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

Justice Department will send election monitors to Fairfax for August primaries

By Angela Woolsey
A sign at the Franconia District Governmental Center announcing that early voting for the Aug. 4, 2026 primary elections will start on July 25 (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The U.S. Department of Justice will be keeping a close eye on Fairfax County’s upcoming Aug. 4 Congressional primaries.

The county is one of two jurisdictions in Virginia, along with Prince William County, where the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division plans to send election monitors, VPM News and the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported today (Monday).

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Around Town

Mosaic District restaurateur to test garlic sauce chicken concept this fall

By Angela Woolsey
Naja Mediterranean next to Matchbox at the Mosaic District in Merrifield (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

A new eatery paying homage to toum, a traditional Lebanese garlic sauce, will launch this fall inside NAJA Mediterranean at the Mosaic District.

The Merrifield restaurant announced last week that its founder, Tariq Alaeddin, has been developing the new concept “and toum” to introduce the D.C. region to the combination of broasted chicken and toum that was a staple of his childhood in Lebanon.

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News

Man pleads guilty to illegally having gun dropped during FCPD encounter

By Angela Woolsey
Gun dropped during police encounter in Herndon on Feb. 18, 2026 (via U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia)

A Woodbridge man could spend as many as 15 years in prison after pleading guilty last week to possessing a gun despite having a felony conviction on his record, the U.S. Justice Department says.

Khari Wheeler, 27, was arrested on Feb. 18 of this year after a loaded gun “fell from his person” while he was allegedly attempting to flee Fairfax County police officers at an apartment community in Herndon, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

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News

Police: Officer shoots man holding knife outside Fairfax City Wawa

By Angela Woolsey
Wawa in Fairfax City (via Google Maps)

A Fairfax City police officer shot a man who was allegedly armed with a knife at Wawa shortly after midnight today (Saturday).

City of Fairfax Police officers were dispatched to the convenience store at 9700 Fairfax Blvd at around 12:07 a.m. after 911 received a call about a man wielding a knife inside the business.

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Countywide

Va. budget creates state climate office at George Mason University

By Angela Woolsey
Virginia Climate Center Director James Kinter (courtesy George Mason University)

Virginia is creating a new office focused on studying the impacts of climate change, and it will be housed at George Mason University.

Mason was authorized to host the Virginia State Climate Office by a provision in the state budget that took effect on July 1 after last-minute negotiations between Gov. Abigail Spanberger and the General Assembly. The governor ultimately signed the two-year spending plan into law on June 29 — just before the end of the fiscal year.

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News

With pool on pause, Vienna leaders debate whether to consider reducing meals tax rate

By Angela Woolsey
Vienna's vacant Annex property on Center Street (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Vienna leaders are taking a breather, both on plans to build an aquatics and fitness center on the currently vacant Annex property and on the possibility of reversing a meals tax increase primarily intended to fund that facility.

After about 40 minutes of debate, the Vienna Town Council voted 5-2 on Monday (July 6) to schedule a public hearing for Feb. 22, 2027 on whether the town should reduce its meals tax rate from 4% to 3%.

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Around Town

Andy’s Pizza to replace Mod Pizza at Reston’s Plaza America

By Angela Woolsey
Mod Pizza at Plaza America in Reston (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Mod Pizza is shuttering its last restaurant in Fairfax County, making way at Plaza America in Reston for the past decade for a RAMMYs Award-winning chain.

A Mod Pizza spokesperson confirmed to FFXnow that its Reston location will permanently close at the end of September, just over a decade after opening its doors at 11642 Plaza America Drive.

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News

Driver heading wrong way crashes into state trooper’s vehicle on I-395

By Angela Woolsey
Police and fire response to wrong-way crash on I-395 near Edsall Road in Springfield (courtesy Dave Statter/X)

A driver was taken into police custody last night (Thursday) after allegedly traveling the wrong way on I-95 and crashing into two different vehicles on I-395.

The Virginia State Police responded at around 7:37 p.m. after being notified that a vehicle was traveling north in the I-95 Express Lanes in Prince William County at a time when traffic on the highway was supposed to be flowing south, according to a VSP spokesperson.

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News

Military veteran forced out by Trump policies seeks Herndon Town Council seat

By Angela Woolsey
Sabrina Bruce (courtesy Sabrina Bruce for Herndon Town Council)

More than a decade of military service came to an unwelcome end last year for Sabrina Bruce, but rather than retreating from government work, she hopes to continue serving, shifting her focus to the local community that embraced her as soon as she arrived.

Bruce officially obtained enough signatures last month to qualify for the ballot in the upcoming Herndon Town Council elections. If she wins one of six open seats on Nov. 3, she would become the first openly transgender person elected to any office in Fairfax County.

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Around Town

Southern comfort food chain coming to Tysons Corner Center

By Angela Woolsey
A building plan mockup of the future Milk & Honey storefront in Tysons Corner Center (via Wallace Creative/Fairfax County)

It appears South Asian cuisine will soon give way to comfort food from the southern U.S. at one restaurant space in Tysons Corner Center.

The “Southern-inspired” chain Milk & Honey from Reston-based Thompson Hospitality is planning to open a location in the mall at 1961 Chain Bridge Road, Suite G21U, taking over a roughly 4,900-square-foot space currently occupied by the Indian restaurant Dhoom, according to a building plan submitted last month to Fairfax County.

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