Morning Notes

N. Va. Officials Push State to Pay More for Metro — “In Virginia (as usual), the funding picture is more complicated. The state pays a little less than half of the regular bill for Metro, with the six Northern Virginia jurisdictions served by Metro picking up the rest of the tab. Now, those jurisdictions say they’re counting on the state to also go halfsies on the stopgap funds.” [DCist]

Rules for Temporary Outdoor Dining Advance — “Proposed new outdoor-dining rules, modeled on ones implemented during the pandemic, on Jan. 10 earned the unanimous recommendation of the Fairfax County Planning Commission.” Hunter Mill District Commissioner John Carter got support for a motion to have no size limits on outdoor dining areas and an amendment to require the same operating hours as the restaurant. [Gazette Leader]

Housing Filling Up on Richmond Highway — “Between mid-July 2023 and early January 2024, the unit availability rate at two of the corridor’s newer higher-end properties, South Alex and The Belhaven, fell significantly, according to CoStar data…The increase in occupancy came despite the two properties’ average rent of over $2,300 per month, which is among the highest around the corridor.” [On the MoVe]

Chantilly Area an Outlier in Office Market — “Fourth-quarter reports from several major brokerage houses show a curious pattern: The office vacancy rate in Fairfax County’s Route 28 South submarket is relatively low. Cushman & Wakefield, for example, has vacancy in Route 28 South at 13.8%, well below…21.5% for Northern Virginia as a whole.” An “atypical confluence of government agencies and the contractors they attract” may explain the difference. [Washington Business Journal]

Youngkin Signs A.I. Directive — “As artificial intelligence becomes easier to access than ever before, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has signed an order that will implement guidelines in state schools and businesses…Youngkin said that $600,000 of the state’s ‘Unleashing Opportunity’ budget will be used to ‘launch pilots’ that evaluate the effectiveness of the new standards in the executive order.” [WTOP]

Legislators Urge Support for Nonprofit That Helped Afghan Refugees — “Northern Virginia Emergency Response System (NVERS), which coordinates the region’s services during mass-casualty events, stepped in with aid for thousands of Afghans during what was a lapse in federal support in the weeks after the Taliban took control of Kabul…After repeated attempts to recoup nearly $700,000 in costs incurred during that period, the State Department has still not paid the nonprofit, states the letter” from Virginia’s senators and Democratic representatives. [Washington Post]

Police Stop Erratic Driver in Vienna — “Fairfax County police on Jan. 12 at 3:47 p.m. issued a lookout for a man in a vehicle who was driving erratically and recklessly on Maple Avenue, at times driving onto the sidewalk, Vienna police said.” The man was ultimately apprehended after parking at the Emmanuel Lutheran Church and attempting to run away from pursuing officers. [Gazette Leader]

Dog Licenses Due at End of the Month — “Every dog four months or older must be licensed yearly with Fairfax County, and licenses are valid until Dec. 31 each year. Licenses cost $10 — except for service dogs which are given licenses for free. PetData charges a $2 service fee for credit or debit card payments.” [Fairfax County Government]

It’s Monday — Expect sunny skies and a high around 37 degrees as a calm wind shifts to the south at 5 to 8 mph during the morning. For Monday night, conditions become partly cloudy with a low of around 25 degrees and a southwest wind blowing at 3 to 6 mph. [Weather.gov]

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