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.

Countywide

FCPS settles lawsuit against Juul over its e-cigarette marketing to teens

By Angela Woolsey
Altria Group's headquarters in Richmond (courtesy Altria Group Inc.)

Fairfax County Public Schools will receive money to support student wellness after settling its portion of a class action lawsuit against the vaping company Juul Labs.

The Fairfax County School Board reached a settlement on Aug. 31 with Altria Group, which owns several tobacco companies — including cigarette maker Philip Morris USA — and has a 35% ownership stake in Juul, FCPS announced on Sept. 19. The news was previously reported by DC News Now.

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Around Town

Camp to open ‘Encanto’ experience and toy shop at Tysons Corner Center

By Angela Woolsey
The retailer Camp is bringing an experience and store inspired by the Disney movie "Encanto" to Tysons Corner Center (courtesy Camp)

In recent months, Tysons Corner Center visitors have likely encountered a “coming soon” sign for a store that promises a hodgepodge of toys, games, gifts, slides, “schmutz” and “farts.”

Details about the incoming retailer have at last emerged, though flatulence doesn’t appear to be a planned offering.

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Countywide

Fairfax County ties parking to density with first regulatory overhaul in 35 years

By Angela Woolsey
A parking lot at Fair Oaks Mall (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Fairfax County has officially updated its parking standards for the age of telework and transit-oriented development.

After a public hearing on Tuesday (Sept. 26) that drew dozens of speakers, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a slate of off-street parking regulations intended to steer away from the car-centric impulses that governed the suburb as it grew post-World War II.

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News

Barton Hill residents worry demand for pickleball courts will overwhelm parking

By Angela Woolsey
The Barton Hill tennis courts in Reston (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Reston Association is approaching a crossroads in its project to convert tennis courts at Barton Hill into pickleball courts.

The organization is now considering two potential designs for the facility at 1901 Barton Hill Road. One would replace two of the four existing tennis courts with 10 pickleball courts, including six dedicated courts and four with “blended lines” that could be shared with tennis players. The other would have four pickleball courts, all of them dedicated to the trendy sport.

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News

Heavier fines approved for speeders outside McLean park

By Angela Woolsey
Linway Terrace in McLean (via Google Maps)

Drivers will now have to pay more if they exceed the speed limit on Linway Terrace in McLean.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors gave its support yesterday (Tuesday) to an additional $200 fine for speeding on the residential street between Birch Road and Kirby Road, a half-mile stretch that includes the entrance to Linway Terrace Park (6246 Linway Terrace).

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News

Proposal to replace Herndon area cricket field with affordable housing gets hearing

By Angela Woolsey
The Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority has acquired land at 13500 Dulles Greene Drive for future affordable housing (via Fairfax County)

The community will soon get a chance to comment on whether a temporary cricket field near the Innovation Center Metro station should be opened up to affordable housing proposals, even as the search for a replacement athletic facility continues.

The Board of Supervisors voted 9-1 yesterday (Tuesday) to schedule a public hearing on the proposed transfer of county-owned land at 13500 Dulles Greene Drive for Oct. 24 at 4:30 p.m.

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News

Draft McLean Community Center budget funds energy study, playground and more

By Angela Woolsey
The McLean Community Center at 1234 Ingleside Avenue (courtesy MCC)

(Updated at 2:50 p.m.) Operations at the McLean Community Center (MCC) are starting to look a lot more like 2019 — at least as far as its budget is concerned.

The center’s governing board will hold a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. tonight (Wednesday) to gather community input on its proposed budget for fiscal year 2025, which will begin July 1, 2024 and end on June 30, 2025.

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News

Report: Comstock wants a casino in Reston, but state legislation still needed

By Angela Woolsey
Reston Station from the Wiehle Avenue bridge (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

A casino may still be on the table for Fairfax County, though it faces some long odds to becoming a reality.

According to a new report by Patch, the real estate company Comstock is interested in building a casino in the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station area, where it owns nearly 80 acres of land for the still-growing Reston Station development.

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News

McLean’s Chesterbrook Shopping Center seeks to make businesses more visible with renovation

By Angela Woolsey
Chesterbrook Shopping Center owner Federal Realty has requested more signage space for South Block and other tenants (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The new signs planned for Chesterbrook Shopping Center in McLean won’t point to their corresponding businesses with big, flashing arrows, but that’s essentially the effect property owner Federal Realty hopes to achieve.

The developer got the Fairfax County Planning Commission’s support on Sept. 14 for a special exception that would allow more signage space at the shopping center on Old Dominion Drive.

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News

Commercial vacancies decline in Fairfax, defying national trends, city says

By Angela Woolsey
Engineering consultant CDM Smith celebrates its recently opened, 13,300-square-foot office at 10600 Eaton Place in Fairfax City (courtesy Fairfax City Economic Development)

At a time when cities from D.C. to San Francisco are grappling with historically high vacancy rates, Fairfax City is feeling pretty good about the rising demand for its commercial space.

General commercial vacancy rates have dropped from 6.6% at the beginning of 2023 to 6% in the third quarter, Fairfax City Economic Development (FCED) — a partnership between the city’s economic development office and the Fairfax City Economic Development Authority (EDA) — reported last week.

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