Angela Woolsey | FFXnow

Fairfax to launch retail store for nurturing local artisans, entrepreneurs

Published November 1, 2023 at 3:30PM

Fairfax City has been working to promote its downtown retail (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Fairfax City is browsing for makers of art, crafts and other products who want to expand beyond an online shop or farmers’ market stall but aren’t quite ready to commit to a full storefront.

Those are the budding entrepreneurs that the Fairfax City Economic Development team (FCED) hopes to attract to Wander In, an upcoming retail incubator store that the city is developing with the Old Town Fairfax Business Association (OTFBA).

Around Town

Tysons Corner Center shoppers can now sip alcoholic drinks while strolling

By Angela Woolsey

Published November 1, 2023 at 1:30PM | Updated November 2, 2023 at 2:01PM

Tysons Corner Center shoppers can now drink alcohol in public spaces and stores (courtesy Tysons Corner Center)

(Updated at 2 p.m. on 11/2/2023) The “sip and stroll” trend has arrived at Tysons Corner Center.

The D.C. region’s largest mall launched a “Shopping with a Twist” initiative today (Wednesday), letting visitors 21 and older drink alcoholic beverages from participating restaurants while in stores and common areas.

Countywide

County offers post-Halloween composting services with ‘PumpkinPalooza’

By Angela Woolsey

Published November 1, 2023 at 11:00AM

Pumpkins on asphalt (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Another Halloween has come and gone, but the jack-o’-lantern that may be sitting on your stoop isn’t going to get rid of itself.

Instead of trashing the carved-up squash, the Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services is encouraging residents to compost with its annual “PumpkinPalooza” services.

News

Man who led police chase from Ashburn to Vienna charged with carjacking and more

By Angela Woolsey

Published November 1, 2023 at 9:30AM

Police officers tackle a man identified as Joseph Daniel in Oakton after a pursuit and attempted carjackings (via FCPD/Facebook)

A Leesburg man faces multiple criminal charges from two different Northern Virginia counties in connection to a police pursuit that started in Ashburn and ended just outside the Town of Vienna.

On Monday (Oct. 30) afternoon, the Fairfax County Police Department arrested 44-year-old Joseph Daniel at the intersection of Route 123 (Chain Bridge Road) and Flint Hill Road in Oakton after he allegedly attempted to carjack two vehicles.

Countywide

Defeated Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney candidate endorses write-in campaign

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 31, 2023 at 3:30PM | Updated October 31, 2023 at 3:47PM

Defense attorney Ed Nuttall announces he will campaign to be the Democratic nominee for Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney (via ABC7)

The official ballots for next week’s general election identify just one candidate for the job of top prosecutor in Fairfax County, but a group that identifies itself as victims’ rights supporters hopes to push another man into the office instead.

Defense attorney Ed Nuttall, who lost the Democratic primary in June to incumbent Steve Descano, officially endorsed a write-in campaign last week that seeks to make him the next Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney.

News

Planning commission clears way for higher-capacity wastewater facility in Tysons

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 31, 2023 at 2:30PM

The proposed new Tysons West wastewater pump station at 8606 Leesburg Pike (via Fairfax County)

The next wastewater pump station to serve Tysons West will be able to handle 25 times as much water as its predecessor.

That added capacity will provide critical support for an area expected to add more than 10,000 new residents by the end of this decade, according to Fairfax County staff and the planning commission, which unanimously approved a plan last Wednesday (Oct. 25) to build a new station at 8608 Leesburg Pike.

News

Man crashes onto gas station pump to end police chase in Tysons

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 31, 2023 at 10:15AM | Updated October 31, 2023 at 3:45PM

Police arrested a man suspected of larceny and carjacking after he crashed at a Shell gas station in Tysons (via FCPD/Twitter)

(Updated at 3:45 p.m.) A stolen vehicle wound up on top of a gas pump after a brief police chase near Tysons Corner Center yesterday (Monday).

Fairfax County police arrested a man suspected of larceny and carjacking after he crashed into the Shell gas station at 8103 Leesburg Pike around 4:36 p.m., according to the police scanner on Open MHz.

News

NOW: Man wanted for reported abduction in Loudoun arrested in Oakton

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 30, 2023 at 4:55PM | Updated October 30, 2023 at 5:24PM

A man suspected of abduction in Ashburn was arrested at Chain Bridge Road and Flint Hill Road in Oakton (via FCPD/Twitter)

A police pursuit of a man who reportedly attempted to abduct a woman crossed county lines before ending just outside the Town of Vienna this afternoon.

Route 123 (Chain Bridge Road) is currently closed at the Flint Hill Road intersection in Oakton in the wake of the arrest, according to the Fairfax County Police Department. The Town of Vienna said on Twitter at 4:30 p.m. that one southbound lane between Flint Hill and Nutley Street had opened.

Countywide

School board approves raises for FCPS staff but says state funding still inadequate

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 30, 2023 at 3:30PM

Fairfax County Public Schools (file photo)

All Fairfax County Public Schools employees will get a bump in their paychecks, starting next year, after the school board unanimously approved 2% raises last week.

The additional pay was made possible by the budget that the Virginia General Assembly belatedly adopted in early September, which provided money to raise teacher salaries across the state. But school board members and FCPS workers argue that overall state funding for education falls far short of what they need.

News

County board approves first projects under McLean downtown revitalization plan

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 30, 2023 at 1:30PM

The adjacent Astoria mixed-use residential development and Mars headquarters expansion on Old Dominion Drive and Elm Street in McLean (via Fairfax County)

On their own, the first developments approved by Fairfax County since it overhauled its plan to revitalize downtown McLean seem modest.

One is a corporate headquarters expansion, while the other is a seven-story, mostly residential building, promising 130 new units of housing but not exactly rivaling the scale of the high-rises going up in Tysons.