• Crossing guards are back at Fairfax high schools, hours after a car hit a South Lakes student. Officers responded just before 8 a.m. Tuesday to a 16-year-old struck while walking to school in Reston; the teen suffered minor injuries and the driver stayed on scene. The county reversed course and returned guards to the 11 high schools that had them last year, with longtime guard Anne Rodriguez called back to her post before the final bell. The student was not in a crosswalk, and the entrance had never been assigned a guard. WTOP, FFXnow

• A love triangle sits at the center of the Great Falls trail stabbing. Alexis Cedillos-Campos, 19, of Herndon, told a witness he was going to kill 42-year-old Carmen Puch before her Aug. 17 death along Difficult Run Trail, according to a Fairfax County criminal complaint. The pair worked together at a Herndon restaurant and had an intimate relationship; the witness said Cedillos-Campos left work upset after Puch sent screenshots of their affair to his girlfriend. WTOP

• Loudoun published its Fiscal Year 2027 Budget in Brief. The document lays out how the county's $5.4 billion budget affects residents and businesses, with graphics, demographics, and selected Capital Improvement Program projects. It's online now, with printed copies coming to county facilities. Loudoun County

• Loudoun sets a third public meeting on the Route 15 Lucketts Bypass for Sept. 29. The county will present a proposed "mini-bypass" alignment routing a new segment of Route 15 around the west side of Lucketts village. The meeting runs 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Lucketts Community Center. Loudoun County

• A Libertarian is challenging Rep. Don Beyer in the 8th District. Shelly Arnoldi, backed by the Libertarian Party of Northern Virginia, is running on cutting government waste and civil liberties. She acknowledges the district is a Democratic stronghold and joins Republican Tony Sabio and independent Tim Sharman on the Nov. 3 ballot. ARLnow

• A woman was carjacked near Rosslyn on Monday evening. Arlington police say a man in his 20s approached her on 19th Street N. in Colonial Village just before 5 p.m., made threats, and stole her keys and wallet before driving off in a blue Volkswagen Tiguan. It's Arlington's second carjacking in as many months after a months-long lull. ARLnow

• L'Auberge Chez François in Great Falls has new ownership. Reston-based Thompson Restaurants, led by longtime regular Warren Thompson, is now steward of the 72-year-old French institution and its sister spot, Jacques' Brasserie. Executive Chef Jacques Haeringer stays on, and the group promises the same menu, staff, and charm. FFXnow, The Burn

• Fairfax County apartment rents dipped slightly from last year. Median overall rents hit $2,419 in August, down about 1% from a year ago but well above pre-Covid levels. Rents are up 4.4% since January and remain far above the $1,818 pandemic low in January 2021. FFXnow

• Fairfax will weigh replacing a Kingstowne office building with housing. Developer BXP wants to convert a nine-story office tower into 120 units, then add 160 more atop a parking garage next door. The Board of Supervisors deferred its public hearing to Sept. 15 after Franconia Supervisor Rodney Lusk moved to postpone. FFXnow

• Ashburn's StageCoach Theatre is moving to Dulles Town Center. The theater company is leaving its longtime Ashburn Road home for a first-floor mall unit in the wing that once led to the closed Nordstrom. The move is set for this month. The Burn

• Carbonara opens a Gainesville location Sept. 9. Chef Mike Cordero is bringing the Arlington favorite's fresh pasta and signature carbonara wheel to a 240-seat space in Virginia Gateway. The Prince William Chamber will mark it with a "pasta cutting" ceremony. InsideNoVA

• Bobby Lee, the entrepreneur behind Mister Days, has died at 87; his funeral is Thursday at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle. ARLnow
• Loudoun's Pitango Gelato & Coffee at South Riding Market Square is aiming for a late September opening. The Burn
• Wakefield and Yorktown football both dropped their season openers but flashed potential; Yorktown fell to South Lakes 43-21. ARLnow
• Arlington employment dropped 4.5%, tying D.C. for the nation's biggest decrease. ARLnow
• Global Rhythms brings free music, dance, and storytelling to Glen Echo Park on Saturday, noon to 6 p.m. Secret DC
• Virginia launched a "Find Your Fall" microsite tracking foliage, scenic drives, and seasonal activities. Secret DC
• Area delis are taking High Holiday orders now; Rosh Hashanah runs Sept. 11-13. Arlington Magazine

Fairfax found the money for crossing guards the same afternoon a car sent a kid airborne outside South Lakes. The county's default answer this year has been not yet, and it keeps discovering that the reversal costs more than the caution ever saved.

That's the briefing. Stay safe out there. See you tomorrow.

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