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

National Ice Cream Day: Where to find free scoops in Fairfax County

By Angela Woolsey
Dolcezza Gelato, which has a location in the Mosaic District, will offer free chocotorta scoops for its 20th anniversary and National Ice Cream Day (courtesy Dolcezza Gelato)

National Ice Cream Day is coming up this Sunday, and several shops around Fairfax County will celebrate with free scoops and other deals.

Like many food-related “holidays,” the occasion originated as essentially a promotion, in this case for the ice cream industry and dairy farmers. The first National Ice Cream Day was set for July 15, 1984 by then-president Ronald Reagan, who also declared July to be National Ice Cream Month.

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News

New Tysons-Bethesda bus service coming soon to I-495

By Angela Woolsey
Traffic passes construction on I-495 near the Georgetown Pike exit in McLean on March 30, 2024 (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Commuters will soon get the option to travel directly between Virginia and Maryland’s most populous counties by bus, though the initial journey likely won’t be swift.

Fairfax County will receive $2 million from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) to provide Fairfax Connector bus service between the Tysons West Park Transit Station (8300 Jones Branch Drive) and the Bethesda Metro station (7450 Wisconsin Avenue) in Montgomery County.

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Countywide

Fairfax County monitoring global IT outage, DMV services halted

By Angela Woolsey
A Microsoft laptop updating its operating system (via Clint Patterson on Unsplash)

A technical issue stemming from a cybersecurity update has thrown computer systems around the world into chaos, but Fairfax County appears to have been largely spared.

The county government says it’s monitoring the disruptions caused by a deficient software update sent to Microsoft Windows systems by the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, though only “a very small number” of its agencies use the platform through third-party vendors.

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News

JUST IN: Man arrested for alleged sexual assault attempts at Reston apartments

By Angela Woolsey
A sign for the Charter Oak Apartments in Reston (via Google Maps)

A Reston man faces charges in connection to two sexual assault attempts at the same apartment complex, police say.

The Fairfax County Police Department announced today that its officers arrested Hugo Ernesto Argueta Vasquez, a 43-year-old Reston resident, yesterday (Wednesday) after they were called to the Charter Oak Apartments on Charter Oak Court for an attempted sexual assault at 5:26 a.m.

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Around Town

Astro Doughnuts jettisons shop at Idylwood Plaza and other updates

By Angela Woolsey
Astro Doughnuts and Fried Chicken has closed at Idylwood Plaza (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken has left Idylwood’s orbit.

The donut business started by two former Washington Capitals players permanently closed its shop at Idylwood Plaza (7511 Leesburg Pike) after Saturday, July 14, just a month shy of the location’s ninth anniversary.

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News

All-affordable apartment building near McLean Metro breaks ground

By Angela Woolsey
Officials participate in a ceremonial groundbreaking for Somos at McLean Metro, a 456-unit workforce housing apartment complex in Tysons (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Construction has commenced on an affordable housing project in Tysons that the developer, local officials and their financial partners touted yesterday (Wednesday) as literally and metaphorically groundbreaking.

With two cranes looming above and excavators rumbling around the cleared site in the background, representatives from SCG Development, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Amazon and more shoveled some dirt to formally celebrate the start of work on Somos at McLean Metro, which will deliver two apartment buildings with 456 workforce dwelling units (WDUs).

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News

Pedestrian killed in minivan crash on I-95 in Springfield

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

A pedestrian died after being hit by the driver of a minivan on I-95 this morning (Thursday), the Virginia State Police says.

The crash occurred around 3:55 a.m. in the highway’s southbound lanes at the Old Keene Mill Road interchange, according to police.

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News

Police: Woman dies from injuries after Richmond Highway crash

By Angela Woolsey
Southbound Richmond Highway at Lukens Lane in Woodlawn (via Google Maps)

A vehicle crash that occurred earlier this month on Richmond Highway has turned fatal.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner informed detectives on Tuesday (July 16) that 80-year-old Donna Gulino died from injuries she got in the July 3 crash, the Fairfax County Police Department announced yesterday (Wednesday).

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News

County seeks funds to build Town Center Parkway underpass in Reston

By Angela Woolsey
Fairfax County plans to eventually extend Town Center Parkway from Sunset Hills Road to Sunrise Valley Drive via an underpass under the Dulles Toll Road (via Volkert study)

With development continuing to emerge around Reston Town Center, Fairfax County is making a new push to obtain funding for a long-planned extension of the Town Center Parkway.

The proposed Dulles Toll Road underpass, which will connect Sunrise Valley Drive and Sunset Hills Road, is one of four major projects that the Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) plans to submit for state funding from Virginia’s FY 2026- FY2031 Smart Scale Program.

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News

Fairfax County brewery wins gold at 2024 U.S. beer championships

By Angela Woolsey
Caboose Brewing won a gold medal at the 2024 U.S. Open Beer Championship for its Boxcar Brown Ale (courtesy Caboose Brewing Company)

One of the best brews in the country can be found right in Fairfax County at Caboose Brewing Company, according to the judges of the 2024 U.S. Open Beer Championship.

The brewery, which owns and operates Caboose Tavern (520 Mill Street) in Vienna and Caboose Commons (2918 Eskridge Road) near the Mosaic District in Merrifield, won a gold medal at the national competition, which announced winners in dozens of categories on July 9.

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