Angela Woolsey | FFXnow

FCPD: Man unleashes bear spray on officers after Route 1 chase

Published March 23, 2026 at 8:30AM

A car stopped by police on I-495 near Richmond Highway on March 20, 2026 (via FCPD)

An Arlington man who allegedly deployed bear spray against police officers who were trying to arrest him in Hybla Valley last week is now facing dozens of criminal charges.

An alert issued by an automated license plate reader around 1:39 p.m. last Friday (March 20) notified officers to the presence of a vehicle associated with a man who was wanted on multiple felony charges, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.

News

FCC approves $6.2B takeover of Tysons-based Tegna as Virginia AG sues to block it

By Angela Woolsey and Associated Press

Published March 20, 2026 at 8:30AM

Jay Jones is sworn in as Virginia Attorney General by Lyn M. Simmons, chief judge of the Norfolk Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court, on Jan. 17, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)

The Federal Communications Commission announced yesterday (Thursday) that it has approved local television giant Nexstar Media Group’s $6.2 billion takeover of Tysons-based rival Tegna.

Earlier that same day, Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones and his counterparts in seven other states filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Sacramento, California, arguing that the merger will illegally reduce competition in journalism and the broadcasting industry while resulting in increased prices and worker layoffs.

News

FCPD: Hayfield coach to be fired after arrest for alleged child porn possession

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 19, 2026 at 7:20PM

Hayfield Secondary School (staff photo)

An assistant track coach at Hayfield Secondary School will be dismissed after he was arrested today (Thursday) on child pornography charges, police say.

Richard Huerta, 28, of Kingstowne came to the attention of the Fairfax County Police Department when its Child Exploitation Unit detectives received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children indicating he “may be in possession” of child sexual abuse material, according to a press release.

News

Retiring Cornerstones CEO sees rewards, challenges ahead for Reston nonprofit

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 19, 2026 at 10:00AM

Kerrie Wilson is retiring from Cornerstones after 25 years as its CEO (courtesy Cornerstones)

When she officially retires next month after 25 years, Cornerstones CEO Kerrie Wilson is confident that she will be leaving the Reston-based social services nonprofit in more-than-capable hands.

With both major projects and a turbulent economic and political climate to manage, the Cornerstones Board of Directors couldn’t have chosen a better successor for her than Shannon Steene, Wilson told FFXnow in an interview earlier this month.

News

Report: Capital One could expand Tysons campus south of Route 123

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 18, 2026 at 10:00AM | Updated March 18, 2026 at 10:17AM

View of Capital One Center from Anderson Road in Tysons (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Fresh off its $50 billion merger with rival Discover, Capital One has turned to the Scotts Run neighborhood in Tysons as its next acquisition target, setting the stage for a possible expansion of its headquarters campus south of Route 123 (Dolley Madison Blvd).

Through an affiliate named Dolley Madison West LLC, the financial corporation spent $125 million between Feb. 24 and 26 to buy approximately 14.7 acres of land along a roughly half-mile stretch of Old Meadow Road and Chain Bridge Road, the Washington Business Journal reported.

Countywide

Fairfax board members denounce local General Assembly legislators who supported casino bill

By Scott McCaffrey and Angela Woolsey

Published March 18, 2026 at 9:15AM

Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik and Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay chat during a March 2026 board meeting (staff photo by Jared Serre)

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors doubled down yesterday morning (Tuesday) on their opposition to a Tysons casino — and ramped up criticism of state legislators pushing the measure.

“This was absolutely a direct attack on local government,” Board Chair Jeff McKay said at the March 17 meeting, which came three days after state legislators passed legislation that would add Fairfax County to the list of Virginia localities eligible to host a casino.

News

Independent living community proposed to replace single-family house in Reston

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 18, 2026 at 8:30AM

The existing single-family house at 11000 Baron Cameron Avenue in Reston (via Google Maps)

A modest single-family house on a sprawling 8.3-acre lot in Reston could be parlayed into dozens of new homes for seniors if a recently submitted development proposal is approved.

Under the name SMT Land Holdings, the Reston-based home builder Gulick Group is seeking a special exception from Fairfax County for an independent living community to replace a one-story house that has stood at 11000 Baron Cameron Avenue since 1966, per local property records.

News

In Tysons, developers pivot from new construction to enhancing what’s already there

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 17, 2026 at 11:45AM | Updated March 17, 2026 at 5:38PM

The Tysons Community Alliance held a Vision Tysons summit on the area's economy and development at Capital One Hall on March 12, 2026 (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

New buildings are still going up in Tysons, as anyone who has passed the Indigo at McLean Station, Exchange at Spring Hill and Flats at Tysons construction sites can attest.

But 16 years into Fairfax County’s plan to remake Tysons into a downtown community by 2050, developers behind some of the area’s more established neighborhoods have started to focus less on expanding their properties than on bolstering what they’ve already built.

News

Crews were repairing natural gas leak when Centreville home exploded, report confirms

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 17, 2026 at 9:15AM

Aerial view of the site of the Feb. 15 natural gas explosion in Centreville (provided by Fairfax County Fire and Rescue to the NTSB)

The natural gas explosion that destroyed a house in Centreville last month and forced dozens of others to be evacuated occurred hours after Washington Gas identified a critical leak in the neighborhood, an initial investigatory report says.

A service technician from the utility, which has multiple gas lines in the area, found a “grade 1” leak outside a home on Belle Plains Drive around 12:30 p.m. on Feb. 15 after the resident reported a “gas odor” about two hours earlier, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

News

Herndon man sentenced to eight years for traveling to sexually abuse child

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 17, 2026 at 8:30AM

A judge's gavel on a table (via Wesley Tingey/Unsplash)

A Herndon man will spend eight years in prison after admitting to traveling into D.C. with plans to sexually abuse a 6-year-old child who didn’t actually exist.

Timothy Brockerman, 35, pleaded guilty on Sept. 19, 2025 to traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct and was sentenced on March 11 by U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss to 96 months in prison on top of 20 years of supervised release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. announced.