Angela Woolsey | FFXnow

Funds approved to shield Lewinsville Park pickleball courts from wind

Published June 2, 2023 at 1:30PM | Updated June 4, 2023 at 6:16PM

Pickleball players at Lewinsville Park in McLean (courtesy Fairfax County Park Authority/Flickr)

(Updated at 2:20 p.m. on 6/4/2023) Pickleball players at McLean’s Lewinsville Park will soon no longer have to contend with wind gusts.

The Fairfax County Park Authority Board approved a $2,382 grant during its May 24 meeting to support the installation of black privacy slats on the fencing around the park’s dedicated pickleball courts at 1659 Chain Bridge Road.

News

County blesses Montessori School of McLean’s plan to buy church site

By Angela Woolsey

Published June 2, 2023 at 11:00AM

Chesterbrook United Methodist Church and Montessori School of McLean share a building at 1711 Kirby Road in McLean (via Google Maps)

The Montessori School of McLean is on track to celebrate its 50th anniversary on the same site where it has spent the past half-century.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a special exception permit for the private school and child care center on May 23, allowing it to remain at 1711 Kirby Road even after the church that owns the 3.87-acre property relocates.

News

Metro station closures will affect Orange and Silver line train service, starting tomorrow

By Angela Woolsey

Published June 2, 2023 at 9:30AM | Updated July 13, 2023 at 4:15PM

The West Falls Church Metro station is one of four that will close for about three weeks, starting tomorrow (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The last train out of the Vienna Metro station for the next month will depart at 12:20 a.m. tomorrow (Saturday).

After that, the Vienna, Dunn Loring, West Falls Church and East Falls Church stations will all shut down, as the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority begins to replace a 40-year-old steel rail extending to Ballston.

Countywide

American Legion Bridge would be even more congested without transit, study says

By Angela Woolsey

Published June 1, 2023 at 3:30PM

On the Capital Beltway at the American Legion Bridge into Maryland (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

If you find trips on the Capital Beltway into Maryland nightmarish now, imagine what they would be like without any transit options.

That’s the scenario posed by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) in a new study on the value of the region’s transit network, including Metro, local bus services like Fairfax Connector and the Virginia Railway Express (VRE).

News

Vienna Police revives crackdown on stop sign violations for June

By Angela Woolsey

Published June 1, 2023 at 1:15PM

A Vienna Police car on Mill Street (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The Town of Vienna Police Department will once again usher in summer with a hardline approach to stop sign violations.

The department launched a campaign today (Thursday) that will see officers step up their enforcement of traffic safety laws, especially those governing stop signs, after seeing “a noticeable increase in such violations.”

News

Pimmit Hills residents stage benefit concert to help fund legal fight over Washington Gas pipeline

By Angela Woolsey

Published June 1, 2023 at 10:30AM

Pimmit Hills residents recently held a pizza party to raise funds to cover legal fees from Washington Gas' lawsuit over a planned gas pipeline (photo by Marni Penning)

The Pimmit Hills neighborhood has officially reached the “let’s put on a show” stage of its battle against a planned Washington Gas pipeline.

Faced with escalating legal fees, residents have banded together to stage a “Protect Pimmit Hills Hoedown” benefit concert from 5-7 p.m. on Saturday (June 3) as a fundraiser for four of their neighbors who were sued by the utility company.

Around Town

Dogs plot June takeover with events at Tysons Corner Center, The Boro

By Angela Woolsey

Published May 31, 2023 at 2:30PM

The first annual Paws on the Plaza was held in 2022 (courtesy Tysons Corner Center)

The dog days are coming early to Tysons this year.

Canines will first be unleashed on the Plaza at Tysons Corner Center this Saturday (June 3) for the mall’s second annual Paws on the Plaza, a free event with pet-centric vendors, a dog park and a beer garden.

Around Town

Chicken salad restaurant chain circles expansion into Fairfax County

By Angela Woolsey

Published May 31, 2023 at 11:45AM

The Southern fast-casual chain Chicken Salad Chick has signed a deal to open locations in Fairfax County (courtesy Chicken Salad Chick)

A fast-casual chicken salad company is planning a move into Fairfax County, but exactly when and where it will stake its claim remains to be seen.

Chicken Salad Chick, which bills itself as the only fast-casual chicken salad concept in the U.S., has signed a development agreement with a local family to open eight new franchises in Fairfax and Arlington counties over the next five years, the business announced yesterday.

News

County proposes initial Route 7 BRT stations in Tysons, from Spring Hill to West Falls Church

By Angela Woolsey

Published May 31, 2023 at 10:30AM

The proposed route and stations for the Route 7 bus rapid transit system in Tysons (via FCDOT)

Plans for a Route 7 bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Tysons are starting to take more concrete shape, outpacing an ongoing study of the corridor further to the south.

The service will initially launch in Tysons, operating between the Spring Hill and West Falls Church Metro stations, before later expanding into Falls Church and Alexandria, Fairfax County Department of Transportation staff told planning commission members at a May 11 committee meeting.

News

UPDATED: Two teens charged in Idylwood fatal shooting, stabbing

By Angela Woolsey

Published May 30, 2023 at 5:25PM | Updated May 31, 2023 at 5:25PM

Tysons View Apartments (via Google Maps)

(Updated at 5:25 p.m. on 5/31/2023) The double homicide in Idylwood on Memorial Day started as a drug-related robbery, Fairfax County police say.

Two people — a 17-year-old and an 18-year-old — were charged on Tuesday (May 30) with robbery resulting in death, a Class 2 felony in Virginia, the Fairfax County Police Department announced. Additional charges are expected in the case, which involved a shooting and multiple stabbings.