Va. Dept. of Education Guidance: Ban Cell Phones
Virginia K-12 students in public schools will be banned from using cellphones or other personal communication devices such as smartwatches from “bell-to-bell” during school. The devices must be turned off and stored in backpacks, lockers, pouches or another location off the student. The Virginia Department of Education released its final guidance on Tuesday, after a 30-day public comment period. School divisions have until the end of the year to update their policies.
The most stringent guidelines apply to elementary schools, where students will be barred from using their phones inside the building or on school property, including before and after school. Whether middle school students can use their devices before or after school is left up to local divisions. At the high school level, students can use their phones before or after school hours.
According to John Brett of the Falls Church City Schools, the School Board here has yet to consider or weigh in with a response to the order.
Big Winners in Last Weekend’s Taste of F.C.
The enormous turnout last Saturday for the Fall Festival and Taste of Falls Church in beautiful weather produced the following winners, according to judges that were assigned to taste everything the participating local restaurants had to offer: The Best Taste honors went to The Falls; the Best Menu to Cafe Kindred and the People’s Choice to Harvey’s.
Organizers said the attendance was the highest ever in the history of the annual event.
Arlington Home Prices Continue to Boom
Sales prices of single-family homes in Arlington continued moving higher in July, with the average sales price up nearly 13 percent from a year before. The average sales price of the 57 single-family properties that went to closing for the month stood at $1,575,170, according to figures reported Sept. 11 by Bright MLS, based on data reported by MarketStats by ShowingTime.
That compared to an average of $1,396,233 for the 72 single-family homes that sold in 2023.
Meanwhile, in Fairfax County, year-over-year home sales across the county were soft in August, according to new data, but prices kept moving higher. A total of 1,024 properties went to closing during the month, down 6.9 percent from 1,100 in August 2023, according to figures reported Sept. 11 by Bright MLS, based on data reported by MarketStats by ShowingTime.
While sales were down, prices rose in two of the three segments of the market. The average single-family home traded hands for $1,149,815, up 2.5 percent. For the month, a total of 188 properties changed hands, counting detached, attached and condominium homes. That was down slightly from 192 sales a year before.
The average sales price of all properties was $889,462, down 0.6 percent largely due to the 21-percent drop in total sales in the pricier single-family segment. The average sales price for attached homes (townhouses, row houses and condominiums) was down slightly to $562,398, while the average sales price in the condo-only segment was up 3.5 percent to $522,013.
A total of 54 properties went to closing for more than $1 million, including nine for more than $2.5 million and one for more than $5 million. Total sales volume for the month was $162.9 million, down from $166.7 million a year before.
Local Dentist Honored For ‘Lifetime Achievement’
The Northern Virginia Dental Society held its Annual Member Dinner on September 5 at the Fairview Marriott with the installation of officers. The association recognized Falls Church’s Dr. William Dougherty with the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award.
New Poplar Heights Water Tank Gets OK in Fairfax
Fairfax Water will build a bigger water tank in Poplar Heights in the Idylwood area adjacent to the City of Falls Church, but the new facility may be less visible than local residents have feared. After being challenged at a lengthy public hearing in July, the water authority revised its lighting, landscaping and construction plans enough to win the Fairfax County Planning Commission’s support for the project last week.
Providence District Commissioner Jeremy Hancock concluded that “a lot of work” had been done to address community concerns without compromising the effectiveness of a storage tank upgrade that Fairfax Water says is urgently needed.
