Countywide | FFXnow

Morning Notes

Published August 30, 2022 at 7:30AM

Construction continues on the "Block A" mixed-use tower at Capital One Center in Tysons (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

IRS Data Shows Exodus in Northern Virginia — “Alexandria, Arlington County, Fairfax city, Fairfax County, Falls Church, Manassas, Manassas Park and Prince William County all saw more people move out in 2020 than move in — basically everything in Northern Virginia except for Loudoun County and outlying areas such as Fauquier County and Stafford County.” [Cardinal News]

Lake Accotink Celebrates Past, Prepares for Future — “The Fairfax County Park Authority hosted a 60th-anniversary celebration of Lake Accotink Park Aug. 27…The next big thing to happen at Lake Accotink Park will be a major dredging operation to prevent the lake from filling up with sediment.” [Annandale Today]

Fairfax County Covid cases continue decline, as free at-home test program winds down

By Angela Woolsey

Published August 29, 2022 at 2:15PM

An at-home rapid COVID-19 test (via Steve Nomax/Unsplash)

Put in your final requests for free at-home COVID-19 tests now, because once Labor Day weekend arrives, that will no longer be an option.

The federal government’s offer of free, at-home test kits to all households will be put on hold Friday (Sept. 2) after Congress failed to renew funding for the program, which launched in January during the pandemic’s biggest surge so far.

VDOT to lift HOV and toll restrictions over Labor Day weekend

By Vernon Miles

Published August 29, 2022 at 11:45AM

I-66 construction in Fairfax County (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

To help ease congestion, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) said it will suspend work on many highway projects and lift lane restrictions on interstates and other major roads.

VDOT said in a release that Labor Day is one of the busiest travel days of the year. Past traffic data suggested the congestion is heaviest from noon to 7 p.m. on Friday and intermittently throughout the holiday weekend, Monday included.

Naked man accosts woman on W&OD Trail in Reston, may be involved in other exposure incidents

By Fatimah Waseem

Published August 29, 2022 at 9:30AM

Fairfax County police car with lights flashing (file photo)

A naked man grabbed a woman at the Washington & Old Dominion Trail between Town Center Parkway and the Fairfax County Parkway in Reston on Friday (Aug. 26), according to the Fairfax County Police Department.

The suspect may be connected to other indecent exposure incidents in the area, police say. Later that day, police officers in the Town of Herndon investigated an indecent exposure on the trail near Ferndale Avenue.

Morning Notes

By FFXnow.com

Published August 29, 2022 at 7:30AM

A monarch butterfly spotted by the W&OD Trail (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Superintendent Addresses Handling of Former Glasgow Counselor — “Fairfax County parent Staci Ali-Ibrahim sat at the end of a long table at Glasgow Middle School Thursday night, and asked Superintendent Michelle Reid why Virginia’s largest school system doesn’t have a clear plan in place to ensure they are notified by law enforcement when a staff member is arrested and charged with a crime.” [WTOP]

Springfield Students Upbeat After First Week of School — “Everyone at Forestdale seems to be having plenty of feelings this week. The prevailing one is joy at being back together again, and hope that this year — the second one back full time after pandemic lockdowns — will be even less disrupted by COVID-19 than the last one.” [DCist]

Most-read Fairfax County stories of the week: Aug. 22-26

By Angela Woolsey

Published August 26, 2022 at 3:00PM

A line forms for a food truck at Vienna's most recent Chillin' on Church party (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The weekend is almost here. Before you welcome a new kitty or bunny into your home or head to bed for some much-needed sleep, let’s revisit the past week of news in Fairfax County.

Here are the 10 most-read stories on FFXnow this week:

JUST IN: Man convicted of sexual abuse at Annandale day care given life in prison

By Angela Woolsey

Published August 26, 2022 at 12:10PM

The Fairfax County Courthouse (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

A man who sexually abused children for years at a home day care in Annandale has been sentenced to life in prison, Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano announced today (Friday).

Elwood Lewis Thomas, a 38-year-old man from Alexandria, will serve four life sentences and an additional 36 years in prison after being convicted last year on multiple counts of rape, aggravated sexual battery, and sexual penetration with an object, according to Descano’s office.

New space center in Reston to take off at local public viewing of NASA’s historic moon mission

By Fatimah Waseem

Published August 26, 2022 at 11:00AM

Details about the center will be unveiled at a public viewing of NASA's latest moon mission (Photo via Interstellar Dreams).

A nearly 40,000-square-foot space center is coming soon to Reston.

The project is the brainchild of Interstellar Dreams, a nonprofit organization by Robin McDougal, a former educator at Fairfax County Public Schools.

Another pedestrian dies after crash on Dulles Toll Road in Reston area

By Angela Woolsey

Published August 26, 2022 at 9:30AM | Updated August 26, 2022 at 12:07PM

Westbound Dulles Toll Road approaching the Fairfax County Parkway exit (via Google Maps)

(Updated at 12:05 p.m.) A Reston man was killed in a crash on the Dulles Toll Road Wednesday night (Aug. 24), the second reported pedestrian fatality on the highway in as many months.

Chris Baidoe, 26, was hit by a vehicle around 8 p.m. in the toll road’s westbound lanes near the exit to Fairfax County Parkway in Reston, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said in a statement.

Morning Notes

By FFXnow.com

Published August 26, 2022 at 7:30AM

Terraset Elementary School seen through a tunnel in Reston (photo by Marjorie Copson)

Former Glasgow MS Counselor Faces New Charge — “A former counselor at a northern Virginia middle school has been charged with providing false information to the state’s sex offender registry. Virginia State Police said they arrested Darren Thornton, 50, on Thursday in Richmond. Thornton’s tenure as a counselor at Glasgow Middle School…has prompted multiple investigations.” [Associated Press/WTOP]

Counselor Conviction Raises Reporting Questions — “Fairfax County leaders and Virginia’s Attorney General are calling for changes after a counselor convicted of sexually soliciting a minor stayed employed at a middle school years after his arrest.” A letter asks the General Assembly to look at “how Virginia handles information sharing regarding the arrest and conviction of people between jurisdictions within the state and across state lines.” [WUSA9]