January 31, 2024

I am excited to announce that free registration for my 8^th annual Teen Job and Opportunity Fairs is now open for students and businesses. My office will be hosting the fairs with cosponsors Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), School Board Member Sandy Anderson, Fairfax County Times Newspaper, DFS Public Assistance and Employment Services Division as well as local businesses and chambers of commerce. In March, I will be hosting fairs at West Springfield High School and Chantilly High School.

Chantilly High School

Saturday, March 2^nd

11 am to 1:30 pm

(Final workshops ending at 1:30pm)

West Springfield High School

Saturday, March 9^th

11 am to 1:30 pm

(Final workshops ending at 1:30pm)

These fairs focus on students and young job seekers looking for a variety of employment opportunities; full time, after-school, seasonal positions, internship opportunities, and volunteer positions. Students of all ages are encouraged to attend, but most opportunities will be geared toward students ages 16-18. The fairs have provided thousands of teenagers the opportunity to get in front of employers and for our employers to find talented Fairfax County students to fill their positions. Last year over 1,500 students and around 100 businesses participated.

Students can register here. Student registration is free and open to all teens in Fairfax County looking for employment, volunteer opportunities, or tips on building their resume.

Businesses can register here. Business registration is also free and open to any organization providing positions for students. Free table space and a complimentary table covering will be provided to registered businesses and organizations to advertise their available positions. Participating businesses and organizations must provide positions for students at the fair; soliciting without offering positions is not permitted.

We will also host resume and career building workshops during the fairs with our Chamber of Commerce partners. Students of any experience level are encouraged to attend these workshops.

For more information on the fairs, please visit the Teen Job Fair Series webpage or email my office at springfieldbos@fairfaxcounty.gov. I look forward to seeing you there!

Thank you to my cosponsors who make these fairs possible!

Fairfax County Public Schools

Fairfax County Times Newspaper

School Board Member Sandy Anderson

DFS Public Assistance and Employment Services Division

Chantilly HS STEM Academy

Central Fairfax Chamber of Commerce

South Fairfax Chamber of Commerce

Mt. Vernon Springfield Chamber of Commerce

On January 23^rd the Board approved a landscaping ordinance amendment that will drive up the cost of development in Fairfax County. I did not support this amendment because there was no analysis of the benefits versus the cost of these requirements. Some of the changes driving up cost include:

• Requiring parallel plant strips along all streets. Not all streets have parking lots, and this measure will hinder utility installation and density on smaller sites that may not have parking lots.
• Increased interior parking lot landscaping from 5% to 10%. This requirement will result in more parking islands and challenges for developers in placing parking lot lights and other utilities, which will mean increased costs for developers. Those costs are eventually passed along to residents.
• Elimination of chain link fence as a screening barrier. Developers use chain link fence as a cost effective and appropriate screening measure in certain settings. Eliminating this option will drive up cost.
• Requiring “best efforts” to eliminate utility crossings. I have seen far too often that the County has little understanding of the impact of costs when determining “best efforts”.

According to recent population data, not only are more people still leaving Fairfax County than coming to Fairfax County but our population actually shrunk. One of the reasons people are leaving is that Fairfax has become unaffordable for many. Actions that add cost to the price of housing should not be enacted without a thorough review of the cost versus the benefit.

You will be hearing more from me soon about how the County budget is driving up cost of living for Fairfax County taxpayers, but decisions like this add to the hidden cost of housing and doing business in Fairfax County. 

Congratulations to Kiernan El-Hage on becoming an Eagle Scout and receiving the Alpha Omega Medal!

Enjoyed a delicious Bavarian breakfast with the Massachusetts National Guard and the German Armed Forces Command at the German Command's New Year's Reception.

Thank you to our County staff with Domestic and Sexual Violence Services, our police department, and nonprofits such as Reset 180, SafeSpot, NVFS and Youth for Tomorrow for addressing human trafficking in Fairfax County and joining the Board in recognizing January as Human Trafficking Awareness Month.

Early Voting for the Presidential Primaries

In-person early voting for the March 5th presidential primary election in Virginia is underway. Any registered voter can participate in one of the two primaries, either the Democrat or the Republican, but not both. There have been numerous changes in the field of candidates since the ballot was prepared, and the ballot will contain the names of candidates who qualified for the ballot but have since dropped out of the race. For additional details on early voting, please visit: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/elections/early-voting

Other News and Information

• Burke Lake and Oakmont Golf Courses Recognized Again!
• Fairfax County DMV Customer Service Center Now Open!
• ECHO and Target Circle Donation Partnership
• Land Development Services Staff Finally Available In-Person
• Ft. Belvoir Job Announcement: Commissary
• West Springfield District Station’s Personal Safety for Women (Feb 8^th)
• Cornerstones Project Timeline Update
• The Road Ducks’ and Earp’s Ordinary’s “Rockin’ the Battle” Fundraiser (Mar 3^rd)

Burke Lake and Oakmont Golf Courses Recognized Again!

Once again, the Burke Lake and Oakmont Golf Centers were both recognized among American’s Top 50 Public Ranges by Golf Range Magazine. A special thanks to our incredible park staff that works diligently to maintain our state-of-the-art facilities and programs. It is Burke Lake’s 5^th consecutive recognition and Oakmont’s 3^rd in a row.

https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/park-news/2024/burke-lake-oakmont-golf-named-top-ranges

ECHO and Target Circle Donation Partnership

ECHO has been selected as a Northern Virginia Target Circle Charity until March 31^st! This means you can direct charitable donations while shopping at Target to ECHO via this loyalty program. 

Ft. Belvoir Job Announcement: Commissary

The Fort Belvoir Commissary is currently offering on-the-spot interviews for several job positions, including Sales Store Checker, Store Worker, Store Associate, and Meat Cutter.

Should you have any further questions or require additional information, please feel free to reach out to the Store Director, AL Brooks at Arvester.brooks@deca.mil or call at 804-712-7687. 

West Springfield District Station’s Personal Safety for Women Course on February 8^th

Officers from the West Springfield District Station will be presenting Personal Safety for Women on Thursday, February 8, 2024, at 6:30PM in the community room of the West Springfield Government Center (6140 Rolling Road, Springfield, VA).

This lecture-based course is designed to provide information on situational awareness, how to recognize and react in various locations, and how to defend yourself in a dangerous situation. The presentation will take approximately one hour, with time for questions during and after the class. You do not need to register for this presentation.  

If there are any questions before the class, contact MPO Tony Capizzi at 703-277-2363 or Anthony.capizzi@fairfaxcounty.gov.

Cornerstones Project Timeline Update

Our office received multiple emails regarding the Cornerstones project, an affordable housing project targeting homeless individuals that is being proposed on a 1.12-acre property located by the interchange of Route 50 and West Ox Road (see picture below for location reference).  Since the Cornerstones project is in the Sully District, our office was not notified of the Community meeting. We have been assured we will receive notification of all future community meetings regarding this proposal and will share those as they are scheduled.

The Comprehensive Plan amendment schedule for Cornerstones is listed below. There will need to be a separate schedule for the rezoning that would be required for the project to move forward. County staff plans on hosting another community engagement meeting once the staff report is published; estimated to happen in April.

The meeting recording and PowerPoint from the prior community meeting will be posted shortly on the PA page. Plan Amendment 2022-III-FC1 | Planning Development (fairfaxcounty.gov)

Anticipated Schedule for the Comprehensive Plan Amendment

• February 28: Sully District Council – meet to review draft recommendations.
• April: Publish Staff Report
• April: community meeting
• May 1: PC Public Hearing
• May 28: BOS Hearing 

The Road Ducks and Earp’s Ordinary Host “Rockin’ the Battle” Fundraiser on March 3^rd

On March 3rd, Earp’s Ordinary on Main Street will open its doors at 11am for the “Rockin’ the Battle” event that will run into the evening. This is a day of music dedicated to raising funds for Jay Powell, the lead singer of the Road Ducks, who is battling cancer.

The Road Ducks are regulars at our Free Concerts in the Park series at Burke Lake Park and were the top draw last summer. I hope you will join me for the incredible lineup playing to support Jay, including the Road Ducks, the Magic Trio, and more. See the flyer for more details on tickets.