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.

Countywide

Snow leads to tough morning commute in Fairfax, including Route 1 closure

By Angela Woolsey
Police block off Richmond Highway in Lorton after vehicles spin out in the snow (via VDOT traffic camera)

Snow has arrived in Fairfax County, creating slick, dangerous roads during this morning’s rush hour.

Richmond Highway has been closed in both directions in the Lorton area after “several vehicles … spun out” on the snow-covered road, the Fairfax County Police Department said shortly after 8 a.m.

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News

County board opens door for more housing north of Innovation Center Metro

By Angela Woolsey
Stout and Teague's concept plan for a housing development at 2140 Rock Hill Road in Herndon (via Hord Coplan Macht/Fairfax County)

A developer that has been angling to build on a sliver of mostly vacant land north of the Innovation Center Metro station for two decades took a step closer to realizing its goal last month.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a comprehensive plan amendment at its Nov. 18 meeting that will allow residential development on three parcels at 2140 Rock Hill Road in Herndon, paving the way for a project proposed by commercial real estate firm Stout & Teague.

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Countywide

JUST IN: Fairfax County schools to delay opening for possible winter storm

By Angela Woolsey
A Fairfax County Public School bus with snow on Jan. 6, 2025 (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

A winter storm that could potentially hit the D.C. area tomorrow morning (Friday) has convinced Fairfax County Public Schools to give students a late start to the day.

All schools and central offices will open two hours late compared to their regularly scheduled start times tomorrow, FCPS announced, adding that a full closure is still possible depending on the actual weather conditions in the morning.

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News

Merrifield Starbucks workers begin picketing as nationwide strike continues

By Angela Woolsey
Merrifield Starbucks workers on strike (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Workers at Fairfax County’s first unionized Starbucks are officially on strike as part of a nationwide campaign to secure a contract from the coffee chain.

The Starbucks at 3046 Gatehouse Plaza in Merrifield was one of 26 stores around the U.S. to join the picket line today (Thursday), bringing the total number of participants in the nearly month-long strike up to approximately 3,000 baristas at over 145 cafes in more than 105 cities, Starbucks Workers United says.

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Countywide

FCPS opts to resolve student’s lawsuit over gender identity policies

By Angela Woolsey
Sign for a girl's restroom in a Fairfax County school (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Fairfax County Public Schools has decided to resolve a former student’s lawsuit challenging its policies supporting transgender students before it can reach trial.

The now-graduated student, identified as Jane Doe and represented by the right-wing organization America First Legal, recently accepted the Fairfax County School Board’s offer of a judgment that includes $50 and compensation for legal fees, according to court documents.

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News

Driver charged with manslaughter for ambulance crash in Herndon

By Angela Woolsey
Police and Fairfax County Fire and Rescue personnel respond to a fatal crash involving a car and an ambulance on Worldgate Drive in Herndon on Nov. 25, 2025 (photo by Max Fisher of Herndon)

Fairfax County police are pursuing a manslaughter charge against the driver who allegedly crashed into an ambulance in Herndon last month, killing a passenger in his car.

Jose Lopez Martinez, a 23-year-old resident of Nokesville, was arrested on Tuesday (Dec. 2) after detectives brought the new charge, which comes on top of an initial charge of driving while intoxicated for the Nov. 25 crash.

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News

FCDOT to design protected bike facilities on part of Sunrise Valley Drive

By Angela Woolsey
Sunrise Valley Drive at Innovation Center Drive in Herndon (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

With a recently awarded grant, Fairfax County can begin designing protected bicycle facilities along Sunrise Valley Drive near the Innovation Center Metro station, the latest effort to make the roadway more accessible for pedestrians and cyclists.

At its Nov. 19 meeting, the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB) unanimously approved $84,000 for the Sunrise Valley Drive Protected Bicycle Infrastructure project as part of its fiscal year 2026-2027 Transit Within Reach program.

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News

Trump admin wants to rebuild ‘inefficient’ Dulles Airport despite ongoing renovations

By Angela Woolsey and Associated Press
FILE - A sign of Washington Dulles International Airport station is seen during the opening of new Silver Line Extension at Washington Dulles International Airport, in Chantilly, Va., Nov. 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Dulles International Airport has emerged as the latest target of President Donald Trump’s bid to remake the architecture of the nation’s capital.

Even as the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) pursues billions of dollars in capital projects, including a new concourse slated to open next fall, the U.S. Department of Transportation began soliciting proposals yesterday (Tuesday) from developers, architects and engineers to redesign airport just outside Fairfax County.

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News

Partial demolition coming for Annandale shopping center to make way for housing

By Angela Woolsey
A sign warns East Gate Shopping Center visitors to keep out of the future construction area (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The northern half of Annandale’s East Gate Shopping Center could start coming down any day now.

Fencing already blocks access to the portion of the strip mall that was home to The Block and other retailers, and demolition permits have been issued by Fairfax County.

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News

One dead after Saturday house fire in Kings Park West

By Angela Woolsey
Firefighters respond to two-alarm house fire in the 5400 block of Guinea Road in Kings Park West on Nov. 29, 2025 (via FCFRD/Facebook)

A two-alarm fire that engulfed a single-family house in the Kings Park West neighborhood last weekend has become fatal.

One resident who suffered injuries from the fire early Saturday morning (Nov. 29) has died, the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department (FCFRD) announced yesterday (Monday). Three other people, including one firefighter, were also hospitalized.

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