Angela Woolsey | FFXnow

Richmond Highway speed limit will drop to 35 mph starting next week

Published May 16, 2023 at 10:15AM

The speed limit on Richmond Highway will be reduced to 35 mph from Jeff Todd Way/Mount Vernon Memorial Highway to the Alexandria city limits (via VDOT)

The speed limit on Richmond Highway (Route 1) has been permanently lowered through much of Fairfax County.

Starting next Tuesday (May 23), the legal limit will be reduced from 45 to 35 mph along a roughly 7-mile stretch between the Alexandria City limits at the Capital Beltway (I-495) and Jeff Todd Way/Mount Vernon Memorial Highway, the Virginia and Fairfax County transportation departments announced yesterday (Monday).

Countywide

Park Authority’s ‘Wonder Wagon’ mobile centers will bring nature to people

By Angela Woolsey

Published May 15, 2023 at 3:30PM

The Fairfax County Park Authority wants to expand access to nature with planned mobile centers (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

In the future, Fairfax County residents won’t need to trek to a park to experience nature.

Instead, the park will find them with the Wonder Wagon Mobile Nature Center, a Fairfax County Park Authority initiative that will bring educational programs on nature and the environment to underserved communities and Title I schools with limited access to green spaces.

Around Town

McLean Day festivities are back this weekend for 108th year

By Angela Woolsey

Published May 15, 2023 at 2:30PM

Like in past years, McLean Day will feature a petting zoo (courtesy McLean Community Center)

McLean Day is just around the corner.

The annual outdoor festival will return for a 108th year this Saturday (May 20), bringing amusement rides, live music, food and carnival games to Lewinsville Park (1659 Chain Bridge Road) from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Countywide

BREAKING: Rep. Gerry Connolly’s staff members assaulted in Fairfax City

By Angela Woolsey

Published May 15, 2023 at 1:45PM | Updated May 15, 2023 at 9:23PM

Rep. Gerry Connolly has a Fairfax District Office in the 10680 Mainland Building in Fairfax City (via Google Maps)

(Updated at 9:20 p.m.) Two members of Rep. Gerry Connolly’s staff were assaulted this morning by a Fairfax resident with a baseball bat.

The City of Fairfax Police Department and the United States Capitol Police (USCP) are investigating the incident at 10680 Main Street, Suite 140. The suspect has been arrested, while the victims were taken to a hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening, police said.

News

Vienna may soon require developers to plant and preserve more trees

By Angela Woolsey

Published May 15, 2023 at 11:00AM

A tree on Branch Road in Vienna (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The Town of Vienna is ready to turn over a new leaf in its commitment to tree plantings and preservation.

In the hopes of reversing a significant decline in canopy coverage over the past decade, staff proposed a tree conservation ordinance to the Vienna Town Council last week that would require developers to preserve existing trees when possible.

News

County bans overnight commercial parking on downtown McLean street

By Angela Woolsey

Published May 12, 2023 at 2:15PM

Commercial vehicles, like charter buses, have been taking up parking on Whittier Avenue in McLean, businesses say (via Google Maps)

Businesses along Whittier Avenue in McLean will soon get some relief from the trucks, trailers and other vehicles hoarding parking spots on the downtown street.

At the request of the business owners, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors agreed unanimously at its meeting on Tuesday (May 9) to restrict overnight, on-street parking on two blocks between Old Dominion Drive and Laughlin Avenue.

Around Town

Dior’s first Virginia store has opened in Tysons Galleria

By Angela Woolsey

Published May 12, 2023 at 11:00AM

Dior is now open at Tysons Galleria (photo by Andrea Brizzi)

Dior has arrived at Tysons Galleria.

The French fashion house’s new boutique is now in business on the mall’s second floor near Neiman Marcus. Tysons Galleria announced that the store had opened on April 28 — beating its previously projected timeframe of summer 2023.

News

Man sentenced to prison for selling fentanyl in fatal Clifton overdose

By Angela Woolsey

Published May 12, 2023 at 9:30AM

U.S. Attorneys Office in Alexandria (via Google Maps)

An Alexandria man was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Wednesday (May 10) for selling fentanyl to a woman who died from an overdose in Clifton in 2021.

Reza Hashemi, 34, was sentenced for conspiring to distribute over 400 grams of fentanyl in Northern Virginia between July 2020 and June 2021, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release announcing the judgment by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema.

News

UPDATED: Police fatally shoot man who fought with officer in Penn Daw

By Angela Woolsey

Published May 11, 2023 at 4:50PM | Updated May 12, 2023 at 2:02PM

Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis addresses a fatal police shooting near Citgo in Penn Daw (via FCPD/Facebook)

(Updated at 2 p.m. on 5/12/2023) A man from Newport News was killed during a struggle with police in Penn Daw where two officers fired their guns.

No officers were injured in the gunfire, which occured outside a McDonalds (6239 Richmond Highway), but one officer was hospitalized with head injuries from a fight with 38-year-old Brandon Lemagne prior to the shooting, the Fairfax County Police Department said.

Around Town

Mosaic District’s Four Sisters to close on Mother’s Day after 30 years

By Angela Woolsey

Published May 11, 2023 at 2:30PM

The Vietnamese restaurant Four Sisters is closing this weekend after nearly 15 years in Merrifield (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Four Sisters will serve customers at the Mosaic District for the last time this Sunday (May 14).

The family-owned Vietnamese restaurant will permanently close after 30 years of business, about half of them spent anchoring the prominent corner of Strawberry Lane and Yates Way in Merrifield.