Covering Annandale, Bailey's Crossroads, Lincolnia, and Seven Corners in Fairfax County, Virginia

Support grows for police and criminal justice reforms

A scene from a viral video shows motorist Derrick Thompson being forcibly removed from his vehicle by a Virginia state trooper. The incident highlights the need for police reform. A group of progressive commonwealth’s attorneys from across Virginia are throwing their support behind an effort by the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus and Virginia Senate Democratic … Continued

Commonwealth’s attorney to reform Fairfax County criminal justice system

Descano speaks to the community at a campaign event in Mason District. Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano announced on June 4 several steps he is taking to reform the country’s criminal justice system. In response to the nationwide protests following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, Descano said: “Our country—our … Continued

White supremacist gets two years for hateful graffiti

Mahone [FCPD] Dylan Mahone, the Nazi sympathizer who pleaded guilty to spray-painting racist and anti-Semitic graffiti on the Northern Virginia Jewish Community Center and Little River United Church of Christ in April 2017, was sentenced to 21 months in jail Dec. 14, according to reports on WTOP and NBC4. Meanwhile, no one has been arrested … Continued

Immigrant advocates urge county officials to address ‘crisis of deportations’

Immigrant advocates, from the left, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg of the Legal Aid Justice Center, and Sookyung Oh and Jung Bin Cho of the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium.  The recent decision by Fairfax County Sherriff Stacey Kincaid to stop holding people in jail beyond their release times so U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials … Continued

Two local “Dreamers” file suit against abrupt change in federal immigration policy

These advocates with the Annandale-based National Korean American Service & Education Consortium urge Congress to extend the Dream Act to protect immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children. [NAKASEC] Nurimaro Park of Fairfax and Jonathan Alvarenga Recinos of Alexandria suddenly lost their status under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, when the … Continued

Local advocacy groups denounce Trump ban on immigrants and refugees

Korean-Americans at Dulles Airport. [NAKASEC] Local organizations that aid immigrants have denounced President Trump’s executive order temporarily banning immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries and refugees from any country. Those groups, along with elected officials, including Rep. Gerry Connolly, Rep. Don Beyer, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, and Attorney General Mark Herring, participated in a protest against … Continued

HOA files suit to block relocation of homeless shelter to Lincolnia

The entrance to Stonegate at Landmark on N. Chambliss Street. The Stonegate at Landmark Homeowners Association filed a lawsuit July 12 against the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in an attempt to halt the county’s plan to temporarily relocate the Bailey’s Crossroads homeless shelter to the backyard of the Lincolnia Senior Center. The suit, filed … Continued

Mortgage fraud is family affair

A former vice president of Sun Trust Mortgage in Annandale, Moshin Raza, 51, was sentenced to 24 months in prison April 29 for conspiracy and wire fraud affecting a financial institution, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia reports. His wife, Humaira Iqbal, 40 was sentenced to 15 months in prison on … Continued

Join the ‘Run for the Children’ April 30

Fairfax Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) is hosting a Run for the Children 8K Race and 3K Run/Walk April 30 in Fairfax. “This race engages and informs the community about our organization’s inspirational work, while raising funds to help train and support the work of our volunteers,” says CASA spokesperson Ana Machado-Silva. CASA volunteers serve … Continued

Lawsuit charges Virginia’s ‘habitual drunkard’ law is unconstitutional

Virginia’s “habitual drunkard” statute violates the commonwealth’s constitution by criminalizing the consumption of alcohol by homeless alcoholics, charges a class action lawsuit filed by the Legal Aid Justice Center and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. The complaint, filed in federal court earlier this month, asserts that commonwealth’s attorneys offices have used the Interdiction … Continued

Despite legal setback, Malbrook residents confident they will win

Deer enjoy the meadow where an infill housing development is planned near Malbrook. By Darren Gruendel Sex, lies, and videotape – OK, no sex, but there are plenty of lies and there’s a video of horrendous flooding in the continuing drama about Malbrook subdivision’s fight to protect its neighborhood covenants.  Malbrook residents were shocked on … Continued