A woman was killed earlier this evening (Friday) after she was struck by a driver while traveling on Route 50 in a wheelchair.
The crash appears to have occurred around 8 p.m. on Route 50 at Plaza Lane just in front of Greenbriar Town Center near Chantilly, based on a traffic advisory sent through Fairfax Alerts.
Good Friday evening, Fairfax County. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.
The following articles were published earlier today — Sep 18, 2026.
Since it’s Friday, we’ve also compiled a list of the most-read articles of the week, below.
Here is what’s going on Saturday throughout the county, from our event calendar.
Here are the events planned for Sunday:
Expect partly sunny skies today with temperatures rising to around 78°F and a northeast wind blowing at 6 to 8 mph. Tonight, the weather will be mostly cloudy with temperatures dropping to about 67°F, accompanied by a southeast wind of around 8 mph. See more from Weather.gov.
The MonumentCam screenshot above is used with permission of the Trust for the National Mall and courtesy of EarthCam.
We hope you have a great weekend! Feel free to discuss the most-read stories of the week, the upcoming weekend events or anything else of local interest in the comments. 👋
Nearly four in five parents say their child brings home mostly B’s or better. We built a K-8 math program, and when we assess children, about 8 in 10 turn out to be at least a full grade behind in some area of math.
In our first study, about 6 in 10 of the children we assessed were two or more grades behind somewhere, usually in one or two areas.
Is our test simply hard? No. Our results are close to those of the federal NAEP test, which finds only about 1 in 4 US eighth graders proficient in math.
A child who has learned this week’s steps can get the worksheet right without knowing why they work. That is often enough for an A or a B, until a test asks for more.
Homework looks fine too, since it practices the topic just taught. Neither shows the missing earlier skill, so extra practice goes to this week’s topic, not the gap underneath.
Even Virginia’s state test can reassure too easily: a 2026 federal study put its 2022 fourth-grade “proficient” bar in math among the nation’s lowest.
Math builds on itself, so a missing skill does not stay small. Kindergartners we assess are almost never behind, but from third grade on, more than 9 in 10 have a gap somewhere. Research agrees: children who start behind tend to fall further behind, and fifth graders’ grasp of fractions predicts their high-school algebra results.
Our second study looked at more than 10,000 answers from more than 250 children who recently signed up for Level Up, including questions from earlier grades.
The misses were not math in general: basic multiplication and division facts mostly held up. What tripped them up was a few topics from a grade or two earlier, the ones this year’s math is built on: second-grade subtraction at the end of fourth grade, fourth-grade fraction word problems at the end of fifth, and fifth-grade decimal ordering at the end of sixth.
Fractions kept coming back: among children finishing seventh grade, about 8 in 10 of those asked missed fifth-grade fraction word problems.
One child in our study, just out of fifth grade, missed a fourth-grade fraction question and its fifth-grade version. Practice started with the fourth-grade topic. Within two weeks, the child had mastered all nine of its skills, then four from the fifth-grade version.
That is the approach: find the real gaps, start at the deepest one, and practice each skill from three sides:
Identify: recognize the idea, like picking which picture shows three quarters.
Construct: build the answer yourself, like marking three quarters on a number line.
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger has issued an executive order creating a new “accountability framework” that aims to increase transparency around proposed data center projects, establishes checkpoints around energy and environmental impacts, and convenes a new “rapid response” AI task force.
Touted as the “most comprehensive and aggressive data center accountability framework in the country,” Executive Order 22 bans nondisclosure agreements by state agencies or employees, eliminates “by-right” approvals in favor of requiring public hearing and approval processes for projects that generate over 25 megawatts of power, and requires centers to contribute a “more equitable share” of electric costs.
Thousands are expected to gather at Reston Town Center this weekend for the Reston Multicultural Festival, which will celebrate its 25th year of making connections across cultures.
The event, which runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. tomorrow (Sept. 19), will include dancing and music at three stages, artisan vendors, and community organizations. Pop-up performances are also planned throughout the day.
The SLHS PTSA Food Pantry will be hosting its 9th Annual “Do It Your Way 0.5K” on September 27th from 2-4pm at Lake Anne Plaza. Join others in our community for music provided by DJ Randy Platts, pre-race warm-ups led by Kurt Rose, Celebrity Starters, cookies based by SLHS culinary students, a live raffle, and the most rewarding 650 steps you’ll take all year. Register online now or in-person the day of the event. All proceeds will directly support over 500 local students and families in the SLHS Pyramid each week.
More than two years of construction at Mars Inc.’s longtime headquarters in McLean could wrap up in the coming months.
The candy and pet care company anticipates completing an extensive renovation of its central office at 6885 Elm Street by the end of this year, allowing employees to return to the building in the first quarter of 2027.
Even as some areas become increasingly urban, Fairfax County offers plenty of opportunities for residents looking to enjoy nature or some outdoor recreation, from national parks to neighborhood hangouts.
Here are the nominees for “Best Parks in Fairfax County” as part of our FFXnow Readers’ Choice Awards. Did we miss your favorite park below? Write them in!
Voting will close in two weeks. Be sure to cast your vote before 8:30 a.m. Friday, Oct. 2.
Voting for Best Fall Activity in Fairfax County is still taking place. Be sure to cast your vote before voting closes next Friday, Sept. 25 at 8:30 a.m.
Two weeks ago, we voted on the Best Dentist in Fairfax County. The results are now official:
Fairfax County’s sluggish job market is expected to get a small boost in the coming months, thanks to a Reston-based contractor.
The technology company Data Machines has committed to investing $849,000 in an expansion of its headquarters in RTC West (12100 Sunset Hills Road, Suite 605), a move that will create 75 new jobs, Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger and the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority announced yesterday (Thursday).
Nearly 250 acres of land in Lorton that once served as a dumping ground for construction debris could soon become a haven for families and birding enthusiasts.
Waste Management, the owner of the former Lorton Landfill site at 10001 Furnace Road, broke ground on Sept. 2 on a new public park that will feature trails, a playground, an amphitheater, restrooms, and scenic views for taking in birds or the Potomac River to the east.
Dulles International Airport is counting down to the planned opening of the new 14-gate Concourse E serving United Airlines, but the count will run a little longer than initially hoped for.
The opening has been pushed back from late September into October but prep work is continuing as planned, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) board of directors was told on Wednesday (Sept. 16).
