Angela Woolsey | FFXnow

Fairfax City sticks with plan for George Snyder Trail after debating alternatives

Published January 26, 2024 at 9:30AM

Fairfax City's George Snyder Trail currently ends on the east side of Fair Woods Parkway (via Google Maps)

Fairfax City will complete the George Snyder Trail as planned after all.

In response to some community concerns, the Fairfax City Council discussed changing the pedestrian and bicycle project’s scope or even canceling it altogether during its meeting on Tuesday (Jan. 23). But council members failed to agree on any of the proposed alternatives, allowing the city to stay the course by default.

News

Inova opens renovated urgent care center in McLean, has Herndon location coming

By Angela Woolsey

Published January 25, 2024 at 1:15PM

Inova-GoHealth Urgent Care has opened in McLean (courtesy Inova-GoHealth)

Inova Health Systems continued an expansion of its urgent care network this week with the reopening of a facility in McLean.

Inova-GoHealth Urgent Care McLean opened to patients at 1340 Old Chain Bridge Road, Suite 101, this past Monday (Jan. 22) after closing last year for renovations. Formerly known as McLean Immediate Care Urgent Care, the center is the 16th one that Inova has added in Northern Virginia since it partnered with the on-demand health care company GoHealth in 2022.

Around Town

Ten Fairfax County restaurants are among the region’s 100 best, Washingtonian says

By Angela Woolsey

Published January 25, 2024 at 11:45AM | Updated January 25, 2024 at 12:01PM

Joon, a new restaurant coming to Fairfax Square in Tysons, will serve Persian cuisine (courtesy Joon)

Ten of the D.C. region’s best restaurants can be found in Fairfax County, according to a newly unveiled round-up by Washingtonian.

Acknowledging that “some of the year’s coolest spots…debuted in the Virginia suburbs,” Washingtonian ranked Joon at no. 23 on its 2024 list of the “100 Very Best Restaurants” in the region. Opened on June 13, 2023, the Tysons-based Persian restaurant was the only Fairfax County spot to be ranked.

Around Town

West Falls Church, Tysons restaurants make semifinals of James Beard Awards

By Angela Woolsey

Published January 25, 2024 at 10:15AM

Fairview Park's 2941 Restaurant is a semifinalist for the 2024 James Beard award for Outstanding Restaurant (file photo)

A longstanding fine dining establishment in West Falls Church near Merrifield and a rising star in the Tysons culinary scene are both representing Fairfax County this year in the semifinals of the prestigious James Beard Awards.

The only Virginia eatery recognized in a nationwide category, 2941 Restaurant (2941 Fairview Park Drive) was named a semifinalist for “Outstanding Restaurant” by the James Beard Foundation, which announced competitors for its 2024 Restaurant and Chef Awards yesterday (Wednesday).

News

Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office denies ignoring ICE detainer for man facing child porn charges

By Angela Woolsey

Published January 24, 2024 at 3:30PM

The Fairfax County Adult Detention Center (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office is vigorously denying allegations that a man facing child sexual abuse and porn charges was released from the county’s jail last year in defiance of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer.

In a Jan. 8 press release, ICE accused the sheriff’s office of not honoring a criminal detainer for an unnamed “Honduran national” when the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center released him from custody last July. The federal agency said the man subsequently assaulted a deportation officer during a raid on his Springfield home on Jan. 4.

News

Study encourages Vienna to allow shared parking to balance supply and demand

By Angela Woolsey

Published January 24, 2024 at 1:15PM

A consultant study identifies Maple Avenue Shopping Center as an example of an "underutilized" parking lot (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

A new study suggests shared parking and other strategies could help the Town of Vienna address its parking challenges, which it found stem less from capacity issues than management ones.

Set to be presented to the Vienna Planning Commission tonight (Wednesday), the draft report by consultant Nelson Nygaard recommends creating a program or agreements where property owners share the town’s mostly private parking lots as an alternative to building a public garage.

News

Police chase man on bicycle after reported theft attempts in Bailey’s Crossroads

By Angela Woolsey

Published January 24, 2024 at 11:45AM

Fairfax County police chase a bicyclist on Columbia Pike in Bailey's Crossroads (courtesy Dave Statter/Twitter)

A man allegedly responsible for a series of thefts and larcenies in Bailey’s Crossroads was arrested this morning (Wednesday) after trying to flee from police on a bicycle.

Fairfax County police officers responded to the 5200 block of Leesburg Pike around 7:40 a.m. after a woman reported to 911 that a man on a bicycle had “attempted to snatch her purse twice” about 10 minutes earlier near the Crossroads Place shopping center, according to scanner traffic on Open MHz.

News

County board signals support for preserving smaller Lake Accotink

By Angela Woolsey

Published January 24, 2024 at 10:15AM

Paddle boats at the dock on Lake Accotink (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors hopes to preserve a smaller version of Lake Accotink, but a number of questions still need to be answered before it commits to a specific action plan.

At Braddock District Supervisor James Walkinshaw’s request, the board directed staff yesterday (Tuesday) to begin a series of studies to flesh out a task force’s determination that it would be feasible for the county to save 20 to 40 acres of the Springfield lake as opposed to fully dredging it or allowing it to disappear.

Countywide

Fairfax County casino bill advances on tie vote to full Senate committee

By Angela Woolsey

Published January 24, 2024 at 9:30AM | Updated January 24, 2024 at 6:08PM

State Sen. Dave Marsden argue for his bill to make Fairfax County eligible for a casino before the state Senate's subcommittee on gaming (via Senate of Virginia)

Updated at 6 p.m. — The Senate General Laws and Technology Committee voted 10-4 with one abstention this afternoon to report Senate Bill 675 to the finance committee, which is next scheduled to meet on Tuesday, Jan. 30.

The committee will review the bill and could potentially kill it, but state Sen. Dave Marsden, who’s on the committee, says he’s confident it will pass.

Around Town

McLean Community Center to host free festival celebrating Lunar New Year

By Angela Woolsey

Published January 23, 2024 at 1:30PM

The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company will perform at The Alden on Feb. 10 after the McLean Community Center's Year of the Dragon Festival to celebrate the Lunar New Year (photo by Anthony Alverez)

The Year of the Rabbit is about to give way to the Year of the Dragon.

To welcome the Lunar New Year, which will officially begin on Feb. 10, the McLean Community Center is inviting the public to a free Year of the Dragon Festival and a show by the New York-based Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company on Sunday, Feb. 4.