Angela Woolsey | FFXnow

Vienna to celebrate new pedestrian bridge to historic Freeman Store

Published March 18, 2024 at 11:00AM

A new pedestrian bridge between Vienna's Freeman Store and the W&OD Trail is open (via Town of Vienna/Twitter)

Users of the Washington & Old Dominion Trail can now more directly access the Freeman Store and Museum — and, beyond it, the Town Green — in Vienna.

The town has opened a new pedestrian bridge over Piney Branch that links the regional trail to the historic site. Completed in November, the facility replaces a wooden bridge that collapsed in 2016 due to water damage and general deterioration.

News

Man sentenced to life in prison for Seven Corners murder, arson

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 15, 2024 at 3:50PM

Police are conducting a homicide investigation at The Villages at Falls Church (photo by Ed O'Carroll)

A man convicted of killing a woman at her Seven Corners condominium and setting her body on fire has been sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison.

A Fairfax County Circuit Court judge handed down two consecutive life sentences to Richard Montano, 48, today (Friday) after a jury convicted him last October of murdering Silvia “Kelly” Vaca Abacay on Aug. 10, 2022, the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office announced.

Around Town

Health and fitness expo warms up for return to Vienna this spring

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 15, 2024 at 1:30PM

The inaugural Get Healthy Vienna Expo was held at the Vienna Community Center in May 2023 (courtesy Peggy James/Vienna Business Association)

The Vienna Business Association is reviving its Get Healthy Vienna! Expo for 2024.

First introduced last May, the health and fitness showcase will return to the Vienna Community Center (120 Cherry Street SE) on April 6, from 10 am. to 2 p.m. The event is intended to highlight health-related businesses and resources available in the local community, VBA Health, Wellness & Fitness chair Karen Kerrigan says.

Around Town

Brunch-focused cafe First Watch opening in Franconia with free coffee

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 15, 2024 at 11:45AM

First Watch serves breakfast, brunch and lunch dishes (courtesy First Watch)

A daytime-only cafe in Franconia will get next week off to an energetic start, offering free coffee to diners as part of its grand opening on Monday (March 18).

First Watch, a fast-casual restaurant chain based in Florida, will open its latest Fairfax County location in the Festival at Manchester Lakes shopping center (7027C Manchester Blvd) at 7 a.m. Free cups of coffee from Project Sunrise will come with every meal through Friday, March 22.

Around Town

Women’s fashion boutique makes move to Tysons after 36 years in Arlington

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 15, 2024 at 10:15AM | Updated March 19, 2024 at 11:53AM

The clothing store Daniel's Boutique is moving to Tysons after 36 years in Crystal City (courtesy Mona Rashidi)

(Updated at 11:50 a.m. on 3/19/2024) A local wardrobe consultant who has worked with celebrities like Kim Kardashian is setting up shop in Tysons.

Nasrin Rashidi hopes to reopen Daniel’s Boutique, the women’s clothing store that she owns with her husband, Sasan, at 8150 Leesburg Pike in early April. Named after the couple’s son, the business had operated in Crystal City for 36 years until closing its location there on Dec. 17.

News

FCPD: Driver dies after head-on collision with Tesla in Fairfax Station

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 14, 2024 at 3:45PM

Fairfax County Parkway and Ox Road in Fairfax Station (via Google Maps)

(Updated at 4 p.m.) An 81-year-old man from Fairfax Station was driving in the wrong direction on Fairfax County Parkway when he fatally collided with a Tesla this morning (Thursday), police say.

Officers responded to the parkway at 12:06 a.m. after getting a call for a crash involving a 2002 Chevrolet Trailblazer and a 2022 Tesla sedan just north of the Ox Road (Route 123) interchange, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.

News

Proposed Hilton hotel in Tysons encounters skepticism from county staff

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 14, 2024 at 1:30PM

The south entrance of the proposed Hilton hotel in Scotts Run (via Fairfax County)

Fairfax County staff aren’t sold on a development proposal to replace a planned office building in Scotts Run with a dual-branded Hilton hotel.

Developer Cityline Partners is seeking to construct a 17-story hotel building with a four-level parking garage at the intersection of Dolley Madison Blvd and Anderson Road in the Tysons neighborhood.

News

Driver charged with DUI, manslaughter after fatal pedestrian crash on Beltway

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 14, 2024 at 11:45AM

Virginia State Police vehicle (photo by John Calhoun/JC Photography)

A driver involved in one of the two fatal pedestrian crashes that occurred on the Capital Beltway this past Sunday (March 10) was allegedly intoxicated and didn’t have a valid license, according to the Virginia State Police.

Carlos Nunez Morales, a 26-year-old Woodbridge resident, has been charged with driving under the influence, involuntary manslaughter and driving with a revoked or suspended license after police say he hit and killed a pedestrian on I-495 near the Telegraph Road exit in the Rose Hill area.

News

Flat real estate tax rate, new paid family leave policy proposed in Vienna budget

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 14, 2024 at 10:15AM | Updated August 12, 2024 at 6:27PM

Vienna Town Hall (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

(Updated at 2:40 p.m.) Vienna officials have released a proposed budget that maintains the town’s current real estate tax rate, despite continued economic challenges from inflation and supply chain issues.

The $53.8 million budget for fiscal year 2025, which starts July 1, holds the tax rate at $0.1950 per $100 of assessed value. Combined with a cumulative 3-cent reduction over the previous three years, the town will have cut its tax rate by 14% since 2021, Town Manager Mercury Payton said in a message to Mayor Linda Colbert and the town council.

Around Town

Taste of NoVA food festival coming to Army Museum in Fort Belvoir

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 14, 2024 at 9:30AM

The inaugural Taste of NoVA event was held in Leesburg in 2023 (courtesy Amie Otto/Northern Virginia Magazine)

Dozens of restaurants and breweries from across Northern Virginia will descend on the Fort Belvoir area this spring.

The National Museum of the U.S. Army (1775 Liberty Drive) will host this year’s Taste of NoVA, a relatively new food festival produced by Northern Virginia Magazine as a celebration of its annual 50 Best Restaurants list.