Around Town

This year is shaking out to be a big one for Merrifield’s Mosaic District.

The shopping center, which houses a variety of businesses and restaurants, expects to add five more over the coming months, a spokesperson for EDENS — which operates the Mosaic District — told FFXnow.


News

Update — The Fairfax County School Board voted unanimously at its March 27 meeting to approve Mason District Representative Ricardy Anderson’s motion for a pilot program to test later middle school start times.

Earlier: As the Fairfax County School Board continues weighing its options for bumping back middle school class times, one member says she wants to give her district a head start.


News

The sentencing hearing for an au pair who pleaded guilty over her role in a 2023 double murder has been rescheduled for later this year.

Juliana Peres Magalhaes, the 24-year-old au pair believed to have shot and killed a Springfield man as part of a plot with a Herndon man who allegedly wanted to get rid of his wife, will now be sentenced on Dec. 19, according to court records.


Countywide
Entering Lake Anne Plaza in Reston next to Just Cats Clinic (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Federal Layoffs May Be Affecting Home Sales — Turmoil in the federal workforce may have impacted last month’s home sales across Virginia, which were down 9% year-over-year to 6,129. “February’s slowdown in sales could be an early signal that there is some hesitancy in some of our regional markets due to growing concerns around federal employment,” Virginia Realtors chief economist Ryan Price said. [Virginia Realtors]

Drivers in Viral Tysons Street Race Found Guilty — “The drivers involved in a viral street race video in Fairfax County were convicted Monday of multiple charges. A traffic divisions court judge found [a 48-year-old man from Vienna and a 38-year-old man from Sterling] guilty of reckless driving and stopping on a highway.” [WUSA9]

Recreational Weed Sales Bill Vetoed — “Gov. Glenn Youngkin has again vetoed legislation that would have allowed people to buy cannabis in Virginia for recreational use. The General Assembly passed bills from Del. Paul Krizek (D–Fairfax) and state Sen. Aaron Rouse (D–Virginia Beach) … aimed to establish a regulated and taxed recreational cannabis marketplace with retail sales starting in May 2026.” [Virginia Public Media]

Fentanyl Testing Bill Named After Local Teen to Become Law — “After Absolon and Thurraya Kent of Annandale lost their 17-year-old son, Malcolm, to a drug overdose two years ago, they discovered he could have been saved if the hospital had tested him for fentanyl poisoning.” Del. Irene Shin’s bill, signed on March 21 by Youngkin, will require emergency rooms to test for fentanyl as part of urine screenings. [Annandale Today]

Falls Church Considers Tree Planting Requirements — “Falls Church officials are considering requiring future commercial developers to meet minimum tree-planting requirements. The number of projects that any change could impact might be small, however.” [ARLnow]

Herndon Names New Communications Head — “The Town of Herndon has named Brent M. Heavner as chief communications officer. Heavner replaces Anne Papa, who is retiring from the town after more than 19 years of dedicated service.” Most recently a communications lead for the U.S. Education Department, Heavner will officially join the town on April 14. [Town of Herndon]

Historic GMU Basketball Seasons Conclude — George Mason University’s female basketball team saw its first-ever March Madness experience come to a quick end on Saturday (March 22) with a 94-59 loss to Florida State. After a record 15 A-10 wins, the men’s team beat the Sanford Bulldogs last week in the National Invitational Tournament but lost to Bradley 75-67 in the second round. [GMU]

Fire Department Hands Out Smoke Alarms — “Over the weekend, #FCFRD joined multiple county partners to install 160 smoke alarms and increase the safety of 193 residents at Penn Daw Terrace … This collaborative effort improved fire safety and strengthened community resilience, ensuring residents are better protected and informed with various prevention, safety, and resource information.” [FCFRD/Facebook]

It’s Wednesday — Expect mostly sunny skies and a high temperature of around 56 degrees. The day will be breezy as a northwest wind increases to 16 to 21 mph in the afternoon, with gusts reaching up to 36 mph. The night will be mostly clear with a low of approximately 35 degrees. [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 — Mar 25, 2025.

📅 Upcoming events

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

☀️ Wednesday’s forecast

Expect a mostly sunny day with highs around 55 degrees, accompanied by breezy northwest winds ranging from 6 to 11 mph and increasing to 16 to 21 mph in the afternoon. Wind gusts may reach up to 36 mph. The evening will be mostly clear, with the temperature dropping to around 33 degrees, and northwest winds at a slightly calmer 6 to 10 mph. 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.


Countywide

Key Republican leaders have Fairfax County in their sights over a proposal that would introduce instruction on gender identity at an elementary school level.

Elon Musk, the richest man in the world and a close ally of Donald Trump, and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) shared a video of a parent who said they didn’t want to send their child to Fairfax County Public Schools as a result of the possible change.


News

Tysons Corner Center’s Plaza — home to its cherry blossom festival, Hello Kity Cafe Truck and other sacred traditions — will now be brought to shoppers by a corporate sponsor.

Instead, the plaza is being rebranded as “PenFed Plaza” as part of a new partnership with PenFed Credit Union, which has its corporate headquarters in Tysons at 7940 Jones Branch Drive.


Around Town

Construction is underway to redevelop the longstanding Kohl’s store in Herndon.

The exterior walls of the building, located at 2100 Centreville Road, now feature gaping holes, as construction crews work to accommodate three new tenants in the space.


Countywide

By OLIVIA DIAZ Associated Press/Report for America

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin said on Monday that he hoped to bolster Virginia’s rainy-day fund by $300 million in light of economic uncertainty surrounding the White House’s overhaul of federal jobs and its impact on the state’s workforce.