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

Free Summer Entertainment Series returns with varied lineups despite reduced budget

By Angela Woolsey
Musicians perform at Nottoway Park in Vienna for Hunter Mill Melodies on Aug. 14, 2025 (courtesy Fairfax County Park Authority)

The Fairfax County Park Authority has unveiled event lineups for this year’s Summer Entertainment Series, which will feature more than 100 outdoor concerts, movie screenings and other free diversions.

Kicking off with Springfield Nights at Burke Lake Park and Arts in the Parks at Frying Pan Farm Park on June 24, the 2026 offerings won’t be quite as extensive as in previous years after the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors adopted a fiscal year 2026 budget that reduced funding for the series by $136,000.

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News

McLean man sentenced to prison for threat to longtime Trump ally

By Angela Woolsey
President Donald Trump discusses improvements to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts with Kennedy Center Executive Director Richard Grenell in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, August 13, 2025. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)

A McLean man will spend more than a year in prison for threatening violence against former Kennedy Center president and longtime Trump ally Richard Grenell.

Scott Allen Bolger, 33, was sentenced today (Wednesday) to a year and three months in prison after he pleaded guilty in February to transmitting a threat via interstate commerce, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced.

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News

UPDATED: Motorcyclist’s injuries from Richmond Highway crash no longer critical

By Angela Woolsey
Police vehicles and a tow truck block southbound Richmond Highway at Mims Street after a crash that seriously injured a motorcyclist (via 511 Virginia traffic camera)

A motorcyclist was hospitalized this morning (Wednesday) as a result of a crash on Richmond Highway in Lorton.

Police officers and medics with the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department were dispatched to Richmond Highway at Mims Street for a crash with injury at 8:24 a.m.

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News

Proposed redevelopment would quadruple housing at Merrifield apartments site

By Angela Woolsey
Merrifield at Dunn Loring Station apartments sign (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The owner of the Merrifield at Dunn Loring Station Apartments is seeking to transform the 1960s-era residential neighborhood into a mixed-use development befitting its proximity to Metro.

Malkin Properties’ proposed redevelopment would replace the 706 existing garden-style apartments at 8130 Prescott Drive with up to 2,975 multifamily units — a more than fourfold increase — complemented by 25,000 square feet of “neighborhood serving” retail, according to a rezoning application submitted on Monday (June 1) to Fairfax County.

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News

Herndon adopts sign standards for new development near Metro station

By Angela Woolsey
Nell at 555 apartments under construction along Herndon Parkway in June 2026 (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

As construction progresses on the first mixed-use development to emerge north of the Herndon Metro station, the town has finalized guidelines for signage to identify that project and those that follow.

The Herndon Town Council voted unanimously and without discussion on May 26 to adopt a zoning ordinance amendment with a sign plan for the Herndon Transit-Oriented Core (HTOC), an approximately 38-acre area on the north side of the Metro station, bounded by Van Buren Street, Herndon Parkway and the Dulles Toll Road.

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News

UPDATED: Driver killed in two-vehicle crash outside Chantilly Bible Church

By Angela Woolsey
Pleasant Valley Road was closed at Cub Run Road in Chantilly on June 2, 2026 for a two-vehicle crash (via Google Maps)

A man hospitalized this morning (Tuesday) following a two-vehicle crash that occurred outside Chantilly Bible Church has now died, the Fairfax County Police Department announced.

The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department was dispatched to Pleasant Valley Road at Cub Run Road for the crash at around 8:38 a.m., according to scanner traffic.

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News

EXCLUSIVE: Spurred by Tysons casino fight, new advocacy group wants to put money behind local voices

By Angela Woolsey
A Fairfax County flag flies next to Virginia and U.S. flags outside the Fairfax County Government Center (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The now-annual battle over whether Fairfax County should have a casino is over for 2026, but as some local elected officials and community leaders see it, a larger tug-of-war with the state for control over development decisions has begun.

Dranesville District Supervisor Jimmy Bierman, former state Del. Kathleen Murphy, and other Fairfax County advocates have launched a nonprofit called Communities First VA that’s dedicated to protecting the authority of local government and giving residents “a stronger voice in decisions that shape their communities,” according to a press release shared first with FFXnow.

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News

FCPS review backs Fairfax High School staff’s handling of student convicted of groping

By Angela Woolsey
Fairfax High School sign (file photo)

Fairfax High School’s response to reports that a student was groping female peers was fully consistent with Fairfax County Public Schools protocols for handling sexual misconduct, Superintendent Michelle Reid says.

FCPS hired an outside law firm in March to conduct a review of how staff and administrators handled the complaints against 18-year-old Israel Flores Ortiz after multiple parents of victims told WJLA that they felt the school had “diminished” their children’s experiences and “attempted to sweep it under the rug.”

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News

Former Matchbox restaurant at Reston Station turning into office space

By Angela Woolsey
A sign for Reston Station in front of the office building at 1900 Reston Metro Plaza (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Interior demolition work is underway in the former Matchbox suite at Reston Station, but the new occupant won’t be the community-serving retail local residents likely hoped to see.

The approximately 5,500-square-foot space on the ground floor of the office building at 1900 Reston Metro Plaza is being incorporated into the future headquarters of engineering and technology contractor Amentum, a spokesperson for property owner and developer Comstock Companies says.

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Around Town

New beer garden to open at The Boro this week with live music, giveaways

By Angela Woolsey
The Boro Biergarten will open on Thursday, June 6 in Boro Park outside El Bebe in Tysons (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The Boro in Tysons is adding a beer garden of its own, giving residents a new place to kick back and enjoy some refreshments as summer arrives.

The Boro Biergarten will make its debut this Thursday (June 4) with a three-day grand opening celebration featuring live music, food and drink specials, and giveaways at Boro Park (8350 Broad Street).

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