drive in Burke Draws More Than 200 Donors
For the sixth year in a row, Burke resident Amy Dozier celebrated Valentine’s Day by helping manage a blood drive. Her daughter Madeline, barely a tween for the first Friends of Sadie drive in 2010, is now a 16-year-old sophomore at Robinson Secondary School. She’s old enough to drive and old enough to donate blood for the first time.
First Art Steffen Scholarship Awarded to student in Centreville
For nearly three decades, Edward Arthur “Art” Steffen taught at Fairfax County Public Schools.
Uber prominent at state Sens. Marsden and Saslaw joint town hall in Falls Church.
Though over a dozen taxicabs sat in the parking lot of Sleepy Hollow Elementary School, inside it was clear everyone drove themselves.
Matthew Charged In West Potomac Alumna Hannah Graham Murder
Suspect faces life in prison.
Nearly five months after the disappearance of University of Virginia sophomore and West Potomac High School alumna Hannah Graham, the primary suspect in her death investigation has been indicted by a grand jury in Albemarle County.
Fairfax County Judge Orders More John Geer Materials Released
Family’s lawyer’s motions supported.
Though extensive, the thousands of pages of documents, dozens of audio files and handful of videos released last month by Fairfax County, documenting the shooting death of Springfield resident John Geer, aren’t exhaustive.
Robinson Middle in Fairfax Takes on Rydell High in ‘Grease’
Though none of the actors are in high school, Katie Jenkins believes her cast will have no problem bringing the students of the famed, fictional Rydell High to life.
Silas Burke House Stays, Sunrise Gets Closer
New language in rezoning application passes to supervisors.
Though once home to Burke’s enterprising namesake Silas, the stately white house he built circa 1824 and the property overlooking Burke Lake Road aren’t actually owned by the county.
Fairfax County Goes Public with Geer Documents
FCPD report confirms John Geer was shot while unarmed, hands raised.
Of the seven eyewitness accounts of the shooting death of John Geer, only one describes Geer quickly bringing his hands down to his waist. That was the perspective of PFC Adam Torres, the officer who shot Geer in the chest, killing him in the doorway of his home on Aug. 29, 2013.
Eileen Filler-Corn Holds First Mid-Session Office Hours in Springfield
Though Del. Eileen Filler-Corn made headlines in the first week of the General Assembly for her proposed legislation on how sexual assault on college campuses is reported, she was game for any topic at her first mid-session office hours.