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.
Memorial Day weekend is almost here. Before you start planning how to spend the holiday 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:
(Updated at 3:40 p.m.) While the weather has died down for now, almost 800 people in Fairfax County lost electricity when a thunderstorm passed through the D.C. region this morning, bringing flood and tornado risks.
Dominion Energy has 761 customers currently without power, as of 3:20 p.m., according to PowerOutage.US.
With summer on the horizon, visitors are expected to flock to Scott’s Run Nature Preserve in McLean, but the Fairfax County Park Authority is warning now: leave the coolers, alcohol, and swimming suits at home.
The park authority and Fairfax County Police Department will step up enforcement of the nature preserve’s rules starting this weekend (May 28-29), a move that has become routine in recent summers.
(Updated at 5:40 p.m.) Leon Jia should’ve been working on his neuroscience homework Wednesday night (May 25).
Instead, just 10 days before his graduation, the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJ) senior was busy reaching out to classmates and various student leaders, and in less than 48 hours, they had potentially half the student body ready to walk out in protest of gun violence.
Tysons Corner Center’s Summerfest is back.
The annual line-up of free events at the mall’s Plaza ushers in Memorial Day weekend tomorrow (Friday) with a 7 p.m. screening of the Disney film “Encanto,” the first of five planned outdoor movies.
Memorial Day weekend is upon us. While there will be plenty of activities to keep Fairfax County occupied, the holiday also means closures and schedule changes on Monday (May 30) for many public facilities.
Public schools
Middle school sex education classes in Fairfax County will remain separated by gender going into the next school year.
A majority of the Fairfax County School Board agreed on Tuesday (May 24) to postpone a vote on whether to introduce gender-combined Family Life Education (FLE) classes for students in grades 4-8 and 10th grade, along with other proposed changes intended to make the curriculum more inclusive.
At this time next month, McLean diners will be able to grab a hamburger and sit down to a platter of lamb kabobs all in one location.
The D.C.-based chain Z-Burger and Persian restaurant Maman Joon are on track to open at 1408 Chain Bridge Road in early June, Z-Burger owner Peter Tabibian told FFXnow on Monday (May 23).
A lane closure is coming for I-495 in McLean, the first of what will likely be many similar changes to the roadway over the next few years.
The left-shoulder lane on northbound I-495, also known as the Capital Beltway, will close permanently between Old Dominion Drive and the George Washington Memorial Parkway interchange as soon as next Tuesday (May 31), the Virginia Department of Transportation announced yesterday (Wednesday).
One of the most prominent court trials in recent Fairfax County history is drawing to a close.
Drawing celebrities, media, and an eclectic assortment of fans, actor Johnny Depp’s defamation lawsuit against fellow actor and ex-wife Amber Heard has unfolded in sobering, sometimes bizarre detail at the Fairfax County Courthouse since April 11.
