Around Town

More than half of Northern Virginia’s top 10 restaurants can be found in Fairfax — either the county or the city, according to one regional magazine.

In its November issue, which hit newsstands last week, Northern Virginia Magazine released its annual ranking of the region’s 50 Best Restaurants, as determined by its four food critics. A few Fairfax establishments have become permanent fixtures, but the 2024 list also includes some first-timers and comebacks.


News

Reston Town Center will have to wait a little longer than anticipated for a hotel closer to its Metro station.

The dual-branded Marriott hotel under construction in RTC Next — developer BXP’s expansion of the town center — is now expected to open its doors in January 2025, slightly later than the late 2024 completion previously projected.


News

Fairfax City is stepping up surveillance of its historic downtown and two public parks with the help of private security guards.

Starting today (Monday), uniformed but unarmed guards will patrol the Old Town commercial district, Stafford Drive Park (3300 Stafford Drive) and Draper Drive Park (9797 Beech Drive) as part of an eight-week security pilot program developed by the City of Fairfax Police Department.


News

The 2024 Northern Virginia political sign wars have reportedly made an incursion into the Town of Vienna.

A resident called the Vienna Police Department earlier this month after two political signs were removed from his property on Ayr Hill Avenue NW only to be returned a few days later. The man also said he found two signs that had been “struck with a hunting bow,” according to the department’s recap for the week of Oct. 18-24.


Countywide

If you have a cabinet full of extraneous prescription drugs, tomorrow (Saturday) will be your chance to get rid of them.

The Fairfax County and Town of Vienna police departments will participate in the Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Drug Take Back Day by hosting sites where people can dispose of unwanted and expired prescription medications.


News

Vienna’s first-ever economic development director is saying farewell to the town.

Natalie Guilmeus will officially step down from the position she inaugurated after today (Friday) to take a new job as deputy director for the Virginia Beach Economic Development Department, according to the Town of Vienna.


News

Poplar Heights is officially getting a new water storage tank with a capacity of 1.25 million gallons, despite continued objections from many residents of the single-family Idylwood neighborhood.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday (Oct. 22) — with Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn absent — to approve Fairfax Water’s request for a special exception allowing the facility to replace an existing standpipe tank at 7407 Tower Street that can hold 700,000 gallons of water.


Around Town

A pair of clothing stores and a custom frames shop are coming to Chesterbrook Shopping Center (6224 Old Dominion Drive).

Sassanova, Apricot Lane and Framebridge are all slated to open in McLean later this year or in early 2025, helping fill out a tenant roster that has turned over substantially since property manager Federal Realty took ownership of the site in 2021.


Around Town

For a third consecutive winter, Lerner Town Square at Tysons II (8025 Galleria Drive) will be illuminated by a thousand handmade Chinese lanterns.

The Winter Lantern Festival will return to Tysons for an over-two-month run, starting next Thursday, Oct. 31 until Jan. 12, 2025. The event will be open to visitors from 5-9:30 p.m. on Thursdays through Sundays.


Countywide

The D.C. area is facing an increased risk of fires tonight into tomorrow (Thursday) morning, the National Weather Service says.

The NWS has issued a reminder that there’s an “elevated fire danger” until 4 a.m. for Northern and Central Virginia, eastern West Virginia, D.C. and Maryland due to “persistent dry conditions” and “increasing winds,” followed by a cold front tomorrow.


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