Springfield Connection

George Washington and George Mason were from Fairfax County; Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry were from Virginia. But there was another local founder who was forgotten to time. On Aug. 1, 1791, just 8 years after the American Revolution ended, Robert Carter III began emancipating over 500 enslaved people, because he believed the words “all people are created equal,” and acted on them. This story based in Fairfax County lay largely forgotten for over 200 years.

As a high school student looking for a sport to focus on, Leah Rafii was trying out golf on the Robinson High School team at Twin Lakes Golf Course when a huge thunderstorm hit and the coach tried to get them all back to the clubhouse. It was a memorable experience for Rafii. “I remember running through the trees, we all had to run with our golf clubs,” she said.

There is something special about the first day of school. Whether it is a kindergartener walking into a classroom for the first time, or a teenager heading into another year of high school, thinking about college, a first job, or finally getting behind the wheel. The milestones change, but the rituals are familiar. A new backpack. Fresh notebooks and pencils. The first-day outfit laid out the night before. A hurried cup of coffee while packing lunch and getting everyone out the door on time.

This August, on the 106th anniversary of the official certification of women’s right to vote in the United States, we note that, in today’s world, women’s rights and words, still, are often questioned. Modern American women themselves often forget just how recently come-by are the rights that we consider basic. Such as the right to vote, to be protected from domestic violence, to hold a personal bank account, to receive credit without a husband’s permission, and to serve on a jury.

Fairfax County has matched its full-year totals for pedestrian and vulnerable road user deaths from both 2024 and 2025 in under seven months. As the death toll for non-drivers climbed to 14 as of July 29, safety advocates warned that simple, life-saving street fixes remain stalled behind red tape and state approval hurdles. Back-to-back fatal collisions in July along Richmond Highway (Route 1) in Hybla Valley have renewed calls for systemic roadway safety improvements across Northern Virginia.

Virginia’s Drought Monitoring Task Force updated the state’s drought status on July 31: “The recent rain has prevented drought conditions from worsening, although severe drought continues in many parts of Virginia.” A drought warning advisory continues for Northern Virginia which includes Arlington, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, and Prince William counties and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas and Manassas Park.

U.S. Rep. Don Beyer Jr., D-Va., sent an official letter on July 30 requesting that the Fairfax County Planning Commission deny the 2232 permit application for Dominion Energy’s proposed substation at the Plaza 500 site (6299 Edsall Rd.). Beyer cited "serious concerns about the potential impact of this project on residents," writing that data center infrastructure should not be built near homes where its scale is incompatible with adjacent neighborhoods.

The radio crackles before the ambulance reaches the emergency department. A child has been pulled from the water. Within moments, the room begins to transform. Nurses gather equipment. A respiratory therapist prepares oxygen. Blood tubes are laid out. An emergency physician reviews the information coming from paramedics: a child, water, CPR already in progress. Everyone knows their role.

Summer comes heralding the start of school vacation. It’s not only the end of the school session, but the start of pool season, biking adventures, and later bedtimes. But for many students across the county, this year’s end of session will be much more. For those marking the end of elementary, middle, or high school, the last days of school also mark significant milestones in their life journey. So it is for the sixth graders of White Oaks Elementary School in Springfield.

Park goers at Lorton’s Laurel Hill noted a police presence, crime tape, and slightly acrid smell of smoke in the air, as they entered the park on July 9. Beyond the police cruisers and tape stood the burned out hulk of a Toyota SUV, nestled under the stately Red Chestnut tree on the lawn of the historic Barrett House. The incident has been preliminarily connected to a stabbing on Gunston Road in Lorton on the same morning.