Angela Woolsey | FFXnow

Reston math teacher honored with top U.S. award for STEM education

Published January 17, 2025 at 11:15AM

Math teacher Emily Burrell works with South Lakes High School students (courtesy Fairfax County Public Schools)

A math teacher at South Lakes High School has been recognized by the White House as one of the best science and math educators in the country.

Emily Burrell, who has taught at the Reston school for a decade, is among 336 teachers and mentors to receive this year’s Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST), which are considered the U.S. government’s highest honor for K-12 math, science, engineering and technology teachers.

Around Town

Custom picture framing store to open in McLean tomorrow

By Angela Woolsey

Published January 17, 2025 at 9:00AM | Updated January 17, 2025 at 1:32PM

Inside Framebridge's new store at the Chesterbrook Shopping Center in McLean (courtesy Federal Realty)

McLean residents looking to get their photos from the recent winter holidays framed might want to head to the Chesterbrook Shopping Center tomorrow (Saturday).

Starting at 10 a.m., Framebridge will open the doors of its newest custom framing store, located in the shopping center at 6234 Old Dominion Drive. To celebrate its grand opening, the business will give out archival prints of Great Falls Park that customers can get framed.

News

Dulles Airport traveler convicted of carrying cocaine-infused desserts

By Angela Woolsey

Published January 16, 2025 at 1:15PM

Sign welcomes arriving travelers to Dulles International Airport (file photo)

A Maryland man has been convicted of cocaine possession after the drug was found in a cake he transported from Colombia to Dulles International Airport last spring.

Gildo Ricci, a 69-year-old Peruvian citizen who legally resides in Rockville, had 2.07 kilograms of cocaine concealed in food that customs agents discovered in his luggage on April 25, 2024, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

News

Private girls’ school in McLean celebrates record $60M donation

By Angela Woolsey

Published January 16, 2025 at 11:15AM

The Madeira School in McLean (courtesy The Madeira School)

A gift from The Madeira School’s past will enable it to plan for the future, the head of the private, all-girls’ school in McLean says.

The Madeira School, a college preparatory and boarding school that serves students in grades 9 through 12, announced this week that an anonymous former graduate has donated $60 million — a record amount not only for this 118-year-old school, but for any independent girls’ school in the U.S.

News

Edison HS suspends basketball coach over player eligibility issues

By Angela Woolsey

Published January 16, 2025 at 9:00AM

Thomas Edison High School in Rose Hill (staff photo by James Jarvis)

Allegations of player recruiting irregularities have engulfed another Fairfax County high school sports team.

Tre Ford, the head coach for Edison High School’s varsity boys’ basketball team, has been suspended after administrators learned that several athletes who played for the school in a tournament last summer weren’t enrolled as students at Edison, principal Mandy Burke said in a message to the community on Tuesday (Jan. 14).

News

FCPD: Lake Barcroft resident shoots man allegedly breaking into home

By Angela Woolsey

Published January 16, 2025 at 8:15AM

Fairfax County police vehicle with lights (file photo)

A man was shot in Lake Barcroft yesterday (Wednesday) while allegedly attempting to break into a home.

The homeowner called 911 around 2:27 a.m. to report a “suspicious” man who was reportedly trying to force his way into the house in the 6400 block of Oakwood Drive, the Fairfax County Police Department said in a press release.

News

Mental health services nonprofit buys Fairfax building for new HQ, supportive housing

By Angela Woolsey

Published January 15, 2025 at 1:15PM

The existing commercial building at 4010 University Drive in Fairfax City (courtesy Pathway Homes)

With its current home being eyed for redevelopment, Pathway Homes is using its expected future displacement as an opportunity to reimagine its headquarters.

The nonprofit, which provides housing and other support services to adults with serious mental illnesses and disabilities, announced yesterday (Tuesday) that it has acquired a three-story office building at 4010 University Drive in Fairfax City.

News

Here’s when to expect the new development at Reston Station

By Angela Woolsey

Published January 15, 2025 at 11:15AM

Work continues on the BLVD Haley apartment building, one of the buildings being constructed at Reston Row (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

This year promises to be a big one for Reston Station.

Most pieces of Reston Row, a new district expanding the development along Sunset Hills Road near the Wiehle Metro station, are on track to finish construction by the end of 2025, according to a spokesperson for the developer Comstock Companies.

News

NEW: County starts process to redevelop Crescent Apartments at Lake Anne

By Angela Woolsey

Published January 14, 2025 at 1:15PM

The Crescent Apartments rental office in Reston (via Google Maps)

Fairfax County is officially reviving long-gestating plans to redevelop the Crescent Apartments near Lake Anne in Reston.

At Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn’s request, the Board of Supervisors authorized staff today (Tuesday) to begin the process of conveying the 16.49-acre property at 1527 Cameron Crescent Drive to the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority (FCRHA).

Opinion

Poll: What are your plans for next week’s inauguration?

By Angela Woolsey

Published January 14, 2025 at 9:45AM

Scaffolding has been erected around the U.S. Capitol for the 2025 presidential inauguration (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Inauguration Day is less than a week away, inviting either celebration or terror, depending on your political leanings.

The latter emotion is likely more prevalent in Fairfax County, where voters in all but two precincts favored Democratic nominee and current Vice President Kamala Harris even as a rightward shift in Virginia overall helped secure the 2024 election for former and incoming president Donald Trump.