Around Town

Though fall hasn’t officially arrived yet, Reston is already dreaming of hot cocoa and snow in anticipation of the return of Winterfest.

Reston Association announced last Tuesday (Sept. 17) that the three-day festival will return on Dec. 5, 6 and 7 from 5-7 p.m. at Brown’s Chapel Park (1575 Browns Chapel Road).


News

A Dominion Energy worker was injured by an electrical transformer explosion that occurred this morning (Monday) outside the Mars headquarters building in McLean.

Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department units were first dispatched to 6885 Elm Street around 10 a.m. Additional responders were sent to the scene minutes later after a firefighter reported concern about the building catching fire, according to scanner traffic.


News

A Fredericksburg man was arrested and charged last week in connection with sexual assaults that allegedly occurred over 40 years ago at a horse farm in Great Falls.

Edward Shelton, 81, turned himself in to the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office last Thursday, Sept. 19, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.


News

Fairfax County police are investigating three different fatal pedestrian crashes that occurred over the past week.

Last Thursday (Sept. 19) around 9:38 p.m., Oscar Daniel Martinez Granados, 24, of Woodbridge was hit by a driver in the 8100 block of Old Keene Mill Road near Irving Middle School in Springfield, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.


Countywide
An arts and crafts exhibit set up for the Taste of Thai Festival at Tysons Corner Center (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Early Voting Brings Out Crowds in Fairfax County — “Lines were long at early voting locations, including at the Fairfax County Government Center where hundreds stretched from the front door to the parking lot.” Fairfax County general registrar and director of elections Eric Spicer called the turnout for the first day of early voting in the Nov. 5 general election “record-breaking territory.” [WTOP]

Missing Campaign Signs Under Investigation — “When Mayor Catherine Read and a member of the City of Fairfax Democratic Committee arrived at City Hall around 7:35 a.m. on Friday, they discovered that someone had removed campaign signs they’d placed outside the polls on Thursday.” The missing Harris-Walz signs, which appeared to have been replaced with Trump signs, were reported to police. [Patch]

Guns Stolen from Newington Store — Fairfax County police are searching for four people who allegedly stole 14 guns from Dominion Defense on Fullerton Road around 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday (Sept. 18). The theft of over 50 guns from the same store in May led to prison sentences for two men who pleaded guilty to the crime. [WUSA9]

Kids Design New Fairfax City Voting Stickers — “Since 2020, the City of Fairfax has given voters and future voters custom stickers at the polls. These stickers are designed by city students. The city has selected new stickers for the Nov. 5 General Election, and the City of Fairfax Commission on the Arts and the City of Fairfax Electoral Board honored the two young artists who created them at a special reception on Sept. 17.” [City of Fairfax]

Floor and Wall Store Opens in Bailey’s Crossroads — “A huge store that sells almost nothing except flooring and wall materials had a grand opening on Sept. 19 in Bailey’s Crossroads. Floor & Decor took over two large commercial spaces formerly occupied by A.C. Moore and Bed Bath & Beyond at the Crossroads Center on Leesburg Pike.” [Annandale Today]

Mental Health Crisis Center Helps Address Trauma — “When [Wellness Circle Crisis Stabilization Unit Program Manager Amy] Miller and her staff began to track trends in the behaviors and needs of the individuals they were serving, the demand for a specialized program that addressed trauma was at the top of the priority list…The Trauma Resilience Program launched at Wellness Circle earlier this year.” [Fairfax-Falls Church CSB]

South Lakes Kicker Breaks Barrier — “Lila Jaster is the first girl to ever score a point in a football game for South Lakes, whose program dates back to the mid-1970s.” The junior varsity kicker first made a point-after kick against Falls Church High School last year, and she had a repeat on Friday (Sept. 20) when South Lakes High School enlisted her to make the kick with a 28-point lead. [Patch]

It’s Monday — Expect drizzle in the area starting around 11am, with mostly cloudy skies and a high near 72. The drizzle will continue into Monday night, mainly between 11pm and 2am, while it remains cloudy and the temperature lowers to approximately 62 . [NWS]


News

A woman was killed in a crash that occurred outside Oakton Shopping Center Saturday morning (Sept. 21).

Choon Kook, 80, from Vienna was hit by the driver of a Ford F-150 while walking at the intersection of Hunter Mill Road and Lynnhaven Place. She was transported to a hospital with injuries considered life-threatening, the Fairfax County Police Department reported in a tweet at 10:32 a.m.


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 — Sep 20, 2024.

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

  1. These are the wealthiest zip codes in Fairfax County, national ranking finds (41553 views)
  2. BREAKING: Woman killed, officer injured in Reston police shooting (19121 views)
  3. Fairfax County considers new tax options to ease burden on property owners (8588 views)
  4. Burger joint to hold grand opening in Chantilly this weekend (6482 views)
  5. Balducci’s celebrates reopening in McLean after major remodel (4892 views)
  6. Gaming convention to take over GMU for second time this year (4101 views)
  7. Investigation underway in police shooting of Reston woman (3931 views)
  8. Final phase of Lake Anne area visioning study nears completion (3370 views)
  9. County board allows residential development on former Fair Lakes office site (2833 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

Partly sunny skies with a high of 81 and a light south wind at 3 to 7 mph. Saturday night brings a 70% chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 2 am, and a low around 64. New rainfall amounts will range between a tenth and a quarter of an inch, with higher amounts possible during thunderstorms. 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. 👋


News

The Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) is seeking community feedback on some potential improvements at Hybla Valley Park.

The agency is considering replacing the two existing tennis courts at the park near Hybla Valley Elementary School (3431 Lockheed Blvd) with a combination basketball and futsal court. A new playground has also been proposed.