The autonomous Relay shuttle that has been puttering around Merrifield will stay in operation at least through the end of this year.

Fairfax County accepted additional funding from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation last week to extend its pilot project through December 2022, as it hopes the recent decline in COVID-19 cases will boost the shuttle’s ridership.


A new innovation hub in the Lee District Community Center (7950 Audubon Avenue) is expected to open in May.

With the support of private partners and state and federal funds, the Workforce Innovation Skills Hub (WISH) is intended to expand job opportunities for residents living along the Richmond Highway corridor.


Worker resignations for Fairfax County government positions jumped up nearly 62% from 2020 to 2021, from 507 departures to 821 departures.

Fairfax County leaders are debating how to improve recruitment and retention, citing private-sector wages that created competitive environments for positions from police to information technology.


A 140-year-old Italian chocolate manufacturer is setting up shop in Tysons — and no, a golden ticket won’t be required for entry.

Venchi Fine Italian Chocolates will open a boutique store in Tysons Corner Center, its first outside of the New York tri-state area, the company announced yesterday (Tuesday).


A new kind of outdoor theater is coming to fruition in Reston Town Center this spring.

As promised last year, the Herndon-based NextStop Theatre, Reston Community Center, and the Reston Town Center Association (RTCA) will debut a contemporary spin on William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at Reston Town Square Park.


(updated at 4:30 p.m.) Police identified the second man who died at the Fairfax County Detention Center this week as the allegedly unlicensed masseuse who was charged with sexually assaulting a woman at an Annandale clinic.

Kyung Pil Chang, 55, of Haymarket was being held at the jail without bond on four felony charges related to a sexual assault at an Annandale location reported on Jan. 25. Chang was found unresponsive in quarantine housing at the jail around 4:25 p.m. yesterday (Tuesday). After medical staff and deputies rendered life-saving efforts, City of Fairfax Fire and Rescue pronounced him dead at 4:49 p.m.


County Libraries to Resume Standard Hours — Fairfax County Public Library will once again open its eight regional branches seven days a week, and its 14 community branches on Mondays, effective this Sunday (April 3). The system truncated its hours starting in January due to the surge in COVID-19 cases and high staff vacancies. [FCPL]

Omicron Subvariant Identified in Fairfax County Patients — “BA.2 is now estimated to be responsible for about one in three COVID-19 infections in the country and one in five COVID-19 infections in Virginia. While BA.2 appears to be more contagious and can spread faster, it is not known to make people sicker.” [Fairfax County Health Department]


Almira Zaky has always been, in her own words, a little girl with a big voice.

A native of Herndon who is of Indonesian descent, Zaky has been singing since she was a young girl. She now represents Virginia on “American Song Contest,” NBC’s take on the yearly Eurovision music competition that has been around since 1956.


A central traffic signal in Vienna is set for an overhaul.

The Vienna Town Council voted unanimously on March 21 to award a contract for a reconstruction of the Maple Avenue and Park Street traffic signal, a project that has been in the works for more than a decade.


The changing nature of retail and shifting markets for housing could pave the way for a redevelopment of Rose Hill Plaza at the intersection of Franconia Road and Rose Hill Drive.

The D.C.-based real estate firm Combined Properties, Inc. is looking at transforming the 1960s-era shopping center with two five-story residential buildings that would have ground-floor retail and two parking garages, according to preliminary plans.


View More Stories