Angela Woolsey | FFXnow

FCPD: Person arrested for stealing police cruiser at Fair Oaks Mall

Published June 21, 2024 at 3:50PM

Fairfax County Police Sgt. Jacob Pearce briefs media at the scene of a stolen police cruiser crash in Fair Oaks (via FCPD/Facebook)

When an officer went to investigate an allegedly stolen vehicle at Fair Oaks Mall this morning (Friday), one of the vehicle’s passengers commandered the officer’s cruiser and crashed it near the Fairfax County Government Center, police say.

The Fairfax County Police Department says it arrested three people in the incident, which sent two officers and the person who allegedly stole the police cruiser to the hospital.

News

County begins design work for new Embry Rucker shelter in Reston

By Angela Woolsey

Published June 21, 2024 at 11:30AM

The existing Embry Rucker Community Shelter on Bowman Towne Drive in Reston (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

An initial design concept is in the works for a new Embry Rucker Community Shelter in Reston.

The Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services (DPWES) began preliminary concept design and programming evaluations in May to establish an updated cost estimate for the long-planned emergency homeless shelter, according to public information officer Sharon North.

Around Town

Photos: New shops, renovations in store for Tysons Corner Center

By Angela Woolsey

Published June 21, 2024 at 10:30AM | Updated June 21, 2024 at 5:36PM

Tysons Corner Center has installed a digital LED sign on one of its parking garages (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

If you’ve visited Tysons Corner Center recently, you may have noticed some changes around the mall, from stores bouncing to different locations to a large LED screen looming over the Tysons One Place and Westpark Drive intersection.

Some of the alterations are the result of $110 million in combined investments in the property made over the past year by mall owner and developer Macerich and by its retailers, according to a recent press release highlighting some of the enhancements.

Countywide

UPDATED: Heat Advisory issued for D.C. area this weekend

By Angela Woolsey

Published June 21, 2024 at 9:30AM | Updated June 21, 2024 at 6:19PM

The sun on a hot and humid summer evening (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The heat and humidity that have plagued the D.C. area this week are expected to intensify in the next day or two, the National Weather Service says.

The NWS has issued a Heat Advisory for the entire region, including Fairfax County, that will take effect at 11 a.m. tomorrow (Saturday) and continue until 8 p.m. A high of 99 degrees is currently forecast, which could combine with humidity to make the day feel as hot as 105 to 107 degrees.

Around Town

Maryland nonprofit expands 5K fundraiser to Reston Town Center

By Angela Woolsey

Published June 20, 2024 at 3:45PM

Runners participate in the 2024 Maryland ASA RunFest (courtesy Athletes Serving Athletes)

A Maryland-based nonprofit that supports athletes with limited mobility will stride across state lines this fall with a new 5K event in Reston.

Athletes Serving Athletes (ASA) opened registration last week for its first Virginia RunFest, which will be held at Reston Town Center on Saturday, Sept. 22. It will be the organization’s first-ever event in Virginia, supplementing the race that it has hosted in Hunt Valley, Maryland, where it’s headquartered, for the past 16 years.

Countywide

NOW: Metro slows down trains due to high temperatures

By Angela Woolsey

Published June 20, 2024 at 3:00PM | Updated June 20, 2024 at 3:56PM

A Metro train on elevated tracks above Route 7 in Tysons (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

In the D.C. area, the summer solstice has brought a reminder that heat doesn’t just make people sluggish. It can affect transportation infrastructure too.

Metro has instituted a systemwide speed restriction, limiting all trains to a maximum of 35 mph when they’re above ground due to rail temperatures exceeding 135 degrees Fahrenheit. The limit took effect today (Thursday) at 2 p.m.

News

FCPD: Thieves lift booze from Tysons ABC store

By Angela Woolsey

Published June 20, 2024 at 2:30PM | Updated June 21, 2024 at 4:04PM

The Virginia ABC store at 8413 Old Courthouse Road in Tysons (via Google Maps)

The shelves at the Tysons ABC store are a little emptier today after an apparent shoplifting incident last night (Wednesday).

Officers were called to the liquor store at 8413 Old Courthouse Road at 7:58 p.m. for a report of a larceny, the Fairfax County Police Department says.

News

Police investigate fatal motorcycle crash on Route 28

By Angela Woolsey

Published June 20, 2024 at 1:45PM

A Virginia State Police vehicle (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Virginia State Police are investigating a fatal motorcycle crash that occurred on Route 28 in the Centreville area on Monday (June 17).

According to the VSP, Juan Rossi Jr., a 25-year-old from Centreville, was riding his 2017 Yamaha YZF on the Route 28 North exit ramp to I-66 East when he “lost control, ran off the road, and hit a guardrail.”

News

Work on modernization of Pan Am Shopping Center to begin soon

By Angela Woolsey

Published June 20, 2024 at 11:30AM

Glory Days Grill at Pan Am Shopping Center in Merrifield (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Construction will begin this month on a facelift and amenity upgrades at the Pan Am Shopping Center in Merrifield, property owner and developer Federal Realty announced today (Thursday).

Scheduled to start in late June and finish by the end of this year, the renovation will “refresh and modernize” the 228,000-square-foot shopping center at 3089 Nutley Street SW, according to a press release.

News

Tax breaks considered for Lake Anne, Huntington developers to spur revitalization

By Angela Woolsey

Published June 20, 2024 at 10:30AM | Updated July 1, 2024 at 3:48PM

Lake Anne Plaza in late March (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Fairfax County is looking at Reston’s Lake Anne area and the Huntington Metro station as the next candidates for a program that offers tax breaks and other incentives to jumpstart revitalization efforts.

Both areas have proven difficult to redevelop and are seeing stagnant real estate values, despite their prime locations and the county’s overall economic growth, according to Elizabeth Hagg, director of the Fairfax County Department of Planning and Development’s community revitalization section.