Author: Emily Leayman

Emily Leayman is a senior reporter at ARLnow, ALXnow and FFXnow. She was previously a field editor covering parts of Northern Virginia for Patch for more than eight years. A native of the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania, she lives in Northern Virginia.

Around Town

Reston resident completes 1,000-mile bicycle ride for charity

By Emily Leayman
Cyclist in red-and-black kit and helmet standing with a road bike in front of a brick building entrance labeled 13595.
Don Weber at the end of the 1,000 Miles For 1,000 Lights at ePlus in Herndon (staff photo by Emily Leayman)

Reston’s Don Weber capped off his September finishing off a 1,000-mile bicycle ride for charity.

Weber and five others representing multiple companies rode in 1,000 Miles For 1,000 Lights to support nonprofit Watts of Love. The ride started Sept. 17 in Downers Grove, Illinois, just west of Chicago and ended Wednesday (Sept. 30) at the Herndon headquarters of ePlus, Weber’s workplace and a sponsor of the ride.

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Around Town

Chip City shuts down Virginia outposts, including at Tysons Corner Center

By Emily Leayman
Closed Chip City storefront with a light blue facade and striped security shutter in a mall corridor
Chip City has closed at Tysons Corner Center (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

A cookie shop in Tysons Corner Center has shut down after just about a year in business.

Chip City Cookies‘ outpost on the mall’s second floor next to Auntie Anne’s is no longer open. The other two Virginia locations — in Arlington’s Clarendon and Shirlington neighborhoods — have also closed. All three locations are no longer listed on Chip City’s website.

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News

Federal job cuts and rising costs disrupt Fairfax County, rest of DMV, report finds

By Emily Leayman and Associated Press
Participants in a rally at Great Falls Park to support National Park Service workers amid federal government cuts hold up signs (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Fairfax County and neighboring localities are feeling the impact of federal government workforce reductions and immigration enforcement, according to a recent regional survey.

The report released last Thursday (Sept. 24) from Gallup and the Greater Washington Community Foundation, titled “Voices of the Community: DC, Maryland, Virginia,” incorporated research on federal government disruptions on the region’s residents.

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Around Town

Lakeside Asia Cafe to close at Reston’s South Lakes Village after 13 years

By Emily Leayman
Lakeside Asia Cafe at the South Lakes Village Shopping Center (staff photo by Emily Leayman)

A longstanding staple at the South Lakes Village Shopping Center in Reston is saying farewell at the end of September.

Lakeside Asia Cafe (11130 South Lakes Dr J) will close after its last day of business on Wednesday, Sept. 30, according to notices posted outside the restaurant and on its website.

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News

NOVA Parks approves $2.3 million for Bull Run Festival of Lights, Pohick Bay park upgrades

By Emily Leayman
Sign reading Pohick Bay Regional Park under Nova Parks logo, surrounded by trees and landscaping in a park entrance area.
A sign for Pohick Bay Regional Park (file photo)

Plans for upgrades at two NOVA Parks-owned Fairfax County properties are getting a boost under the regional park system’s latest capital budget.

The fiscal years 2027-2031 budget adopted by the NOVA Parks Board of Directors on Sept. 17 allocates $1.5 million for campground renovations at Pohick Bay Regional Park in Lorton and $880,000 for light show improvements at Bull Run Regional Park’s Festival of Lights in Centreville.

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News

Dominion Energy-NextEra merger headed to in-person hearing in Fairfax County

By Emily Leayman and Associated Press
The entrance to the Fairfax County Government Center (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Amid pushback on the proposed Dominion Energy merger with NextEra Energy, an in-person hearing to gather public testimony has been scheduled in Fairfax County.

The State Corporation Commission, which is reviewing the proposed merger, scheduled a public hearing for 6-8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9 at the Fairfax County Government Center in the Board Auditorium (12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax).

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News

Fairfax County civic group votes to oppose Plaza 500 data center, substation

By Emily Leayman
Aerial view of a campus with colored blocks labeling Data Center Buildings 1 and 2, a substation, and a transmission line (utility diagram).
A map of the Plaza 500 site with proposed substation and planned data center development (courtesy of Save Bren Mar coalition)

The Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Associations is backing neighbors in their fight against the planned Plaza 500 data center campus and its associated electrical substation in Lincolnia.

The federation voted at its membership meeting last Thursday (Aug. 27) to oppose the 34-acre data center campus at 6295 and 6299 Edsall Road proposed by Starwood Capital Group and a substation proposed by Dominion Energy.

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Countywide

Gov. Spanberger formally intervenes in proposed Dominion Energy-NextEra merger

By Emily Leayman
Woman in a navy blazer speaks at a podium with microphones in a formal setting.
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger delivers her State of the Commonwealth address before a joint session of the Virignia General Assembly at the Capitol Monday Jan. 19, 2026, in Richmond, Va. (Steve Helber/Associated Press)

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) has formally filed to intervene in the proposed merger of Dominion Energy with Florida-based NextEra Energy.

The $67 billion merger proposal is under review by Virginia’s State Corporation Commission (SCC). According to her office, Spanberger is the first governor in Virginia history to intervene in an SCC case. Chief Energy Officer Josephus Allmond, the first person appointed to Spanberger’s new cabinet position, also filed to be a party in the case.

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Countywide

As solar program expands, Fairfax County leads Virginia in installations

By Emily Leayman
Rooftop solar panels on a house in Vienna (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Fairfax County is leading solar panel installations and signups from a solar program backed by Virginia’s governor as homeowners look for ways to address rising electricity costs.

Switch Together, a bulk purchasing initiative to connect residents to solar installers, was recently expanded from Northern Virginia to other parts of the state. It was previously only open in Fairfax and Arlington counties, with Alexandria joining the roster last summer.

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Around Town

Drive-thru Panda Express holds grand opening in Herndon

By Emily Leayman
Panda Express in Herndon (staff photo by Emily Leayman)

Fast-casual Chinese American restaurant Panda Express has opened its latest location in Herndon with a ribbon cutting Monday (Aug. 10).

The new drive-thru location at 598 Elden Street had a ribbon cutting at 9:30 a.m. Monday. The restaurant also provided a $1,000 check donation to Reston-based nonprofit Cornerstones and free T-shirts for the first 88 customers in line at the grand opening.

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