Around Town

Good Friday evening, Fairfax County. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.

🕗 News recap

The following articles were published earlier today — Dec 26, 2025.

Since it’s Friday, we’ve also compiled a list of the most-read articles of the week, below.

  • UPDATED: Body found in Fairfax County Parkway median, closing road (29965 views)
  • Man in Fairfax County Parkway median was killed in crash, police confirm (17671 views)
  • Indoor golf club and cafe swings for spring opening in Merrifield (7233 views)
  • Overhaul proposed for 51-year-old gas station in Franconia (4372 views)
  • Fairfax County to close offices, reduce services for Christmas 2025 (3044 views)
  • Temporary padel courts approved for office parking lot in Tysons (2946 views)
  • Reston Association disbands land use advisory committee in tense vote (3486 views)
  • Special election gives Republican new shot at David Bulova’s delegate seat (2488 views)
  • Delayed data shows jump in Fairfax joblessness, as region’s federal workforce shrinks (2362 views)
  • With condos under construction, new MetroWest developer seeks revisions to apartment plan (2212 views)
  • Former South Lakes football star gives back with Christmas donation drive (1900 views)
  • 📅 Upcoming events

    Here is what’s going on Saturday throughout the county, from our event calendar.

    Here are the events planned for Sunday:

    🌤️ Saturday’s forecast

    Expect a partly sunny day with a high of 42 degrees, accompanied by an 8 to 10 mph north wind. The evening will be mostly cloudy, with temperatures dropping to around 31 degrees. A 5 mph northeast wind will become calm as the night progresses. See more from Weather.gov.

    🌅 Tonight’s sunset

    The MonumentCam screenshot above is used with permission of the Trust for the National Mall and courtesy of EarthCam.

    We hope you have a great weekend! Feel free to discuss the most-read stories of the week, the upcoming weekend events or anything else of local interest in the comments. 👋


    News

    A teenager and a 75-year-old woman have died after a crash that occurred on the Capital Beltway (I-495) on Christmas.

    Virginia State Police troopers and the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department were dispatched around 10:39 p.m. yesterday (Thursday) for a crash at the 49-mile marker near the I-66 interchange in Idylwood.


    News

    NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — The developers of a Virginia offshore wind project are asking a federal judge to block a Trump administration order that halted construction of their project, along with four others, over national security concerns.

    Dominion Energy Virginia said in its lawsuit filed late Tuesday (Dec. 23) that the government’s order is “arbitrary and capricious” and unconstitutional. The Richmond-based company is developing Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, a project it says is essential to meet dramatically growing energy needs driven by dozens of new data centers.


    News

    Fairfax County Democrats are once again asking voters to select a nominee for an empty House of Delegates seat on short notice.

    The 17th House of Delegates District Democratic Committee will hold a firehouse primary this Sunday (Dec. 28) after House Speaker Don Scott scheduled a Jan. 20 special election to fill a seat vacated by Del. Mark Sickles on Wednesday (Dec. 24).


    Event

    Join Comunidad for its Annual 5Dollar5K—a fun, family-friendly race that brings neighbors together in support of local children, teens, and families in Falls Church and Arlington. Run, walk, or cheer from the sidelines, and bring the little ones for a special Kids’ Dash! Registration is just $5, and children ages 12 and under participate for free. Comunidad is a community development organization based in the Seven Corners area of Falls Church. We hope you'll join us and together help us build comunidad!


    News

    Efforts to repurpose Gateway Regional Park in the City of Fairfax into a wetlands education facility could both start and be completed in the coming year.

    “That’s the plan,” new NOVA Parks executive director Justin Wilson told members of the Fairfax City Council at its Dec. 9 meeting.


    News

    Reston Association’s Land Use Advisory Committee is no more.

    After nearly two hours of sometimes heated discussion, the community association’s Board of Directors voted 5-3 with one abstention at its Dec. 11 meeting to remove the body from its list of committees tasked with studying various issues and making recommendations to the full board.


    News

    The Fairfax County Police Department has confirmed that the man found dead in a median on Fairfax County Parkway on Wednesday (Dec. 24) was a pedestrian killed in a crash.

    Officers responded at 9:43 a.m. that day after a community member who was driving by on the parkway reported seeing a possible body in the grassy median near Old Plains Road in the Fair Oaks area.


    Countywide
    Light sculptures illuminate PenFed Plaza at Tysons Corner Center for Christmas (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

    Annandale Church Houses Santa Bone Fragment — “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. And he’s in Annandale. Well, at least a bone fragment. Deacon Elmer explains that the small piece of one of the saint’s finger bones came to the church in the 1980s, donated by a parishioner who obtained it in Rome. It’s believed there are fewer than 20 relics of St. Nick currently in the United States.” [WAMU]

    FCPD Officer Arrested for DUI — “On December 23, officers from the DWI Squad arrested Austin Wilkerson, 26, of Springfield, a 4-year veteran of the department, who was off-duty at the time of the incident.” Assigned to the Mount Vernon District station, Wilkerson has been charged with driving under the influence and “placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an Internal Affairs Bureau Investigation.” [FCPD]

    Sentencing in Fatal Teen Overdose Case — “Last week, a federal judge sentenced 24-year-old Liam Conaway to 20 years in a federal prison. Prosecutors said he admitted obtaining the fentanyl-laced pills and selling them to [Fairfax County teen Cayden] Foster. Conaway was a student at James Madison University, and prosecutors said Cayden and Conaway had consumed pills together during Conaway’s school break from JMU.” [WTOP]

    Former TJ Student Makes Olympic Team — “Congratulations to TJ alum Brandon Kim ’20! Brandon has been named to the Team USA Short Track team by US Speedskating and will represent the United States on the world stage at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics this February! We’ll be cheering Brandon on all winter long, Go Team USA!” [FCPS/Facebook]

    Federal Cuts Hit D.C.-Area Nonprofits — “Laura Tomasko, senior policy program manager at the Urban Institute, said her organization’s new analysis looks at how D.C.-area nonprofits fared and what could happen next … Their analysis shows 43% of nonprofits in the D.C. area reported experiencing a disruption to their government funding, compared with 33% of nonprofits nationwide.” [WTOP]

    Lawmakers Could Loosen Liquor Rules — “Changes to a law restricting liquor sales at Virginia restaurants are still on the mind of at least one state legislator representing Arlington.” Del. Patrick Hope (D-1) says “he is ‘open to revisiting’ a law that mandates that no more than 55% of a restaurant’s sales can come from liquor or mixed drinks.” [ARLnow]

    Korean Seafood Restaurant Opens in Annandale — “A new Korean restaurant in Annandale specializes in raw blue crab marinated in soy sauce. GJ2_4U is located at 7031 Little River Turnpike, Annandale, between Kabob Corner and Iron Age, in the space formerly occupied by Thai Food.” [Annandale Today]

    Capital Bikeshare Sets New Ridership Record — “Capital Bikeshare (CaBi) broke its all-time annual ridership record in November, reaching 6,369,376 trips in 2025. This surpasses the previous annual record of 6,114,324 trips, set in 2024 … However, while annual totals have reached new heights, recent monthly ridership has cooled significantly.” [Greater Greater Washington]

    It’s Friday — There’s a 40% chance of precipitation, with rain likely between noon and 4pm, followed by a chance of sleet after 4pm. The day will be mostly cloudy with a high near 35. At night, the chance of precipitation increases to 80% with a low around 35. Expect rain mixed with sleet before 10pm, turning to rain until 1am. [NWS]


    Around Town

    Good Tuesday evening, Fairfax County. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.

    🕗 News recap

    The following articles were published earlier today — Dec 23, 2025.

    📅 Upcoming events

    Here is what’s going on Wednesday throughout the county, from our event calendar.

    ⛅️ Wednesday’s forecast

    Expect sunny skies with a high near 51 and northwest winds ranging from 6 to 14 mph, gusting up to 25 mph. Wednesday night, there’s a 30% chance of rain and snow from 1am to 4am, followed by a chance of rain, with a low of around 35 and calm winds turning south around 6 mph. On Christmas Day, there’s a 20% chance of rain before 1pm, mostly cloudy skies, a high near 53, and south winds from 6 to 8 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon. See more from Weather.gov.

    🌅 Tonight’s sunset

    The MonumentCam screenshot above is used with permission of the Trust for the National Mall and courtesy of EarthCam.

    Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.