News | FFXnow - Part 631

Morning Notes

Published March 30, 2023 at 7:30AM | Updated March 30, 2023 at 8:26AM

Shoppers inside Fair Oaks Mall (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Police Standoff Ends After 36 Hours — Fairfax County police took a reportedly armed woman into custody shortly after midnight, ending a barricade on Richmond Highway that began before noon on Tuesday (March 29). The standoff closed Route 1 between Lockheed Blvd and Boswell Avenue through multiple rush hours. [FCPD/Twitter]

Helicopters Expected at GMU for Training — “The @GeorgeMasonU Fairfax Campus will host an ROTC training exercise on the morning of Thursday, March 30. Helicopters will be coming on campus at 6:30 a.m. and departing from the West Campus parking lot (closest to Braddock Road) at approximately 8:15 a.m. Please do not be alarmed.” [GMU Police/Twitter]

Legendary Vienna Inn Proprietress Mollie Abraham Dies

By GazetteLeader

Published March 30, 2023 at 6:00AM

By Brian Trompeter

Mollie Bass Abraham, who with her late husband owned and ran the Vienna Inn for four decades, died at her home in Alexandria on March 25. She was 96.

Governor Signs Several Measures from Local Legislators

By GazetteLeader

Published March 30, 2023 at 6:00AM

By Brian Trompeter

Town Council Designates Windover Avenue Property as Historic Site: A house at 307 Windover Ave., N.W., has become the 31st property placed on the Register of Vienna Historic Structures, Sites and Places, following approval March 20 by the Vienna Town Council.

Contract Queries Prompt Delay for New Landscaping on Maple Avenue, Church Street

By GazetteLeader

Published March 30, 2023 at 6:00AM

By Brian Trompeter

Landscape planters along Vienna’s two main commercial streets, Maple Avenue and Church Street, will not receive replacement plantings just yet, as the Vienna Town Council still needs to iron out details with a contractor.

Supervisors Laud Venerable Planning Commission Chair

By Scott McCaffrey

Published March 30, 2023 at 6:00AM

He isn’t departing the Fairfax County Planning Commission any time soon, but an era did come to an end when Peter Murphy recently turned over the chairman’s gavel to Phillip Niedzielski-Eichner.

It was a gavel Murphy, who has represented the Springfield District on the Planning Commission since the early days of the Reagan administration, had controlled since 1989.

Transportation plan builds hype for potential Metro line extension and Route 7 BRT

By Vernon Miles

Published March 29, 2023 at 3:30PM

Some transportation projects on the horizon have sparked excitement among the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors over potential transit improvements.

Visualize 2050 is a federally-mandated long-range transportation plan with an emphasis on projects that adhere to new emission reduction goals.

Design of bus safety improvements at Wiehle Avenue underway

By Fatimah Waseem

Published March 29, 2023 at 1:15PM

A Fairfax Connector bus in Reston (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Bus stop improvements are proposed at the intersection of Wiehle Avenue and North Shore Drive in Reston.

The Fairfax County Department of Transportation is working on a design for the project, which will include the construction of a bus pad, bench, trash can, and curb-abutted sidewalk at the intersection just west of the Forest Edge neighborhood.

Vertical farm built by Luther Jackson MS students grows crops to feed local families

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 29, 2023 at 11:45AM

Luther Jackson Middle School student Vivian Nguyen is among 15 students who designed and built a vertical farm for their engineering class (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

In its quest to minimize waste, the vertical farm housed in a shed behind Merrifield’s Luther Jackson Middle School will one day be sustained by fish feces.

Barely the length of a fingernail, the larval tilapia swimming around a small tank in the shed will soon grow large enough to be transferred into a bigger bucket with a filter that separates fish poop and other solids from water.

Proposed redevelopment of Oakton’s AT&T campus set to advance, despite resident concerns

By Matt Blitz

Published March 29, 2023 at 9:30AM | Updated March 31, 2023 at 11:59AM

The previous redevelopment concept for Oakton's AT&T site (via Fairfax County Planning Commission)

(Updated at noon on 3/31/2023) The Fairfax County Planning Commission has indicated it will support the possibility of redeveloping the AT&T campus in Oakton, but many residents remain concerned about increased density and traffic.

At a meeting last Thursday (March 23), the commissioners took a unanimous, preliminary vote to prioritize a review of the redevelopment of a 33-acre tree-lined site right off Chain Bridge Road in Oakton.

Morning Notes

By FFXnow.com

Published March 29, 2023 at 7:30AM

A man walks a dog outside the Aperture apartments in Reston (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Flags Lowered After Nashville School Shooting — “The U.S., state and county flags are lowered to half-staff today at all county government facilities as a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence perpetrated on March 27 in Nashville, Tenn. The flags will remain at half-staff until sunset on March 31.” [Fairfax County/Twitter]

Longtime Vienna Inn Co-Owner Has Died — “Mollie Bass Abraham, who with her late husband owned and ran the Vienna Inn for four decades, died at her home in Alexandria on March 25. She was 96. The couple bought the former Freddie’s restaurant in Vienna in 1960 and renamed it the Vienna Inn.” [Gazette Leader]