Angela Woolsey | FFXnow

Franconia Governmental Center redevelopment divides residents, affordable housing advocates

Published September 19, 2024 at 9:45AM

County staff await a presentation at the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority's public hearing on an interim agreement to redevelop the Franconia Governmental Center site (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

A push to redevelop the former Franconia Governmental Center site with affordable housing is still in its early stages, but passions are already running high among local residents and housing advocates.

Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority (FCRHA) commissioners got to hear both supportive and oppositional arguments at a public hearing last Thursday (Sept. 12), as they weigh whether to accept an interim agreement with the project’s developers.

Countywide

Ex-Fairfax County deputy sheriff sentenced to prison for drug trafficking scheme

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 19, 2024 at 8:15AM

Fairfax County Sheriff vehicle (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

A former Fairfax County sheriff’s deputy will serve six years in prison for distributing drugs to a jail inmate and to women who engaged in prostitution at an apartment he leased, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia says.

The sentence was handed down yesterday (Wednesday) after Robert Theodore Sanford Jr., 37, pleaded guilty in June to conspiring to distribute cocaine and opioids, including fentanyl and suboxone, and to providing contraband in prison.

Countywide

Project begins to replace invasive plants with meadows along W&OD Trail

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 18, 2024 at 3:45PM | Updated September 19, 2024 at 4:34PM

The W&OD Trail LOVE sign in Vienna (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Dozens of volunteers will break out the work gloves and garden shears this Saturday (Sept. 14) to eliminate invasive plants around the “LOVE” sign by the Washington & Old Dominion Trail in Vienna.

The cleanup will clear the way for a native plant meadow that its organizer, the nonprofit Sustainability Matters, hopes will spawn similar beautification efforts all along the 45-mile-long regional trail.

Countywide

These are the wealthiest zip codes in Fairfax County, national ranking finds

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 18, 2024 at 9:00AM

The zip code 22027 in Dunn Loring was ranked the wealthiest in Fairfax County by the Business Journals Wealthy 1,000 (via Google Maps)

The greatest concentration of wealth in Fairfax County isn’t in the mansions of McLean or the waterfront estates near Mount Vernon that once counted former football team owner Dan Snyder among their residents.

The county’s wealthiest spot is, in fact, a sliver of Dunn Loring off of the I-495 and I-66 interchange that’s packed with single-family homes, according to the Business Journals Wealthy 1,000, a ranking of the 1,000 wealthiest zip codes in the U.S.

News

Planned Fairfax City arts center will offer diverse programming, operator says

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 17, 2024 at 3:45PM

An artistic rendering of The Ox Fairfax development (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The developer behind The Ox doesn’t want to just draw visitors to Old Town Fairfax with the proposed mixed-use project. It wants to give visitors and residents a reason to stay.

To turn the development into a destination, Ox Hill Companies has enlisted ASM Global to operate the performing arts center that will anchor the 3.58-acre site at Sager Avenue, Chain Bridge Road and University Drive in the heart of Fairfax City’s historic downtown.

News

Former FCPD officer on trial for fatal shooting of Timothy Johnson

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 17, 2024 at 1:45PM | Updated September 17, 2024 at 2:15PM

Timothy McCree Johnson's parents Melissa Johnson, center, and Timothy Walker, left, address reporters along with attorney Carl Crews, right, outside Fairfax County Public Safety Headquarters on March 22, 2023 (AP Photo/Matthew Barakat, File)

A criminal trial is underway in the case against the former Fairfax County police officer who allegedly shot and killed D.C. resident Timothy Johnson outside Tysons Corner Center on Feb. 22, 2023.

Jury selection for the trial began this morning (Tuesday) after a Fairfax County Circuit Court judge denied a bid by Wesley Shifflett’s attorneys to dismiss the indictment charging him with involuntary manslaughter and reckless discharge of a weapon.

Around Town

Japanese eatery to replace Astro Doughnuts in Idylwood

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 17, 2024 at 11:30AM | Updated September 17, 2024 at 2:19PM

Quickway Hibachi is "coming soon" to Idylwood Plaza (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

A new occupant for Astro Doughnuts and Fried Chicken’s longtime spot in Idylwood Plaza has already been identified.

Quickway Hibachi, the fast-casual Japanese chain, will open a roughly 1,188-square-foot restaurant at 7511 Leesburg Pike, according to a site plan for the shopping center. Astro Doughnuts vacated the space in July after nearly nine years in business.

News

NEW: Former IRS agent indicted in double murders at Herndon house

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 16, 2024 at 5:45PM | Updated September 16, 2024 at 6:12PM

Herndon resident Brendan Banfield arrives at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center after being indicted for aggravated murder (courtesy FCPD)

A Herndon man has officially been charged with murder in connection to the 2023 deaths of his wife and another man at their home in the Frying Pan area.

Brendan Banfield, a former IRS criminal investigative agent, was indicted today (Monday) by a grand jury for his alleged involvement in the shooting and stabbing that killed Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan, a 39-year-old Springfield man, the Fairfax County Police Department and Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano announced.

Countywide

Fairfax County bumps back tree-planting season due to warming climate

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 16, 2024 at 2:30PM | Updated September 17, 2024 at 12:10AM

A tree seedling encased in wire (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Bad news for anyone who has already gotten roots in the ground: Fairfax County’s window for planting trees has shifted back following a record-hot summer.

Forest Conservation (FCON) staff in the county’s Department of Land Development Services (LDS) updated its policy this spring to designate Oct. 1 through May 31 as the recommended time frame for planting trees, pushing back the previous start date of Sept. 1 and extending it through the winter.

News

After tweaks, Idylwood water tank expansion clears hurdle

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 16, 2024 at 1:15PM

The proposed Poplar Heights water tank (via Fairfax Water)

Fairfax Water still intends to build a bigger water tank in Poplar Heights, but the new facility might be less visible than the Idylwood neighborhood’s residents feared.

After being challenged at a lengthy public hearing in July, the water authority revised its lighting, landscaping and construction plans enough to win the Fairfax County Planning Commission’s support for the project last Wednesday (Sept. 11).