Dear Neighbor,

This Monday, January 15, is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. As we remember the life and legacy of an inspirational leader in the civil rights movement, consider taking time to honor his values and volunteer at one of many events – including Volunteer Fairfax's Weekend of Service. I'm looking forward to participating in local stream and park clean-ups and in Volunteer Fairfax's family service event, Give Together.

General Assembly Legislative Session

Yesterday, the General Assembly gaveled in for their first day of the 2024 Legislative Session in Richmond. The House of Delegates and State Senate will meet until March 9 to vote on hundreds of bills and approve a biennial budget for the Commonwealth.

You can find your representatives in the General Assembly here. Senators representing parts of the Braddock District are Dave Marsden, Stella Pekarsky, and Jennifer Carroll Foy. Delegates representing parts of the Braddock District are Vivian Watts, David Bulova, Kathy Tran, Dan Helmer, and Laura Jane Cohen. There are several elected officials making history as firsts. House Speaker Don Scott is the first Black Speaker of the House, and Fairfax County's own Senator Saddam Salim is the first Bengali-American legislator in the General Assembly. Senator Scott Surovell from Fairfax County will be serving as Senate Majority Leader.

I encourage you to stay up-to-date with your legislators through newsletters or on their social media and reach out to them during session to share your views. You can track legislation on the Legislative Information System. Other resources to use for tracking legislation or General Assembly news are the Virginia Public Access Project and Richmond Sunlight.

As Chair of the Board's Legislative Committee, I’ve been working closely with our County's delegation to the General Assembly on our top priority, funding our schools.

A Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission’s (JLARC) 18-month study on Virginia’s K-12 Funding Formula highlighted a $569,000,000 gap in state funding for Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS). We have great schools despite this gap because nearly 70% of their funding comes from local taxpayers through the County's budget adopted each year by the Board of Supervisors.

While we will always make investing in schools our top priority, shouldering the additional burden created by state underfunding limits our ability to invest in other areas, including public safety, mental health and substance abuse treatment, economic development, environmental initiatives, and more.

Thanks to the efforts of Fairfax's General Assembly delegation, we have made some progress in recent years. But this new study should be a wake-up call that much more is needed. The JLARC study recommends Virginia increase state funding for education by $3.5 billion to bring us into line with neighboring states like Maryland, West Virginia, and Kentucky, and to better reflect the realities of what it costs for the General Assembly to meet its constitutional obligation to establish and maintain a high-quality public school system.

Willard-Sherwood Health and Community Center

Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax own two adjoining sites that are soon to become one multi-use site. The Willard-Sherwood Health and Community Center will serve as a centrally located property for County and City residents to use the gym, access childcare or attend the Senior Center, receive certain health services, and more.

As Chairman of the Fairfax County-Fairfax City Interjurisdictional Committee, I've been working closely with City leaders over the past four years to move this vital project forward.

The design portion of the project is nearly complete and there are two upcoming opportunities for the public to see the proposed concepts—in-person on Saturday, January 13, from 9:00 - 11:30 a.m. at the Sherwood Community Center (3740 Blenheim Boulevard, Fairfax), or virtually on Thursday, January 18, from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. on Zoom.

No registration is required for the in-person open house; however, if you need interpretation services or other accommodations, contact [email protected]. If you are attending the virtual event, register on Zoom.

• View the Project Fact Sheet
• View the Concept Design Sketches

Yours in service,

Supervisor James R. Walkinshaw

Please share the newsletter with your friends and neighbors. If this email was forwarded to you, consider subscribing to receive Braddock District news & updates.

Continue reading below for more information on:

• Green Breakfast Webinar
• WMATA Changes This Weekend
• Neighborhood College
• January Awareness Campaigns
• Events for Service Members, Veterans, and Families
• FCPA Summer Camp Registration Opens January 23
• Regional Fair Housing Plan
• Clean Fairfax's 2023 Annual Report

Green Breakfast Webinar

Join Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District's (NVSWCD) January Green Breakfast on January 13 at 9:00 a.m. The event will be held on Microsoft Teams with guest speaker Neely Law from the Fairfax County Office of Environmental and Energy Coordination (OEEC).

Neely will talk about energy conservation and the resources available through the Energy Conservation Assistance Program. This program provides cost-share reimbursement grants to eligible organizations in the County to improve energy efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change, and save on utility costs.

You can read more about this breakfast or sign up to receive information on future breakfasts on the County's website.

WMATA Changes This Weekend

Metro announced travel alternatives to help customers plan for track work and maintenance over the Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend that will close a portion of the Blue, Orange, and Silver lines from Friday, January 12 - Monday, January 15.

During the four-day closure, buses will replace trains with no rail service between Foggy Bottom-GWU and Arlington Cemetery on the Blue Line; and between Foggy Bottom-GWU and Clarendon on the Orange and Silver lines. The Rosslyn and Court House stations will be closed. Customers traveling through the work zone should expect significant delays and allow at least 30 minutes of additional travel time to account for shuttle buses.

Work crews will replace rail, rebuild concrete grout pads that support the rail, run fiber-optic cables, install platform edge lighting, and other maintenance activity. Without the closure, the work would have caused major disruptions over multiple weekends, as trains would single track every 26 minutes or with truncated service.

For more information on service, visit the WMATA website.

Neighborhood College

In partnership with Fairfax County's Neighborhood and Community Services, Supervisor Walkinshaw is excited to host the return of Neighborhood College starting this February. This free certificate program is a great opportunity to learn more about Fairfax County government and practical ways you can get involved in your community. View the flyer and sign up by February 2.

The program kicks off with an in-person orientation session and meet and greet on February 8.

Classes will take place on six consecutive Thursday evenings February 15 through March 21 - the first four will be held virtually and the final two in-person.

January Awareness Campaigns

Stalking Awareness Month

Stalking is repeated and unwanted contact that makes you feel afraid or harassed, and it is a crime in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It is pervasive in society, but prevention is possible.

Fairfax County has resources and help available for those who may be victims of stalking.

Learn how you can help raise awareness about Stalking Awareness Month.

Human Trafficking Awareness Month

Human trafficking is the control and exploitation of a person’s labor through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of labor and/or commercial sex work. Force can include the use of physical or sexual violence. Coercion can include threats of violence, emotional manipulation, or controlling access to basic needs. Fraud can include someone claiming the victim owes them money or is paying off a debt.

Get more information about human trafficking and know where to go for help or learn how you can help raise awareness about Human Trafficking Awareness Month.

Events for Service Members, Veterans, and Families

Upcoming trainings for Service Members, Veterans, and Families' providers are available:

• Register for VA's Virtual Homeless Veteran Outreach Symposium on Thursday, January 25, from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
• Register for Americans For Suicide Prevention's Talk Saves Lives for Seniors: An Introduction to Suicide Prevention for Seniors on Saturday, January 27, from 10:00 – 11:00 a.m.

FCPA Summer Camp Registration Opens January 23

Start thinking about fun in the sun by preparing for Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) spring and summer camps.

Registration for spring and summer camps opens at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, January 23. In preparation, FCPA is sharing the full listing of camps, as well as offering multiple ways to search and tools to use that will make enrolling easier.

FCPA announces two changes to the camp registration process for 2024:

• FCPA will not be offering a discount for early registration for camps.
• Waitlists for camps will open at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 2, to help FCPA staff optimize the process for filling camps.

Explore all the camps being offered and set your clocks for the opening of registration. Remember to log on to use the Camp Search to register in Parktakes at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, January 23!



• Explore the 2024 Camp Guide to see the complete listings (and all the details) for upcoming camps. The publication outlines key background information, including key dates, extended care information and all the 2024 camp locations. It also provides all the details you need for each camp listing organized by season and then camp type.
• On FCPA’s Camps website, find the Camp Search to browse offerings by keyword and location and download the Camp Spreadsheet to filter and sort camps in Excel by child’s age, the week, the type of camp and the location. FCPA also provides a Camp Planner Sheet to help track camp choices and collect Catalog IDs of all your top choice camps to make registration easier and quicker.

Contact the FCPA camps team at [email protected] with questions.

Regional Fair Housing Plan

Eight local jurisdictions across Metropolitan Washington finalized a Regional Fair Housing Plan, submitted their portions of the plan to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in December, and are now looking ahead at implementing its goals and strategies.

The update on the plan, which marks the first time in 25 years that local jurisdictions have joined together on a similar effort, was recently announced at the Board of Directors meeting of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.

You can read Fairfax County's submission or learn more about the Regional Fair Housing Plan.

Clean Fairfax's 2023 Annual Report

2023 was an active year for Clean Fairfax in their mission to encourage environmental stewardship and urban sustainability in Fairfax County. They have just published their 2023 Annual Report and accompanying Director's Statement.

In 2023, Clean Fairfax supported 98 community cleanups involving over 2,000 volunteers who picked up over 66 tons of litter from our environment. These grassroots efforts saved taxpayers over $166,000! They also proactively supported efforts to stem the pollution problem before waste becomes litter. In 2023, Clean Fairfax continued consulting and educating citizens and policymakers on waste prevention.

Clean Fairfax looks forward to another successful year in 2024 and would love to talk with you about what you can do to be part of the pollution solution. Their website contains a wealth of resources and is where you can request free cleanup supplies for yourself or a group! 

Reach out to [email protected] with questions about reducing waste, turning off the tap, and how to advocate for stronger pollution prevention policies. You can also connect with Clean Fairfax on social media @CleanFairfax on Facebook, Instagram, and X.