Author: FFXnow.com

Affordable Housing Dropped from Penn Daw Project — Architect BKV Group is revising the design for Fairfax County’s project to replace Penn Daw’s fire station and homeless shelter  after a fiscal analysis found “it would be more fiscally feasible and beneficial for the community to eliminate the affordable housing component…while increasing the number of permanent supportive housing units from 20 to 30.” [On the MoVe]

Man Arrested in Fairfax City Stabbing — Police officers arrested a 22-year-old man on Sunday (Aug. 11) and charged him with aggravated malicious wounding after he allegedly stabbed an acquaintance in the stomach during an argument in 7-Eleven (10810 Fairchester Drive) on Aug. 7. [City of Fairfax Police]

Armed Robbery by Teens in Reston — “Fairfax County Police are investigating an armed robbery that occurred Monday night in Reston. Five teens approached the victim in the 12200 block of Laurel Glade Court, displayed a gun and took the victim’s phone before fleeing the scene on foot, according to an 8:38 p.m. social media post.” [Patch]

Cybersecurity Firm Leases Reston Station Office — Reston Station developer Comstock announced on Monday (Aug. 12) that it has signed a 7,700-square-foot office lease with GuidePoint Security at 1900 Reston Metro Plaza. “This lease marks a milestone accomplishment for Reston Metro Plaza, as all three of its trophy-class office towers are now 100% leased.” [Business Wire]

New Businesses and Events Coming to Eden Center — “Forty years since its founding, the Eden Center remains a community pillar of Falls Church and thriving destination for visitors from throughout the D.C. area and beyond…In addition to the center’s historical gems, you’ll find a handful of newer destinations that remain committed to authenticity.” [ARLnow]

Firefighters Distribute School Supplies — “Today #FCFRD hosted its annual Backpack & School Supply Distribution at FS11, Penn Daw. Firefighters, retirees, and volunteers distributed 1,300 backpacks filled w/ school supplies to schools & nonprofits throughout the county. Thank you to everyone who made the event a success!” [FCFRD/Twitter]

Shrevewood ES Welcomes New Principal — “Shrevewood Elementary School students will return this fall to find a repaired air-conditioning system, enhanced positivity and environmental initiatives, and a different, but familiar, face in the principal’s office. Former assistant principal Katie Vandawalker took the helm Aug. 1 and succeeded Joshua DeSmyter, who became principal at Floris Elementary School.” [Gazette Leader]

Get Sneak Peek of Annandale Mural — “The community is invited to meet muralist Giuseppe Percivati (also known as Pepe Gaka) at the Art Appreciation Festival on Saturday, Aug. 17, at the Eileen Garnett Civic Space.” Work on the mural will start before the end of this month, depending on the weather, and finish “in time for the Taste of Annandale on Sept. 21.” [Annandale Today]

It’s Wednesday — Expect sunny conditions with a high near 86 and a north wind of 5 to 8 mph. Wednesday night will be mostly clear, with a low around 66 and a light northwest wind. [NWS]

CIA Sexual Harassment Case Going to Trial — A jury trial is expected this fall after a former CIA employee appealed a Fairfax County judge’s ruling that found him guilty of misdemeanor assault and battery against a coworker who said “tried to strangle her with a scarf and kiss her in a stairwell” at the spy agency’s McLean headquarters. [Washington Post]

Helicopter Exercise Planned at Reston Park — “Lake Fairfax Park: The Cricket Field will be closed 9-11 am on 8/13 for a public safety training exercise with a helicopter landing and take-off (weather permitting). Other park areas remain open. Call or (703-471-5415) or check the website before visiting.” [Fairfax County Park Authority/Twitter]

Gun Brandished at Fairfax City McDonald’s — “A 33-year-old Fairfax man was arrested on weapons charges after he pointed a handgun and threatened someone that he had been arguing with late Thursday night at a local fast food restaurant, according to City of Fairfax Police.” [Patch]

Recent Rain Eases Drought Conditions — “Debby brought much-needed rain to the D.C. area, but not enough to pull it out of the ongoing drought.” National Weather Service hydrologist says “he expects general improvement of drought conditions across the region, but not as much as people might think.” [WTOP]

Reston Family Returns From Canceled Taylor Swift Concerts — “A Northern Virginia family touched down at Dulles International Airport Saturday night after a European vacation with a stop in Vienna, Austria where they were supposed to see a Taylor Swift concert…All three of Swift’s sold-out Vienna concerts were canceled after threats of a terrorist attack outside the stadium.” [WUSA9]

Annandale Supermarket Welcomes New Shops — “Yes! Buckwheat is the newest vendor at the food court in the K Market grocery store on John Marr Drive in Annandale. The small shop offers noodle and dumpling dishes all made in-house from buckwheat.” The store has also added Chinese and Korean eateries, Annandale Florist, a K-pop pop-up, and beauty and lifestyle shops. [Annandale Today]

GW Parkway Superintendent to Step Down — “Charles Cuvelier, superintendent of the George Washington Memorial Parkway (GWMP) since January 2019, will be leaving that role later this month to assume a different position with the National Park Service…Cuvelier, who has been with the Park Service for over 30 years, thanked the GWMP’s many partners for their support.” [On the MoVe]

Fairfax City to Replace More Streetlights — “Installation of new LED streetlights in Historic Old Town Fairfax is slated to start Aug. 19 and may take 12 weeks to complete…Phase two of the Old Town Fairfax lighting project started July 14 when Fairfax City removed the gas lamps decommissioned last fall.” [City of Fairfax]

It’s Tuesday — Expect a mostly sunny day with highs around 83 degrees and a gentle northwest wind at 6 mph. Tuesday night will be mostly clear, with lows near 65 degrees and a light northwest breeze. [NWS]

Local Companies Make Fortune 500 List — Led by Tysons-based Freddie Mac at no. 88, four Fairfax County companies made Fortune magazine’s 35th annual Global 500 list, which ranks businesses by “total revenues for fiscal years ending on or before March 31.” The others were Capital One (no. 304), Reston’s General Dynamics (no. 362) and Northrop Grumman (no. 382) in West Falls Church. [Virginia Business]

Drugs and Guns Seized in Seven Corners — “Fairfax County police detectives seized over 9,400 suspected fentanyl pills and two stolen firearms after arresting a man in Seven Corners early this month. On Aug. 2, detectives with the gang unit were on patrol in the area of Glen Carlyn Drive and Arglye Drive when they spotted a wanted man and quickly took him into custody, police said.” [Inside NoVA]

Tornado Confirmed in Loudoun County — “A storm-spawned tornado climbed the slope of the Blue Ridge in Loudoun County on Thursday night, chewing up several hundred trees, according to the National Weather Service.” No injuries were reported as a result of the tornado, one of three seen as remnants of Tropical Storm Debby passed through the D.C. area. [Washington Post]

Anti-Casino Advocacy Continues — “Local residents used the July 30 meeting of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to advocate against a proposed casino in the Tysons area…Casino opponents appeared at the podium wearing ‘No Tysons Casino’ red T-shirts with white lettering, which have become commonplace at local meetings this year.” [Gazette Leader]

Update on Co-Responder Program for 911 Calls — “Fairfax County’s co-responder program, which expanded last year, has helped respond to over 2,000 calls since its inception, according to the county’s 2023 Diversion First annual report. The program, which launched in 2021 and pairs a Fairfax County police officer with a crisis intervention specialist, expanded last year.” [WTOP]

Reston Media Company Reports Sales Decline — “CEO Jon Carpenter’s efforts to right the ship at Comscore Inc. are not going as quickly as planned. The Reston media analytics company’s stock price plunged Wednesday after second-quarter sales came in worse than expected and its leaders said full-year revenue would fall short of last year’s figure.” [Washington Business Journal]

Lincolnia School Seeks New Principal — “Fairfax County Public Schools is beginning the hiring process for a new principal to succeed Victor Powell at Glasgow Middle School. Powell, who has led Glasgow for the past three years, has accepted a new position as supervisor of Title I programs at Prince William County Public Schools. His last day at Glasgow was Aug. 2.” [Annandale Today]

Golf Photo Contest Underway — “The I Love Golf Fairfax Photo Contest is happening now through Aug. 20 across all Golf Fairfax courses! The Fairfax County Park Authority is giving away tickets to the 2024 Solheim Cup and invites all golf enthusiasts to take their best ‘shot’ at any Golf Fairfax course for a chance to win.” [FCPA]

It’s Monday — Expect mostly sunny skies and a high of around 84 degrees. As night falls, skies will turn partly cloudy and the temperature will dip to a low of 66 degrees, with a northwest wind at 3 to 5 mph. [NWS]

Felony Voting Rights Case Tossed — “A federal court has thrown out a lawsuit challenging Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s process for restoring voting rights for people convicted of a felony, ruling that the suit was filed under an incorrect section of law but also seeming to criticize the governor’s use of power by comparing it to that of a monarch.” [Washington Post]

Falls Church Council Member Resigns — Falls Church City Council member Caroline Lian has resigned after the city found that she hadn’t reported her job as deputy director for D.C.’s buildings department in a recent employment disclosure form. Lian left that post earlier this week after D.C. fined her $25,000 for failing to report her work with Falls Church or Tysons-based Freddie Mac. [ARLnow]

Restauranteur Seeks Help Catching DoorDash Thieves — “Fairfax City Police say thieves are exploiting a loophole in Doordash’s system, where the thieves put in an order, wait until the food is ready, and then cancel the order, but still pick up the food. [Okonomi Asian Grill owner Alex] Kang says thieves have been hitting his restaurant since April.” [WUSA9]

Fatal Food Poisoning Reported in Virginia — “Three people have now died in a listeria food poisoning outbreak linked to Boar’s Head deli meats, federal food safety officials announced Thursday, and the overall number of people sickened rose to 43.” The latest death happened in Virginia, following earlier deaths in New Jersey and Illinois. [Associated Press/WTOP]

How Drought Conditions Are Affecting Local Farms — Despite recent rain from tropical depression Debby, Fairfax County has spent much of the summer under the threat of a drought. Farms and gardens around the Mount Vernon District shared “how the excessively hot and dry conditions have been impacting them and what they’ve been doing to keep plants growing.” [On the MoVe]

Opening Date for Tysons Burger Spot — “We’re so excited to finally announce Char’d is opening its doors at Tyson’s Galleria on 08/18/2024, at 12 PM! Join us for our GRAND OPENING and come hungry! See you there!” [Char’d/Instagram]

Vienna Baseball Facility to Expand — The baseball training facility “Pitchers Edge LLC, located at 516 Mill St., N.E., on July 17 received unanimous approval from the Vienna Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) for a conditional-use permit to expand into the space next door.” [Gazette Leader]

Repairs Coming for Burke Lake Marina — “The Fairfax County Park Authority will soon begin repairs to the marina parking lot at Burke Lake Park. TMG and Southern Asphalt contractors will mobilize on site, with active construction activities scheduled to begin the third week of August.” [FCPA]

It’s Friday — Expect showers, potential thunderstorms, and a high of 82°F today. There’s a 90% chance of precipitation, with new rainfall amounts ranging from three quarters to one inch. Temperatures will drop to around 70°F at night, and the chance of precipitation decreases to 60%. [NWS]