FFXnow Daily Update

Fairfax County police identified the Chantilly woman killed while crossing Route 50 in a mobility wheelchair, and a new report found that most near-misses between drivers and pedestrians on county roads happen repeatedly at the same spots. Supervisors also cleared the way for nearly 3,000 homes beside the Dunn Loring Metro station, and a Spotsylvania man was charged with threatening to bomb the Dulles-area ADAMS Center mosque.

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• UPDATED: Chantilly woman using wheelchair killed in Route 50 crash
• Report: Close calls with drivers on Fairfax roads are recurring issues, not isolated
• Man charged with bomb threat against Dulles-area mosque
• County board allows nearly 3,000 homes on Merrifield apartment site
• Planning commission backs proposal for housing on vacant Sully District land
• Big Greek Cafe to open location in Reston's North Point Village Center
• 'Dog Krazy' pet shop to open in Chantilly's Sully Plaza
• N. Va. Senior Olympics sets new participation record, with Fairfax leading the way

Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed an executive order Friday creating what her office calls the country's most aggressive data center accountability framework, ending by-right approvals for large projects and requiring data centers to pay a more equitable share of electric costs. Also today: Dulles Airport's new Concourse E slipped to an October opening, and construction began on turning the former Lorton landfill into a nearly 250-acre public park.

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• NEW: Gov. Spanberger orders 'framework' for regulating data centers, establishes AI task force
• MWAA now expecting October opening for Dulles Airport's Concourse E
• Construction begins to turn former Lorton landfill into new public park
• Reston tech contractor announces expansion, adding 75 jobs
• Renovation of Mars HQ in McLean on track to finish this year
• Reston Multicultural Festival returns this weekend for 25th anniversary
• Poll: Best parks in Fairfax County

Early in-person voting in Fairfax County opens Friday, with congressional races, a $180 million parks bond, a $75 million human services bond and three state constitutional amendments on the ballot. Also today: a national anti-data-center bus tour stopped in Bren Mar to back residents fighting Starwood Capital's proposed Plaza 500 project, and supervisors signed off on replacing Merrifield's 40-acre Prosperity Business Campus with as many as 1,900 homes.

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• What to expect as early voting for the 2026 election kicks off Friday in Fairfax
• Pro-Trump group to rally against data centers in Bren Mar this afternoon
• Transformation of Merrifield office park to mixed-use housing approved
• Second plan to add housing at Kingstowne Towne Center gets green light
• Man convicted of 2025 attempted rape at Groveton hotel
• Del Aguila: Experience needed on Herndon Town Council to tackle upcoming challenges
• Playfully named Vietnamese eatery coming to Fairfax City
• A New Creative Home for Kids Has Opened Its Doors in Fairfax
• What Will Herndon Look Like in 2050? You Can Help Decide

Fairfax County supervisors paused new Flock license plate reader installations pending an Oct. 20 committee review, and gave final approval to the framework for redeveloping the 46.6-acre Reston Town Center North site with Inova. The board also adopted a criminal blight ordinance, effective Oct. 1, giving the county a civil process to force corrective action at properties with recurring criminal activity.

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- Fairfax County board suspends Flock camera installations, as criticism grows in N. Va.
- Development plan for Reston Town Center North wins final approval
- Fairfax County authorizes police to cite properties with recurring criminal activity
- FCDOT seeks input on bus route changes in Springfield area, including new Tysons service
- Vienna cookie shop and bubble tea cafe close for good
- Groveton Elementary, Mount Vernon Hospital reach milestone anniversaries
- Fairfax chairman advises neighbor locality to think carefully about governance changes
- Your child's good grades may be hiding a math gap
- Fort Belvoir's Oktoberfest Returns Sep. 24–27 at New Pullen Field Location

Fairfax County supervisors voted to restore crossing guard funding at ten high schools after a pedestrian-safety rally and a three-hour public hearing, and the recently removed leader of a national health care coalition was charged with secretly filming teenagers in Tysons stores. Also today, two developers asked the county to let them replace Centreville's 41-acre Trinity Centre office park with as many as 1,098 homes.

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• UPDATED: Fairfax supervisors restore crossing guard funding after residents rally for action
• JUST IN: Health care coalition leader charged with illegally filming teens in Tysons stores
• Centreville's 41-acre Trinity Centre office park could be replaced with housing
• Community mourns after owner of Vienna's Caffe Amouri dies from cancer
• Dominion and NextEra seek to win Va. support for merger with plan for new jobs, bill credits
• Fairfax City moves forward with University Drive bicycle lane project
• Sluggish August home sales in Fairfax may portend a softer fall market
• Reston wine and houseware shop plans grand opening with tastings, music
• When is probate required in Virginia? A guide for families
• Clarendon Day! Returns Saturday, September 26th

Fairfax County staff will ask the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday to spend about $708,000 restoring 11 high school crossing guard positions cut in the FY 2027 budget, after at least five students were struck by drivers since the school year began. Fairfax County Public Schools officials also warned the school board that FY 2028 will likely require substantial cuts, and a Burke motorcyclist was killed in the third fatal crash on Braddock Road this year.

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• NEW: Fairfax County proposes high school crossing guard funding, safety improvements
• Burke motorcyclist killed in crash, third Braddock Road fatality of 2026
• FCPS officials warn funding cuts likely needed with difficult budgetary year ahead
• Fairfax school board considers naming rights sales, but warns against getting too corporate
• Fairfax City Council can now discipline members under newly adopted code of ethics
• Input wanted on renovations proposed for Alabama Drive Park in Herndon
• 'Uncommon' wine shop opens inside long-standing Tysons florist
• Fairfax County's local news, now in podcast form

Fairfax County marked the 25th anniversary of 9/11 with a remembrance ceremony at its Public Safety Headquarters, where leaders honored two county first responders who later died of 9/11-related cancer and pledged to keep telling the story to a generation born after the attacks. Also today: police arrested one adult and five teenagers in the $1M fire that destroyed Virginia Task Force 1's training facility in Lorton, and Fairfax City Council got a first look at three redevelopment proposals that would add more than 700 apartments, including an 11-story building that would be among the city's tallest.

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• On 25th anniversary of 9/11, Fairfax leaders keep memories alive for new generation
• Investigation of $1M fire at Fairfax search and rescue training facility leads to arrests
• Candidates for Virginia's 8th District offer mixed views on tackling AI, data centers
• Fairfax City Council gets preview of three mixed-use development proposals
• Fairfax County warns of safety risks from improper disposal of batteries, gas canisters
• Poll: Best fall activities in Fairfax County

Fairfax County police are investigating the deaths of a husband and wife found shot inside a Centreville home Wednesday evening, while Fairfax City police investigate a crash that killed a 13-year-old bicyclist outside a shopping center on Pickett Road. Also in today's episode: deer archery season returns to more than 100 Fairfax County properties starting Saturday.

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• BREAKING: Teen bicyclist killed in crash near Fairfax City shopping center
• BREAKING: Husband and wife found dead after shooting in Centreville home
• Deer hunting season returns to Fairfax County, starting Saturday
• Data centers hurting efforts to curtail greenhouse gas emissions, D.C. region leaders told
• Fairfax County staff propose more flexibility for food trucks, service businesses
• Vienna to redesign 'challenging' Lawyers and Church street intersection
• Herndon planning commissioner builds on public service past for town council bid
• Potbelly Sandwich Shop expands to Franconia, more locations on the way
• Fairfax-area Anytime Fitness finds new home after closing earlier this year
• Discover What's Possible on the Water at the Annapolis Sailboat Show

A new Fairfax County Public Schools report finds overextended kiss-and-ride lanes have become the school system's most significant operational concern districtwide, landing a week after a student was hit by a car walking to South Lakes High School. Fairfax City voters will also weigh a sales tax increase for school construction in November, while new state figures show ridership slipping on Fairfax Connector and CUE even as Northern Virginia transit grows overall.

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• Kiss-and-ride congestion a growing safety concern at Fairfax County schools, report finds
• Fairfax City plans voter information meetings on sales tax referendum
• Fairfax Connector, CUE see drops in ridership despite broader N. Va. transit growth
• Environmental group honors Del. Sullivan for work on clean energy, data centers
• Report: Self-driving taxi from Tesla spotted on Fairfax County roads
• No Taste of Annandale planned for 2026
• Reggae festival fundraiser returns to Lake Anne Plaza for fifth year
• Catoctin Walk Now Selling in Downtown Leesburg from the $600s

Three people were killed Sunday when their SUV struck a stopped truck in the I-66 express lanes in Dunn Loring, and Fairfax County leaders are warning of another round of "trying times" as they open the fiscal 2028 budget discussion with jobless numbers still elevated. Also today: Toll Brothers wants to replace a Reston office building with 54 townhouses in the first concrete step toward redeveloping Association Drive.

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• Three people killed in rear-end crash on I-66 in Dunn Loring
• Fairfax County leaders expect more 'trying times' as new budget discussion kicks off
• Fairfax's jobless numbers remain elevated but are stabilizing, state data suggests
• Townhomes proposed to kickstart Association Drive redevelopment in Reston
• Renovations begin this fall at seven Fairfax County playgrounds
• New restaurant with biergarten replaces Él Bebe at The Boro in Tysons
• Regional Theatre Week returns with shows at Dulles Airport, Fairfax County venues
• Ten Things I Learned in the First Summer Season of My Roofing Company