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.

News

Local moms achieve goal of funding McLean Central Park playground renovation

By Angela Woolsey
The new McLean Central Park playground and tot lot will feature updated and accessible equipment (courtesy Joseph Cox from Cunningham Recreation)

(Updated at 12:45 a.m. on 12/22/2023) No holiday miracle was necessary for the McLean Central Playground Team to reach its goal of raising $400,000 to update the play equipment at their local park.

The group of moms announced on Tuesday (Dec. 19) that they have reached their fundraising target with days to spare before a year-end deadline set by the Fairfax County Park Authority, which is responsible for the planned renovation of the playground and tot lot at McLean Central Park (1468 Dolley Madison Blvd).

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Countywide

FCPS considers generating guidelines for use of ‘artificial intelligence’

By Angela Woolsey
OpenAI's ChatGPT on a laptop screen (via Rolf van Root on Unsplash)

With ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence-based tools becoming increasingly mainstream, Fairfax County Public Schools officials have started discussing potential guidelines to govern how the technology is used in the classroom.

The Fairfax County School Board broached the topic at work session forum on Nov. 28, led by outgoing board chair and Dranesville District representative Elaine Tholen and Sully District representative Stella Pekarsky.

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Around Town

Halal hot chicken restaurant now open in Vienna

By Angela Woolsey
The Red Bird has opened at the Cedar Park Shopping Center in Vienna (file photo)

The Red Bird has landed in Vienna.

The hot chicken chain’s first Northern Virginia franchise is in the midst of a soft opening at 282 Cedar Lane in the Cedar Park Shopping Center, where it has replaced the McDonald’s that closed in 2022. The location is currently open daily from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., according to Instagram posts.

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News

McLean restaurant owner gets prison for evading taxes, stealing Covid relief funds

By Angela Woolsey
Gholam and Karen Kowkabi own Divan, a Persian restaurant in McLean (staff photo by David Taube)

The man behind Divan in McLean has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison for failing to pay taxes and stealing COVID-19 relief funds — including money used to establish the Persian restaurant.

Gholam “Tony” Kowkabi, 63, of Vienna was sentenced by a federal judge on Monday (Dec. 18) to 57 months in prison after pleading guilty on Aug. 14, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of D.C. announced.

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Countywide

County police and firefighters secure pay raises, benefits in first collective bargaining agreements

By Angela Woolsey
Police and fire department representatives with Fairfax County's bargaining team after the Board of Supervisors voted to approve their new collective bargaining agreements (courtesy IAFF Local 2068)

For the first time in over four decades, Fairfax County’s police officers and firefighters got an opportunity this year to negotiate their pay, benefits and working conditions with the local government.

The collective bargaining process led to new contracts for Fairfax County Police Department and the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department employees that union representatives and county leaders both lauded as meaningful wins for public safety workers.

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News

Affordable housing development breaks ground near Spring Hill Metro station

By Angela Woolsey
The Exchange at Spring Hill Station, an affordable housing project, broke ground in Tysons (courtesy Fairfax County Government)

Construction has begun on a development that promises to bring hundreds of affordable housing units to Tysons.

Officials with Fairfax County, nonprofit developer Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH) and other partners broke ground yesterday (Tuesday) on the Dominion Square project, which has been newly renamed The Exchange at Spring Hill Station.

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News

Cause of ‘dramatic’ explosion during fire in Bailey’s Crossroads identified

By Angela Woolsey
The Fairfax County Fire and Department responds to a utility emergency at Build America Plaza in Bailey's Crossroads (via FCFRD/Twitter)

An explosion that occurred while firefighters were putting out a blaze at Build America Plaza in Bailey’s Crossroads in early November was caused by a backdraft, the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department says.

Investigators have determined that the fire and “dramatic” explosion were accidental, resulting from degraded power lines that arced and sparked an “underground fire involving the insulation of adjacent communication lines,” the FCFRD reported today (Tuesday).

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Around Town

Spanish fashion company Mango plants seeds for Tysons Corner Center store

By Angela Woolsey
The Spanish fashion company Mango opened its flagship U.S. store on Fifth Avenue in New York City in 2022 (courtesy Mango)

(Updated at 11:30 a.m. on 12/20/2023) A Spanish fashion brand that has started utilizing artificial intelligence to design its clothes is coming to Tysons Corner Center.

Mango recently announced that it will expand to the D.C. area for the first time with four stores opening in 2024, including one in the region’s largest mall. New locations are also planned at 950 F Street in D.C.’s Penn Quarter, the Westfield Montgomery mall in Bethesda, and Pentagon City.

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News

Proposal to reuse Sheraton Tysons Hotel as housing moves forward, despite park space concerns

By Angela Woolsey
Tysons West developer JBG Smith is seeking to convert the Sheraton Tysons Hotel into housing (via Fairfax County)

The potential benefits and challenges of converting commercial properties into housing both emerged during a public hearing last week on a proposal to repurpose the now-vacant Sheraton Tysons Hotel at 8661 Leesburg Pike.

Promising up to 544 new residential units, the project will boost the supply of housing in Tysons with a unique, market-rate affordable option, a representative for developer JBG Tysons Hotel touted at the hearing before the Fairfax County Planning Commission on Thursday (Dec. 14).

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News

Ashburn man charged with reckless driving for fatal Route 28 crash

By Angela Woolsey
Northbound Route 28 at the exit to Westfields Blvd in Centreville (via Google Maps)

An Ashburn man was charged last week with reckless driving — almost a month after his alleged speeding killed a motorcyclist on Route 28.

Gael Cruchet, 53, received a summons on Friday (Dec. 15) charging him with exceeding the speed limit by over 20 mph while driving a 2016 Acura TLX sedan in the lead-up to the crash on Nov. 16, the Fairfax County Police Department announced.

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