Angela Woolsey | FFXnow

Some rec center pools to close temporarily for maintenance

Published August 18, 2023 at 9:30AM

The Providence Rec Center swimming pool will be among those closed for deep cleaning starting Aug. 21 (via Google Maps)

As summer winds down, the Fairfax County Park Authority is gearing up to give some of its swimming pools thorough cleanings.

The pools and spas at the Cub Run, Providence and Franconia recreation centers will all be closed starting Monday (Aug. 21) for “deep system cleaning and necessary maintenance,” the park authority recently announced.

News

Traffic Alert: Four-vehicle crash closes I-495 Express Lanes in Tysons

By Angela Woolsey

Published August 17, 2023 at 5:30PM | Updated August 17, 2023 at 6:28PM

The I-495 North Express Lanes are blocked by a four-vehicle crash near the Dulles Toll Road in Tysons (via VDOT)

Updated at 6:30 p.m. — All lanes on I-495 have reopened.

Earlier: The northbound express lanes of the Capital Beltway (I-495) are partially closed at the Dulles Toll Road in Tysons after a crash involving four vehicles.

News

Crash involving Town of Vienna trash truck blocks northbound Route 123 in Oakton

By Angela Woolsey

Published August 17, 2023 at 3:30PM | Updated August 17, 2023 at 5:48PM

Eastbound Route 123 is blocked at Hibbard Street after a crash (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

(Updated at 5:50 p.m.) A man was taken to the hospital earlier this afternoon after a two-vehicle crash on Route 123 in Oakton.

Officers responded to the crash involving a sedan and a Town of Vienna trash truck at the Hibbard Street intersection at 2:06 p.m., according to the Fairfax County Police Department.

News

Taller faregate doors installed at Vienna Metro station

By Angela Woolsey

Published August 17, 2023 at 2:15PM

The 55-inch-tall doors are intended to prevent people from jumping the faregates and avoiding paying (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The faregates at the Vienna Metro station are sporting a new look.

Workers installed taller doors on the gates on Aug. 9 as part of a systemwide retrofit project intended to combat fare evasion, which costs Metro an estimated $40 million per year in lost revenue, according to the transit agency.

News

Sunrise Senior Living opens in Vienna with new pastry cafe

By Angela Woolsey

Published August 17, 2023 at 11:00AM

Inside the newly opened Sunrise of Vienna (courtesy Sunrise Senior Living)

Sunrise Senior Living’s massive new community in the Town of Vienna is officially open.

After holding a small ribbon-cutting with town officials late last month, the senior living provider announced today (Thursday) that its 81,755-square-foot, four-story building at 374 Maple Avenue West is now ready for residents to start moving in.

Around Town

Fish-shaped Japanese waffle pop-up will open permanent shop in Dunn Loring

By Angela Woolsey

Published August 16, 2023 at 1:30PM

Rice Culture regularly appears at farmers markets around the D.C. area, including at the Mosaic District (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

A popular taiyaki pop-up based out of Chantilly is settling down near the Dunn Loring Metro station for its first-ever permanent shop.

After working the D.C. area’s farmers market circuit since 2021, Rice Culture will start selling the fish-shaped, Instagram-ready Japanese treats out of a brick-and-mortar store in the Shops at Avenir Place — potentially as soon as this October.

News

Owners of McLean restaurant plead guilty to tax evasion, Covid relief theft

By Angela Woolsey

Published August 16, 2023 at 10:15AM

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

A Vienna couple who own multiple restaurants in the D.C. area, including Divan in McLean, pleaded guilty in federal court earlier this week to evading over $1 million in taxes and stealing COVID-19 relief funds.

As part of the plea agreement, Gholam Kowkabi, 63, and Karen Kowkabi, 64, will give the IRS the $1.35 million that they failed to pay in taxes related to their D.C. restaurants Ristorante Piccolo, Catch 15 and Tuscana West, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. announced on Monday (Aug. 14).

Around Town

Crumbl Cookies will launch latest store in Kingstowne this week

By Angela Woolsey

Published August 16, 2023 at 9:30AM | Updated August 16, 2023 at 12:15PM

Crumbl Cookies says it was started with a "perfect" recipe for chocolate chip cookies (courtesy Crumbl Cookies)

(Updated at 12:15 p.m.) The Utah-based bakery chain Crumbl Cookies has added Kingstowne to its ever-growing roster of Fairfax County locations.

The business will have a grand opening for its new store in Suite 100 at 5810 Kingstowne Center at 8 a.m. on Friday (Aug. 18), the Mount Vernon Springfield Chamber of Commerce announced yesterday.

Countywide

Flash Flood Warning issued for southeast Fairfax County

By Angela Woolsey

Published August 15, 2023 at 4:40PM

Rain on brick walkway (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Rain, rain, it’s not going away just yet.

Another storm has emerged in the D.C. area, once again bringing the potential for flash flooding, according to the National Weather Service.

News

Study: Office and retail trends tell different stories about Tysons pandemic recovery

By Angela Woolsey

Published August 15, 2023 at 1:30PM

Shoppers walk around Tysons Corner Center (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Tysons is increasingly becoming a place where people live, but a recent market study from the Tysons Community Alliance raised some questions about its future as a place where people work.

Released on Aug. 4, the study paints divergent pictures of the two commercial sectors that have defined Tysons since the 1960s — office and retail — as they navigate a post-pandemic world of remote work and online shopping.