Author: Angela Woolsey

Angela Woolsey is the site editor for FFXnow. A graduate of George Mason University, she worked as a general assignment reporter for the Fairfax County Times before joining Local News Now as the Tysons Reporter editor in 2020.

Around Town

Lakeside Asia Cafe announces reopening date in Reston after extended closure

By Angela Woolsey
Lakeside Asia Cafe at South Lakes Village Center in Reston (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Update — Lakeside Asia Cafe didn’t reopen on March 18 as previously advertised. In an updated announcement on its website, the restaurant now says it will open its doors again on April 1.

Earlier: By this time tomorrow (Tuesday), Lakeside Asia Cafe should be back up and running.

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News

Vienna proposes flat property tax rate, sets aside funds for aquatics facility in budget

By Angela Woolsey
Vienna Town Hall (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The Town of Vienna plans to stick with its current real estate tax rate, breaking from the hikes floated by many of its neighbors in Northern Virginia, including Fairfax County, the Town of Herndon and Fairfax City.

However, rising property values will still result in higher bills for most residents, while enabling the town to fund employee pay raises, an initial allocation toward a potential swimming pool and fitness center, and other priorities, according to the proposed fiscal year 2026 budget released on March 5 by Vienna Town Manager Mercury Payton.

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News

Great Falls man who ran laser tag businesses sentenced for tax and investment fraud

By Angela Woolsey
Stock and crypto market trends (via Maxim Hopman on Unsplash)

A Great Falls businessman has been ordered to serve prison time and pay restitution for stealing nearly $4.5 million from the IRS and his customers.

A federal judge sentenced Rick Tariq Rahim, 56, on Friday (March 14) to six years and six months in prison after he pleaded guilty last year to wire fraud and intentionally failing to report and pay taxes, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced.

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Countywide

N. Va. colleges offer free job training, arts tickets to recently laid-off federal workers

By Angela Woolsey
Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale (staff photo by Jared Serre)

Local colleges have joined the rush to support workers affected by the Trump administration’s broad purge of the federal government’s ranks.

Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA), the biggest public higher education institution in Virginia, launched a NOVA New Employment, Exploration and Transition program (NOVAnext) on Wednesday (March 12) that will give laid-off federal workers and contractors free access to select classes and employment workshops.

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News

NEW: Herndon appoints new police chief, ousting leader who clashed with Fairfax County

By Angela Woolsey
New Herndon Police Chief Steven Pihonak (courtesy Town of Herndon)

Maggie DeBoard is officially out as head of the Herndon Police Department.

The Town of Herndon announced yesterday (Thursday) that Captain Steven T. Pihonak has been appointed as its new police chief, just over a month after DeBoard was placed on administrative leave for reasons the town declined to disclose. Pihonak was serving in the role on an acting basis since Feb. 12.

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News

FCPD: Man tried to sexually assault woman he offered a ride

By Angela Woolsey
A Fairfax County police car (file photo)

An Alexandria man was arrested last weekend after he allegedly attempted to sexually assault a woman in Hybla Valley.

According to the Fairfax County Police Department, the woman was walking in the area in the early morning of Sunday, March 9 “when an unknown man approached her in a vehicle.”

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News

Reston Community Center revives annual prom dress giveway

By Angela Woolsey
Promotional display for Reston Community Center's 23rd annual Diva Central Formal and Prom Dress Giveaway (courtesy RCC)

For students looking to freshen up their look for an upcoming school dance, Reston Community Center (RCC) has you covered.

The community center will bring back its annual Diva Central Formal and Prom Dress Giveaway for a 23rd year on Saturday, March 22. The one-day-only event at RCC Lake Anne (1609-A Washington Plaza North) offers students an opportunity to pick out formal clothes and accessories for free.

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Around Town

New restaurant Sorn Thai ready for grand opening in McLean

By Angela Woolsey
Duck rolls from Sorn Thai (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

McLean’s newest restaurant leaves little doubt about its inspiration, with a sign above its front entrance that identifies her in bold black letters.

Owner Supisa “Boom” Teawbut developed Sorn Thai to honor her grandmother, who passed away two years ago but left behind a trove of recipes that will serve as the centerpiece of the restaurant’s menu.

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News

Park Authority seeks to expand understanding of Sully Historic Site’s past

By Angela Woolsey
Sully Historic Site house (courtesy Fairfax County Park Authority)

As a designated national historic place, Sully Historic Site’s backstory likely doesn’t qualify as obscure, but it may be incomplete, the Fairfax County Park Authority says.

The agency hopes to fill in some of those gaps with a new “Reimagining Sully” project expected to kick off this spring. The initiative will aim to tell “more complete and accurate and authentic stories” about the former plantation, according to FCPA Resource Management and Interpretation Division Director Laura Grape.

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Around Town

Wolf Trap park adds Latin music festival to summer programming

By Angela Woolsey
A crowd on the Filene Center lawn at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts (courtesy Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts)

Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts has added a brand-new event to its summer calendar.

After unveiling an initial summer lineup last month, the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts announced yesterday (Tuesday) that the park will also host the inaugural Todo Sonido, a festival celebrating Latin American music, this July 12-13.

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