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.

Around Town

Merrifield area restaurant tops Northern Virginia Magazine list of region’s best

By Angela Woolsey
The landscaping outside 2491 Restaurant at Fairview Park in West Falls Church (file photo)

The best place to eat in Northern Virginia right now is an upscale restaurant tucked away in an office building outside Merrifield that also houses the U.S. headquarters of defense contractor BAE Systems.

At least that’s the designation bestowed upon 2941 by Northern Virginia Magazine’s food critics, whose ranking of the 50 best restaurants in the region for 2023 hit newsstands on Friday (Oct. 27) as part of its November issue.

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Around Town

NEW: Yemeni coffee company to open first East Coast cafe in Vienna

By Angela Woolsey
Qamaria Coffee launched a truck to serve the D.C. area in July (courtesy Qamaria Coffee Company)

An upcoming cafe is bringing coffee from its historical birthplace to the Town of Vienna.

Qamaria Coffee, a Michigan-based company, will open its first cafe on the East Coast next year at 124 Maple Avenue West in Vienna Shopping Center, filling a 1,900-square-foot space that has been vacant since Viva Sol Juice Company closed on Dec. 31, 2021.

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News

McLean Central Park playground upgrade nears funding goal with approved grant

By Angela Woolsey
An updated rendering of the planned McLean Central Park playground renovation (via FCPA/YouTube)

McLean got a step closer this week to realizing its wish for a new, improved and more inclusive playground at McLean Central Park (1468 Dolley Madison Blvd).

The Fairfax County Park Authority Board approved a $20,000 Mastenbrook Grant Wednesday (Oct. 25) to help fund the project, which has significantly expanded in scope thanks to the advocacy and fundraising efforts of local parents.

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News

Repurposing of Tysons office building for live-work units approved

By Angela Woolsey
Developer Madison Highland has proposed converting the office building at 2000 Corporate Ridge in Tysons into live/work units (via Fairfax County)

Another Fairfax County office building will soon morph into a live/work development, where units are designed to serve as a home, a workplace or both.

A proposed repurposing of the 10-story office building at 2000 Corporate Ridge in Tysons got approved Tuesday (Oct. 24) by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors after a straightforward public hearing where the only community member who signed up to speak couldn’t be reached.

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News

FCPD: Lorton man threatened dog and its walker, led police on DUI chase

By Angela Woolsey
Fairfax County police car with lights on (file photo)

A Lorton man was arrested earlier this week for shaking a dog, threatening its owner with a knife and driving wildly down Richmond Highway with police in pursuit.

According to the Fairfax County Police Department, Franconia District officers were called to the 9600 block of Eaton Woods Place in Lorton at 4:03 p.m. on Tuesday (Oct. 24) by a man who said he’d been threatened while walking his dog.

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News

Judge disqualifies Franconia District school board candidate over ballot paperwork

By Angela Woolsey
Franconia District school board candidate Marcia St. John-Cunning (courtesy Marcia4Schools)

(Updated at 11:10 a.m. on 10/30/2023) The Democratic-endorsed candidate for the Fairfax County School Board’s Franconia District seat has been disqualified due to an error on her petition to get on the ballot.

The Fairfax County Office of Elections has posted a notice on its website informing voters that Marcia St. John-Cunning was disqualified yesterday (Wednesday) by a Fairfax County Circuit Court order. A judge ruled that her petition was invalid because of an error in her address on its front page.

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Around Town

Where to find Spirit Halloween in Fairfax County this year

By Angela Woolsey
The costume store Spirit Halloween has several locations in Fairfax County this year, including at Tysons Corner Center (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

With Halloween less than a week away, time is running out to assemble a costume and housing decorations ghoulish enough to impress neighborhood trick-or-treaters.

Fortunately for those making last-minute preparations, the seasonal pop-up Spirit Halloween has taken possession of several vacant retail stores across Fairfax County.

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Around Town

Recently opened Café de Vienna serves up coffee and sweets in century-old building

By Angela Woolsey
Cafe de Vienna is now open at 131 Church Street NW in Vienna (photo by Amy Woolsey)

It was love at first sight for Afsaneh and the 123-year-old building at 131 Church Street NW where she recently launched Café de Vienna.

Constructed in 1900, per Fairfax County property records, the quaint, two-story house atop a hill on Vienna’s historic Church Street was converted at some point into a commercial space. It was home to Money & King Funeral Home — the town’s oldest still-operating business — until the now-closed Guarantee Shoe Repair took over in 1990, according to The Connection.

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Countywide

NEW: County will continue leaf collections into 2026, pausing plan to end service

By Angela Woolsey
Fairfax County offers curbside fall leaf collection services (courtesy DPWES)

Fairfax County will continue providing fall leaf collection services at least until the 2025-2026 season, the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services announced today.

Consideration of a proposal to eliminate the service has been suspended for now. The department sought public feedback on the recommendation this summer, citing environmental concerns, rising costs and “operational issues,” including staff shortages and collection delays.

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News

Groveton ES teacher arrested for exposing himself to child in Fort Hunt neighborhood

By Angela Woolsey
Fairfax County police believe James William Nugent II exposed himself multiple times in the Stratford Landing Elementary School area, including an Oct. 21 incident that led to his arrest (via Google Maps)

A Groveton Elementary School teacher is facing indecent liberties and child pornography charges after allegedly exposing himself to a child this weekend — an incident that police say may not be his first.

James William Nugent II, 27, of Alexandria “lured” a juvenile into his Toyota Sienna van in Fort Hunt’s Stratford Landing neighborhood early in the afternoon on Saturday (Oct. 21), the Fairfax County Police Department said in a news release yesterday (Wednesday).

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