Author: FFXnow.com

Victims of Fake Immigration Attorney Testify — Immigrants defrauded by a woman who posed as an attorney and threatened to report them to immigration officials when questioned shared their stories to a Fairfax County judge on Monday (Oct. 7). Jasmine Moawad will be sentenced next month after pleading “guilty in February to one felony count of obtaining money by false pretenses.” [NBC4]

Metro Proposes New Funding Model — “Leaders at the D.C. Metro system have been touting a huge drop in fare evasion at train stations since new, higher gates were installed. But only 30 percent of bus riders pay for the service, and the agency is considering a dramatic change to its funding model that would reduce the cost for jurisdictions whose riders pay their fares.” [Washington Post]

Hurricanes Send More Animals to Fairfax Shelter — “More animals are coming. Homeward Trails expects 30 pets from an affected shelter in Galax, Virginia, to arrive Wednesday, right before Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall in Florida. The rescue anticipates even more pets will arrive in the DC area later in the week.” [Washingtonian]

County Expands WiFi to Parking Lots — In time for Digital Inclusion Week from Oct. 7-11, the Fairfax County Department of Neighborhood and Community Services has expanded free Wi-Fi to the parking lots of over 20 community, senior, teen and adult day health centers. It also now offers iPads, 3D printers and robotics kits at some senior and community centers. [NCS]

Speakeasy-Style Restaurant Opens in Fairfax City — “Chef Jon Krinn’s restaurant Elyse in Fairfax officially opens on Wednesday, October 9. Until now, the 29-seat restaurant on Fairfax Boulevard has been ‘invitation-only’…Krinn describes the restaurant as having a speakeasy vibe with a tasting menu format paired with wine and spirits.” [Northern Virginia Magazine]

Women-Owned Businesses Awarded Grants — Six women-owned business in Fairfax City won grants totaling $27,859 from Fairfax City Economic Development (FCED). The inaugural recipients of the Women’s Entrepreneur Grant Opportunity were announced at the Women’s Entrepreneur Empowerment Luncheon on Sept. 25. [FCED]

Snake Meat Found in Bag at Dulles Airport — “A 4-year-old beagle working as a detector dog at Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia discovered two pounds of snake meat inside a traveler’s baggage recently…Although the meat is a routine protein source in Equatorial Guinea, it is one of the animal products that is illegal to import into the U.S.” [Patch]

It’s Wednesday — Expect sunny skies and a high near 71 degrees, accompanied by a west wind at 5 to 10 mph. At night, the sky will be clear, with the temperature dipping to a low of around 47 degrees. A northwest wind of approximately 7 mph will persist. [NWS]

McLean Bank Makes Public Debut — “Chain Bridge Bancorp (CBNA.N), was valued at $138 million after its shares fell 2% in their NYSE debut on Friday, marking a grim start to its stint as a public company…While some analysts had lauded timing the IPO just a month ahead of the presidential election, the lukewarm reception highlights the challenges of attracting investors to a less recognizable conservative-leaning brand.” [Reuters]

Vienna Student Reported for Assaults and Threat — Vienna Adventist Academy’s principal reported a Sept. 26 incident where “a student had a violent emotional breakdown in class that resulted in them striking multiple other students and faculty members before being separated from the class. During the incident, the student made an additional physical threat.” [Vienna Police]

Fairfax Dunkin’ Donuts Robbed — A 21-year-old Fairfax man was arrested last week and charged with petit larceny in connection to a reported robbery of Dunkin’ Donuts (10020 Main Street) on Oct. 3. Police say “a male subject approached the victim, punched the victim, stole the victim’s electric scooter and cell phone, and fled the area. The victim sustained minor injuries.” [City of Fairfax Police]

N. Va. Unemployment Rate Rises — Northern Virginia’s jobless rate of 3.1% in August was up from 2.8% a year before, according to new state data, with 1.68 million employed and 54,500 seeking jobs. Fairfax County’s unemployment rate for the month was 3.1% with 20,132 people without jobs, up from 2.9% in July and 2.7% in August 2023. [Virginia Employment Commission]

Franconia Metro Station Getting New Escalators — “On October 7, 2024, Metro will begin a major capital project replacing two entrance escalators and three platform escalators at Franconia-Springfield. The five escalators will be replaced with brand-new ones that are more durable and reliable.” Expected to finish in July 2025, the work is part of a system-wide effort to update the transit agency’s escalators. [WMATA]

WaPo Critic Impressed by Fairfax City Restaurant — Southeast Impressions, which opened in Fairfax City’s Scout on the Circle development last year, serves Singaporean and Malaysian favorites as well as “a hit parade of Thai choices.” Critic Tom Sietsema says it’s an exception to the adage that “plastic, pages-long menus with photographs are typically a sign of a restaurant to avoid.” [Washington Post]

Dulles Airport to Offer New Flights — “United Airlines Inc. plans to add two nonstop destinations to its lineup of flights out of Dulles International Airport (IAD) later this fall, further cementing its status as the airport’s largest carrier.” Daily nonstop flights will be available to South Bend International Airport in Indiana starting Dec. 3 and to Morgantown Municipal Airport in West Virginia on Dec. 13 [Washington Business Journal]

It’s Monday — Expect sunny weather with temperatures reaching up to 70°F. Northwest winds will be blowing at 8-13 mph, gusting up to 20 mph. As for Monday night, the sky will be mostly clear, and the temperature will drop to around 50°F, accompanied by a northwest wind of 6-8 mph. [NWS]

County Mails Sample Voting Ballots — “The Office of Elections has mailed a sample ballot to each of the county’s 730,000+ registered voters…The sample ballot is customized for each voter to show the contest that will appear on their ballots.” [Fairfax County Office of Elections]

FCPD Welcomes First Female Bomb Technician — First Class Officer Melanie Todd has joined the Fairfax County Police Department’s Explosisve Ordinance Disposal Unit as its first female bomb technician after graduating from the FBI’s Hazardous Device School, a six-week program that teaches participants how to identify and disarm explosive devices. [FCPD]

One Reston Company Acquires Another — “Government contractor CACI International has made its second acquisition in the past month, acquiring Reston, Virginia-based cloud, data and cybersecurity company Applied Insight.” The all-cash acquisition of Applied Insight, which has 650 employees, is now complete. [WTOP]

FBI Raid Raises Contractor Concerns — “The FBI and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service’s search of Carahsoft Technology Corp.’s headquarters last week is sparking new questions and concerns about the long-term viability of vendors selling in the federal market and dependable access to specific technologies by agencies.” [Federal News Network]

Falls Church Candidates Debate Accessory Dwellings — “Candidates for the Falls Church City Council seat on the Nov. 5 ballot are playing it cautiously when it comes to bringing accessory-dwelling units (ADUs) to residential neighborhoods in the city.” [ARLnow]

Horticultural Group Lands Big Donation — The American Horticultural Society (AHS) recently received “a donation of $5 million to set up a permanent endowment.” The gift was separate from a $2 million state grant that’s funding accessibility improvements for the nonprofit’s headquarters at River Farm in Fort Hunt. [On the MoVe]

Park Basketball Courts Get Repairs — The Fairfax County Park Authority’s contractor has started work on repairs to the basketball courts at Luria Park in Annandale and Tyler Park in West Falls Church. The improvements, including new goals, crack repairs and asphalt overlay, are expected to finish by the first week of November. [FCPA]

Back to School Celebration in Idylwood — “Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik and Fairfax County School Board Chair Karl Frisch are hosting the inaugural Providence Day & Back to School Celebration on Saturday, Oct. 5, from 11 a.m to 3 p.m. at George C. Marshall High School. The event will include interactive booths, resource fair, food trucks giveaways and a fit games challenge.” [Patch]

It’s Friday — Expect mostly cloudy skies with a high of around 76 accompanied by a gentle south wind at 3-6 mph. As the night sets in, the skies will continue to stay cloudy, with temperatures dipping to a low of about 62 and a mild south wind. [NWS]

Cell Service Disruptions Resolved — Fairfax County announced at 8:40 a.m. that a “fiber line issue” affecting cell phone service for multiple carriers in several areas has been resolved. The disruption temporarily may have impacted people’s ability to call 911. [Fairfax County Government/Twitter]

Error Jeopardizes Fatal Police Shooting Case — Defense attorneys for Wesley Shifflett will seek a mistrial after prosecutors played body camera footage during their closing arguments yesterday (Wednesday) that wasn’t admitted into evidence. The former Fairfax County police officer is on trial for involuntary manslaughter after fatally shooting Timothy Johnson in Tysons last year. [Washington Post]

Shelter Takes Animals Rescued From Hurricane — “Homeless animals rescued from flooding caused by Hurricane Helene arrived in Fairfax Tuesday night, thanks to Homeward Trails Animal Rescue. The shelter took in nearly 70 cats, over 20 puppies, and eight dogs from Yancey and Mitchell counties in North Carolina.” [Northern Virginia Magazine]

Details Emerge on Post Office Relocation — The U.S. Postal Service says its new facility at 2923 E. Lee Street in Groveton “is nearly ready” and could start operating “in the next month and a half.” With the Alexandria Community Post Office in Mount Vernon Plaza closing, the Engleside office will expand to accommodate some routes and carriers. [On the MoVe]

Engineering Company Opens Dunn Loring Office — “Congratulations to @ENSCO_Inc on your new office in Dunn Loring! I hope this space will help serve your needs as you continue to grow in the aerospace, national security, and transportation sectors. We look forward to another 50 years of success!” [Gerry Connolly/Twitter]

Korean American Bank Adds Fairfax County Branches — PromiseOne Bank, which is based in Duluth, Georgia, and focuses on Asian American communities, opened new branches in Annandale and Centreville this month. The locations were acquired from Bank of Hope, a Los Angeles-based company that now has no physical base in the D.C. area. [Washington Business Journal]

Frontier Airlines Plans Dulles Return — “Discount carrier Frontier Airlines announced it’s launching 22 new routes in December, including nonstop service from Dulles International Airport to Tampa International Airport…Frontier returns to Dulles after discontinuing its operations at the airport in the first quarter of 2022.” [WTOP]

Blind Reston Woman Finds Footing as Ballroom Dancer — “Davida Luehrs raises her arm to indicate to her dance partner her readiness to begin. Typically, in ballroom dancing, the dancer who leads gives this signal. But Luehrs is legally blind and cannot see her dance partner, so this is one of the many modifications devised to enable her to fulfill her dream of competing in ballroom dance.” [Northern Virginia Magazine]

It’s Thursday — Expect partly sunny skies and a high around 74 degrees, accompanied by light and variable winds. As night falls on Thursday, the sky will transition to being partly cloudy with a low temperature of about 62 degrees, and a gentle breeze from the south. [NWS]