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.

Countywide

JUST IN: Former Fairfax County sheriff’s deputy pleads guilty to smuggling drugs into jail

By Angela Woolsey
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.

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Countywide

Fairfax County to push for more communication on gas pipeline projects

By Angela Woolsey
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.

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News

Grand opening for Shadowood Pool in Reston slated for this month

By Angela Woolsey
The Reston Association's Shadowood Pool (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.

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News

Vienna inches closer to launch of Capital Bikeshare stations

By Angela Woolsey
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.

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Countywide

FCPD targets ‘street takeovers’ with summer crime prevention campaign

By Angela Woolsey
Fairfax County police officers on foot (via FCPD)

The Fairfax County Police Department hopes to slam the brakes on street racing and rowdy car meets, among other issues, with a new summer crime prevention initiative.

The three-month campaign launched yesterday (Tuesday) with an initial focus on “community-based crimes,” particularly the “reckless street takeovers” that have periodically cropped up around the county and activities at bars and other late-night businesses, the FCPD said in a press release.

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Around Town

All-you-can-eat sushi restaurant now open in Vienna

By Angela Woolsey
Sushi Oishii is now open in Vienna (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

A new Japanese restaurant has opened its doors in the Town of Vienna, complete with an all-you-can-eat sushi bar.

Sushi Oishii is currently in its soft opening phase after starting to serve customers at 234 Maple Avenue East in the evening of May 17. It took over from Akai Tori Ramen & Yakitori, which shuttered in February less than a year after opening.

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News

Utility undergrounding dropped from Elden Street widening project

By Angela Woolsey
The existing Elden Street and Laurel Way intersection in Herndon (via VDOT)

A long-gestating project to widen East Elden Street will no longer move utilities along the Herndon corridor underground.

The Herndon Town Council approved a resolution on May 28 authorizing the removal of a utility duct bank from the project’s scope after town staff reported that costs had drastically increased from an earlier $57.3 million estimate.

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News

Maryland surveys McLean to plan for new American Legion Bridge

By Angela Woolsey
The American Legion Bridge heading into Virginia (via MDOT)

Transportation staff from Maryland crossed the Potomac River last week to gather data in McLean for their long-planned American Legion Bridge replacement project.

According to a notice shared by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) sent a field team last Thursday (May 30) to investigate the drainage along Live Oak Drive.

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Countywide

Civil rights activist who fought to desegregate Fairfax County gets historical marker

By Angela Woolsey
A historical marker honoring civil rights activist Lillian Blackwell is unveiled in front of Oakton High School (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

When students arrive at Oakton High School, they will now encounter a historical marker honoring civil rights activist Lillian Blackwell, whose own children might not have been allowed inside when the school opened in 1967 if not for her advocacy.

Fairfax County officials unveiled the plaque detailing Blackwell’s legacy, including her fight against the segregation of local public schools and movie theaters, at a ceremony on Saturday (June 1) attended by some of her family members and the students who suggested her for the recognition.

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News

Arlington tech company expands to Herndon-area office park

By Angela Woolsey
Two Six Technologies cuts a ribbon to celebrate the opening of its new office at Coppermine Commons (via Two Six Technologies)

A technology company assembled by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s former employer has extended its reach to the Herndon area.

Two Six Technologies held a ribbon-cutting ceremony last Wednesday (May 29) to celebrate the opening of its new office at 13865 Sunrise Valley Drive in Coppermine Commons, a three-building campus in the McNair neighborhood just east of Dulles International Airport.

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