Angela Woolsey | FFXnow

Pedestrian killed in hit-and-run on Franconia Road

Published September 13, 2024 at 10:15AM | Updated September 15, 2024 at 4:18PM

Eastbound Franconia Road at Elder Avenue in Springfield (via Google Maps)

Fairfax County police are investigating a hit-and-run crash on Franconia Road in Springfield that resulted in a pedestrian’s death.

Officers were dispatched to Franconia Road at Elder Avenue near Frontier Plaza around 6:10 a.m. after passersby reported seeing a vehicle that drove off the road, hitting a pole, according to scanner traffic on Open MHz.

News

Kingstowne Towne Center owner seeks to drop retail from future housing

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 12, 2024 at 3:00PM | Updated September 13, 2024 at 12:08PM

Developer Halle Companies has proposed two residential buildings and a redesigned pedestrian plaza in Kingstowne Towne Center (via Ci Design/Fairfax County)

Two residential buildings planned for Kingstowne Towne Center might move forward without any retail.

The developer Halle Companies is seeking to remove a requirement that the 9-story buildings include non-residential uses on their ground floor, according to a rezoning application submitted to Fairfax County on Monday (Sept. 9).

News

Tysons office center welcomes steakhouse, plans rooftop amenity

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 12, 2024 at 2:15PM

The entrance to 801 Chophouse in Tysons' Westpark Corporate Center (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

A new steakhouse has settled in at Westpark Corporate Center in Tysons.

The Midwestern chain 801 Chophouse quietly opened its first East Coast location on the ground floor of the office building at 8484 Westpark Drive in early August.

News

On 9/11 anniversary, McLean fire department gifted largest-ever donation

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 12, 2024 at 11:00AM

McLean Volunteer Fire Department President Patricia Moynihan accepts a check for a $75,000 donation from Bob Freda, manager of the Patricia A. Henriques Charitable Foundation (courtesy MVFD)

The McLean Volunteer Fire Department (MVFD) took a sizable step toward its goal of acquiring a new fire engine yesterday (Wednesday) after accepting the biggest single donation in its history.

An estate planning attorney and administrative volunteer for the department, Bob Freda, presented a check for $75,000 to MVFD President Patricia Moynihan on behalf of the Patricia A. Henriques Charitable Foundation.

Around Town

Lebanese restaurant Seray opens doors in Vienna

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 11, 2024 at 9:30AM

The Lebanese restaurant Seray is now open in Vienna (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

A high-end option for kebabs and other Middle Eastern cuisine has arrived in Vienna.

Seray, a new Lebanese restaurant from the former owner of Me Jana in Arlington, opened to diners on Sunday (Sept. 8) at 160 Maple Avenue West in the Vienna Shopping Center, bringing life back to a space that had stood empty since Chopt closed in December 2022.

Around Town

New fast-casual restaurant to serve ‘farm-fresh’ food in Chantilly

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 10, 2024 at 1:30PM

Farmside Kitchen, a fast-casual grain and salad bowl restaurant, is going to replace Farmtruck Pizza and Greens in Chantilly (photo by Sarah Gerrity)

A Chantilly pizza and salad restaurant is planting the seeds for a transformation.

After six years in its current form, Farmtruck Pizza & Greens (14385 Newbrook Drive, Suite 500) announced this morning (Tuesday) that it will serve customers for the last time this Sunday (Sept. 15) before reopening early next year as Farmside Kitchen.

Countywide

Impact of Va. AG opinion on Fairfax County’s ICE cooperation policies unclear

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 10, 2024 at 11:45AM

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement's Washington Field Office in Chantilly (via Google Maps)

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares issued an apparent challenge last week to Fairfax County and other localities over their policies on cooperating with federal immigration authorities.

In a response to an inquiry from Bedford County Sheriff Michael Miller, Miyares released an opinion last Thursday (Sept. 5) confirming that local sheriffs have the authority to notify Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when someone wanted for deportation proceedings is scheduled to be released.

News

Fairfax County awards grants to eight local tech startups

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 10, 2024 at 11:00AM

A close-up of a computer chip (via Adi Goldstein/Unsplash)

Fairfax County is giving financial boosts to several local startups that are developing technology to improve communications, make agriculture more efficient and more.

The county’s Department of Economic Initiatives (DEI) announced last Thursday (Sept. 5) that it has selected eight companies for the second round of its Fairfax Founders Fund (FFF), which provides up to $50,000 in grant funding and technical assistance to “promising, early-stage startups” that could “disrupt industries” and create new jobs.

News

Former FCPD officer seeks to get charges in fatal Tysons shooting dismissed

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 9, 2024 at 2:30PM | Updated September 10, 2024 at 12:51AM

The Fairfax County Courthouse (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The former Fairfax County Police Department officer who fatally shot a D.C. man suspected of shoplifting two pairs of sunglasses from Nordstrom at Tysons Corner Center might not face a trial after all.

Defense attorneys for Wesley Shifflett filed a motion in Fairfax County Circuit Court on Friday (Sept. 6) seeking to “quash” the grand jury indictment that charged the former police sergeant with involuntary manslaughter and reckless discharge of a firearm for killing Timothy Johnson on Feb. 22, 2023.

News

Man charged in indecent exposure incident at Tysons TJ Maxx

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 9, 2024 at 10:15AM

TJ Maxx at Pike 7 Plaza in Tysons (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Fairfax County police have identified a man who allegedly exposed himself in public at two different Tysons shopping centers.

The 22-year-old McLean resident was arrested last Tuesday (Sept. 3) for reportedly “exposing himself and attempting to touch customers inappropriately” in Tysons West (1500 Cornerside Blvd) earlier that day, the Fairfax County Police Department said on Friday (Sept. 6).