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

Cheesecake Factory to open at Tysons Corner Center next month

By Angela Woolsey
The Cheesecake Factory at Tysons Galleria (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The Cheesecake Factory is getting ready for its big move across Route 123.

The chain will close its existing location at Tysons Galleria at the end of November before reopening at Tysons Corner Center on Dec. 5 at 11:30 a.m., according to an announcement posted to its website.

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Around Town

Late-night chicken and gyro eatery coming to Fairfax from New York area

By Angela Woolsey
The fast-casual chain Blazin serves chicken tenders, gyros, waffles and more (courtesy Blazin Chicken & Gyros)

A fast-casual restaurant that serves halal chicken tenders, gyros and more into the early morning hours is setting up shop in Fairfax — both the county and the city.

Blazin Chicken & Gyro anticipates opening its first Northern Virginia location at Tysons Station (7502 Leesburg Pike) in Pimmit Hills in early December. The 1,849-square-foot eatery will be located next door from China King in the Trader Joe’s-anchored shopping center.

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News

Final vote count lifts incumbent over challenger in Herndon Town Council race

By Angela Woolsey
Herndon Town Councilmember Naila Alam (via Town of Herndon)

All three incumbents vying for seats on Herndon’s town council this year are on track for reelection after all.

Councilmember Naila Alam secured a spot on the council based on the final tally of votes from this year’s Nov. 5 general election, pushing out Herndon Board of Zoning Appeals Vice Chair Stevan Michael Porter, who had an edge in preliminary election night results.

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News

Fairfax County’s new poet laureate seeks to ‘demystify’ art form

By Angela Woolsey
Angelique Palmer has been appointed the Fairfax County poet laureate for 2024-2027 (courtesy ArtsFairfax)

Angelique Palmer, a performance poet and teacher, has been chosen as Fairfax County’s new poet laureate.

ArtsFairfax announced yesterday (Monday) that Palmer will serve as its poet laureate from 2024 through 2027. Succeeding Danielle Badra, Palmer will be the third person to hold the title, which was created in 2020 to celebrate poetry and promote it to a wider local audience.

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News

UPDATED: Man charged in stabbing at Bailey’s Crossroads McDonald’s

By Angela Woolsey
McDonald's at 5603 Leesburg Pike in Bailey's Crossroads (via Google Maps)

A man was rushed to Inova Fairfax Hospital with critical injuries Tuesday afternoon after being stabbed at the McDonald’s in Bailey’s Crossroads.

Fairfax County police were dispatched to the fast food restaurant at 5603 Leesburg Pike around 2:19 p.m., according to police scanner traffic.

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News

UPDATED: Man charged with rape on W&OD Trail in Herndon

By Angela Woolsey
Washington & Old Dominion Trail crossing at Grace Street in Herndon (via Google Maps)

Herndon police have arrested a man in connection with a reported sexual assault that occurred on the Washington & Old Dominion Trail yesterday (Monday).

Denis Humberto Navarette Romero, 31, has been charged with rape and abduction with the intent to defile after allegedly attacking a woman on the trail between Ferndale Avenue and Grace Street last night, the Herndon Police Department announced.

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News

Former McLean and Great Falls volunteer fire chief remembered for 52 years of service

By Angela Woolsey
A memorial service for former volunteer fire chief Homer Johns, 93, was held at the Old Firehouse Center in McLean (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

If it’s possible to sum up a life with two words, then testimony from family, friends and former colleagues suggests “service” and “community” should be top contenders for describing the legacy of longtime Fairfax County volunteer fire chief Homer Johns.

Speakers repeatedly circled back to those concepts at a memorial service on Saturday (Nov. 16), as they paid tribute to the over five decades Johns spent with the McLean and Great Falls volunteer fire departments.

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News

NEW: Rideshare driver charged with sexually assaulting passenger in Fair Lakes

By Angela Woolsey
Fairfax County police vehicle with blue lights on (file photo)

A Fairfax man has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman he was driving as a rideshare worker.

Officers were dispatched to the 12000 block of Strong Court in the Fair Ridge neighborhood at 11:47 p.m. on Aug. 10 after receiving a report of a sexual assault, the Fairfax County Police Department says.

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News

FCPD: No speeding suspected in crash that killed toddler

By Angela Woolsey
A memorial emerged on Trans World Avenue after a 3-year-old boy was killed by a truck driver (via WUSA9/YouTube)

Fairfax County police are continuing to investigate a crash that killed a 3-year-old boy in a Chantilly mobile home community this weekend.

Based on a preliminary review, however, Crash Reconstruction Unit detectives don’t believe speed or alcohol were factors in the Saturday (Nov. 16) incident, the Fairfax County Police Department said in a news release published today (Monday).

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News

County to break ground on Tysons wastewater pump station

By Angela Woolsey
A rendering of the new Tysons West pump station (courtesy Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services)

Construction is about to begin on a new wastewater pump station for Tysons West.

Fairfax County officials will break ground on the 25-million-gallon facility at 8608 Leesburg Pike with a celebratory ceremony at 3:30 p.m. this Wednesday (Nov. 20).

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