Author: Vernon Miles

Vernon Miles is the ALXnow cofounder and editor. He's covered Alexandria since 2014 and has been with Local News Now since 2018. When he's not reporting, he can usually be found playing video games or Dungeons and Dragons with friends.

Around Town

Hello Kitty Cafe Truck celebrating 10-year anniversary at Tysons this weekend

By Vernon Miles
Hello Kitty Cafe (courtesy photo)

The iconic all-pink Hello Kitty Cafe Truck will be making its annual return to Tysons Corner Center this weekend.

The truck is scheduled to set up at the Events Plaza at Tysons Corner Center (1961 Chain Bridge Road) from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. this Saturday, March 22.

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Around Town

Tysons Corner Center announces cherry blossom celebrations this month

By Vernon Miles
Cherry blossoms start to bloom at the Tysons Corner Center Plaza (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Tysons Corner Center is going all out for cherry blossom season this year.

The mall announced last week that it will host four weeks of “diverse creative programming and themed events” from March 20 to April 13.

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News

Portion of Cross County Trail closing until next year for sewer repairs

By Vernon Miles
Cyclist on the Cross County Trail (photo via Fairfax County Park Authority)

Starting next week, a portion of the Gerry Connolly Cross County Trail near Newington will be closed as part of a major wastewater rehabilitation project from Fairfax County.

The Fairfax County Park Authority said a portion of the trail in Pohick Stream Valley Park will be closed starting Monday, March 17, between Cliff Forest Drive and Wadebrook Terrace.

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Countywide

George Mason University approves antisemitism resolution but sparks free speech debate

By Vernon Miles
George Mason University Board of Visitors discusses a resolution on antisemitism at its Feb. 27, 2025 meeting (image via GMU TV)

George Mason University (GMU) Board of Visitors approved a resolution late last month aimed at combatting antisemitism, despite concerns about language that opponents fear could restrict free speech on the public school’s campuses.

Debate at the board’s meeting on Feb. 27 highlighted grey areas where the policy could be used as a cudgel against pro-Palestinian protestors and crack down on discussions about the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

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Countywide

Survey recommends preserving sites built during Fairfax County’s Modern architecture craze

By Vernon Miles
Modernist architecture at a Popeyes in Reston (image via Modern Architecture Selective Survey)

What do a Fairfax County public library, bowling alley and the Dulles family home have in common?

They’re all examples of modernism, an architectural style that exploded onto the scene in Fairfax County after World War II, according to a new survey that could help preserve some key remnants of the movement.

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News

Former Va. Senate candidate sentenced to jail for posing as immigration lawyer

By Vernon Miles
Fairfax County Deputy Chief of Police for Investigations and Operations Support Lt. Col. Tom Ryan announces the arrest of Jasmine Moawad for posing as an attorney and defrauding immigrants on May 12, 2021 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

A one-time Virginia Senate candidate will have to spend time in jail and pay restitution to her victims after fraudulently posing as an immigration lawyer.

Jasmine Moawad, a 49-year-old woman originally from Bolivia, was sentenced to five years in jail for fraud on Friday, March 7, with all but six months suspended, the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office announced.

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News

Former Army soldier sentenced to 70 years in prison for 1994 West Springfield murder

By Vernon Miles
Fairfax County Courthouse (file photo)

Former Army soldier Stephan Smerk was given the maximum sentence — 70 years in prison — today (Friday) for the murder of West Springfield woman Robin Lawrence in 1994.

Smerk, 53, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder on Oct. 4 for stabbing and killing Lawrence in her home in an act of random violence.

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News

Fairfax County buys parcels along Mount Vernon creek to cut off future development

By Vernon Miles
Dogue Creek (image via Fairfax County)

Fairfax County has purchased land in the Dogue Creek watershed near Fort Belvoir for $2.8 million in a bid to prevent future development, remove an “eyesore” and restore the creek.

In a release, Fairfax County said the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services purchased three parcels of land, around 7.9 acres in total.

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News

Geological Survey HQ in Reston and other Fairfax buildings in federal cost-cutting crosshairs

By Vernon Miles
The U.S. Geological Survey headquarters building in Reston (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Seventeen government buildings around Fairfax County, including the U.S. Geological Survey headquarters, could be going up for sale amid federal spending cuts.

Buildings in Reston, and Springfield were among 443 federal properties listed by the General Services Administration (GSA) as “not core to government operations” on Tuesday (March 4) before that list was taken down just one day later.

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News

Wally is saved: Kingstowne beaver granted reprieve by property management

By Vernon Miles
Wally's den at Kingstowne Lake (staff photo by Vernon Miles)

A petition campaign to save a local beaver at Kingstowne Lake won property management over: Wally will live.

According to residents, Wally moved to the man-made stormwater management pond known as Kingstowne Lake sometime in September last year. Whether it’s just one beaver or a couple is unclear — a licensed wildlife expert said over 60 trees had been damaged by the beaver, indicating there could be more than one.

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