News | FFXnow - Part 750

Morning Notes

Published July 26, 2022 at 7:30AM

Birds perched on a ledge in the Fair Lakes area (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

County NAACP Calls for Action on Heat — “It is Too HOT for people to be outside all day and all night. Fairfax County needs to create and publicize more cooling options for homeless and low-income residents NOW. See the full Fairfax NAACP resolution” [Fairfax County NAACP/Twitter]

Stolen Laptops Were Wiped Clean, FCPS Says — “The Fairfax County Police Department has made a number of arrests in connection to the theft of approximately 35,000 laptops from a warehouse. We want to let you know that the laptops had been stripped of all data and their hard drives in preparation for their auction and that, as a result, no student data was compromised in this theft.” [FCPS]

Fairfax County plans for new Covid vaccine, as cases hold steady

By Angela Woolsey

Published July 25, 2022 at 3:00PM

A vaccinator at the Fairfax County Government Center's COVID-19 vaccine site (via FCHD/YouTube)

A fourth vaccine has entered the fight against COVID-19.

The Gaithersburg-based company Novavax received an emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration earlier this month for a two-dose vaccination designated for unvaccinated people 18 and older.

Satellite manufacturing firm opens new facility in Herndon

By Fatimah Waseem

Published July 25, 2022 at 2:15PM

The company's new facility includes a clean room (Photo via HawkEye 360).

A new 19,000-square-foot satellite manufacturing facility has opened in the Town of Herndon.

The facility, known as the Advanced Technology and Development Center, is run by HawkEye 360, a commercial provider of space-based radio frequency data and analytics.

Brace for noise and traffic changes from Georgetown Pike bridge demo

By Angela Woolsey

Published July 25, 2022 at 1:30PM

Drivers coming onto I-495 South from the GW Parkway will be detoured while the north side of Georgetown Pike bridge is demolished (via VDOT)

Nights are about to get noisier in McLean, as work begins in earnest this week on the demolition of the Georgetown Pike bridge over the Capital Beltway.

As early as Wednesday (July 27), construction crews working on the I-495 Northern Extension (495 NEXT) project will start demolishing the northern side of the bridge, which is being replaced and widened to fit six lanes and a new 6-foot-wide sidewalk.

Since Lake Accotink rabid coyote attacks, residents increasingly report concerns

By Brandi Bottalico

Published July 25, 2022 at 11:45AM

Fairfax County Police Lt. Dan Spital talks to the media at Lake Accotink after a coyote bit three adults and two dogs (screenshot via Fairfax County Police Department)

Fairfax County Animal Protection has seen an increase in the number of coyote-related calls since a rabid coyote bit three adults, two dogs and an officer last month.

“The recent incident of the rabid coyote at Lake Accotink has understandably created concerns for many residents about wildlife and public health and safety,” the Animal Protection Police said.

Lifeguard shortage prompts closure of Reston pools

By Fatimah Waseem

Published July 25, 2022 at 11:00AM | Updated July 25, 2022 at 7:36PM

Lake Newport pool (via RA)

COVID-19 is having a ripple effect on Reston Association’s pools.

Two of the organization’s pools are closed until Wednesday (July 27) after too many lifeguards caught COVID-19.

VDOT recommends lowering speed limit on part of Richmond Highway

By Matt Blitz

Published July 25, 2022 at 9:30AM

Traffic fills Richmond Highway (via Fairfax County)

The speed limit on a 7-mile stretch of Richmond Highway should be lowered to 35 mph, the Virginia Department of Transportation says.

The road from Jeff Todd Way to the I-95/I-495 (Capital Beltway) interchange currently has a speed limit of 45 mph.

Morning Notes

By FFXnow.com

Published July 25, 2022 at 7:30AM

Insomnia Cookies has a line for its grand opening at University Mall in Fairfax (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Judge Orders Records Release in Reston Homicide Case — Fairfax County Circuit Judge Brett A. Kassabian denied a motion to seal records related to a double homicide that occurred in Reston in 2017. In a case that may not see trial until mid-2023, Nicholas Giampa has been indicted on murder charges in the shooting and killing of his girlfriend’s mother and stepfather. [The Washington Post]

Driver Charged in Route 1 Hit-and-Run — “Detectives from our Crash Reconstruction Unit have charged the driver of the 2007 Toyota Camry from the July 6 fatal pedestrian crash. The driver, Diego Juarez Gomez, 19, of Maryland was traveling south on Richmond Highway, struck McPhail in the roadway and did not stop at the scene.” [FCPD]

FCPD releases footage of man shot by police at Springfield Town Center

By Brandi Bottalico

Published July 22, 2022 at 3:30PM

Springfield Town Center's parking lot was partly blocked off after a fatal police shooting yesterday (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The Fairfax County Police Department released dashboard and body camera footage today (Friday) from the fatal police shooting at Springfield Town Center last month.

An approximately 9-minute and 30-second video shows footage from dash cams and body cameras edited together to show the police response from Thursday, June 30, to the shopping center parking lot.

Possible rebuild and land sale in store for 52-year-old McLean church

By Angela Woolsey

Published July 22, 2022 at 2:15PM

Garfield Memorial Christian Church on Great Falls Road in McLean (via Google Maps)

Garfield Memorial Christian Church wants to stay in McLean, but in order to do so, it may need to sell part of its land.

The church’s board of trustees is seeking a special permit from Fairfax County that would enable it to construct a new, two-story building on a 0.87-acre portion of its property at 1731 Great Falls Street, according to an application filed on July 11.