Angela Woolsey | FFXnow

Lane closures to disrupt traffic on I-495 South in McLean overnight

Published October 16, 2025 at 3:00PM

Construction area along I-495 at the GW Parkway interchange (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The Virginia Department of Transportation is urging drivers to avoid traveling on southbound I-495 in McLean tonight (Thursday) while its crews finish realigning the highway.

Three southbound lanes will close to traffic, starting at 8:30 p.m. with a single left lane and continuing with two other lanes by 9:30 p.m. The closures will extend from Georgetown Pike to the area just south of the American Legion Bridge.

News

Townhomes approved to replace aging offices near Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 16, 2025 at 9:15AM

View from Route 7 of proposed townhouses at 7600 Leesburg Pike in Pimmit Hills (via VIKA Virginia/Fairfax County)

A new supply of townhomes could be in store for Pimmit Hills, meeting a demand evidenced by the speed at which developer EYA’s Tysons Ridge neighborhood sold out.

The owner of the nearby office complex at 7600 Leesburg Pike secured the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors’ approval on Tuesday (Oct. 14) for a redevelopment that will replace the two existing buildings with over 100 townhomes.

News

UPDATED: Seven injured, residents told to shelter after industrial fire breaks out on Route 1

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 14, 2025 at 3:20PM | Updated October 14, 2025 at 10:31PM

Fairfax County firefighters respond to a fire at Davis Industries property on Richmond Highway (via FCFRD/X)

At least seven people have been hospitalized, and local residents are being advised to shelter in place, as firefighters seek to control a two-alarm fire at a metal scrap yard along Richmond Highway in Lorton.

Fairfax County Fire and Rescue units were dispatched just after 1 p.m. to the Davis Industries property at 9920 Richmond Highway for an outside fire, according to scanner traffic.

News

McLean graduate wins title in her first-ever Army Ten-Miler race

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 14, 2025 at 2:45PM

McLean High School alum Michelle Vaccaro won the 2025 Army Ten-Miler's Overall Female finisher title (courtesy Army Ten-Miler)

The U.S. Army’s decision to move forward with its annual Ten-Miler last weekend, despite an ongoing federal government shutdown, paid off for one McLean High School graduate.

Michelle Vaccaro was the first woman to complete the 10-mile race on Sunday (Oct. 12), beating thousands of other runners visiting from around the world with a finishing time of 56 minutes and 44 seconds.

Around Town

Recently opened Vienna restaurant champions cuisine from Arabian Gulf

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 14, 2025 at 9:15AM | Updated October 14, 2025 at 10:10AM

Dar Mariam at sunset in Vienna (photo by Amy Woolsey)

After a couple months in business, Dar Mariam is starting to settle into its home in Vienna.

The restaurant celebrated its grand opening on Aug. 15 in the former Donutchew storefront at 107 Maple Avenue West, driven by a mission to bring authentic Arabian cuisine, particularly from Iraq and Kuwait, to a wider audience.

News

Dominion Energy plans ‘selective’ tree removals on W&OD Trail with NOVA Parks’ support

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 14, 2025 at 8:30AM

People walking on the Washington & Old Dominion Trail east of Hunter Mill Road (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Dominion Energy is planning to take down more trees near its power lines along the Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) Trail — this time, with the consent of NOVA Parks.

Starting next Monday (Oct. 20), the power company will begin “selective” pruning and removals of trees and other vegetation on a 2.6-mile section of the trail between its Clark substation in Vienna and the Hunter substation in Wolf Trap, just outside Reston.

News

New plan emerges for developing Salona Park in McLean

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 13, 2025 at 2:30PM | Updated October 13, 2025 at 5:00PM

The proposed meadow trail concept for Salona Park in McLean (via Fairfax County Park Authority)

The Fairfax County Park Authority is looking for the community’s feedback again on a proposal for developing Salona Park in McLean.

The new concept, which will be presented at a community meeting at 7:30 p.m. tonight (Monday), centers on a half-mile-long walking trail that would loop around the approximately 10-acre site, which currently consists of undeveloped meadows and woods.

Around Town

Fairfax, McLean eateries make WaPo food critic’s final 40 Best Restaurants list

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 13, 2025 at 10:00AM

The pad thai from Sorn Thai in McLean (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Longtime food critic Tom Sietsema wrapped up his 25-year run at the Washington Post last week with the release of his final fall dining guide.

Sietsema’s survey of the “40 Best Restaurants in and Around D.C.” is dominated by the District, which is home to all of the top-five ranked entries. But five Fairfax eateries still made the cut, along with one that will soon set up shop in the area.

News

Future of Lake Anne AC services in question after cooling utility folds

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 13, 2025 at 8:45AM

Waterfront homes along Lake Anne in Reston (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Reston RELAC is dead again, and this time, a resurrection might not be on the table.

Reston Lake Anne Air Conditioning, the utility that provides cooling services for most Lake Anne residents, discontinued operations last Thursday (Oct. 9) following a trying summer where mechanical issues led to reported temperatures of 85 degrees and higher in some homes.

Countywide

White House begins firing federal workers amid shutdown, as Democrats call move ‘illegal’

By Associated Press and Angela Woolsey

Published October 10, 2025 at 1:15PM | Updated October 10, 2025 at 2:51PM

Russell Vought, Office of Management and Budget director, listens as he addresses members of the media outside the West Wing at the White House in Washington, Monday, Sept. 29, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House budget office said Friday that mass firings of federal workers have started in an attempt to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers as the government shutdown continues.

Russ Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, said on the social media site X that the “RIFs have begun,” referring to reduction-in-force plans aimed at reducing the size of the federal government.