Angela Woolsey | FFXnow

Vienna Town Council approves funding for new parks master plan

Published November 2, 2023 at 1:30PM

The Town of Vienna's parks and recreation facilities include Waters Field for baseball (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The Town of Vienna is moving forward with the creation of a parks system master plan.

The Vienna Town Council authorized parks and recreation staff on Oct. 23 to spend $236,230 to hire the consulting firm Kimley-Horn, which was selected from four potential vendors to develop the plan that will guide the town’s facilities and services over the next decade.

News

Project to widen Route 28, add shared-use paths reaches substantial completion

By Angela Woolsey

Published November 2, 2023 at 11:45AM | Updated November 2, 2023 at 12:05PM

New lanes are open on Route 28, which has been widened from four to six lanes between Bull Run and I-66 (courtesy Northern Virginia Transportation Authority)

(Updated at 12:05 p.m.) The Centreville section of Route 28 is now two lanes wider and, local officials hope, noticeably less challenging to travel.

Construction is substantially complete on the project to widen Route 28 (Centreville Road) from four to six lanes between the Bull Run bridge at the Fairfax and Prince William county line and Route 29.

News

Vienna candle-maker gifted $10,000 check on Drew Barrymore’s talk show

By Angela Woolsey

Published November 2, 2023 at 10:15AM

Smell of Love Candles founder and CEO Alejandro Buxton appears with FUBU founder Daymond John on "The Drew Barrymore Show" (via ABC7)

A Vienna business started by a 9-year-old got a national spotlight yesterday (Wednesday) when its young founder appeared on “The Drew Barrymore Show.”

Smell of Love Candles CEO Alejandro Buxton, now 13, was invited to the daytime talk show for an episode celebrating Black Entrepreneurs Day, which was created in 2020 by FUBU founder and CEO Daymond John to promote and raise money for Black-owned businesses.

News

Franconia District school board candidate back on ballot after disqualification

By Angela Woolsey

Published November 2, 2023 at 9:30AM | Updated November 2, 2023 at 3:52PM

Franconia District school board candidate Marcia St. John-Cunning (courtesy Marcia4Schools)

(Updated at 3:50 p.m.) Marcia St. John-Cunning no longer needs to run as a write-in candidate to become the Franconia District’s next school board representative.

The former Fairfax County Public Schools interpreter and family liaison re-qualified for the general election ballot yesterday (Wednesday) after a county judge let her submit two more pages of signatures supporting her petition for candidacy.

News

Fairfax to launch retail store for nurturing local artisans, entrepreneurs

By Angela Woolsey

Published November 1, 2023 at 3:30PM

Fairfax City has been working to promote its downtown retail (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Fairfax City is browsing for makers of art, crafts and other products who want to expand beyond an online shop or farmers’ market stall but aren’t quite ready to commit to a full storefront.

Those are the budding entrepreneurs that the Fairfax City Economic Development team (FCED) hopes to attract to Wander In, an upcoming retail incubator store that the city is developing with the Old Town Fairfax Business Association (OTFBA).

Around Town

Tysons Corner Center shoppers can now sip alcoholic drinks while strolling

By Angela Woolsey

Published November 1, 2023 at 1:30PM | Updated November 2, 2023 at 2:01PM

Tysons Corner Center shoppers can now drink alcohol in public spaces and stores (courtesy Tysons Corner Center)

(Updated at 2 p.m. on 11/2/2023) The “sip and stroll” trend has arrived at Tysons Corner Center.

The D.C. region’s largest mall launched a “Shopping with a Twist” initiative today (Wednesday), letting visitors 21 and older drink alcoholic beverages from participating restaurants while in stores and common areas.

Countywide

County offers post-Halloween composting services with ‘PumpkinPalooza’

By Angela Woolsey

Published November 1, 2023 at 11:00AM

Pumpkins on asphalt (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Another Halloween has come and gone, but the jack-o’-lantern that may be sitting on your stoop isn’t going to get rid of itself.

Instead of trashing the carved-up squash, the Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services is encouraging residents to compost with its annual “PumpkinPalooza” services.

News

Man who led police chase from Ashburn to Vienna charged with carjacking and more

By Angela Woolsey

Published November 1, 2023 at 9:30AM

Police officers tackle a man identified as Joseph Daniel in Oakton after a pursuit and attempted carjackings (via FCPD/Facebook)

A Leesburg man faces multiple criminal charges from two different Northern Virginia counties in connection to a police pursuit that started in Ashburn and ended just outside the Town of Vienna.

On Monday (Oct. 30) afternoon, the Fairfax County Police Department arrested 44-year-old Joseph Daniel at the intersection of Route 123 (Chain Bridge Road) and Flint Hill Road in Oakton after he allegedly attempted to carjack two vehicles.

Countywide

Defeated Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney candidate endorses write-in campaign

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 31, 2023 at 3:30PM | Updated October 31, 2023 at 3:47PM

Defense attorney Ed Nuttall announces he will campaign to be the Democratic nominee for Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney (via ABC7)

The official ballots for next week’s general election identify just one candidate for the job of top prosecutor in Fairfax County, but a group that identifies itself as victims’ rights supporters hopes to push another man into the office instead.

Defense attorney Ed Nuttall, who lost the Democratic primary in June to incumbent Steve Descano, officially endorsed a write-in campaign last week that seeks to make him the next Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney.

News

Planning commission clears way for higher-capacity wastewater facility in Tysons

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 31, 2023 at 2:30PM

The proposed new Tysons West wastewater pump station at 8606 Leesburg Pike (via Fairfax County)

The next wastewater pump station to serve Tysons West will be able to handle 25 times as much water as its predecessor.

That added capacity will provide critical support for an area expected to add more than 10,000 new residents by the end of this decade, according to Fairfax County staff and the planning commission, which unanimously approved a plan last Wednesday (Oct. 25) to build a new station at 8608 Leesburg Pike.