Around Town

Shake Shack has settled on an opening date for its new restaurant at Reston Town Center.

The chain will start serving its signature burgers and shakes at 11922 Democracy Drive on Wednesday, July 16, Shake Shack communications manager Kate DeMarco says. The initial “wave” of customers to arrive when doors open at 11 a.m. will receive Shake Shack stickers.


News

The median rent of an apartment in two urban areas of Fairfax County is drawing close to $3,000 per month, according to new data.

Should Tysons and Merrifield, including the Mosaic District, reach that figure in the second half of this year, they will join Arlington in the $3,000-per-month club.


News

A 78-year-old man from Fair Oaks who killed his wife after she admitted to having an affair has died before the case was adjudicated.

Behruze Dorbayan died June 17 — nearly a year after telling police that he stabbed his wife of 50 years inside their home in the 3900 block of Highland Oaks Drive.


Announcement

Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a time for commemorating our ancestors. Rather than a period of mourning, it is an occasion for celebrating with family—both living and dead—and honoring the cycle of life. Learn about La Catrina and her joyful view of life and mortality. Enjoy family-friendly activities throughout the day, including dance performances, coloring activities, and paper marigold and mask making. Visitors are invited to leave photos and mementos of their loved ones on the ofrenda (altar) or commemorate them by writing their names on a butterfly to attach to the memorial arch.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:


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]


Event

Join the Do It for Dan Foundation for our annual fall fundraiser supporting lung cancer research at Inova Schar Cancer Institute. Enjoy live music, trivia, raffles, foundation updates, and a special presentation from thoracic oncologist Dr. Janakiraman Subramanian. Help us raise $10,000 to advance research and better treatment options for people facing lung cancer.


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.


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.


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