Updated at 4 p.m. on 9/26/2023 — The traffic pattern change at Lewinsville Road and Route 7 has been rescheduled for 5 a.m. on Thursday (Sept. 28), the Virginia Department of Transportation says.
Earlier: One portion of the ongoing project to widen northern Route 7 (Leesburg Pike) is complete.
The revamped Lewinsville Road intersection in the Wolf Trap area will fully open to traffic tomorrow (Tuesday) morning, the Virginia Department of Transportation recently announced.
Final work on the intersection will continue tonight into the morning, in preparation of the new traffic pattern taking effect by 5 a.m.
“Temporary traffic patterns may be in place during the overnight hours between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. while crews complete the transition,” VDOT said. “Please use caution and be alert to directional signage that will be in place to guide drivers through the intersection.”
Under the new configuration, Lewinsville Road has been realigned with the McLean Bible Church’s east entrance on the south side of Route 7. A displaced left-turn lane separates Route 7 traffic headed east onto Lewinsville from westbound Route 7 traffic.
Traffic signals have been placed at both McLean Bible Church entrances, but a new acceleration lane lets drivers from Lewinsville Road turn right onto westbound Route 7 without having to stop at the light, as shown in a simulation video from VDOT.
Under construction since spring 2019, the Route 7 Corridor Improvements Project is widening the roadway from four to six lanes along a nearly 7-mile stretch from Reston Avenue to Jarrett Valley Drive just north of the Dulles Toll Road.
The $313.9 million project is also adding 10-foot-wide, shared-use paths on both sides of the corridor and reconfiguring several intersections, including Lewinsville and Baron Cameron Avenue in Reston.
Work is scheduled to be completed by July 31, 2024.
(Updated at 12:35 p.m.) A pedestrian died last night (Sunday) after being hit by a driver on the Capital Beltway (I-495) near Merrifield, Virginia State Police say.
The state police responded to calls about a pedestrian being struck on a northbound I-495 service road to Route 50 around 9:14 p.m., according to a VSP spokesperson.
Identified as Douglas C. Haskett II, a 55-year-old Ashburn resident, the pedestrian was hit by the driver of a Chevrolet Traverse, who fled the scene. Haskett died at the scene, according to police.
A dispatcher asked for any unit on the Beltway that could “check on a pedestrian walking in the road,” according to scanner traffic on Open MHz.
“There’s people standing on that ramp north to 50,” the dispatcher told the responding troopers.
Troopers shut down the ramp from Gallows Road, reporting that there were “multiple vehicles” on the scene. However, the vehicle responsible for the crash was not present, a trooper told the dispatcher.
At 9:39 p.m., a Fairfax County police officer said they had “received a call from a citizen who believes he might be the hit-and-run driver,” according to the scanner.
“During the course of the crash investigation, state police were notified by Fairfax County Police that they had received a call from the driver of the Chevrolet,” VSP spokesperson Corinne Geller confirmed in an update around 12:20 p.m. today (Monday).
The call came from a parking garage in the Mosaic District. Upon locating the Chevrolet in the garage, troopers arrested the driver — Brian C. Diffell, 46, of Falls Church — and charged him with a felony count of hit-and-run.
“The investigation remains ongoing and in consultation with the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney,” Geller said.
#Merrifield: crash has ramp closed from Gallows Rd onto I-495 NB. No delays on interstate. Reconstruction en route. Please use alternate route. #VaTraffic pic.twitter.com/pdWeZYWvtY
— VDOT Northern VA (@VaDOTNOVA) September 25, 2023
A woman who shot and killed her mother and sister at their shared home in McLean six years ago has been convicted of murder for a second time.
A Fairfax County Circuit Court jury found Megan Hargan guilty of first-degree murder and using a firearm while committing a felony on Friday (Sept. 22) after a previous conviction got vacated due to juror misconduct.
“Pamela and Helen [Hargan] were loved by many, and their deaths in 2017 tore this community apart, with the added shock and horror of being killed in their own home by a family member,” Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said in a statement on Friday. “…Today’s guilty verdict has been a long time coming, and I hope [that] Pam and Helen’s loved ones will be able to take one step closer to healing.”
According to news releases from the time, police officers discovered the bodies of Pamela, 63, and Helen Hargan, 24, inside their home in the 6700 block of Dean Drive on July 14, 2017 after receiving a call around 2 p.m. that someone might’ve been killed there.
All three women lived in the house at the time, along with Megan Hargan’s then-8-year-old daughter, who wasn’t home when the shootings occurred, according to Descano’s office.
The Fairfax County Police Department initially characterized the killings as a murder-suicide, where Helen Hargan shot her mother before turning the gun on herself. But when announcing Megan Hargan’s arrest on Nov. 9, 2018, officials said there was suspicion “early on” that the scene may have been staged, WTOP reported.
Those suspicions honed in on Megan Hargan after investigators learned that she had tried to transfer money from her mother Pamela’s bank account on both the day before and the day of the murders, the FCPD said in 2018.
From there, police determined that the killings were motivated by a conflict over finances, the commonwealth’s attorney’s office said in a press release:
Megan, who was buying a house for her family, resented that her mother, Pamela, wasn’t helping her financially but was at the same time helping her sister Helen to buy a house. On July 13, the day before the killings, Megan attempted to transfer upwards of $400,000 from her mother’s bank account to pay for Megan’s new house, which was closing that day. The transaction was flagged as fraud, and the next day Megan shot her mother before attempting to make the same wire transfer again from her mother’s account. She then shot her sister Helen, who was upstairs. Both family members were killed by a .22 rifle, which belonged to Megan’s husband and was being stored in the McLean house temporarily.
A grand jury indicted Megan Hargan on two counts each of first-degree murder and using a firearm in the commission of a felony on Nov. 8, 2018. Later that month, she was extradited to Fairfax County from near where she was living in Monongalia County, West Virginia.
After a 13-day trial in March 2022, a Fairfax County jury found Megan Hargan guilty of murder and recommended that she be sentenced to life in prison. However, Circuit Court Judge Brett Kassabian vacated the conviction on Nov. 9, 2022 after finding that a juror had experimented with a rifle to see if Helen Hargan could’ve used it to die by suicide, the Washington Post reported.
Defense attorneys argued during this month’s retrial that prosecution’s case relied too much on circumstantial evidence and failed to disprove the murder-suicide scenario originally described by police, according to WUSA9.
The jury for the second trial began deliberations last Wednesday (Sept. 20).
“When the first conviction was vacated, I promised that my office would continue to fight for justice for the Hargan family and for the community, and today we have obtained that outcome,” Descano said, thanking Senior Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorneys Kelsey Gill and Eric Clingan for handling the case.
Hargan is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 26, 2024, again facing the possibility of up to life in prison.
McLean Woman Sentenced for Fatally Shooting Daughters — “Prosecutors said [Veronica] Youngblood methodically killed her daughters at her apartment at 1519 Lincoln Circle as an act of revenge toward her former husband, Ron Youngblood.” A jury convicted Youngblood of first-degree murder earlier this year and recommended a prison sentence of 78 years. [Washington Post]
Child Partially Paralyzed After Richmond Highway Crash — “Next month Trenton Gatlin-Ketter will turn 6 years old. Instead of playing outside and enjoying his special day, he’ll be in his wheelchair. The child was partially paralyzed after police say a drunk driver crashed into him and his mom.” [WUSA9]
Vienna Company Ordered to Pay for False Medicare Claims — “AZ Diabetic Supply, Inc. (AZD), a durable medical equipment (DME) provider located in Vienna, was ordered to pay $12 million for its submission of nearly 1,000 false and fraudulent claims to Medicare for reimbursement.” The owner also agreed to pay $10,000 and accept a ban from using federally funded health care programs as part of a settlement that dismissed claims against him. [U.S. Attorney’s Office]
Work Begins on South GW Parkway Improvements — “Motorists who commute along the southern section of the George Washington Memorial Parkway will notice some significant changes at key intersections in the coming days. The National Park Service (NPS) has begun reconfiguring the intersection of the Parkway and Belle Haven Road to improve safety, and NPS plans to make similar changes at Belle View Boulevard immediately thereafter.” [On the MoVe]
Vienna Diner Expected to Open in January — “The owners of the celebrated Tysons-area Greek restaurant Nostos say they plan to open the Yellow Diner by January 2024. The Pagonis family will open the 94-seat modern American diner at the site of the former SunTrust Bank at 501 Maple Ave. W.” [Northern Virginia Magazine]
Lake Accotink Playground Installation Underway — “Several pieces of equipment have been installed and more pieces will be finished. The playground will include, among other things, a tower play structure with a winding slide, a swing set, a teeter-totter, and musical panels to provide children with a wide range of options for play.” [The Walkinshaw Advisory]
Middle School Students Now Have Sports in FCPS — “Our students are setting the pace as middle school sports begin for the first time in FCPS! Across the county, middle school students have started cross-country without any cost to the student…This marks the first time FCPS has offered this age group a chance to participate in extracurricular sports.” [FCPS/Facebook]
Program for ArtsFairfax Awards Announced — “The ArtsFairfax Awards announces Peggy Fox as the luncheon emcee and Jean Sausele-Knodt as the 2023 Awards Artist and will include a musical performance by the Workhouse Arts Center cast of The Who’s Tommy and a violin solo by Inova Artist in Residence Anthony Hyatt. The annual event [will take] place on Thursday, October 26, at Capital One Hall.” [ArtsFairfax]
It’s Monday — There is a slight chance of showers in the afternoon after 2pm and patchy fog between 7-10am, with overall mostly cloudy skies and a high of 67°F. The chance of precipitation is at 20%. At night, expect a higher chance of showers, primarily after 8pm, along with cloudy skies and a low of 58°F. [Weather.gov]
Updated at 4:05 p.m. — A Coastal Flood Advisory issued for parts of Northern Virginia, including Fairfax County, will now take effect at midnight, earlier than initially anticipated, the National Weather Service says.
Earlier: It’s going to be a cold and rainy weekend in Fairfax County, thanks to Tropical Storm Ophelia.
Tracking to make landfall in North Carolina today (Friday), the storm is expected to reach Northern Virginia tonight with “heavy rain, high winds, and cool temperatures” continuing into Sunday (Sept. 24) morning, according to the Fairfax County Department of Emergency Management.
“Locally, [the National Weather Service] expects 2-4 inches of rain throughout the weekend,” the county said in a post on its emergency information blog. “Since the precipitation will be spread across the weekend, flooding is not a major concern but could cause some localized flooding issues. Wind speeds will gradually increase, peaking around 40 mph on Saturday.”
The storm has already affected some major events, prompting cancellations of the popular Reston Multicultural Festival, the inaugural Fairfax Fiesta in Tysons and a kick-off for National Public Lands Day in Annandale. Other events, like Fairfax City’s Fiesta Fairfax, have been relocated indoors.
@NWS_baltwash predicts heavy rain and high winds this weekend in our county and the Northern Virginia region.
Here’s a list of who to contact if you see a downed tree or wires: https://t.co/i7SQlNMz9f
If there’s an immediate life-safety issue, call or text 9-1-1. pic.twitter.com/TgPlyN72nC
— Fairfax County Government
(@fairfaxcounty) September 22, 2023
The NWS has issued a Coastal Flood Advisory and a Wind Advisory for much of the D.C. area, including Fairfax County.
The flood advisory will be in effect from noon tomorrow (Saturday) to 5 a.m. Sunday:
* WHAT…Up to one half foot of inundation above ground level expected in low lying areas due to tidal flooding.
* WHERE…Fairfax, Stafford and Central and Southeast Prince William/Manassas/Manassas Park Counties.
* WHEN…From noon Saturday to 5 AM EDT Sunday, especially around the time of high tide.
* IMPACTS…Flooding of lots, parks, and roads with only isolated road closures expected.
* ADDITIONAL DETAILS…Tides one and a half to two feet above normal. The worst flooding will occur with the Saturday afternoon and Saturday night high tides.
The Wind Advisory will take effect at 8 a.m. tomorrow and last until 8 p.m., warning that northeast winds could reach 20 to 30 mph with up to 45-mph gusts. The NWS notes that the “gusty winds” could blow around objects and result in power outages. Read More
Tysons Galleria’s commitment to serving up high-end retail continues with the recent arrival of three new clothing stores.
A boutique from Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana is now open on the second floor near Balenciaga, the mall announced earlier this week on Instagram.
Measuring 4,004 square feet in size, per Fairfax County permits, the store sells handbags, shoes and other accessories. It also offers tailoring and styling services, along with complimentary soft drinks, according to the store website.
This is Dolce & Gabbana’s second Tysons location, joining a boutique inside Nordstorm at Tysons Corner Center.
Tysons Galleria has also added Alo Yoga, which made its Virginia debut with an opening on Sept. 15. Located on the first floor near Sweetgreen, the store sells clothes, sneakers and other yoga-related accessories, such as mats and towels.
Founded in Los Angeles in 2007, the company says it aims to create comfortable yet stylish clothes that are equally suited for working out or walking down the street. Its website includes photos of celebrities like model Gigi Hadid and singer Taylor Swift sporting its outfits.
Alo offers yoga classes at some of its stores, including one in Georgetown. The Tysons Galleria store doesn’t have a studio, but it will host events, according to a press announcement.
“Try on the latest styles and experience luxe, signature fabrications and exceptional fits in-person, or attend our in-store community events to learn more about wellness practices from breathwork to ear seeding with experts,” the company said.
Finally, the knitwear-focused fashion house St. John opened a boutique at Tysons Galleria yesterday (Thursday), a public relations representative for the mall confirmed.
The boutique operates from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday and from noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
Founded in 1962 and headquartered in California, St. John has just 33 stores worldwide, but its clothes are also sold through other retailers. The company’s products can be found in Tysons Galleria’s Neiman Marcus and at Nordstorm and Bloomingdale’s in Tysons Corner Center.
Located at 2001 International Drive, Tysons Galleria is typically open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
Fairfax County is considering a pilot program to support more murals in its commercial revitalization areas.
The pilot program, called Paint It! Fairfax, was introduced at a Fairfax County Board of Supervisors economic initiatives committee meeting on Tuesday (Sept. 19).
If approved, the program would allocate $400,000 to complete at least two murals in the county’s Commercial Revitalization Districts (CRD) and Commercial Revitalization areas (CRA).
Richmond Highway would receive $85,000, with the rest spread out between the other CRDs and CRAs in Annandale, Bailey’s Crossroads and Seven Corners, Lake Anne, Lincolnia, McLean, Merrifield and Springfield, according to Jenee Padmore, a planner with the Department of Planning and Development’s Office of Community Revitalization.
Murals would remain on the property for at least five years, and artists would agree to repair the mural if it’s defaced or vandalized for a minimum of five years.
The program would begin with site identification and an agreement with the property owner, followed by calls for submission. The artist and committee would then work to finalize a concept to be presented to the community for input, followed by approval from the program director.
A Site and Artist Selection Committee would manage the program.
Elizabeth Hagg, deputy director of the community revitalization office, said that the program was developed at the board’s direction.
“If the board should confirm that this proposal is on target, our intention would be to come back to the board to seek funding through the economic reserve fund,” Hagg told the committee.
Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity encouraged staff to leverage students and community members to create and design the murals.
Overall, the board said they were supportive of the program. Franconia District Supervisor Rodney Lusk, for example, noted that the addition of a mural at The Boro in Tysons is a significant asset. Some developers choose to install murals without specific direction from the county.
“I’m just in awe of it every single time. And I’ve looked at it so many different times,” Lusk said.
Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik encouraged staff to consider adjusting the program timeline so that community input was prioritized earlier in the process.
“My big concern about this is the order,” she said.
Generally speaking, florals for spring may not be groundbreaking, but the Town of Vienna is still counting on new flowers and shrubs to give its commercial corridor some seasonal pizzazz.
Landscaping crews began work yesterday (Thursday) to update the landscaping along Maple Avenue and Church Street for the first time in 20 years. The project is intended to “boost curb appeal in the business district,” according to the town.
“The plan calls for 81 landscape planters on both sides of Maple Avenue and 46 planters on both sides of Church Street to be transformed into a welcoming, vibrant display of seasonal color from spring to fall,” Vienna Parks and Recreation Director Leslie Herman said in a press release.
The initial work is focused on Maple Avenue between Courthouse Road SW and East Street NE, requiring lane closures from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. through Monday (Sept. 25).
However, Herman says crews will typically remove plants and prepare the new planters between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. to “mitigate the impact of lane closures on residents and commuters.”
Friendly Reminder: Crews will begin the Town's Streetscape project starting today, Sept. 21. Work will occur from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Maple Avenue, from Courthouse Road SW to E Street NE through Monday, Sept. 25. Expect lane closures around the work. More: https://t.co/QNPR5KOFAx. pic.twitter.com/Kk3qxxqcn2
— Town of Vienna, VA (@TownofViennaVA) September 21, 2023
Designed by contractor LSG Landscape with plants from Merrifield Garden Center, the project will replace all understory plantings on Maple Avenue with new shrubs, ornamental grasses and both perennial and annual plants, according to the town.
Most of the existing understory on Church Street will remain, but it will be supplemented by new plants with “similar colors and textures to create a more consistent appearance,” the town said.
While the project mostly deals with the underlying plants, it will also remove trees deemed to be in poor health, per the press release:
As part of this project, some trees that are in poor or declining condition will be removed. This will not only improve the health of the remaining street trees but also increase sunlight exposure and reduce root competition. To maintain the tree population, an equal number of new trees will be planted, enhancing both consistency and biodiversity.
A recent inventory determined that most of Vienna’s remaining trees are healthy, but the overall canopy has declined, prompting the town to consider new conservation measures. A proposal that would require developers to preserve more trees will go to the planning commission for a public hearing on Wednesday (Sept. 27).
The planting work on Maple and Church is expected to continue through Nov. 8.
“If all goes as planned, residents and visitors will start seeing the colorful results in spring 2024,” the town said.
Early Voting Begins in Fairfax County — Three locations will open for early voting, starting with the Fairfax County Government Center at 8 a.m., and more will follow on Oct. 26. The Nov. 7 general election ballot includes all local and state races, along with a $435 million school bond referendum. [Fairfax County Government]
Coastal Flood Watch Issued for Saturday — “A Coastal Flood Watch is effective late Saturday night. The worst flooding will be with the Saturday afternoon and evening high tides. Turn around, don’t drown. More than half of all flooding deaths occur in vehicles!” [Ready Fairfax/Twitter]
Plan for Housing at Former Topgolf Site Revived — The Fairfax County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing Wednesday (Sept. 27) on a proposal that would allow 174 residential units on the Kingstowne property, which now hosts a Rudy’s golf facility. EYA’s project has been scaled back after previous plans that included retail and more housing got shelved in response to “community concerns.” [Washington Business Journal]
Hunter Mill School Board Candidate Faces Lawsuit — “In the middle of a contentious election year, Fairfax County School Board candidate Harry Jackson is facing a lawsuit from a fellow Republican parent who wants him out of the race. Stacy Langton filed an $850,000 defamation lawsuit against Jackson over a fake Twitter account” that she says he created after she expressed opposition to his candidacy. [WUSA9]
Potential Federal Goverment Shutdown Looms — “More than 3.5 million federal employees and military personnel — many in the Washington, D.C., area but also scattered across the states and around the globe — are bracing for another partial government shutdown.” Congress must pass at least a short-term budget bill by midnight on Sept. 30 to avoid a funding gap that could affect over 140,000 federal workers in Virginia. [Virginia Mercury]
Metro Expands Lost and Found Accommodations — “Metro this week announced it will now keep a wider list of lost items left behind on trains, buses, at stations, and other Metro facilities. The new policy updates changes made due to pandemic-related budget constraints in 2021 that restricted Metro’s lost and found storage to wallets and electronics such as phones, tablets, laptops, and cameras only” [Inside NoVA]
County Rec Centers Will Be Free for a Day — “On Wednesday, Sept. 27, Fairfax County Park Authority Rec Centers will be opening their doors to everyone for free…Enjoy free Rec Center admission all day, but visit between 4 and 7 p.m. to participate in special programming and fun events.” [FCPA]
Restored Gunston Hall Gardens Set to Open — “Gunston Hall’s fully restored, 18th century Riverside Garden — scheduled to open to the public Sept. 29 — may have taken just four years to construct and grow, but it took four decades to fully realize…Other construction projects are also in the works at the historic property.” [On the MoVe]
It’s Friday — Expect partly sunny skies during the day with a high near 74°F. At night, rain is likely after 2 am, and the weather will be cloudy, with temperatures dipping toward 60°F. There’s a 70% chance of precipitation, and new rainfall amounts could range from a tenth to a quarter of an inch. [Weather.gov]
Fairfax County police are searching for a man suspected of raping a woman at the Quarry Inn Motel just west of Falls Church City.
The man allegedly arranged to meet the woman at the motel (7179 Lee Highway) last Saturday (Sept. 16) at 6:40 p.m., according to the Fairfax County Police Department.
“When she opened the door, the suspect displayed a knife and threatened the victim. The suspect then sexually assaulted her,” the FCPD said in a news release today. “The victim was able to escape the room and call 911.”
Based on surveillance footage, police believe the suspect is a man in his 20s. He’s described as thin with scars or acne on his face.
The FCPD says anyone with information can contact its detectives at 703-246-7800, option 3. The department also accepts anonymous tips through Crime Solvers by phone (866-411-8477) and online.
As of June, the FCPD had recorded 192 forcible sex offenses in 2023, according to a mid-year crime report released earlier this month. The report found that shoplifting and assaults had noticeably increased from the previous year.
Photo via Google Maps
