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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Rideshare Startup Ordered to Halt D.C. Operations — The McLean-based startup Empower, which “markets itself as a cheaper, fairer alternative to Lyft and Uber,” was ordered to stop operating in D.C. by a D.C. Superior Court judge. The company could face contempt charges if it doesn’t comply and keeps providing rides to and from the District without registering with the city’s Department of For-Hire Vehicles. [Washington Post]
Reston Holiday Parade Returns Today — “The annual Reston Holiday Parade returns on Friday, November 29, 11:00 AM. Celebrating its 32nd year, the one-of-a-kind, one-hour, half-mile parade along Market Street also welcomes the arrival of Santa and Mrs. Claus in a horse-drawn carriage. Since 1992, rain or shine, the parade has been an annual tradition on the day after Thanksgiving.” [Reston Town Center]
Hot Chicken Restaurant Opens in Annandale — “Crimson Coward, a fast-casual restaurant featuring Nashville hot chicken, is expected to have a soft opening in Annandale on Black Friday, Nov. 29. The restaurant, located at 7004 Columbia Pike, features ‘the Crimson,’ a boneless chicken breast with Crimson sauce, slaw, and pickles in a brioche bun.” [Annandale Today]
Local TV Station May Have Pulled on Natural Gas Hazards — “It looks as if Washington Gas would very much prefer that people don’t read this new report from environmental advocates describing the health dangers of gas appliances they tested in the D.C. area. So much so that the company appears to have pressured local CBS affiliate WUSA9 into burying a story about the report that ran last week.” [Washington City Paper]
How McLean Got Its Name — “According to Chris Barbuschak, the Virginia Room archivist and librarian at the City of Fairfax Regional Library, the village that eventually became the suburban community of 50,000 was named after John Roll McLean, owner of The Washington Post, who acquired it in 1905. McLean was also president of Washington Gas Light Company and a director of two banks.” [Northern Virginia Magazine]
Falls Church Moving to Ease ADU Rules — “A majority of the 2,400 owners of single-family homes in Falls Church soon could be allowed to build standalone accessory-dwelling units (ADUs) with far less government oversight.” The city council agreed on Monday (Nov. 25) to start considering a policy change that would allow ADUs “by right” in low-density and medium-density residential neighborhoods. [ARLnow]
County EDA Donates to Food Drive — “Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) staff members proudly donated canned and other non-perishable food items through an annual food drive to Food for Others. This year, the FCEDA donated 2,335 pounds of food, and from 2021, staff members have donated 4,930 pounds to Food for Others.” [FCEDA]
Girls’ Wrestling Arrives as Varsity Sport in FCPS — With girls’ wrestling rolling out as a varsity sport this winter, students hope female participation in the sport will be more encouraged after some faced obstacles when the only option was coed teams dominated by boys. Justice High School girls’ wrestling coach Benjamin Alvarado expects to see eight to 10 wrestlers on the team. [WTOP]
It’s Friday — Expect a mostly sunny day with temperatures reaching around 47 degrees, accompanied by a west wind blowing at 5 to 11 mph and gusts up to 20 mph. The night will be mostly clear, with the temperature dropping to around 28 degrees, and a west wind persisting at 8 to 10 mph. [NWS]
With a seventh-place finish, sophomore Gavin Silva helped the Langley Saxons place eighth in the boys team standings at a big regional cross-country meet in North Carolina.
Silva’s time was 16:18 in the rising stars race on the 5,000-meter WakeMed Soccer Complex course in Cary, N.C., Nov. 23 at the Nike Southeast Regional high-school meet.
The first major redesign of Metro’s bus operating network since the system’s founding in the early 1970s will help Fairfax County riders and those across the region, local transit leaders say.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s (WMATA) board of directors approved the Better Bus Network redesign last Thursday, Nov. 21. Two years in the making, the changes aim to create a more seamless, easy-to-understand system for riders that’s also more efficient for the transit agency.
At least one gunshot was reportedly fired at apartments in Tysons Towers, a senior living community off of Gosnell Road near the Greensboro Metro station.
Police officers responded to the 8500 block of Tyspring Street in Tysons at 7:58 p.m. last Friday (Nov. 22) after receiving a call for a “missile” fired into an occupied dwelling, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.
The clock is ticking on Whole Foods Market’s time in Idylwood.
The grocery store has rolled out signs at its Idylwood Plaza location (7511 Leesburg Pike) announcing that it will relocate “soon” to Falls Church City, where it will anchor the new Broad and Washington development at 103 E. Broad Street.
