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.
Flags advertising Sunset Business Park along Spring Street (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)
The Town of Herndon is angling to obtain funds for a project it hopes will make Sunset Business Park easier and safer to visit, even as construction continues on a different side of the commercial complex.
The Herndon Town Council authorized staff on Tuesday (June 4) to apply for up to $6 million in federal funds for access and safety improvements at the Herndon Parkway and Sunset Park Drive intersection.
Dogs and humans gather for “Bark in Boro Park” on June 10, 2023 (courtesy Lancer Photography)
The Boro will hype up the 2024 Summer Olympics tomorrow (Saturday) with a “BorOlympic Bark Bash,” giving Tysons Corner Center some competition in the canine-catering event realm.
As athletes around the world prepare for the Olympics, which start on July 26 in Paris, France, the Tysons neighborhood is inviting pups and their human pals to the park outside Boro Tower (8350 Broad Street) to train and test their agility, while enjoying treats and other activities.
The free event will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. — coinciding with Tysons Corner Center’s third annual “Paws on the Plaza,” which is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. tomorrow.
The Bark Bash will be highlighted by interactive dog training sessions, which will offer obedience tips and bandanas for decorating, as well as an agility course with an “Ultimate Puppy Prize Pack” for the winner. The pack will include dog toys and treats and a $50 gift card to a restaurant at The Boro.
Space in the training sessions is limited to 25 spots each that are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Those interested can register in advance for a 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. session or one at 1-2 p.m.
Other attractions include a treat bar with “puppacinos” from Paris Baguette and pastries and coffee from Bluestone Lane for human attendees.
Like at last year’s “Bark in Boro Park,” the first 100 visitors can sign up for a live, personalized dog tag engraving, and kid-friendly arts and crafts, glitter tattoos and face painting, will be available throughout the event.
Though sun is currently in the forecast for Saturday, The Boro would reschedule the event to the same time on June 15 if it gets rained out.
Herndon Police Department station (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
It remains unclear how the Herndon Police Department (HPD) will obtain and train new officers after the Fairfax County Criminal Justice Academy cut off the department over a disagreement with Police Chief Maggie DeBoard.
Fairfax Deputy County Executive for Safety and Security Thomas Arnold told HPD on March 18 that the criminal justice academy would terminate its affiliation with the town’s department, effective June 1, after DeBoard reportedly complained about the academy’s director, Major Wilson Lee, signing his name in Chinese on graduation certificates.
The entrance to the McLean Metro station in Tysons (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)
Thursday afternoon commutes to and from Tysons are about to get more melodious for transit users.
Throughout the summer, musicians will serenade riders at one of the area’s four Metro stations every week for a free “Metro Musicians” concert series organized by the Tysons Community Alliance (TCA) and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
The concerts will be held every Thursday at 5-6:30 p.m., starting tonight with acoustic soul duo Zach Cutler and Deborah Bond at the McLean Metro station. The series will continue through Aug. 29.
According to the TCA, the series is part of WMATA’s Art in Transit program, where the transit agency collaborates with visual and performing artists around the D.C. region to bring their work to Metro facilities.
The program has introduced murals, sculptures, digital displays and poetry at various Metro stations and buildings. It also ran a contest where students submitted designs for Earth Day-themed bus wraps.
The full Metro Musicians schedule is below:
June 6: Zach Cutler & Deborah Bond (McLean Metro station)
June 13: Dupont Strings (Tysons Metro station)
June 20: Dance Flamenco D.C. (Greensboro Metro station)
A woman and kid look at plants in the Farm at Halley Rise in Reston (courtesy The Farm at Halley Rise)
The Farm at Halley Rise is gearing up for a busy summer of gardening, yoga and more.
The urban farm run by Up Top Acres at 2025 Fulton Place in Reston announced its schedule of summer events yesterday (Wednesday), starting with a “Growing in Small Spaces” gardening workshop on June 17. From 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., an Up Top Acres farmer will offer tips on how to grow food when space is limited.
The elevated train tracks near Lake Accotink (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)
Train track crossing over Accotink Creek (via Google Maps)
Three people were killed last night (Wednesday) after being hit by a cargo train near Lake Accotink, police say.
Two adults and a child appear to have been walking on the train tracks above Accotink Creek near the Accotink Park Road crossing, according to the police and the Norfolk Southern Railroad Company, which operates the tracks.
“All were declared deceased on scene,” the Fairfax County Police Department said.
A Norfolk Southern spokesperson confirmed that a crash involving a northbound train occurred around 8:20 p.m. yesterday on the bridge over Accotink Creek. There were no reported injuries to the train crew, they told FFXnow.
Per scanner traffic on Open MHz, Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department units were dispatched for a “medical emergency” on the train tracks at 8:25 p.m. By 8:38 p.m., responders reported that they had located all three victims on the creek banks under the railroad bridge.
The train tracks were shut down by Norfolk Southern, a dispatcher said at 8:38 p.m.
The FCPD initially described the victims as one adult and two children, but after further investigation, officers and detectives have identified the victims as 28-year-old Annandale resident Diego Arriaza, 28-year-old Lincolnia resident Yeraldin Pardo, and Pardo’s 8-year-old child.
Police believe the three people were walking on the northbound elevated train tracks when they “encountered a travelling freight train.”
“Detectives believe Arriaza was struck by the train, and Pardo and the child fell from the bridge,” the FCPD said.
Based on a preliminary investigation, police don’t believe speed or alcohol factored into the crash for the train engineer, but detectives are still determining whether alcohol may have been “a factor” for the pedestrians.
Norfolk Southern operates about 19,500 miles of cargo railroads in the eastern U.S. that transport fuel, agriculture, construction equipment, and other goods. In April, the company reached a $600 million settlement with residents affected by a toxic chemical spill that resulted from a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3, 2023.
The Fairfax County Adult Detention Center (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A former deputy with the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) has pleaded guilty in connection to a scheme involving bribes and smuggling contraband, including drugs, into the county jail.
Robert Theodore Sanford Jr., 37, brought cocaine, fentanyl and the opioid addiction-treatment medication Suboxone to an inmate in the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center from December 2022 through May 2023, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
A natural gas-powered stove burner (photo via Kwon Junho on Unsplash)
Fairfax County’s leaders agree that natural gas companies need to communicate more with them and the public on major pipeline projects, but they appear divided on how to make that happen.
At a land use committee meeting on May 14, county staff presented the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors with potential options for regulating “high-pressure” pipelines under local streets. The review was specifically prompted by community opposition to a 2-foot-wide pipeline that Washington Gas plans to build through Pimmit Hills.
Shadowood Pool is slated to reopen on June 15 after a renovation that added lap lanes and a splash pad (courtesy Reston Association)
Reston Association will welcome the community back to its Shadowood swimming pool later this month with a grand reopening party.
The celebration on Saturday, June 15 will start with a ribbon-cutting at 10:30 a.m., followed by refreshments, pool games, DJ entertainment and other activities, RA announced yesterday (Tuesday). With six other pools opening that day, this summer is the first since 2019 where all 15 of RA’s aquatics facilities will be operating.
A Capital Bikeshare station at the West Falls Church Metro station (file photo)
The Town of Vienna may soon be getting its long-planned Capital Bikeshare stations.
During its meeting on May 16, the town’s Board of Architectural Review approved site plans for three rental bicycle docking stations: one at the Vienna Community Center (120 Cherry Street SE), one in the Town Hall parking lot at 127 Center Street South, and one near the entrance to Navy Federal Credit Union’s headquarters at 801 Follin Lane SE.
