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.

Countywide

Rooftop solar panels are coming to Annandale High School, a first for FCPS

By Angela Woolsey
Annandale High School (via Google Maps)

For the first time, the Fairfax County School Board has approved a contract to install rooftop solar panels on a school building, a move both board members and advocates said has been a long time coming.

Under a solar power purchase agreement (PPA) that the board authorized Thursday (Nov. 3), Annandale High School will receive solar panels as a pilot program to give Fairfax County Public Schools “a working knowledge of these installations,” Mason District Representative Ricardy Anderson said before the vote.

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News

Express lanes project will soon close I-495 North exit to Dulles Toll Road

By Angela Woolsey
The current end of the I-495 North Express Lanes in Tysons (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Starting next week, all drivers traveling north on the Capital Beltway through Tysons will share the same exit to get to the westbound Dulles Toll Road.

The existing Exit 45 will be closed around Wednesday, Nov. 16, so construction can begin on a new bridge for the Beltway (I-495) over the toll road ramps, the Virginia Department of Transportation announced Thursday (Nov. 3).

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News

BREAKING: Shots reportedly fired outside Hutchinson Elementary School in Herndon

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

A man allegedly fired gunshots outside Hutchinson Elementary School near Herndon before fleeing police and getting into a crash on the Dulles Toll Road.

Fairfax County police officers were called to the school for a report of shots being fired into the air around 4:09 p.m. today, according to Fairfax County Police Department Lt. Dan Spital.

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Countywide

Most-read Fairfax County stories of the week: Oct. 31-Nov. 4

By Angela Woolsey
A tree in Reston stands out as others lose their leaves (photo by Ray Copson)

The weekend is almost here. Before you prepare to turn back the clock on Sunday (Nov. 6) or head to bed for some much-needed sleep, let’s revisit the past week of news in Fairfax County.

Here are the 10 most-read stories on FFXnow this week:

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News

West Falls Church developers will detail plans at meeting this month

By Angela Woolsey
A rendering of the proposed development outside the West Falls Church Metro station (via WMATA)

If the proliferation of major developments planned around the West Falls Church Metro station is making your head spin, an upcoming community meeting may provide some clarity.

The developers seeking to redevelop the Metro station property and expand Virginia Tech’s nearby Northern Virginia Center campus will present their proposals and answer questions at an informational meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 15.

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News

Woman dies after two-vehicle crash on Route 123 in Lorton

By Angela Woolsey
Northbound Ox Road approaching Blu Steel Way (via Google Maps)

(Updated at 3 p.m.) A 76-year-old woman from Alexandria has died following a two-car crash on the Ox Road stretch of Route 123 in Lorton.

On Wednesday evening (Nov. 2), Rachelle Bernice Feth was turning left onto southbound Ox Road from Blu Steel Way when a 2008 Volkswagen Golf going north on Ox Road collided with her 2013 Toyota Camry, the Fairfax County Police Department said yesterday.

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Around Town

Here’s where Santa will appear in Tysons this holiday season

By Angela Woolsey
Santa will return to Tysons Corner Center starting Nov. 11 (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Santa Claus is coming to Tysons this November, giving kids plenty of time to put in their gift requests for Christmas.

Tysons Corner Center announced Tuesday (Nov. 1) that Santa will arrive on Nov. 11 for photo sessions at the mall’s Fashion Court, located on the first floor of the Nordstrom wing.

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News

Police: Two juveniles charged after student stabbed at Mount Vernon HS

By Angela Woolsey
Mount Vernon High School (via Google Maps)

(Updated at 1:30 p.m.) Fairfax County police have charged two teens in connection to yesterday’s stabbing at Mount Vernon High School.

A male teen was stabbed in a bathroom “following an altercation with another student,” drawing a police response to the school on Old Mount Vernon Road at 1:17 p.m., the Fairfax County Police Department said in an email.

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News

Capital One gets green light for urban park, baseball field at Tysons campus

By Angela Woolsey
Capital One Center sign with map of development plan (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Capital One has officially gotten permission to build a temporary baseball diamond and two permanent parks near its headquarters in Tysons.

The Fairfax County Planning Commission approved two separate plans for recreational amenities on Oct. 26, setting the stage for work on the baseball field to potentially finish in time for the upcoming spring season.

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News

MS-13 members get life in prison for 2016 murders at Lincolnia park

By Angela Woolsey
Holmes Run Stream Valley Park (via Google Maps)

(Updated at 6:55 p.m. on 2/28/2024) Five MS-13 members have been sentenced to life in prison yesterday for kidnapping and killing two teens at Holmes Run Stream Valley Park in 2016.

Elmer Zelaya Martinez, Ronald Herrera Contreras, Henry Zelaya Martinez, Pablo Velasco Barrera, and Duglas Ramirez Ferrera were each handed six terms of life imprisonment as well as two 120-month terms by U.S. District Court Judge Rossie D. Alston, Jr., the Justice Department announced yesterday.

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