Angela Woolsey | FFXnow

Choral singer, McLean arts center namesake among winners of 2026 ArtsFairfax Awards

Published May 22, 2026 at 9:15AM

The 2026 ArtsFairfax Awards will go to Bruce Berlage, Karen and Jim Cleveland, the Southeast Fairfax Development Corporation and Thomas Beveridge (courtesy ArtsFairfax)

Support for the arts can take different forms, as evidenced by the honorees who will take center stage this fall at the 2026 ArtsFairfax Awards.

ArtsFairfax announced earlier this month that this year’s recipients of the annual awards will be longtime McLean Project for the Arts (MPA) donor and board member Bruce Berlage, Reston community leaders Karen and Jim Cleveland, the Southeast Fairfax Development Corporation and D.C.-area singer, conductor and composer Thomas Beveridge.

Around Town

Inova to host blood drive at ViVa Vienna festival this weekend

By Angela Woolsey

Published May 22, 2026 at 8:30AM

A map for ViVa Vienna on display at the 2025 festival (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Attendees of this weekend’s ViVa Vienna will have an opportunity to give back to the community in more ways than one.

Inova has partnered with Vienna-based Bards Alley Bookshop for a blood drive that will take place during the annual festival this Sunday and Monday (May 24-25).

Countywide

Late Rep. Gerry Connolly’s final bill in Congress heads to president’s desk

By Angela Woolsey

Published May 21, 2026 at 1:45PM

Virginia Sen. Mark Warner (right) talking with late Congressman Gerry Connolly in July 2022 (courtesy Office of Senator Mark Warner)

The final bill introduced by the late Gerry Connolly dealt with the disease that took his life early in his ninth term representing Virginia’s 11th Congressional District.

In a rare moment of unity, the Senate voted unanimously yesterday (Wednesday) to support the Gerald E. Connolly Esophageal Cancer Awareness Act, sending the bill to President Donald Trump almost a year after it passed the House of Representatives on June 3, 2025.

News

Fairfax County completes largest solar energy project so far on I-95 landfill

By Angela Woolsey

Published May 21, 2026 at 11:45AM

A sign warns against trespassing at Fairfax County's I-95 Landfill Complex in Lorton (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Land in Lorton that once served as a waste disposal site has been transformed into Fairfax County’s largest solar power project so far.

After about a year of construction, a completed 5-megawatt solar array now sits on 37 acres in a closed portion of the I-95 Landfill Complex at 9850 Furnace Road, the Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services (DPWES) announced Wednesday (May 19).

News

Despite repeated vandalism, Vienna church keeps free food, hygiene pantries going

By Angela Woolsey

Published May 21, 2026 at 10:00AM

The Little Free Pantries at Emmaus United Church of Christ in Vienna (courtesy Emmaus)

The Little Free Pantries outside Emmaus United Church of Christ in Vienna have gotten battered over the years, but despite repeated acts of vandalism, they’re still standing.

Though cleaning up and repairing the damage can be a hassle, sometimes temporarily taking the boxes out of commission, the church remains undeterred in its commitment to making donated food and hygiene products available to passersby in need.

News

Tesla fire on Dulles Access Road sends one to hospital

By Angela Woolsey

Published May 21, 2026 at 8:30AM | Updated May 21, 2026 at 11:44AM

Tesla vehicle on fire on the Dulles Access Road in Tysons (via FCFRD/X)

An electric vehicle crashed and caught fire on the Dulles Access Road in Tysons yesterday (Wednesday), sending one person to the hospital.

Units with the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department were dispatched for an electric vehicle fire in the westbound lanes of the Dulles Access Road near Route 7 (Leesburg Pike) in Tysons at 5:03 p.m., according to the emergency scanner.

Countywide

JUST IN: Spanberger signs one bill to rein in ICE, vetoes another

By Angela Woolsey

Published May 20, 2026 at 12:45PM | Updated May 20, 2026 at 2:52PM

Scenes from a Jan. 11, 2026 ICE Out for Good protest on Maple Avenue in Vienna (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger has taken a mixed approach to bills from Fairfax state Sen. Saddam Azlan Salim (D-37) intended to counter the Trump administration’s draconian approach to immigration enforcement.

The governor announced today (Wednesday) that she has signed SB 352 and its House of Delegates companion HB 1482, which ban law enforcement officers from covering their faces, while vetoing legislation (SB 351 and HB 650) that would restrict federal immigration agents from conducting civil arrests in certain public places, including courthouses, schools and health care facilities.

News

Dulles Airport lands $41M federal grant for Concourse E construction

By Angela Woolsey

Published May 20, 2026 at 9:15AM

Dulles International Airport Concourse E rendering (courtesy MWAA)

Funding for Dulles International Airport’s new Concourse E is still coming together, even as construction inches closer to completion.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded $41.8 million in grant funding for the project, whose first phase will add 14 gates intended for United Airlines — the airport’s largest carrier — as well as a direct connection to the underground Aerotrain and various amenities.

News

UPDATED: Motorcyclist killed in crash with semi truck on Route 29

By Angela Woolsey

Published May 19, 2026 at 3:50PM | Updated May 20, 2026 at 3:45PM

Traffic on Route 29 west of West Ox Road after fatal crash at Meadow Estates Drive (via 511Virginia traffic camera)

A motorcyclist has died following a crash involving a tractor-trailer on Route 29 in the Fair Lakes area.

Officers and units with the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department were dispatched around 1:51 p.m. Tuesday (May 19) for the crash on Route 29 at Meadow Estates Drive, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.

News

Vienna Town Council approves new budget with ‘modest’ property tax rate cut

By Angela Woolsey

Published May 19, 2026 at 3:00PM

The Vienna Town Council adopts a fiscal year 2027 budget presented by finance director Steven Barlow (courtesy Town of Vienna)

Vienna residents can expect to pay more in property taxes and water and sewer fees in the upcoming fiscal year, but their bills won’t be quite as high as they would’ve been under the town’s initially proposed budget.

The Vienna Town Council adopted a fiscal year 2027 budget yesterday that reduces the local real estate tax rate by a half-cent, from 19.5 cents to 19 cents per $100 of assessed value, while maintaining existing service and staffing levels, according to Director of Finance Steven Barlow.