Tysons Reporter Looks Back on 2020

As 2020 draws to a close, Tysons Reporter is looking back on the stories that defined the past year.

Unsurprisingly, COVID-19 was at the forefront of people’s minds locally as well as nationally. Readership spiked when the pandemic shut down Fairfax County in the middle of March and again toward the end of May, when Northern Virginia prepared to reopen.

Still, the past 12 months brought plenty of more conventional changes to the Tysons area as well.

The arrival of Wegmans to Capital One Drive in November generated much excitement, as did the introduction of the electric, self-driving Relay shuttle at the Mosaic District in Merrifield.

Fairfax County saw record levels of voter turnout for the Nov. 3 general election, while local officials considered tackling issues from affordable housing to abandoned shopping carts.

McLean residents debated the future of their downtown and the Interstate 495 corridor, and Vienna residents continued to report unusual crimes, as their town moved forward with plans for a new police station.

Overall, it was an eventful, often challenging year. Here are Tysons Reporter’s top 10 most-viewed articles of 2020:

1. Tysons Corner Center reopened stores in May with COVID-19 restrictions in place.
2. A Tysons office worker tested positive for COVID-19.
3. The Sheraton Tysons Hotel permanently closed on Apr. 3 as the hospitality industry reeled from the pandemic.
4. Government and community facilities in Fairfax County, Vienna, and the City of Falls Church closed in mid-March.
5. Tysons Reporter got a preview of Showplace Icon ahead of the movie theater’s grand opening on Mar. 6.
6. Northern Virginia delayed joining the state’s phased reopening plan in May as COVID-19 hospitalizations in the Fairfax Health District increased.
7. Brio closed its Tysons Corner Center restaurant in January with no official explanation.
8. A worker at a Fairfax Square office building in Tysons tested positive for COVID-19 in March.
9. Videos captured parachuters jumping off a building under construction on the Capital One campus in early April.
10. Local protests against racism and police brutality led the Walmart in Tysons to close early on June 5.

Photo courtesy Ed Schudel