Angela Woolsey | FFXnow

Another MS-13 member sentenced to prison for Reston murders

Published February 14, 2025 at 8:15AM

The Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse in Alexandria (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Another member of the gang MS-13 will serve decades in prison for participating in multiple murders, including ones in Reston.

Henry Leonel Barrera Ayala, 26, was sentenced by a federal judge to 50 years in prison after he pleaded guilty in September to conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced yesterday (Thursday).

News

Saudi private school in Herndon to shut down, surprising families

By Angela Woolsey

Published February 13, 2025 at 1:15PM

King Abdullah Academy in Herndon, soon to become a Fairfax County public high school (via Google Maps)

The current school year will be the last official one for King Abdullah Academy.

After close to a decade in the Herndon area, the Islamic private school announced in late January that it will close for good after the 2024-2025 academic year, citing challenges with identifying a “viable financial path to self-sustainability.”

News

Scott’s Run Nature Preserve to close indefinitely for wastewater pipe repairs

By Angela Woolsey

Published February 13, 2025 at 8:15AM

The wastewater siphon blowoff chamber in Scott's Run Nature Preserve (courtesy DPWES)

Clogged wastewater pipes will once again require a temporary shutdown of Scott’s Run Nature Preserve.

The park at 7400 Georgetown Pike is scheduled to close next Monday, Feb. 17 so a contractor’s crews can address a “critical blockage” stopping up the siphon system that carries wastewater from McLean, under the Potomac River and into Maryland, the Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services announced yesterday (Wednesday).

News

Man sentenced to almost two decades in prison for Fairfax County kidnapping

By Angela Woolsey

Published February 12, 2025 at 3:45PM

Tyree Eugene McCombs (center) and others carry shoes and handbag stolen from couple in Alexandria apartment building (courtesy U.S. Attorney's Office)

A D.C. man will serve almost two decades in prison for allegedly participating in the stalking, robbery and kidnapping of two Fairfax County residents as well as a woman in Maryland.

A U.S. District Court judge in D.C. sentenced Tyree Eugene McCombs, 29, to 228 months, or 19 years, in prison yesterday (Tuesday) after he pleaded guilty last year to robbery and kidnapping charges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. announced.

Countywide

Here’s how much snow Fairfax County got from the Feb. 11 storm

By Angela Woolsey

Published February 12, 2025 at 1:30PM

Center Street in Vienna after the Feb. 11, 2025 snowstorm (photo by Amy Woolsey)

Based on initial measurements, yesterday’s snowstorm didn’t quite measure up to the one that passed through in January, but combined, they’ve given the D.C. region its snowiest winter of the 2020s.

In Fairfax County, snowfall amounts ranged from 5.2 inches in the Town of Herndon, as of 7 a.m., to 8.5 inches spotted in Hybla Valley at 2:30 a.m., according to preliminary estimates reported by the National Weather Service at 10:28 a.m. today (Wednesday).

Countywide

Herrity backs federal workforce cuts, breaking from other Fairfax County supervisors

By Angela Woolsey

Published February 12, 2025 at 9:45AM

The White House (via René DeAnda on Unsplash)

The Trump administration’s sweeping efforts to whittle down the federal workforce have found favor with at least one Fairfax County elected official.

Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity, the only Republican on the county board, revealed earlier this week that he “fully” agrees that the federal government’s “size and scope” needs to be reduced, claiming that there’s a “broad consensus across America” in support of a downsizing.

Countywide

Fairfax County schools closed Wednesday, trash pickups delayed by snow

By Angela Woolsey

Published February 11, 2025 at 6:30PM | Updated February 12, 2025 at 11:56AM

Snow falling at Cunningham Park Elementary School in Vienna (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

With winter weather currently blanketing the D.C. region, Fairfax County Public Schools has declared tomorrow (Wednesday) a snow day.

All schools and offices will be closed tomorrow, and activities on school grounds have been canceled. Students were dismissed three hours early today (Tuesday) in anticipation of snow starting to fall this afternoon into the evening.

News

JUST IN: Virginia AG seeks to take over dismissed Fairfax County indecent exposure case

By Angela Woolsey

Published February 11, 2025 at 3:55PM

Fairfax County Courthouse (file photo)

Virginia’s attorney general is apparently seeking to revive a Fairfax indecent exposure case against a person who was subsequently charged with allegedly exposing himself in a girls’ locker room at Washington-Liberty High School in Arlington.

In a Feb. 11 letter to Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano, Attorney General Jason Miyares accused the county’s top prosecutor of undermining public safety after a case charging Richard Kenneth Cox with indecent exposure at a Planet Fitness in Fairfax City was dismissed last summer.

News

FCPD: Falls Church HS teacher and others charged in online child exploitation operation

By Angela Woolsey

Published February 11, 2025 at 1:15PM | Updated February 11, 2025 at 1:31PM

Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis announces arrests by child exploitation unit detectives on Feb. 11, 2025 (via FCPD/Facebook)

A recent online operation conducted by child exploitation detectives resulted in seven arrests, including that of a Falls Church High School teacher, the Fairfax County Police Department announced this morning (Tuesday).

Richard Berkowitz, a health and physical education teacher at the school in West Falls Church, was arrested on Jan. 29, two days into the operation, but Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid was asked to hold off on notifying the community so the operation could continue, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said at a press conference.

Around Town

On the Border closes Reston eatery, its last in Fairfax County

By Angela Woolsey

Published February 11, 2025 at 9:00AM

On the Border at the Spectrum at Reston Town Center (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

A longtime fixture of the Spectrum at Reston Town Center is gone.

On the Border, which has occupied a standalone building at 11880 Spectrum Center since the mid-1990s, closed with no apparent warning late last week. The location was the Texas-based Mexican chain’s last remaining spot in Fairfax County.