Angela Woolsey | FFXnow

Revised plan shares more details of West Falls Church development

Published March 17, 2022 at 10:30AM

A rendering of the West Falls Church Metro development's proposed Building D (via Fairfax County/Hord Coplan Macht)

Plans for the massive development in the West Falls Church Metro station area were revised to provide new details on three of the project’s five buildings.

Known as FGCP-Metro LLC, developers EYA, Rushmark Properties, and Hoffman & Associates have partnered with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to build more than 1 million square feet of residential, office and retail space on 24 acres of land currently occupied by parking.

News

Sistine Chapel exhibit extends stay at Tysons Corner Center

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 16, 2022 at 3:00PM

Patrons in San Diego visit "Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition," which is extending its stay in Tysons (courtesy SEE Attractions and Bridgeman Images)

Tysons residents and visitors have another month to revel in artwork from the Sistine Chapel.

The production company behind “Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition,” which features reproductions of the artist’s ceiling paintings, announced today (Wednesday) that the exhibit will now remain in Tysons Corner Center through April 17.

Countywide

Fairfax County libraries see uptick in returns after most fines eliminated

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 16, 2022 at 12:50PM

Fairfax County Public Library eliminated overdue fines, saying they discouraged patrons from returning (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

There have been no headline-making returns of books 50 years overdue, but Fairfax County Public Library is nonetheless seeing some encouraging trends after eliminating fines on Jan. 1.

The library system saw a 2 to 3 percentage point uptick in the amount of materials returned versus checked out in January and February of this year compared to those same months in 2020, according to data shared by FCPL.

Countywide

Merrifield, Springfield Starbucks workers serve up union petitions

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 16, 2022 at 9:45AM

Starbucks workers at 3046 Gatehouse Plaza in Merrifield are seeking to unionize (via Google Maps)

The unionization wave sweeping through Starbucks across the country has arrived in Fairfax County.

Workers in Merrifield (3046 Gate House Plaza) and Springfield (7475 Huntsman Boulevard) have filed for union elections, joining a cafe in Leesburg as the first unionizing stores in Northern Virginia, Starbucks Workers United confirmed.

Countywide

EPA leader touts electric school buses in visit to Vienna elementary school

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 15, 2022 at 3:00PM | Updated May 25, 2022 at 1:58PM

EPA Administrator Michael Regan tours an electric school bus on display at Flint Hill Elementary School in Fairfax County (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Flint Hill Elementary School students let their green flag fly during a visit yesterday (Monday) from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan.

Invited by the environmental advocacy groups Mothers Out Front and Moms Clean Air Force, Regan stopped by the Vienna school to discuss the federal government’s plans to expand the use of electric school buses over diesel ones, a transition that he said Fairfax County Public Schools is helping lead.

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JUST IN: Police arrest suspect in Vienna Park apartment shooting

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 15, 2022 at 9:05AM | Updated March 15, 2022 at 7:11PM

Vienna Police vehicle (via Vienna Police Department/Facebook)

(Updated at 7:10 p.m.) Vienna police have identified a suspect in last summer’s fatal shooting at the Vienna Park apartment complex.

Andrew Gordiyenko, 20, from the Vienna area was arrested around 1 p.m. yesterday (Monday) and charged with involuntary manslaughter for allegedly shooting 21-year-old Matthew Chadwick on June 10, the Vienna Police Department announced today (Tuesday).

Countywide

JUST IN: Woman dies after McLean crash on Georgetown Pike

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 14, 2022 at 6:55PM

A 63-year-old Springfield man died Sunday from injuries he sustained after a car struck him last week while he was in a median (via Fairfax County Police Department)

A driver hospitalized by a three-vehicle crash in McLean last Wednesday (March 9) has died, the Fairfax County Police Department confirmed today (Monday).

Karla Boggess, a 62-year-old resident of Berryville, is the first person killed in a vehicle crash in the county this year who wasn’t a pedestrian, according to police. At this time in 2021, there had been one non-pedestrian fatality.

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Covid transmission returns to mid-November levels in Fairfax County

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 14, 2022 at 1:30PM

All Fairfax Health District COVID-19 cases by date of illness, as of March 14, 2022 (via VDH)

The Fairfax Health District continues to report declining COVID-19 case levels.

The district, which includes Fairfax County and the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church, added 60 new cases today (Monday), bringing its total for the pandemic up to 178,109 cases. There have been 4,442 hospitalizations and 1,470 deaths due to the disease caused by the coronavirus.

News

Redevelopment plans force Vienna nonprofit to find new food pantry site

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 14, 2022 at 10:30AM

The Committee for Helping Others is searching for a new site to host its food and clothing pantries (courtesy Anne Moran)

(Updated at 10:35 a.m.) An all-volunteer nonprofit that has served the Vienna area for more than 50 years needs a new home for its food and clothing pantry.

The Committee for Helping Others (CHO) learned last year that its current storage space at 133 Park Street NE will no longer be available after this fall, because the Vienna Courts condominium complex where it’s located is preparing for a redevelopment, according to publicity chair Anne Moran.

Countywide

Most-read Fairfax County stories of the week: March 7-11

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 11, 2022 at 3:45PM

The festival was formerly known as the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival (photo by Charlotte Geary)

The weekend is almost here. Before you spring forward for daylight saving time 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: