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Virginia
Tuesday, June 24, 2025

Va. education department plans to launch Office of Excellence and Best Practices

The Virginia Department of Education is preparing to launch a new Office of Excellence and Best Practices by hiring an executive director who will be responsible for fostering innovation, highlighting high-performing schools, and directing resources toward initiatives with a proven track record of improving student outcomes.

Mike Chapman, Virginia’s Sheriff Keeping Streets Safe Through Enforcement of the Law

Traffic stops and searches of motorists in Loudoun County have increased dramatically the first three months of this year compared to the same period in 2024, sparking complaints from activists and some residents.

New Farm Cidery in Augusta County

Governor Glenn Youngkin announced today that Stone Ledge Cider will construct a new craft cider production facility and tasting room on the grounds of their 20-acre agritourism farm in Augusta County.

VDOT’s study to add express lanes to the south side of Beltway draws skepticism

The Department of () is studying whether express toll lanes should be built on the south side of the Capital Beltway between and Maryland to ease congestion, but some local politicians and citizens are skeptical of the idea.

VDOT’s study covers 11 miles of the Capital Beltway from Springfield, Va. to Oxon Hill, Md., just south of Alexandria and including the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. The corridor regularly has commuter traffic back-ups in the morning going into Virginia and in the evening going into Maryland. It also lacks any dedicated lanes for buses or carpools or a option.

The VDOT study is included in the National Capital Region’s Visualize 2045 Constrained Long Range Plan and VDOT’s Six-Year Improvement Program. The study is evaluating three alternatives: a no build scenario, adding one express lane in each direction, and adding two in each direction.

VDOT says something needs to relieve congestion, and if nothing is built by 2050 it would take commuters and hour and 40 minutes longer to get from Braddock Road in Virginia across the Wilson Bridge and into Maryland.

But this week Board of Supervisor Storck, who represents the Mount Vernon district, said the toll lane plan would create a “Lexus lane” and only benefit some while creating a traffic nightmare for others.

Maryland officials have also not supported the plan, believing it will create more congestion on their side of the Wilson Bridge. The express lanes could block plans for future Metrorail expansion across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and doesn’t consider other alternatives to widening and toll lanes, they said.

The study is being conducted in collaboration with the Federal Highway Administration and other agencies. Public input is being gathered through virtual and in-person meetings. In early 2025, VDOT will host public information meetings to present findings of traffic and engineering evaluations.

Some citizens are not convinced either. In a June 13, 2024 article by Bill Pugh, he gives a detailed account of what he calls the “flaws” of the Southside Express Lane project. Pugh is an urban planner and senior policy fellow for the Coalition for Smarter Growth and lives in Alexandria.

Audrey Carpenter is the Northern Virginia Bureau Chief for All Virginia News. She can be contacted at: audreycarpenter@allvirginia.news

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