Federal prosecutors have charged a travel agent accused of orchestrating a Ponzi scheme and ultimately defrauding the George Mason University men’s basketball team earlier this year.
Maurice Eugene Smith, 44, of Atlanta is believed to have used the nearly $160,000 paid by the school to cover his personal expenses instead of booking the team’s anticipated trip to the Bahamas, according to court records.
A number of regional leaders are pushing back on the incoming Trump administration’s goal of having federal workers quickly return to offices five days a week.
Despite concerns about the impact of work-from-home patterns on local transit and the commercial office sector, requiring federal workers to be back in the office full-time brought concerns from speakers at a recent Dulles Area Transportation Association (DATA) forum.
A man was arrested last week after allegedly fleeing a crash in Vienna that left a pedestrian with serious injuries on Thanksgiving.
The pedestrian had gotten dropped off by a Lyft driver in the 900 block of Park Street SE around 8:15 p.m. on Nov. 28 and was crossing the street when a vehicle in the residential street’s northbound lane hit him, according to the Town of Vienna Police Department.
Fairfax County police believe a man killed in a car crash on Georgetown Pike this weekend may have been speeding.
Officers were called to the 8600 block of Georgetown Pike in Great Falls at 6:54 a.m. on Saturday (Dec. 14) after Ederson Lima Gislon, 40, of Maryland veered off the roadway in a 2024 BMW M8 and hit a tree, the Fairfax County Police Department said yesterday.
Two Injured in Two-Alarm Apartment Fire — A two-alarm fire at a “garden-style” apartment building in the 4200 block of Buckman Road in Woodlawn yesterday (Sunday) led to a civilian and a firefighter being taken to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. “Units arrived to fire showing from the lower level of the 3-story building. Firefighters rescued multiple people.” [FCFRD/Facebook]
Oakton Condo Residents Report Drone Sightings — “Groups of drones seen flying around the suburbs of Washington, D.C., in recent days are leaving many people perplexed and wondering what — if anything — they should do. Residents of the Hawthorne Village Condominiums in Fairfax, Virginia, say drones began flying nearby about 8 p.m. and stuck around for a few hours.” [NBC4]
Reston Office Buildings Get New Owner — “Bernstein Management Corp. purchased Reston Crossing, a 334K SF property next to the Dulles Toll Road, for an undisclosed price, it announced this week. The two-property complex is 54% leased, it said.” Seller “Tishman Speyer had been planning to redevelop the 14-acre site next to the Silver Line since January 2018.” [Bisnow]
Gun Confiscated at Dulles Airport — “Authorities at Washington Dulles International Airport intercepted the 26th firearm of the year, breaking the record for most guns TSA has detected in a single year, according to the Transportation Security Administration. The previous record of 25 was set in 2022.” [Patch]
Korean BBQ Restaurant Opens in Fairfax City — “Chosun Hwaro, a Korean barbecue restaurant that first opened in Ellicott City, Maryland, is coming to Fairfax City. The restaurant began its soft opening … December 12. The new location is at 10790 Fairgrounds Dr. in the new Boulevard VI development.” [Northern Virginia Magazine]
Falls Church Movie Theater Anticipates Spring Launch — “The seven-screen Paragon Theaters will be located at 112 Founders Row in a mixed-use building with multifamily housing, restaurants, and underground parking. Jared Comess, a vice president at Paragon Entertainment Holdings LLC, anticipates it will open the first week of May with several special events.” [Annandale Today]
New Cafe Serves Tea and Pastries in Falls Church — “A cozy cafe serving Japanese matcha and French pastries opened its doors last month in Falls Church. Offerings at Midori Tea House include sparkling fruit drinks, hot tea, petite desserts — and of course, the cafe’s specialty, matcha.” [ARLnow]
It’s Monday — The day will be cloudy with a high near 50 and a 40% chance of rain, along with possible patchy fog before 10am. Cloudy conditions continue in the evening with a low around 48, and south wind at 7-13 mph. The chances of precipitation are 40% in the day and 60% at night. [NWS]
When it comes to the Madison Warhawks’ undefeated opponent in the Class 6 state-championship football game, there are no secrets.
The Warhawks know from first-hand experience that the Oscar Smith Tigers (14-0) of Chesapeake are very good, talented, fast and big. The Tigers routed Madison in the 2021 Virginia High School League Class 6 state final, 42-17.
Fairfax County elected officials intend to take the same position on a proposed Tysons casino in 2025 that they held during the 2024 legislative session.
While some individual members have expressed explicit opposition to the possibility, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors as a whole has hedged its bets: it has concerns but isn’t averse to getting the power from Richmond to conduct a referendum on the matter.
A teenager is facing manslaughter and reckless driving charges in connection to a fatal crash that occurred outside Oakton Shopping Center last month.
According to police, the 17-year-old was driving a Toyota Camry north on Hunter Mill Road “at a high rate of speed” when he hit a 2001 Acura sedan turning left into the shopping center at Lynnhaven Place around 11:20 a.m. on Nov. 9.
As Fairfax County Public Schools considers revising its cell phone storage policy, students are calling for a more consistent approach across classrooms, citing concerns about uneven enforcement.
The school system is currently testing a phone-free pilot program at select middle and high schools to evaluate the impact of stricter limits on student cell phone use. Once the pilot concludes, the school board plans to use the collected data to develop an updated policy aligned with new Virginia Department of Education guidelines, which must be adopted by school boards statewide by Jan. 1, 2025.
Tysons is an overall financial boon for Fairfax County, generating more tax revenue than it takes, a recent analysis commissioned by the Tysons Community Alliance (TCA) found.
Presented on Nov. 21 as part of the TCA’s first Tysons Quarterly Market Report, the net fiscal impact analysis conducted by the consulting firm HR&A Advisors suggests that Tysons is generally living up to its reputation as the county’s “economic engine.”
