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

Downtown Herndon bookstore to close for good before Christmas

By Angela Woolsey
The bookstore A Thousand Stories is located inside 750 Center Street, Herndon (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The full impact of Comstock’s decision to halt its plans for a mixed-use development in downtown Herndon is still solidifying, but at least one ripple effect of the project appears to be irreversible.

The independent bookstore A Thousand Stories announced earlier this month that Saturday, Dec. 21 will be its last day in business. In a push to clear its shelves, the store at 750 Center Street is offering extended hours and discounts of 20% to 40% off all items until it closes.

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News

Design for Herndon Elementary School expansion wins key town approval

By Angela Woolsey
Herndon Elementary School renovation renderings (via Town of Herndon)

A plan to renovate and expand Herndon Elementary School got an enthusiastic vote of confidence from the town’s Architectural Review Board (ARB) last month.

At its meeting on Nov. 20, the Town of Herndon ARB unanimously approved Fairfax County Public Schools’ site design application for the project, which will update the existing building at 630 Dranesville Road and add another 25,000 square feet of space to better accommodate the growing student body.

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News

Artwork could turn Dulles Toll Road bridge into Tysons gateway

By Angela Woolsey
Artist Vicki Scuri's proposed "Ripple" concept for the Tysons-Scotts Run Gateway (via Tysons Community Alliance)

The Tysons Community Alliance (TCA) wants to add a creative twist to what was originally planned as a straightforward refresh of a Dulles Toll Road bridge.

The nonprofit community improvement organization has been working with the artist Vicki Scuri on concepts for artwork that could transform the aging bridge over Route 123 (Dolley Madison Blvd) into gateway welcoming visitors entering Tysons from McLean.

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News

Community college police chief charged in drunk-driving crash near Fairfax Corner

By Angela Woolsey
Prince George's Community College Police Chief Derek Myers (via FCPD)

The police chief for Prince George’s Community College in Maryland has been arrested after he allegedly crashed into another driver near the Reserve at Fairfax Corner Apartments while drunk earlier this month.

Derek Myers, a 55-year-old Burke resident, was driving east on Random Hills Road when he lost control of his Hyundai Elantra near Fairfax Hills Way around 7:30 p.m. last Friday, Dec. 6, the Fairfax County Police Department says, citing preliminary findings by detectives.

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News

BREAKING: Comstock drops plan to redevelop downtown Herndon

By Angela Woolsey
A sign showing the concept plan for Comstock's downtown Herndon redevelopment project (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Years of work to redevelop the core of downtown Herndon have officially fizzled out.

Developer Comstock informed town leaders last Friday (Dec. 6) that it will no longer move forward with a long-awaited project that promised apartments, retail, an arts center and a public parking garage, interim town manager Chris Martinez announced at the Herndon Town Council meeting tonight (Tuesday).

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Countywide

Judge lets lawsuit challenging FCPS policies on gender identity proceed

By Angela Woolsey
A LGBTQ pride flag sticks in a woman's hair at a 2023 rally in support of transgender students outside Luther Jackson Middle School (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

A right-wing group’s lawsuit challenging Fairfax County Public Schools policies designed to be inclusive of transgender and other gender non-conforming students will be allowed to move forward.

Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Brett A. Kassabian issued an order last Friday (Dec. 6) mostly overruling an attempt by the Fairfax County School Board to dismiss the civil suit, which argues that policies requiring students to be identified and treated based on their gender identity violate the rights of students who don’t want to follow those policies.

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News

Great Falls Park will go cash-free for entry fees in 2025

By Angela Woolsey
An informational sign for Great Falls Park (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Great Falls Park has resolved to stop accepting cash as payment for its entry fees in the new year.

The National Park Service announced yesterday (Monday) that it will require visitors to the park at 9200 Old Dominion Drive to pay their entrance fees with a credit or debit card or by electronic means starting on Jan. 1, 2025.

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News

Driver of allegedly stolen vehicle arrested after Richmond Highway chase

By Angela Woolsey
Virginia State Police vehicle (photo by John Calhoun/JC Photography)

The driver of a vehicle reported as stolen was arrested this morning (Monday) following a brief police pursuit on Richmond Highway in the Huntington area.

According to the Virginia State Police, troopers tried to stop the driver of a vehicle that turned out to be stolen at the intersection of Richmond Highway (Route 1) and Quander Road around 3 a.m. Instead of stopping, the driver fled north in Route 1’s southbound lanes.

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News

Owner seeks denser development option for office condos stranded by Mosaic District

By Angela Woolsey
The Alliance Center Condominium site in Merrifield (via Fairfax County)

After getting boxed in by the Mosaic District, the owners of Merrifield’s Alliance Center condominiums are looking to revitalize the half-century-old commercial property so it’s more in line with its neighbor.

The Fairfax County Planning Commission recommended approval last Wednesday (Dec. 4) of a comprehensive plan amendment that will set parameters for more intense mixed-use, residential development on the 3.2-acre parcel at 2929 Eskridge Road.

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News

Inova to open subscription primary care office at Reston Row

By Angela Woolsey
Comstock's planned Reston Row development (via LandDesign/Fairfax County)

Inova Health System will soon expand its Reston footprint with a new medical office at Reston Station.

Inova 360° Concierge Medicine, the nonprofit healthcare system’s subscription-based primary care program, has signed a lease for 4,505 square feet at 1880 Reston Row Plaza, a 10-story office building now under construction near the Wiehle Metro station, Reston Station developer Comstock announced last week.

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