Angela Woolsey | FFXnow

Building under construction in Merrifield caves in, injuring three people

Published July 16, 2025 at 3:25PM | Updated July 16, 2025 at 4:24PM

Fairfax County Fire and Rescue response to building collapse in Merrifield (via FCFRD/X)

Three people were hospitalized earlier this afternoon (Wednesday) after a building under construction in Merrifield collapsed.

Fairfax County and Fairfax City firefighters were dispatched to the site in the 3000 block of Cedar Lane north of Route 50 (Arlington Blvd) around 1:18 p.m., Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department (FCFRD) spokesperson Ashley Hildebrandt says.

News

Man charged with manslaughter for fatal Route 123 crash in Lorton

By Angela Woolsey

Published July 16, 2025 at 2:15PM | Updated July 16, 2025 at 4:51PM

Steven Kowalik of Leesburg (courtesy FCPD)

A Leesburg man has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with a vehicle crash that killed a Lorton woman in April.

Steven Kowalik, 64, was traveling north on Route 123 (Ox Road) around 5 p.m. on April 23 when he lost consciousness, drove over a grass median and crashed head-on into a 2017 Chevrolet Cruze sedan near Davis Drive in Lorton, the Fairfax County Police Department says.

Countywide

Fairfax County leaders sound alarm on ‘staggering’ rise in unemployment

By Angela Woolsey

Published July 16, 2025 at 11:45AM | Updated July 16, 2025 at 6:07PM

Federal employment in the D.C. region from 1990 to May 1, 2025 (via Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments)

Fairfax County’s top elected officials at the state and local level united this morning (Wednesday) to urge Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration to provide more support for fired federal workers.

In a joint statement, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Jeff McKay and Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-34), who represents southeastern Fairfax, pinned the “staggering rise in unemployment” across the county on “the reckless policies of Donald Trump” and the “complicity” of Virginia’s Republican leaders.

News

Reston and McLean natives chosen in 2025 MLB draft

By Angela Woolsey

Published July 16, 2025 at 9:15AM

James Quinn-Irons bats for the George Mason Patriots against James Madison University (courtesy George Mason Athletics)

Two Fairfax County natives are a step closer to achieving their professional baseball dreams after being chosen in the 2025 MLB draft.

James Quinn-Irons, a Reston resident who currently attends and plays for George Mason University, was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the draft’s fifth round on Monday (July 14). He was the 147th overall pick.

News

Merrifield postal worker pleads guilty to intentionally damaging USPS vehicles

By Angela Woolsey

Published July 16, 2025 at 8:30AM

Crashed U.S. Postal Service vehicles in Merrifield (via U.S. court affidavit)

A mail carrier based in Merrifield could face up to a decade in prison after she intentionally crashed and damaged U.S. Postal Service vehicles, the Department of Justice says.

The 31-year-old woman pleaded guilty yesterday (Tuesday) to the destruction of U.S. government property, a charge stemming from a Jan. 16 incident where she allegedly became enraged after being unable to find her cell phone.

Around Town

Report: The Block food hall to close in Annandale ahead of redevelopment

By Angela Woolsey

Published July 15, 2025 at 3:45PM | Updated August 18, 2025 at 7:57PM

The Block in Annandale (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

A popular, Asian-focused food hall and other businesses in Annandale’s Eastgate Shopping Center will be required to close or relocate by the end of this summer.

According to Annandale Today, property owner Brian Kim has given The Block, Kimen Ramen & Izakaya and several other retail tenants until Aug. 30 to vacate the strip mall, which is slated for partial demolition to make way for an apartment building.

Countywide

UPDATED: Fairfax school board revises policy for phasing in boundary changes

By Angela Woolsey

Published July 15, 2025 at 11:45AM | Updated July 17, 2025 at 10:38PM

An interactive map showing draft scenarios for Fairfax County Public Schools' 2024-2026 boundary review (via FCPS)

As Fairfax County Public Schools continues to work through a sweeping redistricting process, the school board decided to revisit its policy on how the upcoming changes will be implemented.

Led by Mason District Representative Ricardy Anderson, the Fairfax County School Board voted unanimously this Thursday (July 17) to revise the phasing policy that guides which students are affected by boundary adjustments.

News

Vienna’s temporary library set to open next week

By Angela Woolsey

Published July 15, 2025 at 10:00AM

A temporary library for Vienna is under construction at the Cedar Park Shopping Center (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

A new library is taking shape in Vienna, though services in the town will remain limited.

Fairfax County Public Library will open a temporary branch in the Cedar Park Shopping Center next Monday, July 21, about a month later than originally anticipated as a result of some permitting delays.

News

Developer proposes dozens of townhouses in Reston’s Isaac Newton Square

By Angela Woolsey

Published July 15, 2025 at 9:15AM

Isaac Newton Square development plan for blocks N1, N3 and W3 (via LandDesign/Fairfax County)

A developer is finalizing plans for more housing in Isaac Newton Square, though construction on a previously approved residential building has yet to begin.

Tri Pointe Homes, the builder behind the new townhouses under construction at Lake Anne, hopes to construct up to 143 townhomes across three blocks of Isaac Newton Square, an office park in Reston that has been slated for an extensive, mixed-use redevelopment since 2019.

News

UPDATED: Hikers rescued from rising water at Scott’s Run Nature Preserve

By Angela Woolsey

Published July 14, 2025 at 7:05PM | Updated July 14, 2025 at 7:21PM

Traffic backed up on I-495 to Georgetown Pike during storm (via VDOT traffic camera)

The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department has rescued a group of hikers who got stuck at Scott’s Run Nature Preserve during the storm that just passed through Northern Virginia.

According to scanner traffic, rescue and swift water rescue units were dispatched to the park off of Georgetown Pike around 6:23 p.m., as a thunderstorm dropped a deluge of rain on northern Fairfax County.