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.

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Park Service to set controlled fire in Wolf Trap National Park this month

By Angela Woolsey
A prescribed fire will be set in the Circle outside Wolf Trap National Park's Filene Center (via Wolf Trap National Park/Facebook)

Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts might catch fire later this month.

No, the Original Kings of Go-Go, this summer season’s opener, isn’t rolling into town ahead of schedule. Instead, the National Park Service plans to conduct a “small prescribed fire” in the circular driveway in front of the Filene Center, according to a news release.

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News

Proposed redesign for McLean Giant shopping center under review

By Angela Woolsey
The Giant in McLean's Chain Bridge Shopping Center, which is being eyed for redevelopment (via Google Maps)

McLean’s busiest shopping center could get a whole new look if a redevelopment plan gets approved.

The owner of the Giant-anchored Chain Bridge Shopping Center submitted a site plan to Fairfax County in January that would overhaul the strip mall at 1446-1454 Chain Bridge Road by repositioning the buildings to back up along Beverly Road.

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Countywide

Major D.C. area construction firm to expand with Tysons office

By Angela Woolsey
Clark Construction plans to open a new office in Tysons at 7900 Westpark Drive (via Google Maps)

The construction company behind some of the biggest development projects in the D.C. region, including The Boro and Reston Town Center’s expansion, is opening a new office in Tysons.

Clark Construction Group has leased over half of a 12-story building in the Silverline Center at 7900 Westpark Drive for a new regional and corporate office that will host over 550 employees, according to a zoning application submitted to Fairfax County.

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Countywide

Fairfax County could get funds for housing, Bikeshare, and more from federal budget

By Angela Woolsey
A federal budget plan approved by the U.S. House includes funding for more Fairfax County Capital Bikeshare stations (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

A federal budget plan passed by the U.S. House yesterday (Wednesday) would send more than $8.3 million to Fairfax County, Virginia’s senators report.

Designated H.R. 2471, the $1.5 trillion spending package funds the federal government for fiscal year 2022, which began on Oct. 1, 2021, and ends on Sept. 30. It also includes $13.6 billion in aid to support Ukraine during Russia’s invasion and releases funding for the $1 trillion infrastructure bill that President Joe Biden signed into law in November.

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News

MetroWest developer asks to remove barrier to town center construction

By Angela Woolsey
CRC's MetroWest town center development plan (via CRC Companies/Fairfax County)

Fairfax County is currently reviewing a proposal that would clear the way for work to finally begin on the planned MetroWest town center near the Vienna Metro station.

Developer CRC Companies wants the county to revise its conditions for the mixed-use project on Saintsbury Drive so it can start construction on three residential buildings with ground-floor retail space, according to an application submitted on Jan. 28.

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Countywide

Morning Notes

By Angela Woolsey
A rainy mid-day in Fairfax (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Invasive Spiders Could Reach D.C. Area — “An invasive species of spider the size of a child’s hand is expected to “colonize” the entire East Coast this spring by parachuting down from the sky, researchers at the University of Georgia announced last week.” [Axios]

Ramp Closure Coming to I-66 Near Vienna — “Travel lanes on Nutley Street will shift and the ramp from Nutley Street South to I-66 West will be closed as part of work planned for this weekend, March 11-14, for the Transform 66 Outside the Beltway Project. Drivers heading from Nutley Street South to I-66 West will proceed..past the current ramp to turn right at a traffic signal onto a temporary ramp to access the interstate. This detour will remain in place for approximately three weeks.” [VDOT]

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Countywide

JUST IN: Car crash closes Georgetown Pike in McLean, injures drivers

By Angela Woolsey
Georgetown Pike is closed between Old Dominion Drive and Towlston Road in McLean due to a car crash (via Google Maps)

Updated at 7:30 p.m. — Georgetown Pike has reopened, and the driver’s injuries are no longer considered life-threatening, though they remain in the hospital, police say. 

Earlier: Georgetown Pike has shut down in McLean after a vehicle crash that sent two people to the hospital.

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News

County approves Tysons drive-thru restaurant, possibly a Shake Shack

By Angela Woolsey
A newly approved drive-thru restaurant at Pike 7 Plaza in Tysons will feature new landscaping (via Fairfax County)

Pike 7 Plaza in Tysons is officially getting a drive-thru restaurant.

Without discussion, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted yesterday (Tuesday) to unanimously approve property owner Federal Realty’s proposal for a standalone, one-story restaurant with a drive-thru in the shopping center’s southeast corner.

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Countywide

Historic decor from J.R.’s Stockyards in Tysons hits auction block

By Angela Woolsey
J.R.'s Custom Catering has organized an auction to sell vintage decor from the now-shuttered Stockyards Inn in Tysons (courtesy Rasmus Auctions)

A slushy machine from Tysons’ original steakhouse could be yours for a little over $200.

The device is among thousands of furnishings and memorabilia pieces currently being auctioned off to the highest bidder after J.R.’s Stockyards Inn officially shuttered earlier this year.

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Countywide

Lake Braddock shuts down social media account targeting LGBTQ students

By Angela Woolsey
Lake Braddock Secondary School (via Google Maps)

An anonymous Instagram account that attacked LGBTQ students at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke has been shut down and the perpetrator identified, Principal Daniel W. Smith said in a message to the school community yesterday (Tuesday).

The now-deleted account surfaced Monday afternoon (March 7) with photos of students identified as members of the LGBTQ community and demeaning captions, screenshots show.

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