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

Tysons’ 1st Stage theater unveils lineup for 2024-2025 season

By Angela Woolsey
The theater company 1st Stage is located in the Spring Hill Business Center in Tysons (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Mere days after closing out its 2023-2024 season, 1st Stage in Tysons is pulling back the curtain on a new year of community theater.

The professional theater company will kick off its 2024-2025 season later this month with the return of its annual Logan Festival of Solo Performance, a two-week event that draws solo actors from across the U.S. with performances, workshops, discussions and other activities.

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Vienna church to host town’s first large-scale solar project

By Angela Woolsey
A rendering of the solar panel canopy planned for the parking lot of the Church of the Holy Comforter in Vienna (courtesy Govan Builders)

A Vienna church hopes to soon draw energy from both the sun and God as it embarks on what appears to be the biggest solar panel project in the town so far.

With permitting almost complete, workers are slated to break ground on a solar photovoltaic canopy in the Church of the Holy Comforter’s parking lot at 543 Beulah Road NE in mid to late July, contractor Govan Builders says.

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New data illustrates Reston’s shift toward mixed-use development

By Angela Woolsey
Comstock's mixed-use development Reston Station continues to grow near the Wiehle Metro station (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Reston has seen a steady uptick in development over the past decade, fueled primarily by an influx of housing, new Fairfax County data shows.

The county recently updated its Reston Data Visualization Project — now called Reston Snapshots — with data collected from 2023 and the addition of a land use hub that provides an overview of the area’s progress toward fulfilling the Reston Comprehensive Plan’s vision of a more mixed-use, transit-oriented community.

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McLean estate once visited by Amelia Earhart now on housing market

By Angela Woolsey
Ballantrae Farms in McLean hit the market for $39.9 million (via Washington Fine Properties/DC Real Estate Team)

For just under $40 million, you could stand on the same ground where Amelia Earhart once landed an airplane.

Ballantrae Farms, a 6.3-acre McLean estate whose house pre-dates the American Civil War, is currently up for sale with an initial asking price of $39.995 million. The property’s “storied past” includes a landing by Earhart in the 1930s, according to a listing that Washington Fine Properties posted last week.

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Work begins to restore Lake Anne’s historic Heron House in Reston

By Angela Woolsey
Heron House at Lake Anne from March 2024 (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Construction is now underway on a multi-year project to restore the residential high-rise that has towered over Lake Anne in Reston for over half a century.

The restoration will help preserve Heron House, a 15-story condominium building, while also making repairs to prevent water leaks that have affected some units, the Lake Anne of Reston Condominium Association (LARCA) says.

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NEW: Developer plans next phase of Reston Town Center expansion

By Angela Woolsey
Boston Properties has proposed a revised development plan for its Reston Town Center expansion (via Gensler/Fairfax County)

Boston Properties is betting on office for the next phase of its Reston Town Center expansion.

The developer submitted plans to Fairfax County on Saturday (June 29) that would increase the amount of office space allowed in the mixed-use neighborhood dubbed RTC or Reston Next that’s now under construction near the Reston Town Center Metro station, while decreasing retail, hotel and residential uses.

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‘High-end’ gun range with smoking lounge proposed in Tysons

By Angela Woolsey
Units J and K at 8453 Tyco Road in Tysons are currently occupied by CrossFit Tysons (via Google Maps)

A commercial warehouse space in Tysons that currently houses a fitness studio and gold dealer is being targeted for a different kind of recreational use.

A new business called Smok’d has proposed turning three suites at 8453 Tyco Road into a “high-end” indoor firing range with a smoking lounge, according to a special permit application submitted to Fairfax County last Thursday (June 27).

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Family of pedestrian killed in Centreville crash seeks help with fundraiser

By Angela Woolsey
Lubia Vasquez Mateo was killed in a crash in Centreville on June 24, 2024 (via Christian Vasquez/Gofundme)

The family of a Clifton woman who was killed last week while crossing Pickwick Road in Centreville has launched an online fundraiser.

Set up by the nephew of Lubia Marisol Vasquez Mateo, the Gofundme page says the family is seeking financial assistance to cover various expenses, including memorial costs, travel costs and the medical bills of her partner, Jose Vasquez, who was injured in the crash.

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Man arrested after Vienna pub reports homophobic harassment

By Angela Woolsey
Hawk & Griffin in Vienna has a rainbow-colored heart on its front door for Pride Month (photo by Amy Woolsey)

A man was arrested last week after reportedly harassing customers and staff at a Vienna pub over its Pride Month displays.

On Friday (June 28) night, a man walked off the street and began accosting patrons in Hawk & Griffin’s outdoor beer garden “because of our flags displayed for pride month,” the pub’s owners said the following day in a Facebook post.

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FCPD: Two teens shot, one killed, at Annandale apartments

By Angela Woolsey
The Fairmont Gardens apartments in Annandale (via Google Maps)

Two teens have been arrested following a shooting in Annandale on Friday (June 28) that killed a 14-year-old and left another teen injured.

Detectives believe the two boys were walking together around the Fairmont Gardens Apartments when a vehicle approached them, and its occupants began shooting, the Fairfax County Police Department said in a news release published last night (Sunday).

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