Countywide
Families line up to meet Santa at Tysons Galleria (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Tysons Corner Center Draws Crowds for Black Friday — “Shoppers flooded Tysons Corner Center Friday, causing typical traffic slowdowns and lines outside of several stores. In some cases, the lines began forming prior to 6 a.m.” For many local families, Black Friday at the mall has become a tradition. [DC News Now]

Burke Townhouse Fire Contained — Firefighters with the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department managed to contain a townhouse fire in the 10200 block of Fern Pool Court on Saturday (Nov. 30) “to the end unit, preventing significant damage to neighboring properties. All occupants evacuated safely. No civilian or firefighter injuries.” [FCFRD/Facebook]

County Progresses Toward Affordable Housing Goal — “Fairfax County is making progress toward its goal of creating at least 10,000 affordable homes by 2034 … Tom Fleetwood, director of the county’s Department of Housing and Community Development, said the county’s approaching 35% of that goal with about 10 years to go.” [WTOP]

Police Search GMU Campus for Suspect — George Mason Police sent out an alert just before 9 p.m. on Saturday announcing that they were assisting in a search “for a wanted person” in the 4400 block of University Drive. A subsequent alert around 10:50 p.m. reported that the investigation had ended, but “no information was available about the nature of the investigation.” [Patch]

Virginia Could Elect First Female Governor — “Two women seem to have cleared the field for next year’s Republican and Democratic gubernatorial primaries. Rep. Abigail Spanberger has had the Democratic contest to herself since her lone competitor dropped out in April, while Winsome Earle-Sears’s long-anticipated rival for the GOP nod let it be known this month that he was taking a pass.” [Washington Post]

Church Street Stroll Returns to Vienna — Vienna’s annual Church Street Holiday Stroll will return tonight (Monday) with a tree lighting ceremony, visits with Santa, free marshmallow-roasting and, for the first time, a gingerbread decorating contest. “The merriment begins in front of the Freeman Store and Museum at the corner of Church and Mill streets on Monday, Dec. 2, from 6-8 p.m.” [Town of Vienna]

Ways to Help Kids in Annandale During Holiday Season — “For those of you who want to help the needy this holiday season, there are plenty of opportunities.” The Mason Police District Station is collecting toy and clothing donations, while the nonprofit New Hope Housing is seeking gift cards to Target, Walmart and grocery stores so residents can make needed purchases. [Annandale Today]

It’s Monday — Today will be sunny with a high near 38 and a northwest wind blowing 7 to 10 mph. Monday night will be mostly clear, with a low around 25 and a northwest wind at 6 to 9 mph. [NWS]


News

The undefeated, top seed and host Madison Warhawks (13-0) rallied to down the second-seed and previously undefeated Washington-Liberty Generals, 48-21, Saturday (Nov. 30) in the 6D North Region football final in Vienna.

It is the team’s fifth straight region crown, all won at home, and sets the squad up to host the Lake Braddock Bruins Dec. 7 in the first round of the four-team state finals.


Sports

A standout girls tennis season by the Potomac School Panthers was capped when three players from the high-school squad were selected to Division I all-state teams.

Juniors Riece Grimes-Thomas and Riley Williams made first-team private-school all-state. Sophomore Taylor Shen was chosen to the second team.


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 — Nov 29, 2024.

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

  1. Herndon woman killed in crash on Fairfax County Parkway in Reston (35572 views)
  2. NEW: Whole Foods will relocate Idylwood store to Falls Church (13850 views)
  3. Fairfax property manager will go to prison for embezzling funds from local HOAs (8807 views)
  4. New Tysons office data shows gap between ‘haves and have-nots’ (8466 views)
  5. UPDATED: Hayfield pulls football team from playoffs as calls for outside investigation grow (7712 views)
  6. Mike’s American company to open new BBQ restaurant in Springfield (4826 views)
  7. Silver Line riders may see more trains, faster trips in their future (4577 views)
  8. Gunshot fired at Tysons senior living apartments under police investigation (3857 views)
  9. Planned Lincoln Street in Tysons raises concerns about impacts on Scott’s Run Trail (3786 views)
  10. Construction takes off on United Airlines flight attendant training center in Chantilly (2912 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 sunshine and a high of around 37 degrees during the day, accompanied by a west wind blowing at 9-15 mph and gusting as high as 24 mph. In the evening, the skies will grow cloudier as temperatures drop to approximately 26 degrees. Winds will shift to a northwest direction at 5-7 mph before becoming light and variable after midnight. 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. 👋


Event

The Malls of JRKO show is a first of its kind opportunity for all members of the TCG community. Whether you’re a veteran vendor, a brand new tcg vendor, a seasoned collector, or a parent who just wants to take their kids to their first card show, this show is made for you!

We strive to build an incredible family friendly environment with tons of giveaways, children’s activities, incredible collector opportunities and digital guides for all levels of experience. You can find all our community resources on our linktree including a road map of all the progress and effort going into the event.


Sports

On the strength of a strong fall season with only one loss in singles competition, Flint Hill School junior girls tennis player Margaux DeVaul was chosen as the Division I private-school state Player of the Year.

Her play helped the Flint Hill team win six matches during the high-school campaign and earn a berth in the Independent School League postseason tournament.


Sports

The Virginia High School League recently announced its Class 6 all-state girls volleyball team, with Langley Saxons’ junior setter Claire Mo chosen as the Player of the Year and West Springfield head coach Stephanie Noriega Coach of the Year.

Mo helped Langley (28-2) win the state championship, the team’s fourth in program history, this fall. Noriega led West Springfield to the state-tournament semifinals, where it lost to Langley.


Sports

It will be the defending champion Lake Braddock Bruins hosting the Fairfax Lions tomorrow (Saturday) in the championship game of the 6C North Region high school football tournament.

The contest will begin at 1 p.m. at No. 2 seed Lake Braddock (10-2) in Burke. Fairfax High School (8-3), which won the 2022 regional champion title, is the third seed.


Countywide

Fairfax County officials are working to get to know roughly 1,750 residents of the area’s eight manufactured homes better.

“We are really hoping to understand the needs,” Fairfax County Department of Housing and Community Development Affordable and Manufactured Housing Program Manager Ivana Escobar told the Board of Supervisors housing committee at a Tuesday (Nov. 26) meeting.


News

Vienna Little League (VLL) has a new accolade under its belt, thanks to one standout coach.

Josh Cilman, who coaches boys and girls at the league’s “Majors” level, has been named 2024 Coach of the Year by Inova-GoHealth Urgent Care, which operates 23 urgent care centers in Northern Virginia. Announced on Nov. 19, the award comes with a $2,000 donation that the VLL can use for supplies and other resources.