Around Town

Good Thursday evening, Fairfax County. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.

🕗 News recap

The following articles were published earlier today — Apr 16, 2026.

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on Friday throughout the county, from our event calendar.

  • No events today. Have one to promote? Submit it to the calendar.

🌦️ Friday’s forecast

Expect showers mainly between 9 a.m. and noon, followed by mostly sunny skies with a high near 82°F. There’s a 30% chance of rain, and northwest winds will be around 7 mph. Friday night will be mostly clear with a low of about 62°F, as north winds transition to calm by evening. See more from Weather.gov.

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

The MonumentCam screenshot above is used with permission of the Trust for the National Mall and courtesy of EarthCam.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.


News

Fairfax County and its consultant are close to finalizing a new look for signs that will greet residents and visitors as they enter Reston’s Lake Anne Village Center.

A concept design unveiled by Streetsense at a virtual meeting on Tuesday (April 14) swaps the current fountain-oriented logo for a simplified look with blockier font intended to evoke the neighborhood’s 1960s origins and defining Brutalist architecture.


Sponsored

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News

Fairfax County supervisors on Tuesday (April 14) unanimously approved the plan to build a new Penn Daw Fire Station, supportive housing and an emergency shelter facility on a 3.5-acre tract just east of Richmond Highway.

The approval marks a significant step forward in a capital project that has been in the works for more than a decade.


News

Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) has proposed amendments to marijuana legislation that include delaying the launch of a recreational sales marketplace for adults.

The governor’s substitute for HB 642 and SB 542 would move the start of the legal retail market for marijuana from Jan. 1 to July, 1, 2027. It also changes marijuana possession limit from 2.5 to 2 ounces — still up from the current 1-ounce possession limit — and reduced the number of permitted stores from 350 to 200 until Jan. 1, 2029.


Event

Kokedama Workshop: Planting a Living Vessel

Kokedama—“moss ball”—is a centuries-old Japanese garden art rooted in the bonsai tradition and the philosophy of wabi-sabi, which honors beauty in simplicity and imperfection. Plants are grown without pots, their roots wrapped in soil and moss to form a living, sculptural sphere.


Around Town

A new spot for ramen and Japanese cuisine has opened for business at Herndon’s Arrowbrook Centre.

National ramen chain Kyuramen opened yesterday (Wednesday) at 2330 Silver Arrow Way and is currently offering a limited “soft service” menu of the brand’s popular dishes. The opening marks the Kyuramen’s second location in Northern Virginia and first outpost in Fairfax County.


News

Former Virginia lieutenant governor Justin Fairfax is one of two people found dead early this morning (Thursday) after an apparent murder-suicide in Annandale.

Fairfax, 47, shot and killed his wife, 49-year-old Cerina Wanzer Fairfax, before turning the gun on himself inside the family’s home in the 8100 block of Guinevere Drive, the Fairfax County Police Department confirmed.


News

The intercity bus service FlixBus is expanding its presence in the D.C. region with new stops in Tysons and Fredericksburg.

Launching today (Thursday), the Tysons stop on Gosnell Road at Leesburg Pike (Route 7) will provide service to Richmond and the corridor from Bethesda to New York City.


News

A motorcyclist died yesterday (Wednesday) after colliding with a pickup truck on the Capital Beltway (I-495).

Around 3:54 p.m., Virginia State Police troopers responded to a two-vehicle crash on the highway just west of Exit 176 to Telegraph Road in the Rose Hill area, according to a press release.


Countywide
Green space outside Pupatella at the Mosaic District in Merrifield (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

New Heat Records for April 15 — “Record highs were set across the region with many spots topping 90 [yesterday] afternoon. The new records include D.C. at 90, Dulles Airport with 91 and Baltimore at 91. It’s the fourth record high this year for Washington.” [Capital Weather Gang]

Man Arrested After Brandishing Machete — “City of Fairfax police arrested a 54-year-old man at Hilltop Shopping Center on Friday after officers responded to a reported weapons violation at the Main Street plaza.” Reportedly seen “waving a machete,” the man was charged with being drunk in public, disorderly conduct and obstructing justice. [Patch]

Fire Outside Herndon Apartment Under Investigation — Fairfax County firefighters responded around 12:42 p.m. yesterday (Wednesday) to the 13400 block of Coppermine Road for an outside fire that was spreading to a ground-floor apartment. “One patient was evaluated on scene. No firefighter injuries. Fire investigators are on scene working to determine the cause.” [FCFRD/Facebook]

Some Dems Frustrated by Amendments — “Democratic members of the Senate Finance Committee meeting hammered Secretary of Finance Mark Sickles, a member of Spanberger’s cabinet, Tuesday morning over the governor’s veto of a bill that would have legalized skill games and an amendment to the cannabis retail framework bill that would push the start of recreational sale to July 2027.” [Cardinal News]

Va. Backs Shift to Popular Vote — “Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed a bill Monday that adds the state to the National Popular Vote Compact, an agreement among states to award their presidential electoral votes to the nationwide popular vote winner.” The bill pushes supporters’ closer to the 270 electoral votes needed to elect a president. [NPR]

No More Tax Breaks for Confederate Groups — “Gov. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia has signed into law a bill to end tax exemptions for a slate of Confederacy-related organizations in the state … The new law’s most significant target is the United Daughters of the Confederacy, founded in 1894 for descendants of Confederates.” [New York Times]

Dessert Cafe Makes U.S. Debut — “Dessert 39, a new café in Annandale, has been busy since it had a soft opening earlier this month. Manager Sean Oh says the shop has drawn crowds of people curious to try the first Dessert 39 shop outside Korea. Dessert 39 is located at 7326A Little River Turnpike in the space formerly occupied by the Manoa bakery and café.” [Annandale Today]

Housing Authority Offers Loans to First-Time Buyers — “The Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority (FCRHA) announced [on Tuesday, April 14] that it is offering down payment loans to qualified individuals for first-time home purchases. These loans are made possible by a grant from Virginia Housing.” Eligibility requirements include a household income at or below 80% of the area median. [FCRHA]

It’s Thursday — Expect mostly sunny skies with a high near 92°F and a light southwest wind increasing to 5 to 9 mph in the morning. Night will be partly cloudy with a low around 69°F. There’s a 30% chance of showers, mainly after 2 a.m. [NWS]

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