Countywide

State lawmakers punted consideration of a casino in Fairfax County to next year, but that hasn’t stopped some proponents from seeking to assist in the divisive plan to bring the Washington Wizards and Capitals to Northern Virginia, whose odds of a comeback win are looking slim.

Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, who represents Fairfax County’s Richmond Highway corridor, recently pitched the idea of bringing both a casino and the sports arena to Tysons to a representative of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns the basketball and hockey teams, the Washington Post reported on Sunday (March 24).


News

(Updated at 3:30 p.m. on 3/29/2024) Clogged-up pipes will force Scott’s Run Nature Preserve to close for more than a month, starting later this week.

Contractors will begin work on the “emergency project” to clear and repair wastewater pipes in the McLean park this Thursday (March 28), the Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services recently announced.


Around Town

Nashville-based Taco Bamba is set to open a new location in the Fair Lakes Promenade shopping center next week, with prizes for the first 100 guests.

The grand opening is slated for Friday, April 5, Taco Bamba chef and founder Victor Albisu announced in a press release.


Event

The Reston Museum invites the community to discover a fascinating chapter of local history through an upcoming program exploring the A. Smith Bowman Distillery and the Bowman family's history and connections to the Reston area. Before Reston was envisioned as a planned community, Sunset Hills Farm was home to Virginia's only legal post-prohibition whiskey distillery. Through historical accounts, photographs and other archival materials attendees will have an opportunity to gain a greater appreciation for the people and stories that preceded modern-day Reston.


Countywide

Local Figure Skater Wins World Championship — “Ilia Malinin, the 19-year-old from Fairfax, Virginia, put on a dominant display Saturday night in Montreal and took the world figure skating crown in record performance. His free program included a jaw-dropping six quadruple jumps — including his patented quad axel” and setting a record for the competition’s free skate. [WTOP]

Police Investigate “Suspicious Package” in Reston — Sunset Hills Road closed outside of the Reston Town Center Metro station yesterday (Monday) after Fairfax County police got a report of a “suspicious package” in the area at 4:40 p.m. An investigation determined the item wasn’t an explosive device, and there was “no apparent threat to the community at this time.” [Patch]


Countywide

(Updated at 9:40 a.m. on 3/26/2024) A federal funding boost is coming to help improve pedestrian and bicycle facilities on the Town of Herndon’s main through street and more than a dozen other sites around Northern Virginia.

At its meeting last Thursday (March 21), the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB) approved $19.5 million through the federal Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside Program for 15 non-highway transportation projects in the state.


News

A man who sexually assaulted two women in the Annandale area on consecutive days last week is now in custody, police say.

Kevin Lopez Altan, 24, of Annandale was arrested on Friday (March 22) after allegedly raping a business owner multiple times two days earlier and separately attacking a Northern Virginia Community College student the previous day, the Fairfax County Police Department announced this afternoon (Monday).


News

More than a dozen candidates will vie for six seats — four held by adults, two by teens — on the McLean Community Center’s governing board this spring.

The community center announced on Friday (March 22) that 10 adults and five teens have qualified to run in this year’s board election, which has one more open seat than usual with current board member Ari Ghasemian resigning at the end of March.