Angela Woolsey | FFXnow

Route 29 lanes close for Fairfax County Parkway widening project

Published October 9, 2024 at 9:00AM

Fairfax County Parkway is being widened in the Braddock Road area (courtesy VDOT)

Route 29 is getting a couple of lanes narrower in the Legato area to support the ongoing expansion of Fairfax County Parkway.

From 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. today (Wednesday), construction workers will implement single-lane closures to reduce Route 29 from three to two lanes in each direction at the parkway interchange.

News

Machete-wielding man arrested after barricade in Merrifield, police say

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 9, 2024 at 8:15AM | Updated October 9, 2024 at 11:51AM

Fairfax County police say they found a machete in the vehicle of a man who had reportedly brandished it around a Merrifield neighborhood (courtesy FCPD)

A man reportedly spotted brandishing a machete in Merrifield was arrested yesterday (Tuesday) after five hours of negotiations with police.

According to the Fairfax County Police Department, officers were dispatched to the 2700 block of Livingstone Lane in the Merrifield at Dunn Loring Station apartments at 6:13 p.m. on Monday (Oct. 7) after a man called 911 to report someone with a machete.

Countywide

W&OD Railroad history collection donated to library for trail’s 50th anniversary

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 8, 2024 at 2:30PM | Updated October 8, 2024 at 4:18PM

Providence District Dalia Palchik, former NOVA Parks board member Barbara Hildreth and Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn look at historical photos of the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The Washington & Old Dominion Trail’s history as a rail line was on full display yesterday (Monday) during the latest 50th anniversary celebration organized by the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NOVA Parks).

After listening to local elected leaders, park officials and advocates reflect on the trail’s importance to the region, ceremony attendees could pore over old photographs of train stations and touch a rusted railroad spike, just steps from where the W&OD tracks once ran through the heart of the Town of Vienna.

Countywide

Fairfax County 911 dispatchers join Hurricane Helene relief efforts

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 7, 2024 at 1:45PM

911 dispatchers from Northern Virginia prepare to deploy to North Carolina for Hurricane Helene response (courtesy Fairfax County Department of Public Safety Communications)

Fairfax County’s 9-1-1 team is lending a hand to the ongoing emergency response to Hurricane Helene, which devastated the southeastern U.S., including parts of Virginia, in late September.

Four dispatchers with the county’s Department of Public Safety Communications (DPSC) deployed to North Carolina this morning (Monday) after getting a call for aid from their counterparts in that state, who have been working nonstop since the storm blew through the Carolinas on Sept. 27.

News

Noted lighthouse preservationist offers to care for historic Tysons house

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 7, 2024 at 9:45AM

The Ash Grove house in Tysons can be seen with a virtual open house provided by Fairfax County's Resident Curator Program (via Fairfax County Park Authority)

A woman who made international headlines for restoring a lighthouse in Ohio is seeking to undertake similar duties at Ash Grove in Tysons.

Later this month, the Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) will begin reviewing and soliciting community feedback on Sheila Consaul’s proposal to move into and help maintain the historic house at 8881 Ashgrove House Lane as part of the agency’s Resident Curator Program.

News

BREAKING: Man shot at Herndon’s Worldgate Centre

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 6, 2024 at 10:00PM | Updated October 7, 2024 at 7:14PM

Herndon police have closed the Worldgate Centre parking lot after a shooting (photo by Lisa Herndon)

Herndon police are searching for a man who’s believed to be armed and dangerous after allegedly shooting another man at the Worldgate Shopping Center in Herndon.

Herndon Police responded to the shopping center’s parking lot around 7:40 p.m. Sunday (Oct. 6) after an officer heard what he thought was gunshots while on patrol, a spokesperson says.

News

BREAKING: Ex-FCPD officer found not guilty of manslaughter in fatal Tysons shooting

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 4, 2024 at 8:00PM

Timothy McCree Johnson's parents Melissa Johnson, center, and Timothy Walker, left, address reporters along with attorney Carl Crews, right, outside Fairfax County Public Safety Headquarters on March 22, 2023 (AP Photo/Matthew Barakat, File)

The former Fairfax County police sergeant who fatally shot Timothy McCree Johnson outside Tysons Corner Center last year has been acquitted of manslaughter following a nearly two-week trial.

However, the Fairfax County Circuit Court jury found Wesley Shifflett, 36, guilty of recklessly discharging a firearm when he fired the shot that killed 37-year-old Johnson on Feb. 22, 2023.

News

Former Army soldier pleads guilty to killing West Springfield woman

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 4, 2024 at 2:00PM | Updated October 4, 2024 at 10:52PM

Fairfax County Courthouse (file photo)

An ex-Army soldier has pleaded guilty to killing a woman at her West Springfield home in 1994, Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano announced today (Friday).

Stephan Smerk, 52, could face up to 70 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for stabbing and killing Robin Lawrence, a stranger, while he was stationed at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Arlington.

Around Town

Dunkin’ Donuts opens new cafe in Annandale

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 4, 2024 at 11:15AM | Updated October 4, 2024 at 11:31AM

A display case shows chocolate frosted donuts with sprinkles at the new Dunkin' Donuts in Annandale (courtesy Dunkin' Donuts)

Dunkin’ Donuts has arrived in Annandale.

The donuts-and-coffee chain opened the doors of its new restaurant at 7025 Columbia Pike this morning (Friday), according to a media advisory. The cafe will operate daily from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m.

News

Vienna proposes temporary meals tax hike to fund pool and fitness center

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 4, 2024 at 8:15AM | Updated October 4, 2024 at 5:24PM

Vehicles parked on Vienna's Annex property, formerly home to the Vienna Baptist Church, in September 2024 (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Vienna leaders are warming up to the idea of a public swimming pool, a decade after throwing cold water on the idea when planning community center renovations.

Consultants hired to research possible long-term uses of the former Faith Baptist Church property at 301 Center Street South — now known as the Annex — shared their final recommendation of an indoor aquatics and fitness facility with the Vienna Town Council at a work session on Monday (Sept. 30).