Author: FFXnow.com

Reston Convenience Store Burglarized — “On October 12, at 10:13 p.m., officers responded to the Kile Mart located at 1611 Washington Plaza in Reston for an alarm. Three unknown suspects forced entry into the business and stole vape products and other merchandise. The suspects fled the business before police arrival.” Fairfax County detectives are looking for the public’s help to identify the suspects. [FCPD]

Va. ICE Facilities Using Solitary Confinement More — “Virginia’s ICE facilities in Farmville and Caroline County have risen in national rank for placing more people in solitary confinement between 2023 and this past August. Both are now among the nation’s top 10 for solitary confinement use despite being far smaller than other detention center sites in the U.S.” [Axios Richmond]

Braddock District Candidate Forum Tonight — The Democratic, Republican and independent candidates for the Braddock District supervisor seat will gather at Braddock Hall (9002 Burke Lake Road) at 7 p.m. for a forum. Organized by the Braddock District Council of Community Associations, the forum will give voters an opportunity to hear from all three contenders ahead of a special election on Dec. 9. [Braddock District Council/Facebook]

GMU Board Could Meet Despite Lack of Quorum — “State Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, and Charles Stimson, the rector of the George Mason Board of Visitors, disagree on whether the board’s executive committee can meet and take actions this week … The GMU board currently only has six of the 16 board positions filled after Senate Democrats blocked several of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s appointments.” [Virginia Scope]

Brunch Chain Coming to Fairfax — “Another Broken Egg Cafe, a growing chain of restaurants open only for breakfast, brunch and lunch, has inked a lease to replace the McDonald’s that recently shuttered at University Mall.” The lease for 10645 Braddock Road, which was confirmed by property manager Van Metre Companies, will give Another Broken Egg its first Fairfax County location after the Florida-based chain announced plans for a Loudoun County franchise in June. [Washington Business Journal]

McLean Rideshare App Battles D.C. Regulators — Empower, a local startup that presents itself as an alternative to Uber and Lyft, has been embroiled in a years-long legal battle with D.C. officials over its lack of a license to operate in the city. “After the CEO was threatened with jail time, he said the company would shut down its D.C. operations by October 10. But in a Hail Mary play [last] week, Empower now says that it will break its contracts and offer the service to drivers for free.” [The 51st]

Local Furloughed Fed Shares Experience — “Jay Reddy has spent more than 30 years as an attorney with the U.S. Department of Labor. But even after decades of public service, he says this year has been the most unpredictable of his career. Reddy is one of thousands of federal employees currently furloughed as funding disputes continue.” [WUSA9]

Why Fall Leaves Have Been Less Colorful — “Leaf-peeping season has arrived in the Northeast and beyond, but weeks of drought have muted this year’s autumn colors, and sent leaves fluttering to the ground earlier than usual.” [Associated Press]

It’s Wednesday — Expect sunny skies and a high temperature near 70 degrees with a north wind at 8 to 11 mph, gusting up to 21 mph. For Wednesday night, the skies will remain clear, and the temperature will drop to around 45 degrees. The north wind will persist at approximately 9 mph. [NWS]

Tysons Offices Bought for Possible Data Center — Affiliates of Serverfarm, a California-based data center investor, acquired the office buildings at 7990 and 7980 Quantum Drive in mid-September for $37 million and $13 million, respectively. The 7990 Quantum building is already home to the 44,000-square-foot Equinix DC7 data center, but the 7980 building’s proximity to the Reserve at Tysons Corner apartments, which are 150 feet away, means the Fairfax County board’s approval is required for any data center development. [Washington Business Journal]

Government Shutdown Drags On — “Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson predicted Monday the federal government shutdown may become the longest in history, saying he ‘won’t negotiate’ with Democrats until they hit pause on their health care demands and reopen.” [Associated Press]

Cause of Franconia House Fire Identified — “On Sunday, October 12, around 8:00am, Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department responded to reports of a house fire in the 5800 block of Queens Gate Court.” No injuries were reported, but the fire resulted in an estimated $259,338 in property damages. Investigators found that the fire started from “improperly discarded ashes” in a plastic trash can next to the garage. [FCFRD]

Oldest Metro Railcars Retired — “The era of carpeted Metro trains ended with the official retirement of railcars dating to the 1980s … The 2000 series railcars began service in 1983. They had to be pulled out of storage to help carry riders a few years ago when there were wheel issues with the 7000 series.” [NBC4]

Maternal Mortality Data Funding at Risk — “Virginia’s Maternal Mortality Review Team will continue its operations until August of next year. The future of the team, however, will depend on future congressional action and Virginia’s willingness to continue it.” [Virginia Mercury]

Comet Could Be Visible Over D.C. Region — “It has been five years since the Northern Hemisphere had a really bright and beautiful comet to see, which was Comet NEOWISE. Sky watchers can now start looking for Lemmon about 90 minutes before dawn and starting Thursday, it may be visible in the predawn and post-sunset dark skies.” [WTOP]

World’s Largest Earthquake Drill Coming — “The Great Southeast ShakeOut is the world’s largest earthquake drill. People in homes, schools, offices and other places all practice the same thing at the same time. The drill happens every year on the third Thursday in October. That’s Oct. 16 this year, and it starts at exactly 10:16 a.m.” [Fairfax County Emergency Information]

Vienna to Give Away Free Tree Seedlings — “Get a free tree at the Town’s fifth annual Native Tree Seedling Giveaway! The event takes place Saturday, Oct. 18, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. (or until the last tree is given away) outside the Vienna Community Center … Volunteers will give away 150 bareroot seedlings in six species.” [Town of Vienna]

It’s Tuesday — The weather will be mostly cloudy and reach a high near 70, accompanied by a north wind at 11 to 14 mph, gusting up to 22 mph. Tuesday night will see mostly clear conditions, with temperatures dropping to around 54 and a north wind around 8 mph. [NWS]

Transit Changes for Indigenous People’s Day — “On Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, Fairfax Connector will operate on a Holiday Weekday schedule. This is due to the Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples’ Day holidays.” Metrorail is “operating on Saturday frequencies at all stations not experiencing track work. Metrobus will operate on a Saturday supplemental schedule.” [WMATA]

Motorcyclist Injured in Hit-and-Run — “An adult male on a motorcycle was struck in a hit-and-run crash at Leesburg Pike and Patrick Henry Drive in Seven Corners last night, the Fairfax County Police Department reports. The victim is in the hospital with a life-threatening condition. The driver fled the scene in a dark-colored SUV.” [Annandale Today]

Arrest for Exposure at Chantilly Bus Stop — “On October 8, at 1:15p.m., officers responded to 4700 block of Stonecroft Boulevard in Chantilly for a sex offense.  An adult victim reported seeing a man masturbating by a public bus stop.” A Fair Oaks man was taken into custody and charged with indecent liberties, indecent exposure and obscene sexual display. [FCPD]

Reston Office Buildings Sold — “Brookfield has offloaded a pair of 2000s-era office buildings that it owned for nearly two decades at its Halley Rise development site in Reston. The Canadian investment giant sold One and Two Halley Rise, a pair of six-story office buildings each weighing in at 190K SF, for $53M.” [Bisnow]

FCPD Helicopter Denied Air Space Access — “Air traffic control at DCA denied a request by the Fairfax County Police helicopter to fly in an area not far from where planes were descending over the Potomac River,” suggesting new safety rules might need to be tweaked. In this case, the denial doesn’t seem to have affected the FCPD’s ability to respond to a suspicious person call that turned out to be “a man who had cut his thumb.” [WJLA]

Man Reports $40K Scam — “Detectives from our Financial Crimes Unit have charged a New York man after he traveled to Fairfax County to scam a victim out of $40,000 in Kings Park West. On September 13, officers took a walk-in report for a fraud case” involving a man who claimed to be a representative of the victim’s bank “and convinced him to withdraw money on two separate occasions and hand it over in person.” [FCPD]

GMU Study Analyzes Va. Energy Needs — “A George Mason University report released Friday looks at how Virginia can meet its mandatory goal of decarbonizing the state’s utility providers while also getting more localities on board for certain energy projects.” [Virginia Mercury]

Metro Previews Rail Closures for Next Year — “Metro has shared information on upcoming rail station closures for planned work through September 2026, with work impacting all lines of the transit system. The closures are part of improvement and maintenance efforts to improve the reliability and safety of the nearly 50 year old system, Metro said.” [WTOP]

It’s Monday — Patchy drizzle with a chance of showers before 11am, then showers likely after 11am. Cloudy, with a high near 62. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Tonight, expect patchy drizzle with a chance of showers before and after midnight Mostly cloudy, with a low around 56. Chance of precipitation is 40%. [NWS]

Army Ten-Miler Proceeds Despite Shutdown — After raising the possibility of a cancellation, the U.S. Army announced yesterday that “the race with over 28,000 registered participants will take place as scheduled at 8 a.m. on Sunday — beginning and ending, as usual, at the Pentagon.” Runners must pick up their packets today or tomorrow (Saturday) at The St. James in Springfield. [ARLnow]

Two Injured in Reston Parkway Crash — “Police said charges are being pursued after two vehicles collided on the Reston Parkway in Fairfax County early Thursday morning … A preliminary investigation determined that one of the vehicles was driving the wrong way when the collision took place, police detailed. Both drivers sustained non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to the hospital for treatment.” [DC News Now]

Fiery Crash Slows Beltway Traffic — “Here’s the video from the crash and fire a short time ago on the Beltway, I-95/495S, with at least one person injured. Fire is now out. Traffic down to one lane to the right on the Inner Loop. Left lane closed on the Outer Loop. Video from SafetyVid.org.” [Dave Statter/X]

Springfield Gym Seeks to Expand — “The St. James sports complex is planning a major expansion of its private academy for elite student athletes. The facility, located on Industrial Road in the Springfield area of Mason District, is proposing a 20,000-square-foot expansion to accommodate future growth of the St. James Academy, a private school that opened in August 2024.” [Annandale Today]

Arrest Made in Credit Card Skimming Scheme — “Fairfax County police have arrested a man after they discovered a credit card skimming operation involving ATMs and other payment devices inside stores across the Richmond Highway corridor. The operation was initiated after two skimming devices were discovered in the area in early September.” [WUSA9]

FCPS Offers Algebra to Elementary Students — “After students eagerly entered Amanda Blevins’ classroom at Mosaic Elementary on Thursday afternoon, she returned a graded assignment and then shifted their attention to a series of warmup problems projected in the front of the room … Blevins has 23 sixth graders enrolled in her Algebra I class, a high school course Fairfax County Public Schools is expanding access to through a pilot program this year.” [WTOP]

Falls Church Considers Tree Canopy Rules — “Developers of commercial projects in Falls Church could for the first time be required to meet minimum tree-canopy requirements. City Council members at an Oct. 6 work session generally were supportive of a staff proposal that would set a minimum [of] 10% canopy for future commercial development.” [ARLnow]

New Public Health Center Now Open — “The Fairfax County Health Department is pleased to announce that the Franconia-Springfield Public Health Center, located at 6564 Loisdale Court in Springfield, is officially opened. The state-of-the-art facility provides a wide array of public health services.” [Fairfax County Health Department]

It’s Friday — Expect sunny skies and a high near 65, with northeast winds at 6 to 9 mph shifting to the southeast in the afternoon. Friday night will be mostly cloudy, with a low around 53 and southeast winds at 3 to 6 mph. [NWS]