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Virginia moved to scale back state involvement in federal immigration enforcement this week, while Northern Virginia saw developments involving a major Tysons apartment sale, Olympic athletes, high school coaching milestones and a proposed public mural.
Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed an executive directive Wednesday ordering state law enforcement agencies to end agreements that deputized them to conduct federal immigration enforcement. She had previously rescinded former Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s order encouraging local law enforcement agencies to assist ICE.
Separately, the Virginia Senate voted Tuesday to restrict immigration enforcement activity inside courthouses. The bill from Sen. Saddam Salim, a Fairfax Democrat, advanced on a 21-18 party-line vote.
In Tysons, developer LCOR sold the Kingston at McLean Crossing apartment complex to Pantzer, a New York-based owner and operator of multifamily housing. The Jan. 30 sale price was not disclosed, and the transaction had not yet appeared in Fairfax County property records. The complex was 96% occupied when it was sold.
Two athletes with Fairfax County connections are heading to the Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy. Vienna native Ilia Malinin is scheduled to compete in the figure skating team event and the men’s singles competition. Brandon Kim, a Thomas Jefferson High School graduate, will make his Olympic debut in short-track speedskating.
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology has also become the first Virginia high school to employ women as head coaches of both its varsity football and baseball teams. Rachel Worsham will lead the Colonials football program, while Jennifer Hammond is preparing for spring baseball tryouts after being hired in September.
In Seven Corners, Fairfax County’s Community Revitalization Section is requesting public feedback on a mural being designed for the former CVS building at Willston Centre I. The artwork, part of the Paint It, Fairfax! program, would face Patrick Henry Drive.
A man arrested with a handgun in the City of Fairfax Regional Library garage last June is expected to plead guilty to a federal weapons charge. Fairfax City police officers encountered him in Old Town Fairfax on June 11 while seeking him for a probation violation.
The Washington Post, meanwhile, announced layoffs Wednesday affecting about one-third of its staff. The cuts included journalists on the Metro desk and eliminated the newspaper’s sports section, books coverage and several foreign bureaus. U.S. Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia publicly criticized the newspaper’s owner over the reductions.
Thursday’s forecast calls for sunshine, a high near 31 degrees and a north wind of 7 to 9 mph. Clouds are expected to increase overnight as temperatures fall to around 16 degrees, with a northwest wind of 3 to 5 mph.