Author: Mary Stachyra Lopez

Mary Stachyra Lopez is a staff reporter covering business, public safety, education, and other community issues. She covered Northern Virginia news for years at several media outlets, and spent half a decade as an editor on The Atlantic's audience team before joining Local News Now. 

News

Springfield man dies at 93 after crash on Fairfax County Parkway in Burke

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
A Fairfax County police cruiser (file photo)

A 93-year-old Springfield man has died from the injuries he sustained in a crash on Fairfax County Parkway in Burke Sunday afternoon (Oct. 4).

According to the Fairfax County Police Department, Gerald Brook was riding in the front passenger seat of a 2010 Nissan Altima that was heading northbound on the parkway, approaching the Burke Lake Road intersection, when the car collided with a 2017 Toyota 4Runner that was traveling eastbound on Burke Lake Road.

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Countywide

McKay stresses security of Fairfax’s election process in Congressional ‘shadow hearing’

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
Man in a gray suit and tie sitting at a conference table with a microphone in front, audience seats behind him.
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay at a shadow hearing on the 2026 midterm elections held by Congressional Democrats at the Fairfax County Government Center (courtesy Office of Rep. James Walkinshaw)

Members of Northern Virginia’s Democratic congressional delegation convened at the Fairfax County Government Center last Thursday (Oct. 1) for a forum to address concerns about the upcoming November elections.

The “shadow hearing” called by House Democrats, who lack the legal power to subpoena or control formal hearings due to the party’s minority status in the chamber, was led by Rep. Joe Morelle (D-New York), a ranking member of the Committee on House Administration, and Fairfax County’s own Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-Va.).

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Around Town

Ikea to close small-scale Fairfax Corner showroom after this fall

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
Exterior of an IKEA store with a blue sign and yellow 3D letters, glass doors marked 4206, brick-and-stone facade, and a Fairfax Corner banner nearby.
Ikea's plan and order store at Fairfax Corner (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Ikea is planning to close its small-scale showroom in Fairfax Corner nearly three years after it opened.

The 4,500-square-foot “plan and order point” at 4206 Fairfax Corner Avenue West will close on Nov. 30, the Swedish furniture company recently announced. News of the closure comes just a few months after Ikea opened a store in Chantilly — its first full-scale location in Fairfax County.

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Countywide

Fairfax County residents can still claim a free tree for their home

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
Two kids and an adult planting a young tree in a grassy yard, kneeling around the sapling.
Kids help plant a tree (courtesy Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services)

Just in time for fall planting, Fairfax County residents can obtain a free tree to plant on their property — and even have it delivered to their front door.

The Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services’ Urban and Community Forestry Division (UCFD), in partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation, is offering the trees to all residents, while supplies last. The initiative launched in the spring and was revived in August.

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News

Police identify woman killed after being struck by multiple vehicles on Route 28

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
Fairfax County police car close-up (file photo)

A Fairfax woman killed while walking on Route 28 in Chantilly earlier this week was struck by multiple cars, police say.

Fiona Hagengimana, 32, was walking in the northbound lanes of Route 28 (Sully Road), just north of Route 50, when she was struck by a vehicle around 11 p.m. on Tuesday (Sept. 29), according to the Fairfax County Police Department.

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Around Town

Danish juice and coffee bar opens today in Tysons Corner Center

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
Outside Joe & The Juice store with a pink facade, large glass windows, and white outdoor tables beneath trees
Joe & the Juice's new location at Tysons Corner Center (Courtesy Joe & the Juice)

A new juice and coffee bar is opening today (Friday) at Tysons Corner Center.

Following today’s launch, Joe & the Juice, a Danish brand known for its juices, coffee, shakes, and sandwiches, will hold a grand opening for its first Virginia location tomorrow (Saturday), starting at 9 a.m.

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News

Former Hayfield Secondary School principal accused of embezzling school funds

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
Mugshot-style head-and-shoulders photo of a man with a full beard in a red hoodie against a gray background.
Darin Thompson (courtesy of FCPD)

The former principal of Hayfield Secondary School is accused of spending nearly $8,000 in school funds for personal expenses and has been charged with felony embezzlement, Fairfax County Police said yesterday (Sept. 30).

Darin Thompson, 51, of Lorton, turned himself in to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center yesterday after police obtained a warrant for his arrest. He was released on a $3,000 unsecured bond.

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News

Lake Braddock teachers push back against weapons detection duty with union grievance

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
Group of protesters on a sidewalk holding colorful signs about teaching and security.
Lake Braddock staff rally outside the school during Back to School night Sept. 1. (courtesy of FCFT)

Some teachers at Lake Braddock Secondary School are pushing back against a relatively new job duty: weapons detection.

The staff members say that they are not qualified nor the appropriate personnel to screen for weapons as students pass through OpenGate security systems at the Burke school. As part of the ongoing dispute, the Fairfax Education Unions — a partnership between the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers and Fairfax Education Association, the labor unions representing non-managerial employees — has filed a formal grievance against FCPS.

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News

Garbage truck driver charged in Fairfax City crash that killed 13-year-old e-bike rider

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
Police SUV from City of Fairfax with flashing blue lights blocking an intersection under a clear blue sky.
A Fairfax City police vehicle with lights on turning off Pickett Road (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

A garbage truck driver is now facing charges related to the death of a teenage bicyclist in Fairfax City earlier in September.

The driver, a 46-year-old man from Fort Washington, Md., was charged with careless driving and infliction of injury or death on vulnerable road users, a class 1 misdemeanor.

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News

FCPD: $600K worth of jewelry stolen in Springfield armed robbery

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
Surveillance image of a person in a dark hoodie and face covering at a store checkout, handling items at the counter.
The Fairfax County Police Department released these images of suspects in an armed robbery Sept. 27 in Springfield. (Courtesy of FCPD)

The Fairfax County Police Department is asking for the public’s help in identifying the suspects in a smash-and-grab armed robbery of a Springfield jewelry store over the weekend.

Officers responded to a report of a robbery Sunday (Sept. 27) around 3:30 p.m., at Dubai Jewelers (7010 Brookfield Plaza). Four men had arrived at the shop in a black Acura sedan, left the car, and then smashed the front glass door to get inside, police said in a release.

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