A fire that broke out in a Vienna apartment by the Cedar Park Shopping Center has now been extinguished.
The fire occurred in the 200 block of Cedar Lane, Fairfax County Fire and Rescue tweeted shortly before 3:30 p.m.
“Crews reporting fire in a bedroom,” the tweet said.
The fire department tweeted at 3:44 p.m. that the fire is now out.
UPDATE: fire is out. Several units returning to service. #FCFRD #FairfaxCounty https://t.co/BLWh6tijhw
— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) November 20, 2019
Map via Google Maps
Shoppers at The Boro in Tysons can now browse furniture and home goods in the new Ethan Allen store.
An employee said the store opened earlier this week. The store is the latest of several store and restaurant openings at the mixed-use development by the Greensboro Metro station.
The furniture chain relocated from a Route 7 location to a 11,500-square-foot spot at the corner of Boro Place and Westpark Drive. The store is right across the street from the newly opened Whole Foods.
Located at 1622 Boro Place, the store is open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday and noon-5 p.m. on Sunday — or after 6 p.m. by appointment only.
Updated 11/21/19 — Corrects location’s hours.
Virginia Tire and Auto recently rolled into Tysons with a brand new location.
The auto repair shop is now open at 2055 Chain Bridge Road, the former Merchant’s Tire and Auto Centers, a spokesperson for the company said. The 11-bay facility will be open from 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday.
“It is especially meaningful to now have two Virginia Tire and Auto locations in our hometown,” Mike Holmes, the co-CEO of Virginia Tire and Auto with his wife, said in a press release. “Given that we live in Vienna, we’ve had a front-row view of the rapid transformation of Tysons.”
Earlier this year, Virginia Tire and Auto opened a location in Vienna at 141 Maple Avenue.
To celebrate the opening, the auto repair shop is offering an oil change special at the Tysons spot through Dec. 31.
The new trails underway along I-66 now have a name: the “66 Parallel Trail.”
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved the name on Tuesday (Nov. 20) for the trails that will be added by the county and the Transform 66 Express Lanes Project.
In addition to the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) creating 22.5 miles of express lanes from I-495 to Prince William County, people can expect 11 miles of new pedestrian and bike trails in Fairfax County.
“Trail segments that cannot be accommodated within the highway right-of-way are to be funded by Fairfax County and constructed as part of VDOT’s locally administered projects,” according to county documents.
The county’s Department of Transportation (FCDOT) gathered name suggestions and held two public meetings in the spring. After 1,124 respondents took an online survey with name options, FCDOT staff recommended the “66 Parallel Trail” to the county board.
The names in the survey included:
- Sixty-Six or 66 Parallel
- Sixty-Six or 66 Ramble
- Capital Gateway
- Dogwood Trail
- East-West Gateway
- Heart of Fairfax Trail
- Kaleidoscope Trail
- Mid-County Trail
Braddock District Supervisor John Cook jokingly said that he wanted the name to be the “Smyth, Cook, Herrity and Smith Trail” — after the last names of the supervisors whose districts are affected by the name change.
Chairman Sharon Bulova said that “66 Ramble” was her favorite.
Images via VDOT
Two eastbound lanes of Route 7 are closed due to a multi-vehicle crash near Wolf Trap.
The crash occurred shortly before 10 a.m., according to a Fairfax County alert.
The crash is near Wolftrap Run Road and Google Maps shows heavy traffic congestion as of 10:15 a.m.
The eastbound right center lane, right lane and right shoulder are closed, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.
Accident: EB on VA-7 at MM57 in Fairfax Co. 2 EB travel lanes closed.9:52AM
— 511 Northern VA (@511northernva) November 20, 2019
Map via Google Maps
When the big top returns to Tysons next summer, people can expect a circus show about a power struggle.
Cirque du Soleil plans to bring “Alegría” to Tysons from July 28 to Aug. 30, according to a press release.
Attendees can expect gymnasts flying from one high bar to the next, a fire knife dancer, somersaults on trampolines and other acrobatics.
Here’s Cirque du Soleil’s description of the show:
Alegría (“joy” in Spanish) takes audiences at the heart of a once glorious kingdom now in decay led by the king’s fool and a dusty aristocracy. Carried by an intangible wind of change, an emerging movement from the streets strives to shake this established order, instilling hope and renewal to bring light and harmony to their world. With its joyful spirit, Alegría is a vital, energizing force driven by a thirst for a brighter tomorrow.
The show started in 1994. “To mark the show’s 25th anniversary, Cirque du Soleil is now revisiting its iconic ‘Alegría’ through today’s lens — including refreshed costumes and set design, a renewed acrobatic vocabulary, and modernized musical arrangements — to touch new generations of spectators,” the press release said.
Tickets are on sale now, and people can receive 40% off certain tickets Nov. 19-Dec. 2.
A Thoreau Middle School teacher, who allegedly sexually abused a student, is facing another felony charge after a second teen victim was identified, according to Fairfax County police.
Back in October, police arrested 31-year-old Maryland resident Matthew Snell in El Paso, Texas for allegedly sending inappropriate text messages to a minor. NBC 4 reported that the investigation started after the mother of a Thoreau student “found inappropriate messages from Snell on the student’s phone.”
Earlier this fall, Snell was charged with carnal knowledge of a child and taking indecent liberties with a child by a person in a custodial relationship.
Now, he faces an additional felony charge of taking indecent liberties with a child by a person in a custodial relationship, FCPD announced today.
Snell is being held at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center as the investigation continues, police said.
“Detectives are seeking anyone who has information or may have had inappropriate contact with Snell to call our Major Crimes Bureau detectives at 703-246-7800,” police said.
First image via Google Maps, second image via FCPD
Two Merrifield restaurants now have Fairfax County approval for a plan to address parking problems.
The Board of Supervisors approved an amended parking plan today (Tuesday) for 8100 Lee Hwy — the site of TRIO Grill and Open Road, which are both operated by Metropolitan Hospitality Group.
Back in 2013, the board OK’d a parking reduction from 123 to 100 spaces on the site, with 98 spaces for customers and two spaces — one for an employee and another for a shuttle for employees, according to county documents. The board made the decision because of the restaurants’ proximity to the Dunn Loring-Merrifield Metro station.
Several conditions were put in place for the 2013 reduction to incentivize the employees to not drive, including a shuttle to and from the Metro station for employees and reduced-fare vouchers for public transit.
“However, soon after the restaurants opened, the operator discontinued the shuttle program and instead instituted valet parking on adjacent sites,” according to county documents.
To address concerns about the parking situation, the Zoning Administrator requested a parking study in July 2017. The study found that the site requires 123 parking spaces.
Roughly 50 employees are on the site during peak operating hours, according to county documents.
Now, the board approved changes that will have:
- 100 spaces on the site of the restaurants
- 23 spaces off-site for the restaurants
- 74 spaces off-site “for additional parking demand”
The off-site spaces will be valet-parked at 2757 and 2843 Hartland Road.
“The total proposed parking supply of 197 spaces is adequate to meet the projected peak parking demand of 182 spaces, which is based on yearly sales data for the restaurants and potential parking demand associated with this data,” according to county documents.
Providence District Supervisor Linda Smyth likened the situation to the children’s tale “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” saying that it’s important to get the parking numbers right — “not too much, not too little.”
“Parking is vital to the success of any business,” Smyth told her fellow board members. “This has been a dilemma here.”
Image via Google Maps
A cycling studio plans to come to Tysons Galleria.
CycleBar is “coming soon” to the mall, according to the mall directory. Currently, CycleBar has nearby locations in Falls Church and Arlington.
The mall has also welcomed two newcomers.
A new pop-up store from Canada Goose is now open in the mall on the second level by Saks Fifth Avenue. On the first level near Sweetgreen, See’s Candies is selling candy.
Photo via CycleBar/Facebook
A driver arrested for allegedly striking and killing a woman in the West Falls Church area is now facing additional charges for homicide and drug possession.
In August, Betty Ana Bernstein-Zabza, a Falls Church resident who worked for the State Department, was fatally hit by a truck near the intersection of Shreve Road and Hickory Street — less than a mile away from her home.
Zabza was walking near the busy W&OD Trail with a child, who was treated for minor injuries after the crash, according to Fairfax County police.
“They entered a crosswalk that connected the pathway to a sidewalk when they were hit by a stolen 2013 Nissan Titan pickup truck,” police said.
Shortly after the crash, police arrested the driver of the truck, 46-year-old South Riding resident David Alan Francis and charged him with one count of felony hit and run. At the time of the arrest, police said that Francis fled the scene uninjured and that “both speed and drugs appear to be factors.”
The police department announced today (Tuesday) that Francis faces additional charges of felony homicide, felony hit and run, aggravated involuntary manslaughter, possession of schedule I/II narcotics and driving under the influence of drugs.
“On Monday, evidence was presented to a grand jury who indicted David Alan Francis,” police said of the new charges.
Since 2009, Francis has faced 30 charges including many traffic-related ones like driving under a revoked or suspended license, operating an uninsured vehicle, speeding and improper driving, according to court records.
Francis is being held at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center without bond, police said.
