Here's a look at what happened in the past week across Fairfax County and what to look forward to in the week ahead.

The Super Derecho

Storm coverage dominated the news this past week, as thousands of Fairfax County residents waited out their power outage in the heat and dark. The derecho knocked out power to more than 1 million people in Virginia, Maryland and the District — the largest non-hurricane outage in Virginia’s history. 

Fairfax County officials are asking Verizon to investigate the failure of the 911 system in Fairfax and other jurisdictions.

Here’s information on debris pick-up in Fairfax County.

Locally, Hollin Hall businesses were without power for more than three days. Up in Reston, the community responded when they learned the Fellowship House needed donations in the wake of the storm. 

Poll: What got you through the power outage?

Dog Stabbed

A dog was stabbed in the neck multiple times in the Mount Vernon area.

Success with a Side of Nausea

The Huntington area’s own “Black Widow” Sonya Thomas won the Coney Island annual Fourth of July hot dog-eating contest.

Citizenship Ceremony at Mount Vernon

Several people took their oath of citizenship at Mount Vernon on the Fourth of July. After the ceremony, the National Concert Band, a group of retired military band members, performed.

2012 Patch Readers’ Choice

The deadline for nominations for the Patch Readers’ Choice Summer 2012 is at 11:59 p.m. Monday, July 9. Click here to send in your nominations for the best businesses and people in your area. Those with the most nominations will enter the voting round, which starts July 23.

Board of Supervisors Meeting: Equestrian Task Force

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is meeting Tuesday. On the agenda: The Equestrian Task Force is set to release its report. (Patch did a multi-part series on the horse industry in Fairfax County earlier this year.) The small business commission will also present its annual report.

A Break from the Heat?

Temperatures may finally cool down to the mid-80s Monday and Tuesday.