Angela Woolsey | FFXnow

Vienna library and parking garage project secures final approval

Published October 30, 2024 at 9:00AM

A rendering of the future Vienna-Carter Library seen from Maple Avenue and Center Street (via Town of Vienna)

Plans for an expanded public library paired with a new parking garage in the Town of Vienna have been solidified.

The Vienna Town Council voted unanimously on Monday (Oct. 28) to approve Fairfax County’s site plans for the facility — which will be known as the Vienna-Carter Library — even though it fall short of some code requirements for setbacks, tree coverage and loading areas.

News

Cybertruck races Lamborghini on Route 7 in Tysons, as FCPD seeks tougher stunt driving ban

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 29, 2024 at 12:30PM | Updated October 30, 2024 at 9:32AM

A Cybertruck and a Lamborgini set up for a race on Leesburg Pike at Westwood Center Drive in Tysons (via @ccj_media/Instagram)

A Cybertruck and Lamborghini recently took over a block of Route 7 (Leesburg Pike) in Tysons for a brief speed contest.

One video of the race, which only lasted about five seconds, has accumulated over 57 million views on Twitter since it was posted early this morning (Tuesday), drawing the attention of Tesla and Twitter owner Elon Musk.

Around Town

Fairfax spots dominate top 10 in annual ‘Best N. Va. Restaurants’ ranking

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 29, 2024 at 9:45AM | Updated October 30, 2024 at 2:19PM

The entrance to Ometeo at Capital One Center in Tysons (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

More than half of Northern Virginia’s top 10 restaurants can be found in Fairfax — either the county or the city, according to one regional magazine.

In its November issue, which hit newsstands last week, Northern Virginia Magazine released its annual ranking of the region’s 50 Best Restaurants, as determined by its four food critics. A few Fairfax establishments have become permanent fixtures, but the 2024 list also includes some first-timers and comebacks.

News

Marriott hotel now set to open at Reston Town Center in 2025

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 28, 2024 at 11:45AM | Updated October 28, 2024 at 12:02PM

AC Hotel and Residence Inn will open in January 2025 in the Reston Town Center expansion (courtesy Marriott)

Reston Town Center will have to wait a little longer than anticipated for a hotel closer to its Metro station.

The dual-branded Marriott hotel under construction in RTC Next — developer BXP’s expansion of the town center — is now expected to open its doors in January 2025, slightly later than the late 2024 completion previously projected.

News

Fairfax City tests private security patrols in Old Town, local parks

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 28, 2024 at 9:45AM

The North Street sidewalk in front of Old Town Plaza in Fairfax City (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Fairfax City is stepping up surveillance of its historic downtown and two public parks with the help of private security guards.

Starting today (Monday), uniformed but unarmed guards will patrol the Old Town commercial district, Stafford Drive Park (3300 Stafford Drive) and Draper Drive Park (9797 Beech Drive) as part of an eight-week security pilot program developed by the City of Fairfax Police Department.

News

Vienna Police: Man’s Trump signs stolen, shot with hunting bow

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 28, 2024 at 9:00AM

A roadside Trump-Vance campaign sign in Great Falls (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The 2024 Northern Virginia political sign wars have reportedly made an incursion into the Town of Vienna.

A resident called the Vienna Police Department earlier this month after two political signs were removed from his property on Ayr Hill Avenue NW only to be returned a few days later. The man also said he found two signs that had been “struck with a hunting bow,” according to the department’s recap for the week of Oct. 18-24.

Countywide

Local police to collect unused prescription drugs this Saturday

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 25, 2024 at 2:30PM

The Drug Enforcement Administration organizes Drug Take Back Days every year to encourage proper disposal of unneeded and expired medication (via FCPD)

If you have a cabinet full of extraneous prescription drugs, tomorrow (Saturday) will be your chance to get rid of them.

The Fairfax County and Town of Vienna police departments will participate in the Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Drug Take Back Day by hosting sites where people can dispose of unwanted and expired prescription medications.

News

Departing economic development head ‘grateful’ for time in Vienna

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 25, 2024 at 1:45PM

Natalie Guilmeus was the Town of Vienna's first-ever economic development director (courtesy Town of Vienna)

Vienna’s first-ever economic development director is saying farewell to the town.

Natalie Guilmeus will officially step down from the position she inaugurated after today (Friday) to take a new job as deputy director for the Virginia Beach Economic Development Department, according to the Town of Vienna.

News

Larger water tank approved for Idylwood neighborhood despite concerns

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 25, 2024 at 9:00AM

The proposed Poplar Heights water tank (via Fairfax Water)

Poplar Heights is officially getting a new water storage tank with a capacity of 1.25 million gallons, despite continued objections from many residents of the single-family Idylwood neighborhood.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday (Oct. 22) — with Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn absent — to approve Fairfax Water’s request for a special exception allowing the facility to replace an existing standpipe tank at 7407 Tower Street that can hold 700,000 gallons of water.

Around Town

Fashion boutiques coming to McLean’s Chesterbrook Shopping Center

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 24, 2024 at 2:30PM

Chesterbrook Shopping Center is adding new tenants, while undergoing renovation (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

A pair of clothing stores and a custom frames shop are coming to Chesterbrook Shopping Center (6224 Old Dominion Drive).

Sassanova, Apricot Lane and Framebridge are all slated to open in McLean later this year or in early 2025, helping fill out a tenant roster that has turned over substantially since property manager Federal Realty took ownership of the site in 2021.