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

Pennsylvania brewery to open first D.C. area restaurant near Herndon

By Angela Woolsey
A burger and fries from Voodoo Brewing Company (courtesy Voodoo Brewing Company)

A brewery that has achieved cult status in its home state of Pennsylvania hopes to soon cast the same spell on Fairfax County.

Voodoo Brewing Company will open a restaurant — its first in the D.C. region — at the Makers Rise apartment building near the Innovation Center Metro station, just outside Herndon, property developer Crimson Partners announced yesterday (Tuesday).

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Around Town

Dance studio circles potential new location in Tysons

By Angela Woolsey
Landscaped area for 8603 Westwood Center Drive in Tysons (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

An office complex near the Spring Hill Metro station in Tysons could soon be reinvigorated by the power of dance.

A dance studio has expressed interest in opening a new location at the Westwood Center, Atlantic Realty Company — which owns and manages the adjacent buildings at 8603 and 8605 Westwood Center Drive — said in a zoning application submitted to Fairfax County in late February.

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News

Town of Herndon considers first real estate tax hike in over a decade

By Angela Woolsey
Lawn behind Herndon Municipal Center (staff photo by James Jarvis)

The Town of Herndon is joining Fairfax County, Fairfax City and other Northern Virginia localities in contemplating real estate and meals tax rate increases to address growing expenses and prepare for potentially tough economic times ahead.

The proposed fiscal year 2026 budget released yesterday (Monday) by interim town manager Christopher Martino bumps up the property tax rate by 1 cent — from 26 cents to 27 cents per $100 of assessed value — and the tax rate on prepared food and beverages from 3.75% to 4%.

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Countywide

Fairfax County to enforce school bus passing violations with cameras, starting this spring

By Angela Woolsey
The stop arm on a Fairfax County school bus (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

More than a decade after it started exploring a program, Fairfax County is finally ready to introduce school bus cameras designed to catch illegally passing drivers.

The county government and Fairfax County Public Schools will install stop-arm camera systems on 50 buses for the program’s initial launch, which will begin with a 30-day warning period on April 9.

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Around Town

Matchbox launches expanded menu only at McLean restaurant

By Angela Woolsey
Matchbox's lobster and shrimp fettuccine (courtesy Matchbox)

Matchbox is no longer just about pizza, especially in McLean.

In late February, the regional chain rolled out an expanded “Matchbox Prime” dinner menu with steak and seafood options exclusively at its McLean location, which opened at 1340 Chain Bridge Road next to Lidl in April 2023.

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News

NEW: Arts Herndon to lose home despite Comstock project stalling

By Angela Woolsey
The entrance to Arts Herndon's longtime home at 750 Center Street (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

With an entrance flanked by a Little Free Art Gallery and a colorful “LOVE” sign, Arts Herndon brings visible energy to a block of downtown Herndon otherwise dominated by an asphalt parking lot.

After this month, however, there will only be the parking lot and an empty concrete building, even though the development project that necessitated a temporary displacement of the art groups on the property has ground to a halt.

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News

House fire in southern Fairfax County sends seven people to hospital

By Angela Woolsey
Firefighters extinguish house fire in the 8300 block of Ivy Green Road in Crosspointe (courtesy Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department)

Seven people were taken to a hospital as a result of a house fire that occurred Friday afternoon (March 7) in the Crosspointe area near Lorton.

The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department (FCFRD) dispatched units around 2 p.m. to a single-family home in the 8300 block of Ivy Green Road after getting calls for a fire in the attached garage.

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News

Jury convicts Bailey’s Crossroads man of hate crimes for threatened church shooting

By Angela Woolsey
A sign for Park Valley Church in Haymarket (via Google Maps)

A man from Bailey’s Crossroads has been convicted of hate crimes for plotting a potential mass shooting at a church in Prince William County.

Following a four-day trial, a federal jury in Alexandria found Rui Jiang guilty yesterday (Thursday) of attempting to obstruct congregants of Park Valley Church in Haymarket from exercising their religious beliefs, using a firearm in connection to a violent crime, and sending online threats.

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News

Herndon police chief put on leave for undisclosed reasons

By Angela Woolsey
Herndon Police Chief Maggie DeBoard discusses the arrest of a man suspected of raping a woman on the W&OD Trail (via Herndon Police Department/Facebook)

Herndon Police Chief Maggie DeBoard was quietly placed on administrative leave last month, and it’s unclear when — or if — she’s expected to return.

DeBoard, who became the town’s first female police chief when she was appointed in 2012, was put on administrative leave on Feb. 12, a town spokesperson says, confirming a Feb. 28 report by WUSA9.

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News

Fairfax senior living community to expand with additional housing

By Angela Woolsey
A rendering of Pierson Grove, a new residential building under construction at the Woodleigh Chase senior living community in Fairfax (courtesy Erickson Senior Living)

A recently established senior living community in the Fairfax area is expanding its capacity with the addition of a new residential building.

A Woodleigh Chase Senior Living spokesperson says construction is “well underway” on Pierson Grove. Slated to open later this year, the building will bring another 122 apartment units to the 42-acre independent living campus (9805 Woodleigh Lane) off of Braddock Road near George Mason University.

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