Angela Woolsey | FFXnow

Police seek public’s help to find person behind Groveton shooting

Published September 23, 2026 at 8:30AM

Police are searching for an individual who shot up a car, leaving a man critically injured, in the Lafayette Apartments area in Groveton on Sept. 12, 2026 (via FCPD, Google Maps)

Investigators are offering a monetary reward to anyone who can help them track down the person responsible for a recent shooting in Groveton’s Lafayette Apartments neighborhood.

Officers were dispatched to the 3500 block of Robert E. Lee Place at 10:25 a.m. on Sept. 12 for the reported shooting, which left an adult man with multiple gunshot wounds.

News

Milestone concert raises funds for Herndon’s Dolly Parton Imagination Library

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 22, 2026 at 2:45PM | Updated September 22, 2026 at 3:44PM

Friday Night Live! founder Doug Downer and chair Laura B. Poindexter present a check for $500 to Kurt Rose support Dolly Parton's Imagination Library initiative in Herndon (photo by Any Odhner)

In addition to celebrating its own legacy, Friday Night Live’s 500th concert turned into a surprise tribute to the good works of Dolly Parton.

The Sept. 4 concert headlined by the rock cover band Shake the Room raised $2,000 for the Herndon chapter of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, organizers of the free summer concert series announced today (Tuesday).

Around Town

Fairfax City’s Layered cafe to open first expansion at Tysons Corner Center

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 22, 2026 at 1:45PM | Updated September 23, 2026 at 9:45AM

Layered is coming soon to Tysons Corner Center (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

After making a successful debut in Fairfax City last year, Layered has set its sights on the D.C. region’s biggest shopping mall for a follow-up.

The cafe, known for its photogenic desserts and drinks, anticipates opening a second location in Tysons Corner Center this November, with the goal of welcoming patrons before the winter holidays.

Around Town

Jimmy Stewart biopic headlines returning Washington West Film Festival

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 22, 2026 at 11:45AM | Updated October 2, 2026 at 2:49PM

The entrance to Look Dine-In Cinemas at Reston Town Center (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Local cinephiles will be among the first audiences in the U.S. to see a new film chronicling the life and career of classic Hollywood actor Jimmy Stewart.

The biopic titled simply “Jimmy” is set to make its East Coast premiere at Look Dine-In Cinemas in Reston Town Center on Oct. 10 as part of the Washington West Film Festival, which will return to Fairfax County for its 15th year next month.

News

Sunrise Senior Living proposes McLean expansion in place of approved condos

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 22, 2026 at 9:15AM

Sunrise's proposed independent living expansion in McLean from Chain Bridge Road (via HCM/Fairfax County)

A McLean office complex slated for redevelopment with residential condominiums could host housing specifically for the area’s growing older population instead.

Sunrise Senior Living has a contract to acquire part of the McLean Professional Park site at 1477 Chain Bridge Road. While the sale hasn’t closed yet, the operator is already mapping out plans to use the additional 2.8 acres of land to expand on its adjacent Sunrise at McLean Village community.

News

JUST IN: Man charged with bomb threat against Dulles-area mosque

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 21, 2026 at 2:45PM | Updated September 22, 2026 at 11:58AM

The ADAMS Center main campus in Sterling (via Google Maps)

A man from Spotsylvania was arrested last week for allegedly threatening to bomb one of Northern Virginia’s biggest mosques.

The threat was posted as a comment on the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) Center’s Instagram page, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO).

Countywide

Report: Close calls with drivers on Fairfax roads are recurring issues, not isolated

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 21, 2026 at 12:00PM

Gallows Road approaching the pedestrian crosswalk at Aston Road near Woodburn Elementary School (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Since it began collecting near-miss data for local roads in 2021, Northern Virginia Families for Safe Streets has accumulated more evidence that such close calls between drivers and other travelers reflect patterns of behavior, rather than random or one-time slip-ups.

More than 70% or 94 of the 129 near-misses reported by community members in Fairfax County and the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church between January 2025 and June of this year were marked as recurring incidents, according to an analysis released by the volunteer-led safety advocacy organization on Sept. 10.

Around Town

Big Greek Cafe to open location in Reston’s North Point Village Center

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 21, 2026 at 9:15AM | Updated September 23, 2026 at 9:42AM

Big Greek Cafe in Oakton (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

A Greek restaurant chain from Maryland will continue its recent expansion into Northern Virginia with a new location in Reston.

The Big Greek Cafe is coming to the North Point Village Center, where it will take over a space vacated in spring 2025 by California Tortilla, according to Nikos Kontos, the restaurant’s director of operations.

News

UPDATED: Chantilly woman using wheelchair killed in Route 50 crash

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 18, 2026 at 10:00PM | Updated September 20, 2026 at 8:54PM

Lanes on westbound Route 50 were temporarily closed at Plaza Lane near Greenbriar Town Center following a fatal pedestrian crash on Sept. 18, 2026 (via Google Maps)

A woman was killed earlier Friday (Sept. 18) after she was struck by a driver while traveling on Route 50 in a wheelchair.

Officers were dispatched at 7:27 p.m. to the Plaza Lane intersection just in front of Greenbriar Town Center near Chantilly after receiving a report of a pedestrian getting hit by a vehicle, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.

News

Renovation of Mars HQ in McLean on track to finish this year

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 18, 2026 at 1:45PM

The Mars headquarters building in McLean is under renovation (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

More than two years of construction at Mars Inc.’s longtime headquarters in McLean could wrap up in the coming months.

The candy and pet care company anticipates completing an extensive renovation of its central office at 6885 Elm Street by the end of this year, allowing employees to return to the building in the first quarter of 2027.