Fairfax County pulled the crossing guards from nine high schools this year. South Lakes was one of them, and the first two weeks of school have gone about how you would expect on a five-lane road at dismissal.

We walk through the video Hunter Mill District School Board representative Melanie Meren filmed at the South Lakes Drive crossing: cars turning through the crosswalk, students cutting diagonally across the road, four directions of traffic locked up at once, and one student who nearly gets clipped. We cover where the decision came from, why the county calls it data-driven, why parents are asking when that data was collected, and what happens when supervisors take the carryover package back up on September 15.

Before that, the new rules for Friday night football at Fairfax County schools. Clear bags only, in two specific sizes. Backpacks, purses, fanny packs, outside food and drinks all stay in the car. And middle schoolers can no longer be dropped off to find their own way in, which changes the routine for a lot of Reston and Herndon families. Ticket prices held steady at seven dollars for adults and five for students.

We also get into North Point Village Center picking up Sweat440 and Robeks, the closing of Meanwhile Coffee in Herndon after a short run at Woodland Park Crossing, Lidl signing for the old Whole Foods space at Plaza America, whether Reston actually has too many grocery stores, why Summer Restaurant Week skewed so heavily toward the big rooms, and the Reston Multicultural Festival hitting 25 years on September 19.

Kathy joins from Long Beach Island, New Jersey, which explains the view.

Get the weekly newsletter We send the local stories, openings, closings, and dates worth knowing before they show up in your feed. https://kathyandgraham.greaterrestonliving.com/?modal=signup