2015 Year in Review

Former Gov. Bob McDonnell was sentenced to two years in prison after he and his wife, Maureen, were found guilty of using their political influence to promote Jonnie Williams Sr.’s business in exchange for more than $170,000 in monies and gifts.

Alexandria City and Fairfax County shelters took in 23 dogs saved from a South Korean meat farm after the owner decided he wanted to get out of the industry that provides 120,000-200,000 dogs each year. Instead of selling what is considered a delicacy in South Korea, the farmer is now focusing on growing blueberries.

Students took to social media with #closeFCPS during the stormy winter, a move that garnered a worldwide trend on Twitter. And Prince William County Schools’ website was supposedly hacked by a student who posted a fake apology for not closing those schools. PWCS denied this, saying it was a hoax made up on social media.

An explosion at Eden Center due to improper use of propane and oxygen sent three people to the hospital and closed down a portion of the popular Vietnamese marketplace.

Arlington approved cameras for buses to catch drivers who pass illegally. Ticketing began on Sept. 8, and violators were issued a $250 ticket. However, in October, Attorney General Mark Herring wrote in an opinion that the General Assembly never gave permission for police departments to issue summonses by mail based on evidence from bus cameras. Arlington has since thrown out any issued tickets.

Prisoner Natasha McKenna died while in custody at Fairfax County jail after a taser was used on her four times. In April, the Virginia medical examiner’s office ruled that her death was an accident. In September it was announced that no charges would be brought against the deputies involved.

The Virginia General Assembly approved use of marijuana, but only for epilepsy. The legislature also signed a bill into law that allows women to breastfeed in public, anywhere.

Maureen McDonnell was convicted and sentenced to a prison term of one year and a day for public corruption charges.

Seventeen-year-old Ali Sukri Amin, a student at Osborn Park High School in Manassas, was arrested and accused of helping another young man travel to Syria to join ISIS. In June he pleaded guilty to conspiring with ISIS and admitted to running a pro-ISIS Twitter account. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison in August.

Residents around Inova Fairfax Hospital were on high alert in late March when a prisoner overpowered a guard, stole her gun and escaped from Fairfax Hospital. He was found eight hours later in the District getting off a Metrobus after someone recognized his picture from social media.

After the McDonnell corruption scandal, the Virginia General Assembly moved to cap political gifts from lobbyists and others at $100 per year.

Britt McHenry, a Washington, D.C.-based sports reporter, was suspended from ESPN after a video of her tirade against a woman at a towing company went viral.

Alex Carter, former Briar Woods High School football player, was drafted to the Detroit Lions in the third round of the NFL draft. Son of former Washington Redskin’s cornerback Tom Carter III, Alex Carter was not able to take the field until November due to an ankle injury incurred prior to the season start.

A new lyme disease test, the Lyme Antigen Test, that uses Nanotrap technology was developed by George Mason University’s Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine and Ceres Nanosciences. It is said to provide more accurate results than any lyme disease test prior.

Transgender students in Fairfax County Public Schools were offered protection after the school board added transgender people to the category of those protected against discrimination. As many opponents spoke at the meeting, board member Ryan McElveen, who sponsored the change, said: “The push for protection based on gender identity is the civil rights issue of our day, and it’s time for Fairfax County to be a leader on civil rights.”

Alexandria City chose the site for future Potomac Yard Metro station.

Metro was plagued with disruption as electrical malfunctions caused smoke to pour into the tunnels under the Potomac. In January, a similar situation on the Yellow Line at the L’Enfant Plaza station caused one death.

Vice Mayor Allison Silberg (D) came out of nowhere to take the lead in Alexandria’s Democratic primary away from four-term Mayor William Euille. Euille attempted a write-in campaign during the November general election but lost.

Artisphere, the art center that was billed as a cultural hub for Rosslyn, closed its doors after five years.

Jesse Matthews was found guilty on all three counts filed against him: capital attempted murder, sexual assault and abduction with intent to defile. Matthews murdered Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington in 2009 and U.Va. student Hannah Graham in 2014.

Federal Judge Gerald Bruce Lee’s ruling upheld the decision to cancel Redskins’ trademark protections. Five Native Americans brought the suit arguing that the trademark was derogatory. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office canceled the trademark registration in June 2014.

After two years of hype and only a year in business, James Beard Award-winning chef RJ Cooper’s Gypsy Soul was shut down after the landlord sued for back rent. A day after it closed, Mike Isabella announced a pop-up in the space, Requin, which runs through the end of this year with fellow “Top Chef” Jennifer Carroll in the kitchen. The space will eventually turn into Kapnos Kouzina, the second location of Isabella’s casual Greek restaurant.

A mother of a 4-month-old was directed to the pet relief area after asking for a place where she could pump her breast milk while at Washington Dulles Airport. Much scrutiny was launched at the airport, which does not have any dedicated nursing areas. An airport spokesman said they are working on developing nursing areas, and U.S. Rep Barbara Comstock suggested the airport look at this as a revenue possibility by getting the private sector involved.

Meg Ryan made her directorial debut with “Ithaca” at the Middleburg Film Fest at Salamander Resort and Spa.