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

Tech issues create permitting backlog after county launches online land use system

By Angela Woolsey
The Fairfax County Government Center (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Fairfax County’s new online platform for permitting, zoning and other land use activities has hit a speed bump.

A backlog of applications has emerged since the county finished rolling out its Planning and Land Use System (PLUS) on Oct. 31 due to issues with the technology, Fairfax County Land Development Services confirmed.

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Around Town

Menswear company that appeared on ‘Shark Tank’ opens limited-time store at Tysons Galleria

By Angela Woolsey
The start-up Collars and Co. says it invented a shirt style called dress collar polos (courtesy Collars & Co.)

Fresh off a successful appearance on the reality TV show “Shark Tank,” a Bethesda-based men’s fashion start-up will open its first physical store at Tysons Galleria this weekend.

The Collars & Co. pop-up will launch Sunday (Nov. 20) on the mall’s first floor in front of Saks Fifth Avenue. It will stay open through Thanksgiving weekend, departing after Dec. 4, the company announced Wednesday (Nov. 16).

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News

Police: Possibly speeding car sails off I-95 ramp in Springfield, killing 19-year-old passenger

By Angela Woolsey
The I-95 North ramp to Franconia Road and the Franconia ramp to I-395 pass each other (via Google Maps)

One person is dead and another critically injured after a car apparently going well over the speed limit drove off an I-95 ramp in Springfield, crashed into trees, landed on a separate highway ramp and collided with another vehicle on Monday (Nov. 14).

According to the Virginia State Police, which responded to the crash at 11:16 a.m., the incident began as 19-year-old Bryan Osorto-Tejeda of Fredericksburg drove a 2013 Honda Accord north on I-95, taking the ramp to go west on Franconia Road (Route 644) “at a high rate of speed.”

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News

Family of Bijan Ghaisar marks five years since fatal shooting with vigil

By Angela Woolsey
Fairfax County Police Department footage of Park Police shooting McLean resident Bijan Ghaisar (via FCPD)

It has been five years since U.S. Park Police officers pursued and shot McLean resident Bijan Ghaisar in Fort Hunt, ultimately killing him.

Still seeking closure and accountability for the officers involved, Ghaisar’s family will mark the five-year anniversary of the shooting with a candlelight vigil at the Lincoln Memorial in D.C. at 7 p.m. today.

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News

Vienna hires consultant to help plan future of former Faith Baptist Church

By Angela Woolsey
The cross has been removed from Vienna's former Faith Baptist Church building (file photo)

The Town of Vienna is seeking a little guidance to determine what to do with the former Faith Baptist Church property on Center Street.

The town council approved an allocation of $92,500 on Monday (Nov. 14) to launch a study of potential long-term uses for the site, now known as the Vienna Annex.

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Around Town

Nintendo gaming pop-up coming to Tysons Corner Center

By Angela Woolsey
Tysons Corner Center at night (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Rainbow Road will pass through Tysons Corner Center this winter holiday season.

The D.C. area’s biggest mall is one of 15 locations across the country that will host a “Wishlist Wonderland” pop-up from Nintendo, the video game company behind the Mario and Animal Crossing franchises announced last week.

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News

Mount Vernon man pleads guilty to transporting teen for sex

By Angela Woolsey
The Justice Department logo (via DOJ)

A 29-year-old man from Mount Vernon could face life in prison after pleading guilty to transporting a teen for sexual purposes, the Department of Justice announced yesterday.

Apipat Vutipawat pleaded guilty last Thursday (Nov. 10) in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania to charges that, from May 29, 2020 through June 2, 2020, he transported an unidentified minor from Virginia to Pennsylvania “with the purpose of engaging in any illicit sexual conduct,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

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News

Vienna Courts development shrinks, as town council trades green energy pledge for more open space

By Angela Woolsey
A rendering of the duplexes proposed to replace the Vienna Courts condos (via Town of Vienna)

A plan to turn the Vienna Courts offices into duplexes has been downsized again, as the developer and town leaders try to make the complex fit in without sacrificing its viability as an alternative multifamily housing option.

After initially proposing 15 two-floor buildings with one unit on each floor in September, BFR Construction President Steve Bukont agreed on Monday (Nov. 14) to drop a building and some guest parking so the development will occupy a little less of the 1.66-acre lot at 127-133 Park Street.

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News

BREAKING: Teen pedestrian killed in crash on Columbia Pike

By Angela Woolsey
Police are investigating a crash on Columbia Pike in Bailey's Crossroads that killed a teen pedestrian (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

(Updated at 3:40 p.m.) A local high school student has died after a driver crashed into her in a crosswalk on Columbia Pike in Bailey’s Crossroads, Fairfax County police say.

Officers are currently at the scene of the crash at the intersection with Tyler Street and Barcroft View Terrace. Southbound Columbia Pike has been shut down at Lacy Blvd, and the northbound side of the street is down to one lane of traffic.

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Countywide

Covid cases stay down, but other respiratory illnesses are surging, N. Va. health leaders say

By Angela Woolsey
Teddy bear with a face mask and stethoscope (via Myriam Zilles on Unsplash)

(Updated at 4:15 p.m.) While the wave of COVID-19 cases seen over the past two winters hasn’t yet materialized this year, increased reports of other respiratory illnesses have local hospitals and health officials bracing for a particularly tough cold season.

Fairfax County and other Northern Virginia public health leaders are urging community members “to maintain their vigilance” and help prevent the spread of influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which are both surging earlier than usual.

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