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.

Around Town

NEW: Virtual reality gaming venue sets opening date at The Boro in Tysons

By Angela Woolsey
Sandbox VR, a full-body virtual reality gaming venue, will open at The Boro in Tysons on Dec. 22 (courtesy Sandbox VR)

Zombies, pirates and other virtual characters are about to be unleashed on Tysons, just in time for Christmas.

Sandbox VR will launch its new virtual reality gaming experience at 1656 Silver Hill Drive in The Boro with a grand opening on Dec. 22. This is the first Virginia location for the San Francisco-based startup, which has expanded to over 40 sites across North America, Asia and Europe since introducing itself to the world in 2019.

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Around Town

Fish-shaped waffle shop Rice Culture now open at Dunn Loring Metro station

By Angela Woolsey
The taiyaki and ice cream shop Rice Culture is open near the Dunn Loring Metro station (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Rice Culture is now serving taiyakis and ice cream just outside the Dunn Loring Metro station.

The pop-up bakery, a regular at several D.C. area farmers’ markets, kicked off the soft opening phase of its first brick-and-mortar shop last week on Nov. 30. Its location in the Shops at Avenir Place (2672D Avenir Place) had been vacant since Bruster’s Real Ice Cream closed in 2020.

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News

Southern expansion of I-495 toll lanes must accommodate transit, county board says

By Angela Woolsey
I-495 approaching the Eisenhower Avenue exit in Alexandria (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Any extension of the I-495 Express Lanes along the south side of the Capital Beltway should support additional transit options, Fairfax County leaders stressed in a recent letter to the Virginia Department of Transportation.

VDOT is currently studying options for completing the I-495 toll lanes by expanding them from the I-395/I-95 interchange in Springfield to Maryland Route 210 in Prince George’s County, an approximately 11-mile span that crosses the Woodrow Wilson Bridge in Alexandria.

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News

With costs rising for Patrick Henry Library project, Vienna agrees to contribute more

By Angela Woolsey
The latest design for the new Patrick Henry Library was presented to the Vienna Town Council on Nov. 13 (via DPWES)

(Updated at 3:05 p.m.) The anticipated cost of renovating Patrick Henry Library has escalated in recent years, leading Fairfax County to seek a bigger contribution from the Town of Vienna.

The Vienna Town Council agreed on Monday (Dec. 4) to raise the town’s cap on funding for the new library’s construction to approximately $4.7 million — a $590,000 increase from the previous maximum set in 2020.

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News

West Potomac HS student charged with murder for fatal shooting outside D.C. bar

By Angela Woolsey
A West Potomac High School student has been charged with murder for a fatal shooting outside Nellie's Sports Bar in D.C. (via Google Maps)

A West Potomac High School student has been charged with murder in connection to a fatal shooting in October outside a D.C. bar.

Ashton Inabinet, a 16-year-old Hybla Valley resident, was arrested yesterday (Wednesday) and charged with second-degree murder while armed for allegedly shooting and killing 24-year-old D.C. resident Diamonte Lewis on Oct. 21, D.C. U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves announced.

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News

Boundary changes approved for McLean elementary schools

By Angela Woolsey
Fairfax County Public Schools recommends adjusting boundaries for McLean elementary schools to relieve crowding at Kent Gardens (via FCPS)

Kent Gardens Elementary School should finally get some substantial capacity relief, starting next school year.

The Fairfax County School Board approved tweaks to the boundaries of five elementary schools in McLean on Monday (Dec. 4) with the goal of alleviating crowded conditions at Kent Gardens (1717 Melbourne Drive), which was at 121% of its programming capacity, as of the 2022-2023 school year.

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News

Fatal overdose of Justice High School student under police investigation

By Angela Woolsey
Fairfax County police (file photo)

Fairfax County police are investigating the death of a teenager who experienced a drug overdose while at her home in Seven Corners earlier this week.

Detectives have determined that the girl became unconscious while on a video chat with a friend from an apartment in the 2900 block of John Marshall Drive on Monday (Dec. 4), the Fairfax County Police Department reported today (Wednesday).

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News

Police identify man killed in Route 29 crash near Centreville

By Angela Woolsey
A utility truck repairs a traffic signal at the Route 29 and Clifton Road intersection after a crash on Tuesday, Dec. 5 (via VDOT/Twitter)

(Updated at 5:45 p.m.) Speed was likely a factor in yesterday’s fatal two-car crash on Route 29, the Fairfax County Police Department says.

Sohail Iqbal, 30, of Manassas died at the scene after the driver of a 2013 BMW M3 plowed into his Hyundai Sonata around 12:24 a.m. at the intersection of Route 29 and Clifton Road, just outside Centreville, the police department reported today (Wednesday).

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News

Police arrest suspect in September rape at West Falls Church motel

By Angela Woolsey
Quarry Inn Motel in West Falls Church (via Google Maps)

A Falls Church man has been arrested in connection to a sexual assault at the Quarry Inn Motel (7179 Lee Highway) in September.

Erick Vladamir Chacon Martinez, 23, was taken into custody yesterday (Tuesday) after detectives obtained warrants charging him with raping a woman at the West Falls Church motel on Sept. 16, the Fairfax County Police Department announced today.

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Countywide

Lake Accotink task force finds lake could be partially saved with regular dredging

By Angela Woolsey
Boaters and geese can be seen in the distance on Lake Accotink (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The best path forward for saving Lake Accotink might to let it shrink, a Fairfax County task force has proposed.

Created by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in May, the 30-person group was charged with exploring alternatives to fully dredging the sediment that has accumulated in the man-made body of water or converting it to a wetland, as recommended earlier this year by county staff.

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