http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fairfaxfocus/ en Copyright 2008 Thu, 08 May 2008 13:25:29 -0400 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.36 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss The monthly list of proposed and approved new development projects that corresponds to the map available in the print edition of the Fairfax Extra can be found here. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fairfaxfocus/2008/05/whats_going_where_11.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fairfaxfocus/2008/05/whats_going_where_11.html Misc. Thu, 08 May 2008 13:25:29 -0400 A new tool is helping the Vienna police get the notice of other drivers when the officers are responding to a call. The device, called the Rumbler, augments the traditional siren with subwoofer driven low frequencies that even drivers with their stereos and air conditioning fully cranked should be able to sense. Read about the technology and the police department's hopes for it in today's Fairfax Extra. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fairfaxfocus/2008/05/vienna_police_ready_to_rumble.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fairfaxfocus/2008/05/vienna_police_ready_to_rumble.html Public Safety Thu, 08 May 2008 13:14:17 -0400 According to the cover story from today's Fairfax Extra, county transportation officials are busy collecting detailed information from riders of Fairfax Connector buses to find out where improvements can be made to better serve current riders and to attract new ones. Read the story and then let the county know what you think here. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fairfaxfocus/2008/05/ride_the_bus_county_planners_w.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fairfaxfocus/2008/05/ride_the_bus_county_planners_w.html Transportation Thu, 08 May 2008 12:55:06 -0400 Twice this week, in separate instances, Virginia state troopers have been involved in daring rescues involving burning vehicles on I-66. Today's Metro section has the details of the events. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fairfaxfocus/2008/05/troopers_act_quickly_to_rescue.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fairfaxfocus/2008/05/troopers_act_quickly_to_rescue.html Accidents Thu, 08 May 2008 12:00:15 -0400 Weekend travellers may want to avoid the Beltway's outer loop in Virginia between Springfield and the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. Work on the bridge will force lane closures and is expected to snarl traffic. Find out more in this Metro section article. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fairfaxfocus/2008/05/weekend_beltway_delays_ahead_a.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fairfaxfocus/2008/05/weekend_beltway_delays_ahead_a.html Traffic Thu, 08 May 2008 11:46:48 -0400 The cost to attend Virginia's two largest universities, George Mason and Virginia Tech are going up 9.8 and 11 percent respectively. Read this article from today's Metro section to find out how declining state funding will make a college education more expensive for students next year. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fairfaxfocus/2008/05/gmu_tuition_to_rise_98_percent.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fairfaxfocus/2008/05/gmu_tuition_to_rise_98_percent.html Colleges and Universities Thu, 08 May 2008 11:36:55 -0400 Updated 5/7 An article about the results of yesterday's elections is here. Full results are here. Originally posted 5/1 Municipal Elections in the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church and the towns of Clifton, Herndon and Vienna are highlighted in today's Fairfax Extra. Pick up a copy of the print edition inside today's Home section for complete coverage including information on each of the candidates. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fairfaxfocus/2008/05/voters_guide_for_may_6_electio.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fairfaxfocus/2008/05/voters_guide_for_may_6_electio.html Government Wed, 07 May 2008 09:55:42 -0400 Yesterday's microquake, which may have occurred as deep as six miles below Annandale yesterday afternoon, drew little notice. Did you feel the Earth move? Read the Metro section article and share your experience here. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fairfaxfocus/2008/05/annandale_earthquake_easy_to_m.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fairfaxfocus/2008/05/annandale_earthquake_easy_to_m.html Misc. Wed, 07 May 2008 09:37:56 -0400 Even though it isn't the hot issue it was two years ago, the issues of day laborers and the town's now shuttered laborer hiring center are still at the forefront of many voters' minds on the eve of the municipal election. Read about it in this article from yesterday's Metro section. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fairfaxfocus/2008/05/daylabor_issues_still_figure_i.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fairfaxfocus/2008/05/daylabor_issues_still_figure_i.html Politics Mon, 05 May 2008 10:12:09 -0400 Updated 5/5 From Saturday's Metro section: Army officials said yesterday that subterranean blasting will be conducted Tuesday at the Engineer Proving Ground at Fort Belvoir. Previously scheduled blasting operations were canceled because of rain. The blasting is planned between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to dislodge rocks so construction crews can excavate the site. The excavation is connected with the relocation of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to the Engineer Proving Ground. Originally posted 4/28 Neighbors of Fort Belvoir should prepare for some possible noise this week as early stages of construction get started for an expansion of the army base. Blasting is scheduled for tomorrow and Friday. Read this story for more information. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fairfaxfocus/2008/05/belvoir_booms_on_tap_for_later.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fairfaxfocus/2008/05/belvoir_booms_on_tap_for_later.html Neighborhoods Mon, 05 May 2008 09:25:40 -0400 Updated 5/5 According to this article from Saturday's Metro section, the officer involved in the crash that killed Ashley McIntosh has been charged with reckless driving. Originally posted 3/26 According to this story from today's Metro section, six weeks after Ashley McIntosh was killed when a Fairfax County police officer responding to a call crashed her cruiser into McIntosh's car, her family is still waiting for the police to tell them the results of the investigation into what happened. Police officials say they are just being thorough want all the details before they share any information. McIntosh's relatives say that need to know what happened to help them in their grieving process. One witness said the cruiser was travelling at a high rate of speed, with its emergency lights on and its siren off at the time of the collision. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fairfaxfocus/2008/05/family_of_crash_victim_want_aw.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fairfaxfocus/2008/05/family_of_crash_victim_want_aw.html Public Safety Mon, 05 May 2008 09:15:50 -0400 Updated 5/2 Further analysis of what yet has to happen to for the project to go forward is in this morning's Metro section. Check it out here. Updated 5/1 Check out this article from today's Metro section for information on what federal transportation officials say has to happen for them to help make the rail extension reality. Updated 4/30 The breaking news is the lead story in this morning's Washington Post. Updated 2/11 Yesterday's Metro section featured this article about those critics of the project who are glad to see it floundering; seeing in the possible demise of Metrorail to Dulles opportunities for other transportation solutions. Updated 2/6 From today's Metro section: A Federal Transit Administration report issued yesterday left unrated the proposed rail line to Dulles International Airport, which supporters viewed as a sign that the $5 billion project might win federal approval. The FTA's annual report assessed various http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fairfaxfocus/2008/05/escalating_costs_may_derail_me.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fairfaxfocus/2008/05/escalating_costs_may_derail_me.html Transportation Fri, 02 May 2008 09:43:23 -0400 A judge has ordered felony aggravated malicious wounding charges against James Clarke and Anthony Nellie in the attack. The news is here. Updated 2/19 Three teens have been arrested in the Dec. 24 unprovoked attack on a 14-year-old McLean boy. The news was in Saturday's Metro section. Originally posted 1/4 A 14-year-old boy from McLean was beaten by two older teens in a Dec. 24 assault that was apparently unprovoked while two other teens videotaped the attack, police said. The victim, who had just finished seven years of orthodontic treatment had all of his front teeth knocked out. Police are asking for help to find the assailants. Read this article for the details. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fairfaxfocus/2008/05/mcclean_teen_beaten_in_unprovo.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fairfaxfocus/2008/05/mcclean_teen_beaten_in_unprovo.html Crime Thu, 01 May 2008 10:20:50 -0400 From today's Metro section: The Falls Church City Council has approved a $76.4 million budget that raises the property tax rate 2 cents for the fiscal year that starts July 1. The new rate is $1.03 for each $100 of assessed value. However, city officials said in a statement, because of declines in property assessments, the median tax bill for the owner of a single-family home will decline $174. Other tax rates will stay the same. New construction and growth in the value of commercial real estate will yield an increase of 3.5 percent in overall property tax revenue, officials said. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fairfaxfocus/2008/04/falls_church_property_tax_rate.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fairfaxfocus/2008/04/falls_church_property_tax_rate.html Economy, Taxes Wed, 30 Apr 2008 09:31:55 -0400 Updated 4/29 The woman who claimed she had been raped Saturday is now saying her story was not true. Read about it here. From Saturday's Metro section: A Fairfax County woman, walking with her infant daughter in a Springfield shopping center, was abducted and raped Thursday night, Fairfax police said yesterday. The 18-year-old victim, who lives in the Springfield area, was carrying her 3-month-old daughter in a portable car seat at the Commerce Plaza center, just off Backlick Road, Officer Tawny Wright said. Shortly before 8 p.m., a man armed with a gun approached the woman, ordered her to walk down nearby Dana Avenue and directed her behind a house, Wright said. Police said the man threatened the baby, then raped the woman and fled. The baby was not hurt, and the woman was treated at Inova Fairfax Hospital. The woman told police her attacker was a brown-skinned man in http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fairfaxfocus/2008/04/teenager_raped_near_commerce_p.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fairfaxfocus/2008/04/teenager_raped_near_commerce_p.html Crime Tue, 29 Apr 2008 16:16:36 -0400