Angela Woolsey | FFXnow

Published July 22, 2024 at 10:30AM

The White House (via René DeAnda on Unsplash)

After weeks of speculation and reported angst within the Democratic Party, President Joe Biden announced yesterday (Sunday) that he will no longer seek a second term, instead endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as his party’s nominee.

Reps. Gerry Connolly and Don Beyer, who represent parts of Fairfax County in the House, and Virginia senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner quickly expressed support for Biden’s “difficult decision” and joined him in backing Harris.

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FCPD identifies victims in fatal Lorton, Great Falls pedestrian crashes

By Angela Woolsey

Published July 22, 2024 at 9:30AM

Eastbound Lorton Road at Timarand Drive (via Google Maps)

Alcohol and drugs may have played roles in separate vehicle crashes that killed two pedestrians in Fairfax County this past Saturday (July 20), police say.

Yesterday (Sunday), the Fairfax County Police Department identified Giomarie Davila-Ocasio, a 26-year-old Reston resident, as the woman who died after being hit by a driver in the Great Falls area of Route 7 (Leesburg Pike). The department also announced that a teen was arrested in connection with a fatal crash in Lorton.

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Fatal pedestrian crash on Route 7 in Great Falls under investigation

By Angela Woolsey

Published July 20, 2024 at 10:45AM

Westbound Leesburg Pike (Route 7) at Downey Drive in Great Falls (via Google Maps)

A woman died this morning (Saturday) after being hit by a driver in the Great Falls area of Leesburg Pike (Route 7).

Emergency medical services and police were dispatched to Leesburg Pike at Downey Drive around 3:44 a.m. for a crash involving a pedestrian with an injury, according to scanner traffic on Open MHz.

Around Town

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

By Angela Woolsey

Published July 19, 2024 at 2:30PM

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

By Angela Woolsey

Published July 19, 2024 at 1:30PM

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.

Countywide

Fairfax County monitoring global IT outage, DMV services halted

By Angela Woolsey

Published July 19, 2024 at 11:15AM | Updated July 19, 2024 at 11:33AM

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

By Angela Woolsey

Published July 18, 2024 at 3:30PM

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.

Around Town

Astro Doughnuts jettisons shop at Idylwood Plaza and other updates

By Angela Woolsey

Published July 18, 2024 at 2:30PM | Updated July 18, 2024 at 5:35PM

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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All-affordable apartment building near McLean Metro breaks ground

By Angela Woolsey

Published July 18, 2024 at 11:00AM

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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