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Now hear this: Based on his interview with incoming FCEDA president and CEO Victor Hoskins, WTOP’s Jeff Clabaugh notes that Amazon will be relying on Fairfax County residents for much of its HQ2 workforce, projected initially at 25,000 jobs. “About 33 percent of those jobs will (go to) residents of Fairfax County,” Hoskins said, which is a far higher percentage than any other locality in the region. As Clabaugh points out, the FCEDA is launching an intensive program to attract and retain IT talent.

Warming to the task: Solar Sister, a Great Falls nonprofit that has committed the last decade to helping bring clean energy to rural homes in Africa, received global recognition and a $25,000 award as a winner of the Keeling Curve Prize. Angela Woolsey of the Fairfax County Times reports that Solar Sister won for its efforts in energy access, one of five categories. A nine-person international panel judged entries based on their promise to combat climate change, address global warming and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Sharpen your skills: Axe throwing — it’s a real thing in the world of recreational activity and it’s coming soon to a 4,600-square-foot location in the Mosaic District. Tierney Plumb of dc.eater.com reports that Bad Axe, which bills itself as the “world’s biggest urban ace throwing club” will offer beer and wine as well as sharp metal objects at its District Ave. location. The company operates more than three dozen axe throwing venues in the U.S. and Canada.

Arbor’s day: About 700 apartments and 8,000 square feet of retail will be developed on a 5.2-acre portion of the 19-acre Arbor Row property in Tysons if Bethesda, Md.-based Washington Property Company’s plans take shape. Arbor Row is replacing 1970s-era office buildings along Westpark Drive. Alex Koma of the Washington Business Journal reports that the apartment complex will be the sixth — but first in Virginia — to carry WPC’s Solaire brand.

Gaining Altitude: The Washington Business Journal’s Carten Cordell reports that Applied Insight’s platform-as-a-service tool, Altitude, is gaining favor with some federal agencies, including those in the intelligence community. The Tysons-based company produced Altitude out of its aiLabs development program that focuses on “accountable innovation.” The offering is designed to help integrate multiple cloud providers across a single enterprise.

Going up: Hilton Worldwide Holdings plans to open 11 more luxury hotels this year. The Wall Street Journal’s Aisha Al-Muslim reports that the Tysons-based hotelier is seeking to play “catch up” in an industry segment that is seeing growing demand. Hilton, which currently operates 65 luxury hotels, plans to launch the hotels under its Waldorf Astoria, Conrad Hotels and LXR brands.

Ad-ding on: Vectrus, with operations in Reston, acquired Orlando, Fla.-based Advantor Systems, a command, control and communications provider to U.S. Forces Korea as well as a supplier of security services in support of Japan’s F-35 program. Thea Loise Woodward of ExecutiveBiz reports on the $44 million transaction, which Vectrus expects will help differentiate it and strengthens its place as an innovator in world of electronic security infrastructure.

Semper cy: Northern Virginia Community College is partnering with Amazon Web Services to provide the U.S. Marine Corps with education programs to help refine military and civilian skills in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, cloud, data analytics and machine learning. The courses are set to be offered this fall with military-specific components of specialties offered by the Marines. Michelai Graham has more for Technical.ly/DC.

Make a Wish: Gladstone Land Corporation of Tysons paid $9 million for 324 acres of farmland used for growing strawberries and vegetables in Salinas, Calif. Citybizlist reports the deal includes a six-year lease with Wish Farms Inc.

Notable contract wins by firms in Fairfax County

• General Dynamics secured a potential $1.04 billion contract to design and engineer operational strategic and attack submarines for the Navy. GovConWire
• Northrop Grumman booked two delivery orders worth a combined $28 million to supply power electronics for the Navy’s E-2 Hawkeye early warning-and-control aircraft. GovConWire
• ICF will provide an array of cybersecurity services to the Navy under a seven-year contract with a potential ceiling of $800 million. ExecutiveBiz
• Lockheed Martin received a four-year, $492.1 million contract to supply the Army with High Mobility Artillery Rocket System launchers, software and related parts. GovConWire
• The Army granted BAE Systems a potential $45 million contract to develop a prototype of the Extended Range Cannon Artillery designed to increase rate and range for M109A7 self-propelled howitzers. GovConWire
• Leonardo DRS picked up a $28.3 million contract to provide the Army with installation kits for vehicle-mounted computer systems. ExecutiveBiz
• Boeing selected Raytheon to be the radar supplier for its B-52 bomber radar modernization program. ExecutiveGov

Upcoming business events

• July 24: Break Through the Noise! Marketing Strategies to Attract the Right Leads & Get More Clients. Workshop will detail a marketing system to help participants stand out and connect with ideal clients. Part of the Business Education Series presented by the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce. Click here.
• September 10: Entrepreneurship 101: Starting a Business in Fairfax County. This FCEDA workshop is for those contemplating doing business in the county. The series, which covers a full range of basics, is held in partnership with the Community Business Partnership, the Virginia Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity and the U.S. Small Business Administration. Registration is required. Click here.

FAIRFACT: Fairfax County’s median household income of $118,279 (based on 2017 figures in the county’s 2018 demographic report) is nearly double the U.S average of $60,338.