McLean High School alum Michelle Vaccaro won the 2025 Army Ten-Miler's Overall Female finisher title (courtesy Army Ten-Miler)
The U.S. Army’s decision to move forward with its annual Ten-Miler last weekend, despite an ongoing federal government shutdown, paid off for one McLean High School graduate.
Michelle Vaccaro was the first woman to complete the 10-mile race on Sunday (Oct. 12), beating thousands of other runners visiting from around the world with a finishing time of 56 minutes and 44 seconds.
A New York City food hall venture is slated to open its two latest D.C.-area locations in Fairfax County later this month.
Wonder, which describes its food halls as a one-stop shop to conquer any craving, will soon begin serving diners in Franconia on Oct. 23 and in Reston on Oct. 30.
Sponsored by: Comstock and Reston Community Center
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Jermantown Road approaching the Copperfield Square Apartments and a turn lane for Katherine Johnson Middle School (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)
An $18.4 million project to reduce congestion and improve safety on a nearly mile-long portion of Jermantown Road has been more than half a decade in the making. Now, an updated proposal is finally ready for public viewing.
Presented to the Fairfax City Council at a work session on Oct. 7, the project calls for a number of new turn lanes, enhanced markings for pedestrians, and tighter management of access to the roads.
Peraton has its headquarters at 1875 Explorer Street in Reston Town Center (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)
A Reston-based information technology company may lay off nearly 100 people by the end of this year.
Citing “uncertainty around the future of some contracts with federal agencies,” the contractor Peraton issued layoff notices to 92 employees earlier this month, the Washington Business Journal reported last week.
Fil-Am Spring Fest 2026 is a free Filipino-American cultural festival hosted by Fil-Am FEST Inc. on Saturday, May 30, 2026, at Fair Oaks Mall in Fairfax, Virginia.
The festival celebrates Filipino culture, heritage, food, music, dance, small businesses, and community connection. Guests can enjoy cultural performances, Filipino food vendors, family-friendly activities, artisan and retail vendors, community partner booths, and nonprofit initiatives.
Dar Mariam at sunset in Vienna (photo by Amy Woolsey)
After a couple months in business, Dar Mariam is starting to settle into its home in Vienna.
The restaurant celebrated its grand opening on Aug. 15 in the former Donutchew storefront at 107 Maple Avenue West, driven by a mission to bring authentic Arabian cuisine, particularly from Iraq and Kuwait, to a wider audience.
People walking on the Washington & Old Dominion Trail east of Hunter Mill Road (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)
Dominion Energy is planning to take down more trees near its power lines along the Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) Trail — this time, with the consent of NOVA Parks.
Starting next Monday (Oct. 20), the power company will begin “selective” pruning and removals of trees and other vegetation on a 2.6-mile section of the trail between its Clark substation in Vienna and the Hunter substation in Wolf Trap, just outside Reston.
A Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department engine and ambulance respond to a medical emergency at the Tysons Office Center at 8133 Leesburg Pike (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)
Tysons Offices Bought for Possible Data Center — Affiliates of Serverfarm, a California-based data center investor, acquired the office buildings at 7990 and 7980 Quantum Drive in mid-September for $37 million and $13 million, respectively. The 7990 Quantum building is already home to the 44,000-square-foot Equinix DC7 data center, but the 7980 building’s proximity to the Reserve at Tysons Corner apartments, which are 150 feet away, means the Fairfax County board’s approval is required for any data center development. [Washington Business Journal]
Government Shutdown Drags On — “Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson predicted Monday the federal government shutdown may become the longest in history, saying he ‘won’t negotiate’ with Democrats until they hit pause on their health care demands and reopen.” [Associated Press]
Cause of Franconia House Fire Identified — “On Sunday, October 12, around 8:00am, Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department responded to reports of a house fire in the 5800 block of Queens Gate Court.” No injuries were reported, but the fire resulted in an estimated $259,338 in property damages. Investigators found that the fire started from “improperly discarded ashes” in a plastic trash can next to the garage. [FCFRD]
Oldest Metro Railcars Retired — “The era of carpeted Metro trains ended with the official retirement of railcars dating to the 1980s … The 2000 series railcars began service in 1983. They had to be pulled out of storage to help carry riders a few years ago when there were wheel issues with the 7000 series.” [NBC4]
Maternal Mortality Data Funding at Risk — “Virginia’s Maternal Mortality Review Team will continue its operations until August of next year. The future of the team, however, will depend on future congressional action and Virginia’s willingness to continue it.” [Virginia Mercury]
Comet Could Be Visible Over D.C. Region — “It has been five years since the Northern Hemisphere had a really bright and beautiful comet to see, which was Comet NEOWISE. Sky watchers can now start looking for Lemmon about 90 minutes before dawn and starting Thursday, it may be visible in the predawn and post-sunset dark skies.” [WTOP]
World’s Largest Earthquake Drill Coming — “The Great Southeast ShakeOut is the world’s largest earthquake drill. People in homes, schools, offices and other places all practice the same thing at the same time. The drill happens every year on the third Thursday in October. That’s Oct. 16 this year, and it starts at exactly 10:16 a.m.” [Fairfax County Emergency Information]
Vienna to Give Away Free Tree Seedlings — “Get a free tree at the Town’s fifth annual Native Tree Seedling Giveaway! The event takes place Saturday, Oct. 18, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. (or until the last tree is given away) outside the Vienna Community Center … Volunteers will give away 150 bareroot seedlings in six species.” [Town of Vienna]
It’s Tuesday — The weather will be mostly cloudy and reach a high near 70, accompanied by a north wind at 11 to 14 mph, gusting up to 22 mph. Tuesday night will see mostly clear conditions, with temperatures dropping to around 54 and a north wind around 8 mph. [NWS]
The weather will transition from cloudy to mostly sunny, reaching a high near 70, accompanied by a north wind of 11 to 13 mph and gusts up to 22 mph. Tuesday night will be mostly clear with a low around 52 and a north wind at around 9 mph. See more from Weather.gov.
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