More
Email signup

FFXnow Daily Debrief for Apr 26, 2024

Good Friday evening, Fairfax County. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.

🕗 News recap

The following articles were published earlier today — Apr 26, 2024.

Since it’s Friday, we’ve also compiled a list of the most-read articles of the week, below.

  1. UPDATED: West Potomac HS evacuated after reported bomb threat (17582 views)
  2. Smoke billowing into sky from two-alarm fire in Sterling (14234 views)
  3. Fairfax County employees advocate for pay raises during April budget hearings (2442 views)
  4. McLean Starbucks reopens after extensive interior renovations (1945 views)
  5. FCPD: Lincolnia school counselor charged after allegedly head-butting student (1605 views)
  6. Taste of Tysons festival showcasing mall’s eateries to return in May (1539 views)
  7. Lorton Community Center worker arrested for ‘indecent’ relationship with teen, police say (1278 views)
  8. WillowWood Plaza mixed-use development advances to Fairfax City Council (1270 views)

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on Saturday throughout the county, from our event calendar.

Here are the events planned for Sunday:

🌧️ Saturday’s forecast

Scattered showers are expected mainly between 9am and 4pm, with cloudy conditions and a high near 58. Winds will come from the southeast at 6 to 11 mph, and there’s a 40% chance of precipitation. The night will be mostly cloudy with a low around 52, and south winds blowing at 6 to 8 mph. See more from Weather.gov.

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

The MonumentCam screenshot above is used with permission of the Trust for the National Mall and courtesy of EarthCam.

We hope you have a great weekend! Feel free to discuss the most-read stories of the week, the upcoming weekend events or anything else of local interest in the comments. 👋

0 Comments

Local independent bookstores hope to draw visitors with new ‘passport’ program

Fonts Books and Gifts in McLean (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

For this year’s Independent Bookstore Day, local bookworms will be encouraged to collect not just new literary titles, but also places to buy them.

More than a dozen shops across Northern Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia have teamed up for a new “Passport” program, giving customers a chance to win prizes if they visit different locations.

“The Passport will introduce book lovers to more of our region’s growing bookstore scene, and offer them a way to celebrate with their favorites,” a press release for the campaign says.

The passports will be issued by the participating stores this Saturday (April 27) on Independent Bookstore Day, which is organized by the American Booksellers Association to celebrate the importance of independently owned book shops to local communities.

Passport holders will then have until May 31 to collect stamps from the participating stores. Four stores will net a book, eight stores a tote bag, and those who visit at least 10 stores can enter to win a grand prize, which will have books, gift cards and other items from each of the 15 shops, according to Fonts Books and Gifts owner Amber Taylor.

Taylor’s McLean store, which opened last year near Chesterbrook Plaza, is one of several Fairfax County businesses involved in the promotional campaign. Bards Alley in Vienna (full disclosure: this reporter’s sister is an employee), Scrawl Books in Reston and Herndon’s A Thousand Stories are also taking part.

“Northern Virginia is home to a robust and growing community of local, independent bookstores. And, our region is full of readers, book lovers and supporters of local businesses,” Taylor said by email. “We hope all of our customers enjoy filling their Bookstore Passports beginning on Saturday as they visit their favorite stores, and some stores that are new to them.”

In addition to the Passport program, each of the stores has its own activities planned for Independent Bookstore Day.

Scrawl Books has lined up several author visits, while Fonts will offer non-alcoholic drink samples, among other activities. Bards Alley will host a “stuffy sleepover” and storytime, and A Thousand Stories has partnered with Arts Herndon and the Friends of Runnymeade Park for a native plant and art sale.

Now in its 11th year, Independent Bookstore Day was started in 2013 by booksellers in California before going national in 2015. According to the American Booksellers Association, over a thousand stores across all 50 states will host events this year.

Passport programs or “bookstore crawls” have become a popular promotional method. The Northern Virginia crawl — which also includes Curious Iguana in Frederick, Maryland, and WordPlay in Wardensville, West Virginia — echoes similar campaigns in D.C., Connecticut and other areas.

0 Comments

FFXnow Daily Debrief for Apr 25, 2024

Good Thursday evening, Fairfax County. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.

🕗 News recap

The following articles were published earlier today — Apr 25, 2024.

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on Friday throughout the county, from our event calendar.

🌤️ Friday’s forecast

Expect mostly sunny skies and a high of around 64 degrees, accompanied by a mild east wind at 6 to 8 mph. As for Friday night, the skies will turn mostly cloudy and temperatures will dip to around 46 degrees, while a southeast wind at 7 to 9 mph persists. See more from Weather.gov.

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

The MonumentCam screenshot above is used with permission of the Trust for the National Mall and courtesy of EarthCam.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.

0 Comments

W&OD Trail’s 50th anniversary celebration kicks off this weekend with cleanup

W&OD Trail in Herndon (staff photo by James Jarvis)

The Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) Trail has reached the half-century mark.

The Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NOVA Parks) is marking the facility’s 50th anniversary with various activities from April to September, starting this Saturday (April 27) with a trail-wide cleanup event from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m.

Coinciding with the Rails to Trails Conservancy’s Celebrate Trails Day, the cleanup effort encourages volunteers to participate along the entire 45-mile trail, which stretches from Shirlington to Purcellville.

According to a press release, the trail was named after the former Washington & Old Dominion Railroad and played a vital role in the economic development of Northern Virginia. It linked Alexandria’s seaport to communities westward, including Arlington, Falls Church and Fairfax and Loudoun counties.

When the railroad was abandoned in 1968, Dominion Power installed transmission lines along the corridor. NOVA Parks immediately started studying the feasibility of converting the former railroad to a trail.

Nearly 50 years ago, on Sept. 7, 1974, the “first ride” was documented on the first stretch of the W&OD Trail — a 1.5-mile-long, 6-foot-wide asphalt path in Falls Church City, per the release. It made the amenity among the first rails-to-trails conversions in the U.S.

Over 14 years, NOVA Parks expanded the trail into a continuous 45-mile pathway from Arlington to the Town of Purcellville, serving over 2 million people annually.

To improve safety, several ‘grade-separated’ intersections have been installed along the trail’s 70 road crossings, allowing trail users and vehicles to travel at different levels. Recent upgrades include a bridge over Route 29 in Arlington, completed in 2021, and one over Wiehle Avenue in Reston that’s expected to open this June.

NOVA Parks has also been remaking parts of the trail into separate, parallel tracks for pedestrians and cyclists. A section in Falls Church became operational in 2021, and there are plans for expansion into other urban areas, including in Arlington and the Vienna, Herndon and Reston segments, per the release.

Additional events for the W&OD Trail’s 50th anniversary can be found on the NOVA Park’s website, which lists several scheduled through July.

APRIL 27: CELEBRATE TRAILS DAY 
Make Earth Day everyday and show your appreciation of the trail by participating in the first ever 45-mile trail cleanup of the W&OD Trail. Celebrate Trails Day is presented by the Rails to Trails Conservancy. Sign up to volunteer anywhere along the 45-mile trail from Shirlington to Purcellville, Virginia.

MAY 17: BIKE TO WORK DAY
Bike to Work Day celebrates the many benefits of using alternate transportation to work. The first 16,000 who register and attend at a pit stop receive a free Bike to Work Day t-shirt. Free giveaways, food, and beverages are available at participating locations, while supplies last. Register for and stop by one of the pit stops where NOVA Parks will be located:

MAY 27: CITY OF FALLS CHURCH MEMORIAL DAY PARADE
Cheer on NOVA Parks’ W&OD-themed float at the City of Falls Church’s 42nd Annual Memorial Day Parade. The fun starts at 2 p.m. Learn more.

JUNE 1: NATIONAL TRAILS DAY
Visit NOVA Parks at the W&OD Trail’s mile marker 0 in Shirlington, where EcoAction Arlington will coordinate volunteers for an invasive cleanup between the start of the W&OD Trail and George Mason Drive. National Trails Day is a day of service for hometown trails and the people who love them, presented by the American Hiking Society.

JULY 4: CITY OF FAIRFAX INDEPENDENCE DAY PARADE
Cheer on NOVA Parks’ W&OD-themed float at the City of Fairfax’s Independence Day Parade and stay for the fireworks! The parade takes place 10am-noon in downtown Fairfax. The event is rain or shine. Learn more.

0 Comments

Stellina Pizzeria to open at Capital One Center in Tysons this month

Previous Image 1/3 Next Image

Stellina Pizzeria has a launch date for its upcoming Tysons restaurant.

The D.C.-based chain will open its largest location yet at Capital One Center (1610 Capital One Drive) in Tysons next Tuesday, April 30, at 4 p.m. The occasion will be marked with an offer of free tiramisu to the first 50 customers who make a purchase.

For its first week, the restaurant will be in soft opening mode, operating only for dinner from 4-10 p.m. Hours will later expand to include lunch, starting at 11 a.m.

“We’re thrilled to be opening Stellina’s fifth location,” owner Antonio Matarazzo said in a press release. “Stellina Pizzeria has been operating in the D.C. area since 2018, and we’ve been fortunate to grow our presence to several different locations within the District and Northern Virginia. We’re looking forward to becoming a part of the Tysons community and beyond, and sharing a taste of our native Italy with long-time residents and visitors alike.”

The opening date announcement confirms Capital One Center’s earlier projection that Stellina Pizzeria would open by the end of April — prior to its spring 2024 Perchfest, a celebration that will take place on May 3 and 4.

The development also anticipated an April opening for Starr Hill Brewpub, which will complement Starr Hill Brewery’s biergarten in The Perch, but an exact date remains to be determined.

Designed by Perkins Eastman senior associate Kimony Lallement in collaboration with Matarazzo and chef Matteo Venini, Stellina’s 4,700-square-foot dining room in Tysons blends elements from the company’s existing locations in Union Market, Shirlignton and K Street, according to the press release.

It also uniquely features floor-to-ceiling windows for its storefront, allowing “uninterrupted views” of Capital One’s campus. Customers will be able to watch their pizza getting prepped in a glass-enclosed kitchen and pick up pizza dough, pasta, sauces and other freshly made ingredients from a Stellina Bottega.

The restaurant has the capacity for 104 patrons indoors and 22 outdoors in a landscaped courtyard that will host live music and other events.

“The restaurant’s menu will stay true to the concept’s authentic Italian roots and feature traditional dishes inspired by Northern and Southern Italian pizza and street food,” Stellina Pizzeria said. “In addition to food offerings, the new location will host private events and pizza and pasta cooking classes.”

Stellina serves 11 signature, Neo-Neapolitan-style pizzas made in a custom oven by Venini, who uses a biga yeast and malted flour that have been fermented for 48 hours. That process produces “a light, moist crust with a distinct crispiness around the edge,” the business says.

Beyond pizza, the menu will consist of paninis, pastas, salads and traditional Italian sweets, along with cocktails, beer and wine. Specials at the Tysons location will rotate throughout the week and could include fish, pizza and other dishes.

0 Comments

New Route 7 shared-use path featured in upcoming ‘Tour de Hunter Mill’ bicycle ride

Left to right: Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling President Bruce Wright, Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn and Reston Bike Club Vice Chairman Joel Kuester team up to promote the upcoming Tour de Hunter Mill community bicycle ride (courtesy Hunter Mill District Office)

The annual Tour de Hunter Mill bicycle ride will kick into full gear early next month with new routes designed to show off sights and amenities throughout the district.

Registration is now open for the fourth iteration of the May 5 community bike ride, which was introduced in 2021 by Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn.

The event will feature two brand-new routes — one spanning 16 miles and the other covering 27 miles — that both begin and end at the North County Governmental Center (1801 Cameron Glen Drive) in Reston, with a rest stop at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens (9750 Meadowlark Gardens Court) in Wolf Trap.

This year’s routes will incorporate portions of the Washington & Old Dominion Trail and, for the first time, a new shared-use path along Route 7 (Leesburg Pike), according to Alcorn’s office.

The 10-foot-wide path is part of the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Route 7 widening, which is redesigning key intersections and adding a lane in each direction from Reston Avenue to Jarrett Valley Drive just outside of Tysons.

Though VDOT is targeting July 31 for completing the overall project, the trail is already functional enough for cyclists and pedestrians to use — at least between Reston Avenue and Towlston Road, according to Brian Worthy, a spokesperson for Alcorn’s office. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be scheduled for late May.

“I’m excited that this year’s Tour de Hunter Mill will take advantage of the newest bike trail in the district — the new shared-used path along both sides of Leesburg Pike,” Alcorn said in a statement to FFXnow. “It will allow bikers to get from Reston all the way into Tysons safely, and it expands the transportation options for traveling safely along this busy corridor.”

Co-sponsored by the Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling (FABB), Reston Bike Club and Reston Community Center, the Tour de Hunter Mill costs $30 for adults, but children 15 and under can participate for free, as long as they’re accompanied by an adult.

The fee includes custom Tour de Hunter Mill socks for at least the first 165 registrants and a $5 donation to FABB, a volunteer, nonprofit organization that advocates for bicycling to be “safe, accessible and commonplace in Fairfax County for all ages, abilities and skill levels.”

The event will begin at 8 a.m. with riders checking in at a welcome table. After some opening remarks, the 27-mile ride will start at 8:30 a.m., and the shorter route will follow at 8:45 a.m. Once they finish, cyclists will be able to enjoy “food & fun” at the North County Governmental Center from 10 a.m. to noon, according to the registration page.

In a promotional video for the Tour de Hunter Mill, Reston Bike Club Vice Chairman Joel Kuester expressed hope that next year’s routes will utilize the new W&OD Trail bridge over Wiehle Avenue, which was installed earlier this month and is slated to open for use in June.

“Tour is a great way for folks to get out and experience the local roads, the trails and so on, so they know how to get around by bike,” FABB President Bruce Wright said in the video.

0 Comments

FFXnow Daily Debrief for Apr 24, 2024

Good Wednesday evening, Fairfax County. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.

🕗 News recap

The following articles were published earlier today — Apr 24, 2024.

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on Thursday throughout the county, from our event calendar.

  • No events today. Have one to promote? Submit it to the calendar.

🌤️ Thursday’s forecast

Expect a partly sunny day with a high temperature around 61 degrees, accompanied by a northeast wind blowing at 6 to 9 mph. As for Thursday night, it will be partly cloudy with the temperature dropping to around 42 degrees, while an east wind blows gently at 3 to 6 mph. See more from Weather.gov.

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

The MonumentCam screenshot above is used with permission of the Trust for the National Mall and courtesy of EarthCam.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.

0 Comments

Taste of Tysons festival showcasing mall’s eateries to return in May

Previous Image 1/4 Next Image

Tysons Corner Center visitors will get another opportunity to sample the mall’s culinary scene this spring.

After drawing a big crowd when it launched last year, the Taste of Tysons is set to return for a second year on May 4. More than 40 eateries throughout the mall will participate, offering free food bites from noon to 2 p.m.

Attendees should first stop by the Plaza to check in and get access to a digital “Passport to Delicious: Eatery Guide.” There will also be music from the party band Cazhmiere, a Barrel & Bushel beer bar, a photo booth, a prize wheel for “swag” and gift cards, and a “Career Corner,” where restaurants will provide information about their job openings, per a press release.

After 2 p.m., the Plaza will host cooking demonstrations from the chefs at Seasons52, Shake Shack and other restaurants. The event will conclude with live music from the Delaware-based Party Fowl Band.

Taste of Tysons is free to attend, but the mall is encouraging prospective attendees to register in advance. Tickets for a V.I.P. lounge on the Plaza can be purchased through Eventbrite.

“Purchase of a $30 ticket grants you access to the exclusive VIP lounge…complete with complimentary pairings from our top restaurants including Nordstrom Marketplace Cafe, Earls, Seasons52, and Barrel & Bushel!” the press release says.

Proceeds from the VIP ticket sales will go to the nonprofit Food for Others, which operates a food bank and other food distribution programs out of a warehouse in Merrifield.

According to Tysons Corner Center, here are some of the eateries participating in this year’s food sampling, including the Indian restaurant Dhoom, which opened in February:

Beng Beng Chicken
California Tortilla
Capital Musubi
Cha Street Food
Cinnabon
Dhoom
Haagen-Dazs
Istanbul Kitchen
Kung Fu Tea
Maman Joon
Matcha Café
Moe’s Chicken
Naan & Beyond
Nordstrom Ebar
Olivia Macaron
Shake Shack
Shilla Bakery
Soricha Tea
Wasabi

0 Comments

Construction leads to location change for popular Reston community yard sale

The Reston community yard sale in fall 2023 (photo by Sean Bahrami/Reston Association)

(Updated at noon) Reston’s popular community yard sale is temporarily moving down the road.

More than 3,000 people are expected to attend the biannual event when it returns this Saturday (April 27), according to Reston Association, the organizer.

Typically held every spring and fall at RA’s headquarters, the yard sale will relocate to the Farm at Halley Rise (12010 Sunrise Valley Drive) for this weekend due to “construction activity” at its usual spot (12001 Sunrise Valley Drive).

The office building where RA leases space is getting its rooftop HVAC units replaced, according to an RA spokesperson.

“The Community Yard Sale is not only a great place to find bargains, but also it provides a wonderful sense of community,” RA Community Events Supervisor Ashleigh Soloff said. “Families look forward to this event all year, and neighbors come out to chat and browse the items for sale. It’s a wonderful way to meet neighbors, meet new friends and pick up some great deals.”

RA says the community yard sale has become one of its most anticipated events since it began 29 years ago.

Vendor space for this weekend’s iteration has sold out, with more than 90 local families planning to hawk their home décor and furniture, clothing, toys and other goods.

The yard sale will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Located across the street from Wegmans, the Farm at Halley Rise was introduced in 2022 and features vegetable, herb, fruit and native flower gardens, beehives, a rain garden and a meadow. The farm is run by Up Top Acres, a nonprofit dedicated to addressing food insecurity.

0 Comments

FFXnow Daily Debrief for Apr 23, 2024

Good Tuesday evening, Fairfax County. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.

🕗 News recap

The following articles were published earlier today — Apr 23, 2024.

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on Wednesday throughout the county, from our event calendar.

🌦️ Wednesday’s forecast

Showers are likely mainly before 7am, followed by cloudy skies which will gradually clear later in the day, reaching a high of about 69 degrees. Winds will come from the northwest at 9 to 14 mph, gusting up to 21 mph, and there’s a 30% chance of precipitation. For Wednesday night, expect partly cloudy conditions and a low of around 42 degrees, accompanied by a north wind at approximately 10 mph. See more from Weather.gov.

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

The MonumentCam screenshot above is used with permission of the Trust for the National Mall and courtesy of EarthCam.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.

0 Comments
View More Stories
×

Subscribe to our mailing list