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.

Around Town

Tysons Galleria focused on ‘playing the hits’ to refill food hall, now fully leased

By Angela Woolsey
Inside a modern food court with Anay's Pizza and SHOTTED Specialty Coffee storefronts, customers in line and seated nearby.
Andy's Pizza and Shotted in Tysons Galleria's third floor food hall (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

When shoppers at Tysons Galleria ascend to the third floor for a bite to eat, they can choose between handmade pasta, burgers, street tacos, two different types of southeast Asian cuisine and two of Northern Virginia’s hottest chains.

The assortment stands in sharp contrast to what visitors encountered just three years ago, when the food hall lineup had dwindled to mainstay Andy’s Pizza and a couple of other holdovers that soon left.

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Countywide

NOW: Outdoor activities, trash service canceled in Fairfax due to wildfire smoke

By Angela Woolsey and Associated Press
Aerial view of glass office towers, including a tall Fannie Mae building, with a multi-lane highway and an elevated pedestrian bridge in a hazy cityscape.
Wildfire smoke around the Reston Town Center Metro station (via Fairfax County government/X)

Hazardous air quality levels due to wildfire smoke have been reported in the D.C. region, prompting cancellations of outdoor activities across Fairfax County.

Early this morning (Friday), the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) issued a Code Purple Air Quality Advisory for the region after conditions considered “very unhealthy” for everyone were recorded in D.C., Northern Virginia and parts of suburban Maryland by 9 a.m.

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News

First townhomes, playground on former Fannie Mae site in Reston completed

By Angela Woolsey
A lush urban park with a winding path, playground equipment, and a white circular gazebo, with high-rise buildings in the background under a blue sky.
Walking paths have added for the new Sunset Station neighborhood on American Dream Way in Reston (courtesy Wheelock Communities)

The transformation of Fannie Mae’s former office campus in Reston into a residential community is progressing rapidly.

Construction has been completed on the first townhouse building in Sunset Station, the new neighborhood at 11600 American Dream Way, developer Wheelock Communities announced this week, noting that residents have now moved into those eight units.

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Countywide

JUST IN: Unhealthy air expected in D.C. region Friday due to wildfire smoke

By Angela Woolsey and Associated Press
Hazy city skyline across a calm river; a small motorboat with two people in the foreground.
A watercraft sits in the Detroit River near the skyline during poor air quality due to smoke from Canadian wildfires Thursday, July 16, 2026, in Detroit (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Fairfax County hasn’t yet seen clear evidence of the wildfires raging in Canada and Minnesota, but that could change tomorrow (Friday), as smoke continues wafting toward the East Coast.

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) are both forecasting Code Red air quality tomorrow for Northern Virginia and the greater D.C. region, meaning conditions will be unhealthy for everyone.

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News

NEW: Special prosecutor will be requested for speeding case against Supervisor Jimenez

By Angela Woolsey
Mason District Supervisor Andres Jimenez (staff photo by Jared Serre)

A case charging Mason District Supervisor Andres Jimenez with reckless driving likely won’t be handled by the Office of the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney.

The office will request that the Fairfax County General District Court appoint a special prosecutor from another jurisdiction to the case at an adjudicatory hearing on Monday (July 20), according to Laura Birnbaum, a spokesperson for Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano’s office.

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News

Motorcyclist seriously injured in Route 1 crash near Beacon Center

By Angela Woolsey
Map showing heavy traffic along a north–south road (red/orange) with nearby landmarks like Giant Food and Ruby's Jamaican Kitchen and Bethany Lutheran Church in view.
Southbound Richmond Highway has been closed at Memorial Street in Groveton after a motorcycle crash (via Google Maps)

A motorcyclist has been hospitalized following a crash on Richmond Highway (Route 1) near Beacon Center.

Police officers and units with the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department, including medics, were dispatched to Richmond Highway at Memorial Street in Groveton at around 12:51 p.m. for the crash, according to scanner traffic.

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Countywide

Volunteers begin mapping heat islands across Fairfax County, N. Va.

By Angela Woolsey
Small white sensor device mounted on a car hood in a parking lot at sunset, with trees in the background.
Volunteers are using vehicle rooftop sensors to collect data for the Northern Virginia Urban Heat Island Mapping Project (courtesy Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions)

On another hot, muggy summer day, dozens of volunteers are fanning out across Northern Virginia to find the region’s hottest neighborhoods.

The “Urban Heat Island Mapping Project,” led by George Mason University’s Virginia Climate Center and the local nonprofit Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions (FACS), involves more than 30 teams with at least two volunteer scientists each measuring temperatures and humidity at different locations.

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News

NOW: Teen bicyclist hospitalized after crash in Herndon

By Angela Woolsey
Police SUV with blue lights parked across a suburban street beside a red and white fire truck, blocking the road amid trees and power lines.
Town of Herndon police and the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department respond to a crash that injured a teen bicyclist on Dranesville Road at Worchester Street in Herndon (via Herndon Police/X)

A teenage bicyclist was injured this morning (Wednesday) after being struck by a driver on Dranesville Road in Herndon.

Units with the Town of Herndon Police Department and the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department were dispatched to the Dranesville and Worchester Street intersection shortly before 10 a.m. for the crash, according to emergency scanner traffic.

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News

Proposed mixed-use development in McLean would include housing, new Keller Williams office

By Angela Woolsey
Rendering of a modern mixed-use development along a tree-lined street with brick and glass facades.
Rendering of Highcrest's proposed residential redevelopment of 6816 and 6824 Elm Street in McLean (via KTGY/Fairfax County)

Another developer is circling older office buildings in downtown McLean as a prime spot for new housing.

The D.C.-based home builder Highcrest has proposed redeveloping the low-lying offices at 6816 and 6824 Elm Street with a single mixed-use building that could include 115 residential units as well as some retail and office space.

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News

Vienna lands $1M from state for future W&OD Trail visitor’s center

By Angela Woolsey
W&OD Trail sign beside a tree-lined path with cyclists in the distance and a covered object on a green lamppost under a blue sky
Pedestrians and cyclists on the Washington & Old Dominion Trail approach the Maple Avenue crossing in Vienna (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The Commonwealth of Virginia is putting some money behind plans to add a visitor center at the heart of the Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) Trail.

The two-year state budget adopted by the General Assembly and signed by Gov. Abigail Spanberger in late June includes $1 million for the Town of Vienna to help acquire the land needed for the future hub, a project spearheaded by the W&OD Railroad Regional Park’s owner, NOVA Parks.

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