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Tim Peterson

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Seeds of Change at Volunteer Fairfax

Volunteer Fairfax honors service award-winners at 25th annual ceremony

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FCPS budget presentation kicks off FY2018 public hearings.

‘The Best with What We Have’

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Fairfax County: FCPS to Present FY2018 Budget to Supervisors April 4

School system facing nearly $50 million gap in funding.

Leading up to the Fairfax County Public School Board presenting its advertised FY2018 budget to the Board of Supervisors Tuesday, April 4, several school board members and supervisors have been hosting community meetings on the subject.

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Fairfax County: Gillespie Wins GOP Straw Poll for Governor at Robinson

More than 300 voters attended a Fairfax County Republican Committee straw poll and candidate forum on March 25, according to FCRC executive director Eric Johnson. The event was held at Robinson Secondary School.

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Fairfax County: Community and faith leaders, elected officials speak about hate speech, bias incidents and hate crimes

More than 100 people filled the Ernst Cultural Center at Northern Virginia Community College’s Annandale Campus on Sunday, March 26, to hear more than a dozen elected and faith leaders, as well as representatives from local organizations speak about hate speech, bias incidents and hate crimes.

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Community Policing, Not Sanctuary, in Fairfax County

Resurgent gang activity also discussed at Public Safety Committee.

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Fairfax Weathers Late Winter Snow

Weather Service announces snowfall totals, most saw 2-3 inches

Snowpocalypse 3.0 it wasn’t. Though Fairfax County was included in a winter storm warning Monday and Tuesday, March 13 and 14, the snow that fell only managed to close schools and cancel trash, recycling and yard waste pickup, but didn’t shut down local government.

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Committed to Peacemaking

Student Peace Awards of Fairfax County reception honors activists and advocates.

Suraya Sadeed said hearing more than 20 stories of students promoting peace in and out of their schools made her believe “there is still hope for a brighter future.”

First Taste of Working World

Teen Job Fairs begin this weekend.

Supervisor Pat Herrity (R-Springfield) said his first job working at a pool over the summer formed a lot of his work ethic.

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Standing Together Against Hate

Lawmakers, faith leaders respond to Feb. 27 bomb threat at Gesher Jewish School.

Students at Gesher Jewish Day School in Fairfax started their week with a bomb threat.

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Chief Releases Name of Officer in Shooting Death

Officer used deadly force in two prior cases, both determined to be lawfully justified.

Fairfax County Chief of Police Edwin Roessler has named 16-year veteran Master Police Officer Lance Guckenberger as the officer who used deadly force, killing Mohammad Azim Doudzai at his home in Herndon, the scene of a double shooting and barricade incident on Jan. 16.

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Fairfax County Board Appoints Police Civilian Review Panel

Residents can submit complaints concerning allegations of abuse of authority or misconduct by Fairfax County police through the panel.

The ongoing goal of increased transparency and accountability for the Fairfax County Police Department now has nine fresh faces. On Tuesday, Feb. 28, the Board of Supervisors announced its appointees to the inaugural Civilian Review Panel, one of the recommendations of the Ad Hoc Police Practices Review Commission.

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Prayer Vigil at ICE Office

Rising Hope pastor speaks about arrests outside church.

On the morning of Feb. 8, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers showed up across the street from Rising Hope Mission Church on Russell Road in the Mount Vernon area of Alexandria.

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Chief to Release Name of Officer in Herndon Shooting

Risk assessment is complete.

The risk assessment of the officer involved in the fatal Jan. 16 shooting of Mohammad Azim Doudzai is now finished, according to a Feb. 24 release from Fairfax County Police.

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Prayer Vigil at ICE Office

Rising Hope pastor speaks about arrests outside church.

Rising Hope Mission Church holds vigil at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Fairfax County NAACP Hosting Community Gathering

The NAACP of Fairfax County is hosting a community and Black History Month commemoration on Saturday, Feb. 25.

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Fairfax County Names First Independent Police Auditor

Richard G. Schott, a 27-year veteran of the FBI, was appointed by the Board of Supervisors to be Fairfax County’s first-ever independent police auditor.

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Fear Follows ICE Enforcement

Men said to be detained after leaving Mount Vernon shelter.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Mount Vernon.

FCPS Adopts $2.8 Billion Budget for FY2018

5.1 percent increase from 2017 prioritizes compensation and classroom resources.

The Fairfax County School Board formally adopted interim Superintendent Steve Lockard’s proposed $2.8 billion operating budget at its Feb. 9 meeting, following several work sessions and public hearings on the matter.

Chief Still Withholding Officer’s Name in Fatal Herndon Shooting

Temporary restraining order to not release name vacated by judge.

Fairfax County chief of police Edwin Roessler has yet to release the name of the 16-year veteran officer who fatally shot Mohammad Azim Doudzai, 32, at his Herndon-area home on Jan. 16 this year.

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A Look Inside Fairfax County Police Diversity Training

Commanders hear speeches on openness, forgiveness, professionalism.

West Springfield District Police Commander Cpt. Gervais T. Reed said when police officers leave the profession, some are in good shape, others are bitter.

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Fairfax County: Body-Worn Cameras for Police Coming Closer

Policy addressing privacy, mental health, metrics needed before pilot begins.

Fairfax County Police could have a body-worn camera program for officers up and running as early as the fall. That’s what Police Chief Edwin Roessler and the Board of Supervisors Public Safety Committee discussed at the committee’s first meeting of 2017 on Jan. 31.

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Fairfax County: Deadline Reached for Civilian Review Panel Nominations

Supervisors to review applications before Feb. 14 meeting.

Jan. 31 was the final day for applications and nominations for Fairfax County’s first Civilian Review Panel, one of two new forms of independent oversight for the police department.

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Chief Withholding Name of Officer in Herndon Fatal Shooting

Officer files temporary restraining order for Roessler to not release name.

Fairfax County chief of police Edwin Roessler has yet to release the name of the 16-year veteran officer who fatally shot Mohammad Azim Doudzai, 32, at his Herndon-area home on Jan. 16 this year. On Feb. 7, FCPD said the unnamed officer has filed a temporary restraining order to keep the name from being released.

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Arrest Made in Shooting at Police Car in Great Falls

Suspect first apprehended in Herndon for waiving a gun.

Just before midnight on Jan. 22, several shots were fired at a marked police cruiser from another vehicle in the Great Falls area, Fairfax County police said.

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Fairfax: Board Approves 2018-2022 Capital Improvement Program

Five-year plan includes three new elementary schools and one new high school.

This year, Fairfax County Public Schools experienced one of the smallest annual enrollment increases in nearly a decade: 1,368 students, compared to the average of 2,400 since the 2008-09 school year, bringing the total to 187,202.

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Anti-Immigration Ban Rallies Held at Dulles

Demonstrators, volunteer attorneys and elected officials welcome travelers, extend help detainees.

Demonstrations sprang up at airports around the United States over the weekend, following an Executive Order by President Donald Trump that blocks travelers from seven largely Muslim countries — Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia — in the interests of more significant vetting and preventing would-be terrorists from entering the country.

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Fairfax County: Public hearing on yard waste bags follows premature administrative change

North Springfield resident Asher Grady has his leaf collecting down to a science. And with the mature trees around his quarter-acre lot, he needs to. Each fall, he said, he goes through between 60 and 80 bags of leaves, spending between eight and 12 hours to rake and bag them.

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Lockard Channels Garza, Proposes $2.8 Billion FCPS Budget

FY2018 focuses on employee compensation and classroom resources.

Fairfax County Public Schools interim superintendent Steve Lockard is asking for $130.4 million more for the school system’s FY2018 operating budget than the previous year, a 4.9 percent increase, to a total of $2.8 billion.

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Partnering to Reduce Northern Virginia Congestion

Legislators tour past, present and future transportation projects.

The blessing of traffic, Martin Nohe said, is that “there’s lots of great transportation projects to choose from.”

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Fairfax: Police Auditor and Civilian Review Panel to Become Reality in 2017

Body cameras, mental health part of public safety focus

This year will see two historic firsts for Fairfax County, its police department and citizens: the beginning work of an Office of Police Auditor and Civilian Review Panel. “It’s very important people picked deal with facts, demand facts and make decisions based on facts,” Sayles said, “and communicate those in a way that’s not divisive." said Randy Sayles of Oak Hill who was a member of the Use of Force subcommittee of the Ad Hoc Commission.

For Schools: New Year, New Superintendent

New Year, New Superintendent for FCPS

New School Superintendent

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Fairfax County Sheriff’s Deputy Cleared in Fatal Shooting

Commonwealth’s Attorney: homicide was justified self-defense.

In a decision released Dec. 16, Commonwealth’s Attorney Ray Morrogh cleared Fairfax County Master Deputy Sheriff Patrick McPartlin of any criminal wrongdoing in the fatal shooting of Yovani Amaya Gomez that took place Aug. 15 outside Inova Fairfax Hospital.

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Fairfax County: Filling Oversight Positions

Supervisors outline procedures for bringing on police auditor and civilian review panel.

One week after voting to establish Fairfax County’s first Civilian Review Panel for police, Public Safety Committee chair supervisor John Cook (R-Braddock) and Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova outlined steps to be taken to fill the nine-member panel, as well as hire an independent police auditor.

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Ad Hoc Commission Recommendations: 88 Percent Implemented

Public Safety Committee hears from Recruitment, Diversity and Vetting subcommittee chair.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is well on its way to implementing all recommendations from the Ad Hoc Police Practices Review Commission. At the Dec. 13 meeting of the board’s Public Safety Committee, they announced 88 percent of the commission recommendations have been implemented or are soon to be so.

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Fairfax County: Filling Oversight Positions

Supervisors outline procedures for bringing on police auditor and civilian review panel.

One week after voting to establish Fairfax County’s first Civilian Review Panel for police, Public Safety Committee chair supervisor John Cook (R-Braddock) and Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova outlined steps to be taken to fill the nine-member panel, as well as hire an independent police auditor.

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Supervisors Establish Fairfax County’s First Police Civilian Review Panel

As complement to police auditor, panel will review abuse and misconduct complaints.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted 9-1 on Tuesday, Dec. 6 to establish a Civilian Review Panel to provide oversight of Fairfax County Police and to hear complaints of police misconduct or abuse of authority.

Fairfax County: Commonwealth’s Attorney Begins Review of FCPD Report on Deputy-Involved INOVA Shooting

Commonwealth’s Attorney Ray Morrogh said he has received the completed criminal investigation from Fairfax County Police into the Aug. 15 fatal shooting of Yovani Amaya Gomez, 29, by Fairfax County Sheriff’s Deputy MDS Patrick McPartlin outside Inova Fairfax Hospital.

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Fairfax County: Planning Commission Delays Vote on Farm Alcohol Zoning Amendment

The Fairfax County Planning Commission has deferred action on a zoning ordinance amendment that would affect the establishment and expansion of farm breweries, distilleries and wineries in the county.

Fairfax County: FCPS Testing Water Quality in Schools

Drinking water at 40 public schools in Fairfax County has been tested for safety, a release from FCPS said.

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Fairfax County: School Board Formalizes Search for New Superintendent

Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates (HYA) has been contracted by Fairfax County Public Schools to search for a new school system superintendent. Dr. Karen Garza announced on Sept. 19 she would be leaving that role to become president and CEO of the Columbus-based education organization Battelle for Kids.

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Tysons: Warby Parker to Open First Virginia Eyeglasses Store

Warby Parker, a popular online eyeglasses retailer, is opening its first brick-and-mortar location in Virginia on Nov. 19 at Tysons Corner Center mall.

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Fairfax County: No to Trump And Meals Tax

Beyer, Connolly re-elected.

With final numbers still coming in from around the country, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump carried a strong lead early Wednesday morning over Democrat opponent Hillary Clinton.

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Clinton and Kaine Carry Virginia, Trump Seizes Key Battlegrounds

Comstock, Connolly, Beyer re-elected; meals tax voted down; bonds voted up.

MEALS TAX referendum would have allowed Fairfax County supervisors to enact up to a four percent tax on prepared foods and beverages.

Fairfax County: Autopsy Report Yet to Come for Deputy-Involved Shooting

Administrative investigation to follow.

Law enforcement officials are still waiting to receive the final autopsy report for Yovani Amaya Gomez, 29, who was shot dead by Fairfax County Sheriff’s Deputy MDS Patrick McPartlin outside Inova Fairfax Hospital on Aug. 15 of this year.

Fairfax County: Breaking Down the Bonds

County seeks authorization to finance transportation and parks projects, and human services and community development facilities

Fairfax County will try to make the most of voters’ time on election day Nov. 8, having them weigh in not only on the Presidential and Congressional elections, but also proposed Constitutional amendments, a referendum and bond questions.

Fairfax County: Garza FCPS Departure Impacts Stuart Name Change Working Group

Responding to a student-led group petitioning to change the name of J.E.B. Stuart High School in Falls Church, the Fairfax County Public Schools board voted over the summer to create a working group that would consider the community concerns and look into the logistics of a potential name change.

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Fairfax County: Room to Improve for Fairfax County Public Schools on SAT

Scores above Virginia, national Levels, but achievement gap remains

On average, Fairfax County Public High Schools performed better on the SAT college placement exam in 2016 than the Commonwealth of Virginia overall average.

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