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.

News

Pedestrian improvements, Metro wayfinding signs unveiled in Tysons

By Angela Woolsey
Modern glass office towers in a business district with a tall wayfinding sign in the foreground (tysons).
New wayfinding sign at the McLean Metro station near Capital One Center (courtesy Tysons Community Alliance)

Pedestrians in Tysons still have to contend with heavy traffic on routes 123 and 7, but a few changes recently implemented by the Tysons Community Alliance (TCA) will hopefully make parts of the urban center easier to navigate.

Last week, the community improvement organization announced that it has completed a redesign of the Westwood Center Drive and Cornerside Blvd intersection near the Tysons West shopping center, adding a crosswalk, sidewalk, painted road median and other improvements.

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News

Traveler with measles may have exposed others at Reston locations

By Angela Woolsey
Modern multi-story building with white and dark gray facade, balconies, and a barber shop on the ground floor under a bright blue sky.
Barber and Men's Spa in Reston (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

An individual who passed through Reston earlier this month might have exposed community members to measles, the Virginia Department of Health says.

The VDH was notified yesterday (Thursday) that a resident of another state with a confirmed measles case had traveled through Northern Virginia while infections on Aug. 16.

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News

Herndon Town Council candidate hopes to help community realize full potential

By Angela Woolsey
Selfie of a woman in a pink hijab smiling in a park with a red decorated train/float in the background.
Yasmin Shafiq in front of Herndon's caboose (courtesy Yasmin for Herndon)

Community service has been central to Yasmin Shafiq’s life for as long as she can remember, from her high school stint as a teen representative on the Reston Community Center’s Board of Governors to her current commitments as a county government worker and an election officer.

A resident of the Herndon area now since 2004, she hopes to apply her varied past experiences to a new role as a candidate for the Herndon Town Council, whose six seats will all be on the ballot for the upcoming Nov. 3 general election.

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News

FCPD: Man dressed as Ghostface charged with destruction of Lorton Station HOA building

By Angela Woolsey
Two-panel image: left shows a person in a black hoodie walking on a brick path, with a neon-yellow item visible; right shows a Ghostface mask, a red backpack, a black coat, yellow gloves, and yellow sneakers laid out on a striped carpet.
A man who allegedly destroyed the Lorton Station Community Association's windows multiple times was seen wearing a Ghostface mask in surveillance videos (via FCPD)

Just like the slasher movie villain he donned as a disguise, a man charged with destruction of the Lorton Station Community Association’s property kept coming back.

The Fairfax County Police Department arrested a 22-year-old man from Lorton on Aug. 17 after he allegedly destroyed the windows of the community association’s building at 9050 Lorton Station Blvd on six different occasions.

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Around Town

Sheeba, now open in Vienna, offers authentic introduction to Yemeni cuisine, owner says

By Angela Woolsey
Modern restaurant interior with a glowing arched display reading 'SHEEBA' and lit shelves along the wall, marble tables and pendant lights.
Inside Sheeba in Vienna (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

When Nadir Naimi talks about his new restaurant Sheeba, the words “authenticity” and “customer experience” frequently crop up.

The first franchise of a growing, family-owned chain to open outside its home state of Michigan, the Yemeni eatery served dinner to its inaugural patrons in Vienna at 111 Church Street NW last Friday (Aug. 21).

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News

Driver hospitalized after crashing into tree on Route 123 in McLean

By Angela Woolsey
Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department ambulance (file photo)

A driver was taken to a hospital earlier this afternoon (Wednesday) after crashing into a tree on Route 123 (Dolley Madison Blvd) in McLean during rush hour.

Police officers and Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department personnel were dispatched at around 3:51 p.m. for the single-vehicle crash at the intersection of Dolley Madison and Mayflower Drive.

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News

Traffic Alert: ‘Significant’ delays expected due to oversized vehicle load on I-66 and I-495

By Angela Woolsey
Busy urban highway with multiple lanes of cars traveling in both directions and an overpass ahead.
Traffic on I-66 East near the Vienna Metro station (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

An oversized vehicle will be heading north through Fairfax County this evening (Wednesday), contributing to what are expected to be “significant travel delays,” the Virginia Department of Transportation warns.

The “oversize load” is scheduled to travel through Virginia on I-77 North, I-81 North, I-66 East and the northbound lanes of the Capital Beltway (I-495) as it heads from North Carolina to Maryland between 7 p.m. today and 5 a.m. tomorrow morning (Thursday).

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Around Town

Lidl grocery store might be coming to Plaza America in Reston

By Angela Woolsey
Exterior entrance of a retail building with beige stone columns, glass doors, and a no parking fire lane sign on a column.
Vacant storefront previously occupied by Whole Foods Market at Plaza America in Reston (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

A new grocery store appears to have been secured for Reston’s Plaza America.

The German discount chain Lidl has “just signed” a lease for the former Whole Foods Market space at 11660 Plaza America Drive, according to a site plan recently updated by CBRE, the retail broker for the shopping center.

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Countywide

Virginia awarded $353M from Meta settlement of teen social media addiction lawsuit

By Angela Woolsey and Associated Press
Folder labeled Social Media displaying icons for X, Messenger, Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, Threads, and Discord on a smartphone screen.
Screenshot of social media mobile apps

Meta has agreed to pay $17 billion and add child-safety measures to its Facebook and Instagram platforms to end a landmark trial over teen social media addiction and settle claims filed by 47 states, state attorneys general announced today (Wednesday).

The agreement guarantees $353 million for Virginia alone, making it one of the largest consumer protection settlements in state history outside of settlements with tobacco companies in the 1990s, Attorney General Jay Jones said in a statement.

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Countywide

Fairfax County’s discontinuation of high school crossing guards draws criticism

By Mary Stachyra Lopez and Angela Woolsey
Image of a crosswalk with students visible in the distance walking across the road. A brick high school building is visible in the background.
Students from Rocky Run Middle School cross Stringfellow Road in front of Chantilly High School just before the school's dismissal time on the first day of school. (Staff photo by Mary Stachyra Lopez)

As many Fairfax County high school students drive or walk to school this fall, they’re arriving at a building without a dedicated crossing guard — and, only a few days into the new academic year, several elected officials say that absence is already creating problems.

This past spring, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors eliminated funding for crossing guards at all public high schools, a move that was expected to save the county about $1.89 million in police staffing costs.

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