Angela Woolsey | FFXnow

Man crashes onto gas station pump to end police chase in Tysons

Published October 31, 2023 at 10:15AM | Updated October 31, 2023 at 3:45PM

Police arrested a man suspected of larceny and carjacking after he crashed at a Shell gas station in Tysons (via FCPD/Twitter)

(Updated at 3:45 p.m.) A stolen vehicle wound up on top of a gas pump after a brief police chase near Tysons Corner Center yesterday (Monday).

Fairfax County police arrested a man suspected of larceny and carjacking after he crashed into the Shell gas station at 8103 Leesburg Pike around 4:36 p.m., according to the police scanner on Open MHz.

News

NOW: Man wanted for reported abduction in Loudoun arrested in Oakton

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 30, 2023 at 4:55PM | Updated October 30, 2023 at 5:24PM

A man suspected of abduction in Ashburn was arrested at Chain Bridge Road and Flint Hill Road in Oakton (via FCPD/Twitter)

A police pursuit of a man who reportedly attempted to abduct a woman crossed county lines before ending just outside the Town of Vienna this afternoon.

Route 123 (Chain Bridge Road) is currently closed at the Flint Hill Road intersection in Oakton in the wake of the arrest, according to the Fairfax County Police Department. The Town of Vienna said on Twitter at 4:30 p.m. that one southbound lane between Flint Hill and Nutley Street had opened.

Countywide

School board approves raises for FCPS staff but says state funding still inadequate

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 30, 2023 at 3:30PM

Fairfax County Public Schools (file photo)

All Fairfax County Public Schools employees will get a bump in their paychecks, starting next year, after the school board unanimously approved 2% raises last week.

The additional pay was made possible by the budget that the Virginia General Assembly belatedly adopted in early September, which provided money to raise teacher salaries across the state. But school board members and FCPS workers argue that overall state funding for education falls far short of what they need.

News

County board approves first projects under McLean downtown revitalization plan

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 30, 2023 at 1:30PM

The adjacent Astoria mixed-use residential development and Mars headquarters expansion on Old Dominion Drive and Elm Street in McLean (via Fairfax County)

On their own, the first developments approved by Fairfax County since it overhauled its plan to revitalize downtown McLean seem modest.

One is a corporate headquarters expansion, while the other is a seven-story, mostly residential building, promising 130 new units of housing but not exactly rivaling the scale of the high-rises going up in Tysons.

Around Town

Merrifield area restaurant tops Northern Virginia Magazine list of region’s best

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 30, 2023 at 11:45AM | Updated December 28, 2023 at 3:10PM

The landscaping outside 2491 Restaurant at Fairview Park in West Falls Church (file photo)

The best place to eat in Northern Virginia right now is an upscale restaurant tucked away in an office building outside Merrifield that also houses the U.S. headquarters of defense contractor BAE Systems.

At least that’s the designation bestowed upon 2941 by Northern Virginia Magazine’s food critics, whose ranking of the 50 best restaurants in the region for 2023 hit newsstands on Friday (Oct. 27) as part of its November issue.

Around Town

NEW: Yemeni coffee company to open first East Coast cafe in Vienna

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 30, 2023 at 10:15AM

Qamaria Coffee launched a truck to serve the D.C. area in July (courtesy Qamaria Coffee Company)

An upcoming cafe is bringing coffee from its historical birthplace to the Town of Vienna.

Qamaria Coffee, a Michigan-based company, will open its first cafe on the East Coast next year at 124 Maple Avenue West in Vienna Shopping Center, filling a 1,900-square-foot space that has been vacant since Viva Sol Juice Company closed on Dec. 31, 2021.

News

McLean Central Park playground upgrade nears funding goal with approved grant

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 27, 2023 at 1:30PM

An updated rendering of the planned McLean Central Park playground renovation (via FCPA/YouTube)

McLean got a step closer this week to realizing its wish for a new, improved and more inclusive playground at McLean Central Park (1468 Dolley Madison Blvd).

The Fairfax County Park Authority Board approved a $20,000 Mastenbrook Grant Wednesday (Oct. 25) to help fund the project, which has significantly expanded in scope thanks to the advocacy and fundraising efforts of local parents.

News

Repurposing of Tysons office building for live-work units approved

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 27, 2023 at 10:15AM

Developer Madison Highland has proposed converting the office building at 2000 Corporate Ridge in Tysons into live/work units (via Fairfax County)

Another Fairfax County office building will soon morph into a live/work development, where units are designed to serve as a home, a workplace or both.

A proposed repurposing of the 10-story office building at 2000 Corporate Ridge in Tysons got approved Tuesday (Oct. 24) by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors after a straightforward public hearing where the only community member who signed up to speak couldn’t be reached.

News

FCPD: Lorton man threatened dog and its walker, led police on DUI chase

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 27, 2023 at 9:30AM

Fairfax County police car with lights on (file photo)

A Lorton man was arrested earlier this week for shaking a dog, threatening its owner with a knife and driving wildly down Richmond Highway with police in pursuit.

According to the Fairfax County Police Department, Franconia District officers were called to the 9600 block of Eaton Woods Place in Lorton at 4:03 p.m. on Tuesday (Oct. 24) by a man who said he’d been threatened while walking his dog.

News

Judge disqualifies Franconia District school board candidate over ballot paperwork

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 26, 2023 at 2:30PM | Updated October 30, 2023 at 11:09AM

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

(Updated at 11:10 a.m. on 10/30/2023) The Democratic-endorsed candidate for the Fairfax County School Board’s Franconia District seat has been disqualified due to an error on her petition to get on the ballot.

The Fairfax County Office of Elections has posted a notice on its website informing voters that Marcia St. John-Cunning was disqualified yesterday (Wednesday) by a Fairfax County Circuit Court order. A judge ruled that her petition was invalid because of an error in her address on its front page.