Angela Woolsey | FFXnow

UPDATED: Fairfax County police find two possible victims of “shopping cart killer,” suspect in custody

Published December 17, 2021 at 11:00AM | Updated December 9, 2022 at 2:29PM

Fairfax County Public Safety Headquarters (via FCPD)

(Updated at 2:35 p.m.) A plastic container found in the Huntington area near Route 1 on Wednesday (Dec. 15) contained the remains of two people that Fairfax County police believe to be the victims of a serial killer.

While not scientifically confirmed yet, police have determined based on a distinctive tattoo that one of the individuals found is likely Cheyenne Brown, a 29-year-old D.C. resident who went missing after taking the Metro to Huntington on Sept. 30.

News

Fairfax County’s COVID-19 case rate hits highest mark since February

By Angela Woolsey

Published December 13, 2021 at 2:00PM

Fairfax County’s current COVID-19 surge has now surpassed the late summer wave fueled by the delta variant’s arrival.

The county is averaging 216.7 new cases per day for the past week — the most since Feb. 19, when the weekly average was at 228.9 cases, according to Virginia Department of Health data.

News

Brace for strong winds this weekend, National Weather Service advises

By Angela Woolsey

Published December 10, 2021 at 12:30PM

Fairfax County could be hit by wind gusts of up to 55 miles per hour this weekend, courtesy of stormy weather that could pass through the D.C. region ahead of an expected cold front.

A Wind Advisory has been issued for the area, starting at 4 p.m. tomorrow (Saturday) and continuing until 1 a.m. Sunday (Dec. 12).

News

NEW: Police investigate reported threats of violence at Herndon schools

By Angela Woolsey

Published December 9, 2021 at 4:30PM | Updated December 9, 2022 at 2:25PM

Herndon Middle School (via Google Maps)

Fairfax County police are investigating two threats of violence reported at schools in the county earlier this week.

Both threats concerned schools in the Herndon area and were determined to be unfounded, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.

News

Fairfax County will add online option for paying police record request fees

By Angela Woolsey

Published December 7, 2021 at 3:30PM | Updated December 9, 2022 at 2:26PM

The Fairfax County logo is shown on the front of the Fairfax County Government Center building at 12000 Government Center Parkway (Staff photo by David Taube)

(Updated at 7:05 p.m. on 12/8/2021) The Fairfax County Police Department is about to bring its public records request system a little closer to the 21st century.

Starting early next year, the many people who request Fairfax County police records every year through the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) will be able to pay the attached fees online, the county’s FOIA office confirmed to FFXnow.

News

Fairfax County has tripled COVID-19 case rate over past month

By Angela Woolsey

Published December 6, 2021 at 3:30PM | Updated December 6, 2021 at 6:43PM

An illustration of a coronavirus (via CDC/Unsplash)

(Updated at 6:40 p.m.) Like the rest of the country, Fairfax County continues to see increasing levels of COVID-19 transmission.

The county is now averaging about three times as many new cases per day as it was less than a month ago, with a seven-day average of 189.4 cases today (Monday), according to Virginia Department of Health data.

News

Fairfax County Public Library runs out of COVID-19 tests in first hour of availability

By Angela Woolsey

Published December 3, 2021 at 2:00PM | Updated March 15, 2024 at 3:10PM

An at-home rapid COVID-19 test (via sarah b/Unsplash)

Fairfax County Public Library offered at-home COVID-19 test kits to the community for the first time this morning (Friday). An hour later, they were all gone.

The county announced on Monday (Nov. 29) that it would join a pilot program that the Virginia Department of Health launched last month to distribute free COVID-19 tests through participating public libraries.

Opinion

Poll: Are you going to get a COVID-19 booster shot?

By Angela Woolsey

Published November 30, 2021 at 9:30AM

Fairfax County nurse holds a dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

The Fairfax Health District is doing well when it comes to getting vaccinated against COVID-19.

As of yesterday (Monday), 65.5% of residents are fully vaccinated, outpacing the 59.1% national rate, according to Fairfax County Health Department data.

News

Fairfax County COVID-19 caseload hits November high on Thanksgiving

By Angela Woolsey

Published November 29, 2021 at 2:00PM

An illustration of a coronavirus (via CDC/Unsplash)

In many ways, this past Thanksgiving weekend looked much more normal than last year’s isolated celebrations.

COVID-19 vaccines enabled many people to gather again with family and friends. Black Friday shoppers returned in droves to local malls, and air travel reached a pandemic high of 2.3 million air travelers the day before Thanksgiving (Nov. 24) — only for that to be topped by 2.4 million travelers yesterday (Sunday), according to the Transportation Security Administration.

News

FCPS decision on challenged books praised by LGBTQ students, staff

By Angela Woolsey

Published November 24, 2021 at 3:30PM | Updated February 25, 2022 at 11:49AM

LGBTQIA+ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and other gender and sexual minority identities (via Sharon McCutcheon/Unsplash)

Students and staff in the LGBTQIA+ community expressed relief yesterday (Tuesday) after Fairfax County Public Schools announced that it will return a pair of challenged, queer-centered books to library shelves.

“Gender Queer: A Memoir” by nonbinary author Maia Kobabe and Jonathan Evison’s “Lawn Boy” — a coming-of-age story about a Mexican American man that deals with race, class, and sexual identity — were pulled from circulation in late September after parents complained that they contained graphic sexual content unsuitable for children.