Countywide
Balconies for The Arbor at Halley Rise apartment building in Reston (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

ICE Arrests Soar in Virginia — “Arrests in the state by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are up more than 350 percent since 2024, one of the steepest increases in the country … Nearly 3,000 people were arrested by ICE in Virginia in the first five months of 2025, on par with numbers in a much larger state like New York.” Fairfax County has seen “roughly twice as many arrests” as any other county in Virginia, a rate attributed to both practical and political factors. [New York Times]

Miyares Centers Schools in Reelection Campaign — “[Virginia Attorney General Jason] Miyares has revisited the issues of diversity and gender identity in schools in recent months, grabbing the attention of the Trump administration and resulting in two federal investigations. His focus on the way the state’s school systems operate has rankled school officials in Fairfax and Loudoun counties, two of the state’s largest districts.” [Washington Post]

Coffee Shop Opens in Penn Daw — “A taste of the French Quarter has arrived in Fairfax County with the opening this week of PJ’s Coffee‘s first Virginia location at the South Alex development on North Kings Highway. The New Orleans-born coffee brand will open its doors Tuesday (July 8) at 6220 N. Kings Hwy.” [ALXnow]

N. Va. Office Construction Stalled — “There are at least 33 companies scouring the Northern Virginia office market for 50,000 square feet or more, according to CBRE’s second-quarter office report, but their options are severely limited regionwide and there’s literally nothing under construction that would fit their requirements.” There are, however, completed office buildings with available space, including the recently renamed Boro Central in Tysons and Comstock’s Reston Row offices. [Washington Business Journal]

Stabbing Suspect Lived in Storage Unit — “The man charged in the June 10 fatal stabbing of 32-year-old Marvin Waters at a Huntington Metro station bus stop was living in a storage unit in Alexandria, according to the Alexandria Police Department.” Charged with second-degree murder and drug possession, the man “is being held without bond and is scheduled to appear in court on September 3.” [ALXnow]

Metro Station Gets New Escalators — “Brand-new Franconia-Springfield Station escalators are here 41 weeks early … The escalator replacement project is on track to be completed in Spring 2026, two years ahead of schedule.” It’ll be a couple weeks before the escalators see real use, though, with track work suspending train service at the station through July 26. [WMATA/Bluesky]

Falls Church Considers New Parking Requirements — “A work plan from City Manager Wyatt Shields includes a possible rewrite of existing rules for how much parking new development projects must include, plus possible changes to the city’s tree canopy ordinance and towing ordinance.” [ARLnow]

Great Falls Vet Seeks to Add Dog Runs — The Seneca Hill Animal Hospital, Resort, and Spa in Great Falls is looking to add three outdoor dog runs to support the up to 120 dogs that can be housed in the facility at any given time. “The veterinary hospital had been operating an outdoor dog run at its 11415 Georgetown Pike location” until November 2022, when Fairfax County notified it that the amenity wasn’t allowed under the site’s current zoning. [Patch]

It’s Tuesday — Expect showers and thunderstorms after 5pm, with increasing clouds and a high of 93°F. The heat index may reach 103. There’s a 60% chance of rain and a possible quarter to half-inch of rainfall. At night, thunderstorms persist mainly before 8pm, followed by mostly cloudy skies and a low of 73. [NWS]


Around Town

Good Monday 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 — Jul 7, 2025.

📅 Upcoming events

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

  • No events today. Have one to promote? Submit it to the calendar.

⛈️ Tuesday’s forecast

Expect showers and thunderstorms mainly after 4pm, with increasing clouds and a high of 92°F. Heat index values may reach up to 101°F and winds will shift from light and variable to southwest at 5-7 mph in the morning. There’s a 60% chance of rain, with new rainfall amounts ranging from a tenth to a quarter of an inch, potentially higher during storms. For Tuesday night, the forecast predicts showers and thunderstorms mainly before 8pm, mostly cloudy skies, and a low around 72°F. A northeast wind at 5 mph will become calm in the evening, and there’s a 60% chance of precipitation with similar rainfall amounts as earlier. 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.


News

With the odds in favor of Braddock District Supervisor James Walkinshaw moving on to Congress, the race to replace him on the Board of Supervisors has quietly kicked off.

Ilryong Moon, a veteran of the Fairfax County School Board, intends to pursue the Braddock Supervisor position if Walkinshaw wins election to the U.S. House of Representatives, Moon confirmed to FFXnow.


Announcement

For homeschooling families, finding activities that fit a non-traditional school day can be a challenge. EvolveAll, the martial arts and fitness studio that’s served the local community for more than 15 years, is addressing that gap with a new Homeschool Youth Martial Arts (YMA) program.

The program runs Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:15 to 2:00 PM and follows EvolveAll’s established YMA curriculum, which focuses on discipline, focus, coordination, and self-defense fundamentals for kids ages 5 to 10. Classes are led by EvolveAll’s head YMA Instructor Mr. Christian, who has over a decade of instructing experience. The class size is capped to keep the student-to-instructor ratio low.


News

Though fireworks are a traditional staple of Independence Day celebrations, they tend to be less welcome even on that occasion when unleashed without warning.

Such was the case last Friday (July 4) at a McDonald’s in Reston. Multiple people reportedly set off fireworks inside the fast-food restaurant, sparking havoc as patrons and employees fled the quickly smoke-filled scene.


Event

The Reston Museum invites the community to a free program on Wednesday, September 16th from 7:00 to 8:00PM featuring urban geographer, Shelley Mastran, who will explore the history of planned communities using Reston as a case study. Her presentation will examine the ideas and movements that influenced Reston’s design and explore how urban design shapes our sense of community.


News

The Virginia State Police is investigating a two-vehicle crash in the Capital Beltway (I-495) toll lanes near Dunn Loring that killed two people yesterday (Sunday).

Police and Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department (FCFRD) units responded to the northbound I-495 Express Lanes around 2:34 a.m. south of Leesburg Pike (Route 7) for a “crash with injury [and] vehicle on fire,” according to scanner traffic.


Opinion

There are over a dozen venues across Fairfax County to enjoy live music, from spacious town greens to university concert halls and high-rise rooftops.

Here are the nominees for “Best Music Venue in Fairfax” as part of our FFXnow Readers’ Choice Awards. See your favorite place below? If not, write them in!

Voting will close in two weeks. Be sure to cast your vote before 9 a.m. Friday, July 18.

Voting for the Best Sandwich Shop in Fairfax is still taking place. Be sure to cast your vote before voting closes next Friday at 9 a.m.

Two weeks ago, we voted on the Best Barbecue Restaurant in Fairfax. The results are now official:

  1. Willard’s Real Pit BBQ
  2. Mission BBQ
  3. Mookie’s BBQ

News

Though Marriott is no longer coming, the developer behind Tysons II is keeping its hopes alive for a new hotel on Route 7 (Leesburg Pike).

On behalf of Lerner Enterprises, the law firm Walsh, Colucci, Lubeley & Walsh has requested a three-year extension of the deadline to start construction on a hotel greenlit by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors for 7799 Leesburg Pike in Idylwood in 2015.


News

The woman who has guided Cornerstones for close to half its lifetime is stepping away.

Kerrie Wilson announced last Wednesday (July 2) that she will retire early next year after serving as the Reston-based nonprofit’s CEO for nearly 25 years.


News

A crowd of 100 new citizens from 95 different countries was indeed pumped up Friday as former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, an actor and former bodybuilder, delivered the keynote address at George Washington’s Mount Vernon during a Fourth of July naturalization ceremony.

Employees of the hallowed estate estimated about 1,000 attendees were on hand for the festivities, with members of the public joining media members and families of new citizens.


Announcement

The Virginia Hurricanes Girls Basketball program is holding tryouts for its 3rd Grade and 5th Grade travel teams, competing in a full schedule this Fall and Winter season. Join a competitive, supportive program built to develop skilled, confident players on and off the court.

Registration is required at: https://www.virginiahurricanes.net/basketball/aau-teams