Mary Stachyra Lopez | FFXnow

Mount Vernon debuts $20 million redesigned education center as ‘birthday gift to America’

Published June 11, 2026 at 11:45AM

A look inside the new exhibition, “George Washington: A Revolutionary Life” (Courtesy Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association)

Just in time for the nation’s 250th birthday, an immersive new exhibit that includes household objects owned by the first president will open inside a fully reimagined education center at George Washington’s Mount Vernon.

A ribbon cutting for the $20 million transformation — touted by Mount Vernon officials as a “birthday gift to America” — is slated for today (June 11).

News

Fairfax City Council unanimously updates noise restrictions, adds criminal penalty

By Mary Stachyra Lopez

Published June 10, 2026 at 3:45PM

Traffic on North Street in Fairfax City passes the clock in Old Town Square (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The Fairfax City Council has unanimously approved an updated noise ordinance that clarifies the maximum possible sound levels, tweaks the hours the law is applicable, and gives the city more ability to enforce noise violations — including a new criminal penalty intended for rare cases.

Passed at yesterday’s city council meeting, the ordinance expands prohibitions on certain noises that are currently banned from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. Starting July 15, restrictions will change to be in effect from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. daily.

Around Town

Reston community invited to ‘Play All Day’ with free recreational activities

By Mary Stachyra Lopez

Published June 10, 2026 at 11:45AM

Paddleboats docked at Lake Anne Plaza in Reston (file photo)

Reston residents will have many free ways to get out of the house and enjoy the outdoors as part of Play All Day VA celebrations, which fall on Father’s Day this year.

As a part of a statewide initiative to get residents active in their own communities, Reston Association is offering a number of activities at its facilities that are free or reduced in price on June 21, the longest day of the year.

Around Town

DMV Chocolate & Coffee Festival finds new venues after four years at Dulles Expo Center

By Mary Stachyra Lopez

Published June 9, 2026 at 1:45PM

Shoppers browse at the 2025 DMV Chocolate and Coffee Festival (Courtesy DMV Chocolate and Coffee Festival)

When the owners of the Dulles Expo Center announced last fall that the building would be turned into an IKEA, the husband-and-wife team that hosts the DMV Chocolate & Coffee Festival had to move quickly to find a new venue for 2026 — one capable of hosting over 200 small businesses and artisans, and thousands of visitors.

Now, co-founders John and Lindsay Hill have not only found a new venue to keep the festival running in its fifth anniversary year. They’re also expanding to a second location.

News

Three teenagers accused of ‘grab and run’ thefts in Tysons

By Mary Stachyra Lopez

Published June 9, 2026 at 8:30AM

Clothes reportedly stolen from stores in Tysons and Merrifield on June 3, 2026 (courtesy FCPD)

Fairfax County detectives have charged three teenagers with grand larceny after recovering more than $4,500 of allegedly stolen merchandise from a vehicle the trio was in, following reports of multiple thefts in Tysons.

According to the Fairfax County Police Department, detectives from the Tysons Urban Team responded to a report of a larceny at a store in the 1900 block of Chain Bridge Road in Tysons around 12:38 p.m. on June 3.

News

New documentary tells story of students who challenged Virginia’s Jim Crow bus law

By Mary Stachyra Lopez

Published June 8, 2026 at 3:45PM

NOVA Parks historian Paul McCray stands in front of a plaque installed at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in honor of Howard University students who protested Jim Crow in 1944 (Courtesy NOVA Parks)

In 1944, eight young black women boarded a segregated bus heading from Fairfax County to D.C. and sat in the front area, setting in motion a fierce challenge to Virginia’s Jim Crow laws.

The Howard University students’ story is the subject of a new, nine-minute documentary released last week by NOVA Parks and Howard University, “The Student Bus Protest That Challenged Jim Crow.”

Around Town

Dogfish Head Alehouse targets October opening in Reston

By Mary Stachyra Lopez

Published June 8, 2026 at 1:45PM

Rendering of what Dogfish Head Alehouse is expected to look like inside its new Reston Town Center location (Courtesy Dogfish Head Alehouse)

Dogfish Head Alehouse’s long-awaited return to Fairfax County will take a little longer than expected.

While the restaurant had originally targeted a summer 2026 opening, owner Viswa Vasireddy has confirmed to FFXnow that the new location at 11995 Inspiration Street in Reston Town Center is now likely to open in the fall.

News

BREAKING: Herndon man sentenced to life for double murder in ‘au pair affair’

By Mary Stachyra Lopez and Associated Press

Published June 5, 2026 at 1:45PM | Updated June 5, 2026 at 3:08PM

Brendan Banfield speaks during his sentencing on June 5, 2026 (screenshot via Law and Crime video pool feed)

A Herndon man was sentenced in Fairfax County Circuit Court today to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of his wife and a stranger he lured to their home through a fetish website.

Brendan Banfield, a former IRS law enforcement officer, claimed that he shot Joseph Ryan after he came across Ryan attacking his wife on the morning of Feb. 24, 2023. But earlier this year, a jury convicted him of murder after prosecutors argued that Banfield and the family’s au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, set Ryan up in a scheme to murder Christine Banfield, a pediatric intensive care nurse.

Countywide

Fairfax County Public Schools sued over response to Muslim students’ ‘kidnapping’ skit

By Mary Stachyra Lopez

Published June 4, 2026 at 3:45PM

Ahmad Kaki, a staff attorney with CAIR, plays the video made by Thomas Jefferson High School students during a press conference June 4. (Screenshot via CAIR's Facebook page)

A Muslim civil rights group is suing Fairfax County Public Schools for suspending several students after they created a “kidnapping” video for social media to promote their chapter of the Muslim Student Association (MSA) last fall.

The video was intended to depict a “playful overreaction” in response to a “specific, viral comedy skit circulating nationwide,” according to a filing submitted by the CAIR Legal Defense Fund today (June 4) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria.

Around Town

Fairfax area to celebrate Pride Month with festivals, art, and color run

By Mary Stachyra Lopez

Published June 4, 2026 at 12:30PM

A heart decorated with rainbow colors for Pride Month in 2024 (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Pride Month has arrived, and with it comes a range of celebrations throughout the D.C. region, from festivals to bike rides.

While RestonPride announced earlier this year that it will not hold its annual festival this year due to “critical” capacity and organizational challenges, Fairfax County will still have quite a few other events to uplift the LGBTQ community.