Angela Woolsey | FFXnow

Utility work will require nighttime traffic stops on I-495 in McLean next week

Published August 4, 2023 at 2:15PM | Updated August 7, 2023 at 11:06AM

A sign for the Georgetown Pike exit off of I-495 North (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

(Updated at 11:05 a.m. on 8/7/2023) Traffic on the Capital Beltway will be periodically stopped overnight at Georgetown Pike in the latter half of next week.

Lasting up to 30 minutes at a time, the stoppages are required to enable crews to relocate utilities at the interchange as part of the 495 NEXT project, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.

Around Town

Purée Juice Bar has left The Boro in Tysons

By Angela Woolsey

Published August 4, 2023 at 11:00AM

Whole Foods Market at The Boro (via Google Maps)

The Boro’s Whole Foods has a void where Purée Juice Bar once stood.

Purée officially closed its stall in the Tysons grocery store at 1635 Boro Place on March 31 after struggling to establish a consistent customer base with limited foot traffic, according to a Purée spokesperson.

Around Town

Emerging Merrifield art gallery shows off youth creativity with new exhibition

By Angela Woolsey

Published August 3, 2023 at 3:00PM

mosaicARTs co-owner Van Nguyen gives a tour of the new exhibition (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

At mosaicARTs, creative expression is the ultimate path to fulfillment. But the chance to win a gift card worth $1,000 isn’t a bad secondary perk.

That is what’ll be at stake for the 25 young artists showcased in the Merrifield gallery’s new exhibition, “Arts Make Children Powerful,” which opened yesterday (Wednesday) ahead of a formal reception from 4-6:30 p.m. this Saturday (Aug. 5).

Around Town

Charity 5K race to combat hunger will soon return to Tysons for 10th year

By Angela Woolsey

Published August 3, 2023 at 11:00AM

Kids cheer on runner on Food for Others' annual 5K in Tysons (courtesy Food for Others)

Registration has opened for the upcoming Food for Others 5K and Fun Run, which will return to Tysons for a 10th year next month.

The annual fundraiser will take place on the Plaza at Tysons Corner Center (1961 Chain Bridge Road) from 8-11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 9. Proceeds will benefit Food for Others, a Merrifield-based nonprofit that collects and distributes food for people in need.

Countywide

Woman in Fairfax County jail on cash bond dies after medical emergency

By Angela Woolsey

Published August 3, 2023 at 9:30AM

The Fairfax County Adult Detention Center (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Another person in custody at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center has died.

Latasha Dove, a 53-year-old woman, was found unresponsive in her cell at the jail on Tuesday (Aug. 1) afternoon, the Fairfax County Police Department reported yesterday (Wednesday).

Countywide

Local environmental group joins challenge to Virginia’s withdrawal from carbon-reducing initiative

By Angela Woolsey

Published August 2, 2023 at 3:00PM | Updated August 2, 2023 at 8:52PM

Smoke coming out of a power plant (via Ella Ivanescu/Unsplash)

Several environmental groups, including one based in Fairfax County, have joined forces to challenge Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s decision to pull Virginia out of a cross-state initiative aimed at reducing carbon emissions.

The Southern Environmental Law Center announced on Monday (July 31) that it will appeal Virginia’s planned withdrawal from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a market of 12 states on the East Coast that regulates carbon emissions from power generators.

News

County revises vision for mixed-use Pan Am shopping center after community input

By Angela Woolsey

Published August 2, 2023 at 1:30PM | Updated August 2, 2023 at 6:59PM

Pan Am Shopping Center (file photo)

(Updated at 7 p.m.) The Fairfax County Planning Commission gave its full support last week to a proposal to allow housing at Merrifield’s Pan Am Shopping Center, a key step toward transforming the strip mall into a mixed-use neighborhood.

The commission voted unanimously on July 27 to recommend that the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors amend the county’s comprehensive plan for the approximately 25-acre property southeast of Route 29 and Nutley Street, opening the door for up to 585 multifamily residential units and additional retail space.

News

NEW: GW Parkway fully reopens after storm-felled trees are cleared

By Angela Woolsey

Published August 2, 2023 at 11:00AM

The George Washington Memorial Parkway near I-495 with a temporary reversible lane (via Google Maps)

It took four days of work, but all trees have finally been cleared from the George Washington Memorial Parkway.

The parkway’s northern section between the Capital Beltway (I-495) in McLean and Spout Run Parkway in Arlington reopened at 9:45 a.m. today after hundreds of trees downed by a storm on Saturday (July 29) necessitated an extended closure.

Countywide

Fairfax County police crack down on vehicle-related thefts this August

By Angela Woolsey

Published August 2, 2023 at 9:30AM

Parked Fairfax County police vehicles (staff photo by James Cullum)

The Fairfax County Police Department is turning up the heat on vehicle thefts and break-ins, as summer enters its final month.

The department announced yesterday (Tuesday) that it will focus on auto thefts this August as part of its 2023 Summer Crime Prevention Initiative, which previously boosted enforcement around retail theft and driving under the influence.

News

Driver arrested for Burke Centre Parkway crash that killed 17-year-old

By Angela Woolsey

Published August 1, 2023 at 3:45PM

Fairfax County police are stepping up their presence on Burke Centre Parkway this week (via FCPD/Twitter)

The driver who crashed into a car of teenagers on Burke Centre Parkway last month has been charged with involuntary manslaughter, police announced today (Tuesday).

Jose Angel Zelaya, a 42-year-old Burke resident, was arrested yesterday after detectives found that he was driving almost double the speed limit around the time his 2014 Cadillac XTS4 collided with a 2023 Kia Forte exiting the Burke Centre Shopping Center parking lot on July 18, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.