Around Town

Gagawa is now serving up more than a dozen flavors of chicken at Tysons Corner Center.

The mall announced the Turkish restaurant chain’s grand opening in an Instagram post on Jan. 22, though its doors appear to have quietly opened earlier in late December.


Countywide

Individuals who believe they have been wrongfully convicted in Fairfax County now have a new way forward.

The county’s Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, in partnership with the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project (MAIP), announced today (Monday) the creation of a Conviction Integrity Unit that will review challenged cases, establishing a process to potentially “secure more just outcomes.”


News

A contractor based at Reston Town Center is angling to take over an office building near Herndon whose former occupant is also now based in Reston Town Center.

Peraton, a national security and technology company started in 2017, plans to open a new campus at Woodland Pointe, a 6.77-acre office complex just south of Dulles Toll Road that previously served as Volkswagen’s North American headquarters.


Countywide

The mere sprinkling of snow that visited Fairfax County on Saturday (Feb. 8) might’ve been a prelude to a legitimate storm expected tomorrow (Tuesday).

Anticipating potential “heavy snow,” the National Weather Service has upgraded a watch issued yesterday to a Winter Storm Warning for the D.C. region that’s currently set to be in place from 1 p.m. tomorrow until 7 a.m. Wednesday morning (Feb. 12).


Countywide
The Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge seen from the Dyke Marsh Wildlife Refuge in Belle Haven (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Family Mourns Hit-and-Run Victim — “Erica Tibbs; her partner, Christian Saidi; and their son, Hezekiah, had just stepped off a bus after dinner at McDonald’s Jan. 29” when an SUV driver struck the woman and boy on Richmond Highway. Tibbs, who died at the hospital, “was loved, valued and respected in the community,” according to her aunt. [NBC4]

Advocates Propose W&OD Trail Rail Line — A new coalition of businesses, nonprofits and transit supporters called NOVA-TRAC is advocating for a commuter rail line alongside the Washington & Old Dominion Trail. “By building a consensus town by town, we hope to gain momentum to get an official feasibility study commissioned by Loudoun and Fairfax counties in partnership with state and regional agencies.” [Greater Greater Washington]

Governor Candidates React to Federal Worker Cuts — “The Trump administration’s aggressive push to cut government jobs is reverberating in the early stages of this year’s race for governor in Virginia.” Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the top Republican contender, said she “backed Trump’s effort to take inventory of federal spending,” while former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger said the gutting “will cause damage across the state.” [Associated Press]

Annandale Student Leads Anti-Trump Protest — “Hundreds of people chanted ‘stop the coup’ along with other sentiments, at a rally organized by a motivated student from Annandale. Those in attendance at the Virginia Capitol on Feb. 5 protested President Donald Trump’s recent flurry of executive orders, as well as Elon Musk’s unprecedented access to federal government systems.” [VCU Capital News Service/Annandale Today]

Whole Foods Opens in Falls Church — “Over 100 shoppers flocked to 103 E. Broad Street this morning (Friday) to see the new 45,000-square-foot grocery store … The new store replaces a previous Whole Foods at the Idylwood Plaza, which closed permanently Monday, Feb. 3.” [ARLnow]

Insurance Company Leases Reston Station Office — Comstock Holding Companies announced on Friday (Feb. 7) that FM Global, a commercial property insurance and loss prevention company, has signed a lease for 32,000 square feet at 1906 Reston Metro Plaza. The company serves “businesses in over 130 countries that span across a variety of industries.” [BusinessWire]

County Sells $400M in Bonds — “Fairfax County successfully held a $400 million general obligation bond sale on Jan. 22, securing a competitive interest rate of 3.57%.” The money will fund schools, public safety, parks, transportation, library and human services capital projects. [Fairfax County Government]

Park Authority Hiring for New Mount Vernon Rec Center — “The Fairfax County Park Authority is excited to announce open hire events for the newly renovated Mount Vernon Rec Center, which is reopening in May 2025 and looking to fill over 290 part-time positions across multiple departments.” [FCPA]

It’s Monday — Expect mostly sunny skies and a high near 44, accompanied by a northwest wind blowing at 5 to 7 mph. As night falls, the sky will become mostly cloudy, with temperatures dropping to around 30 and a calm wind. [NWS]


Sports

A young Oakton Cougars squad continued an established tradition by winning another Concorde District girls gymnastics championship.

Oakton High won a fifth straight title, by fractions, over the Chantilly Chargers, finishing first with a 139.625 team score. Chantilly had 139.175. The Madison Warhawks were third at 137.025.


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 — Feb 7, 2025.

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

  • Hotel conversion into Fair Oaks family shelter approved despite resident objections (17024 views)
  • BREAKING: Fairfax County casino bill passes Virginia Senate (12190 views)
  • Virginia moves to protect economy from federal workforce crisis (8667 views)
  • Fairfax County kicks off public outreach on planned trash collection overhaul (8583 views)
  • Report: Costs of relocating FBI HQ to Springfield site were overstated (7210 views)
  • Substitute teacher charged with assaulting student at Reston school (6547 views)
  • Fairfax promotes transit options for federal workers ordered back to the office (5997 views)
  • Developer proposes ‘reimagining’ of Reston’s Lake Fairfax Business Center (5009 views)
  • JUST IN: FCPS teacher charged with sexually assaulting students (5963 views)
  • McLean Citizens Association questions need for Dunn Loring school before board vote (3697 views)
  • Flu levels higher than usual in Fairfax, health department says (3636 views)
  • NOW: Fairfax County police officer stabbed in Fair Lakes area (3189 views)
  • Most and least expensive homes sold in Fairfax County (January 2025) (3111 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 snow and sleet before 1pm, potentially mixing with freezing rain between 1pm and 4pm, and transitioning to mainly freezing rain and sleet after 4pm. The high will be near 32°F with light southeast wind increasing to 5-9 mph. Precipitation chance is 80%, with minimal ice and snow-sleet accumulations. Saturday night’s forecast includes rain, freezing rain, and potential sleet before 7pm, changing to rain or freezing rain between 7pm and 10pm and rain after 10pm. The low will be around 32°F, with southeast wind 6-9 mph becoming west after midnight. Precipitation chance is 70%, with little to no ice accumulation and minimal sleet accumulation. 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. 👋


    Sports

    By scoring in every event, the West Springfield Spartans amassed enough points to win a second straight Patriot District boys swimming and diving championship.

    The Spartans won two of the 12 boys events and scored 452 points in the high-school meet, as their depth showed throughout the competition. Lake Braddock finished second with 410.