Angela Woolsey | FFXnow

County to consider scaled-back vision for housing at Idylwood church site

Published February 22, 2024 at 12:15PM

St. Paul's Lutheran Church is seeking to sell part of its property in Idylwood, including a now-vacant building, to a housing developer so it can expand its sanctuary (via Google Maps)

Plans to build housing in front of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Idylwood have been resurrected.

After a previous attempt in 2019 sputtered out, the church has found a new developer partner to potentially buy vacant portions of its property at 7426 Idylwood Road and transform it with residential development.

News

JUST IN: Man dies in Richmond Highway corridor’s fourth fatal crash this month

By Angela Woolsey

Published February 22, 2024 at 11:30AM

Memorial Street is closed approaching Richmond Highway after a fatal single-vehicle crash (via Google Maps)

Another person has been killed in a crash in the Richmond Highway corridor.

Police and emergency medical services were dispatched to Memorial Street at Richmond Highway for a single-vehicle crash around 9:24 a.m. today (Thursday), according to scanner traffic on Open MHz.

Countywide

UPDATED: Fairfax Connector suspends bus service as workers go on strike

By Angela Woolsey

Published February 22, 2024 at 2:20AM | Updated February 22, 2024 at 11:37AM

Fairfax Connector bus on Spring Hill Road (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

(Updated at 11:35 a.m.) Fairfax Connector workers have launched a strike after months of negotiations for a new labor contract with Transdev, the company that operates Fairfax County’s bus service.

Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 689, which represents about 638 bus operators and mechanics for Fairfax Connector, announced the strike just after midnight today (Thursday). Workers began hitting picket lines at garages in Herndon, Lorton and on West Ox Road in the Fairfax area at 2 a.m.

Around Town

Tysons theater offers deal for screenings of two Best Picture Oscar nominees

By Angela Woolsey

Published February 21, 2024 at 2:45PM

ShowPlace Icon Theatre at The Boro in Tysons (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The 96th Academy Awards are just under a month away, which means there’s still time to catch up on this year’s nominees.

To help out, ShowPlace Icon Theatre in Tysons will host upcoming, “special” screenings of “Barbie” and “The Holdovers,” two of the films seeking to upset “Oppenheimer” on its steady march toward winning the Oscar for Best Picture.

News

Man arrested for allegedly fleeing crash in Woodlawn that killed pedestrian

By Angela Woolsey

Published February 21, 2024 at 2:00PM

Southbound Richmond Highway facing Brevard Court in Woodlawn (via Google Maps)

Fairfax County police have made an arrest in one of two fatal pedestrian crashes that occured on Richmond Highway this past weekend.

Kelechi Uzodinma, 61, of Woodbridge was arrested on Sunday (Feb. 18) after allegedly hitting a pedestrian in the Richmond Highway and Brevard Court intersection in Mount Vernon’s Woodlawn neighborhood around 10:40 p.m., the Fairfax County Police Department reported today.

Around Town

Local restauranteurs launch fast-casual ‘fooderie’ in Fairfax City

By Angela Woolsey

Published February 21, 2024 at 11:45AM

The Commons Fooderie, a fast-casual restaurant, is now open in Fairfax City (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Ever since he got into the restaurant business, Usman Saleem wanted to open a place in Fairfax City.

After mostly working in Tysons and D.C., the restauranteur finally achieved that dream earlier this year, when The Commons Fooderie officially opened at 3955 Chain Bridge Road, Suite 107, in Old Town Fairfax on Jan. 22.

Around Town

Pakistani clothing store Khaadi to open at Tysons Corner Center this week

By Angela Woolsey

Published February 21, 2024 at 10:15AM | Updated February 22, 2024 at 2:28AM

The Pakistani clothing store Khaadi will open at Tysons Corner Center on Feb. 24 (courtesy Khaadi)

(Updated at 2:30 a.m. on 2/22/2024) A Pakistani fashion company will soon leave its first footprint in the U.S. with the unveiling of a new Tysons store.

Khaadi is set to launch a 5,500-square-foot “Experience Store” at Tysons Corner Center this Saturday, Feb. 24, a company spokesperson confirmed to FFXnow. The retail outlet will be located on the mall’s second floor near Barnes & Noble.

Countywide

Fairfax County proposes raising real estate tax rate to fund schools, staff compensation

By Angela Woolsey

Published February 21, 2024 at 9:30AM

Fairfax County Government Center (staff photo by James Jarvis)

As anticipated, Fairfax County is looking at a tight budget for the coming year that will once again lean primarily on residential property owners to offset a declining commercial tax base.

County Executive Bryan Hill has proposed a 4-cent increase in the real estate tax rate, even as he presented an advertised fiscal year 2025 budget to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors yesterday (Tuesday) that largely limits spending to obligations like public schools and employee compensation.

News

BREAKING: FCPS wins legal battle over TJ admissions after Supreme Court passes on case

By Angela Woolsey

Published February 20, 2024 at 3:00PM

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology’s current admissions policy will remain in place after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to consider a lawsuit alleging that it discriminates against Asian students.

The Supreme Court denied a petition for a hearing today (Tuesday) by the Coalition for TJ, an advocacy group that sued the Fairfax County School Board in 2021 after the admissions process for the highly competitive magnet school was revised with the goal of diversifying the student body.

News

Report: University of Virginia to open new campus in Merrifield

By Angela Woolsey

Published February 20, 2024 at 1:30PM

Inova Center for Personalized Health (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The University of Virginia is expanding its presence in Fairfax County.

The Charlottesville-based institution will add a new site for its Northern Virginia campus next year in Merrifield, where it has leased 55,000 square feet at the Inova Center for Personalized Health (8095 Innovation Park Drive), the Washington Business Journal reported last week.