For this year’s Independent Bookstore Day, local bookworms will be encouraged to collect not just new literary titles, but also places to buy them.
More than a dozen shops across Northern Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia have teamed up for a new “Passport” program, giving customers a chance to win prizes if they visit different locations.
“The Passport will introduce book lovers to more of our region’s growing bookstore scene, and offer them a way to celebrate with their favorites,” a press release for the campaign says.
The passports will be issued by the participating stores this Saturday (April 27) on Independent Bookstore Day, which is organized by the American Booksellers Association to celebrate the importance of independently owned book shops to local communities.
Passport holders will then have until May 31 to collect stamps from the participating stores. Four stores will net a book, eight stores a tote bag, and those who visit at least 10 stores can enter to win a grand prize, which will have books, gift cards and other items from each of the 15 shops, according to Fonts Books and Gifts owner Amber Taylor.
Taylor’s McLean store, which opened last year near Chesterbrook Plaza, is one of several Fairfax County businesses involved in the promotional campaign. Bards Alley in Vienna (full disclosure: this reporter’s sister is an employee), Scrawl Books in Reston and Herndon’s A Thousand Stories are also taking part.
“Northern Virginia is home to a robust and growing community of local, independent bookstores. And, our region is full of readers, book lovers and supporters of local businesses,” Taylor said by email. “We hope all of our customers enjoy filling their Bookstore Passports beginning on Saturday as they visit their favorite stores, and some stores that are new to them.”
In addition to the Passport program, each of the stores has its own activities planned for Independent Bookstore Day.
Scrawl Books has lined up several author visits, while Fonts will offer non-alcoholic drink samples, among other activities. Bards Alley will host a “stuffy sleepover” and storytime, and A Thousand Stories has partnered with Arts Herndon and the Friends of Runnymeade Park for a native plant and art sale.
Now in its 11th year, Independent Bookstore Day was started in 2013 by booksellers in California before going national in 2015. According to the American Booksellers Association, over a thousand stores across all 50 states will host events this year.
Passport programs or “bookstore crawls” have become a popular promotional method. The Northern Virginia crawl — which also includes Curious Iguana in Frederick, Maryland, and WordPlay in Wardensville, West Virginia — echoes similar campaigns in D.C., Connecticut and other areas.
RELAC Water Cooling will begin delivering air-conditioning services to residents and businesses in Reston’s Lake Anne area this weekend — ahead of its official launch date of May 22.
The volunteer-run utility announced today that it will “go live” tomorrow (Saturday) to test its services, providing chilled water from the artificial lake to cool 635 residential and commercial properties.
“Being ready for the start date, which is prescribed by state regulations, is mission-critical,” RELAC Steering Committee Chair Simon McKeown said in the announcement. “We want to avoid any adverse impact on our community’s health and comfort when the temps go high. That’s why it’s imperative we implement a rigorous testing period.”
RELAC will have full services available during the testing period, which will begin before a surge in temperatures next week. The National Weather Service’s current forecast for Reston shows highs in the 80s, starting this Sunday (April 28) through at least Thursday (May 2).
While some maintenance and refurbishment work remains in progress, engineering contractor, Innovative Mechanical Systems (IMS), confirmed last night that RELAC can start its chilling operations, according to McKeown.
Since it was created in the mid-1960s, the Reston Lake Anne Air Conditioning Corporation has been required for certain homeowners by the Reston deed, which prohibits individual air-conditioning units for residential clusters where the central AC service is available.
However, the State Corporation Commission-regulated utility announced last December that it would cease operations, citing increased operating and maintenance costs as well as difficulties with getting customers to pay their bills.
In response, McKeown and other residents moved to take over the company with plans to turn it into a community-run co-op. The new RELAC officially registered with the SCC as a nonprofit on Feb. 5.
That reorganization unfolded concurrently with a Reston Association referendum that sought to repeal the RELAC requirement. Like previous efforts, the campaign fell short of the two-thirds majority vote needed to pass.
RELAC’s new leaders announced earlier this month that they had received enough community donations to restart operations for the upcoming cooling season.
“This has involved a team of extremely dedicated people: the members of the Initiative Steering Committee and the subsequent members of the Advisory Board and the generous support of many of our neighbors that have financially played a critical role and provided thoughtful input and been so supportive,” McKeown said in this morning’s notice. “In short, this IS a community initiative.”
Properties where RELAC’s services will be available include the Coleson, Governours, Hickory, Wainright, Waterview, Washington Plaza and Chimney House Road clusters as well as the Vantage Hill Condominiums, the Lake Anne of Reston Condominium Association (LARCA) and Lake Anne businesses, such as Reston’s Used Book Shop and the Washington Plaza Baptist Church.
The cost of riding Metro trains and buses will go up, starting July 1, when the transit agency’s new budget takes effect.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s (WMATA) board of directors approved a $4.8 billion fiscal year 2025 budget yesterday (Thursday) that will increase fares by 12.5%, including by ending the flat $2 rate for weekend and late-night rides introduced in 2021 and expanded in 2022.
Going forward, riders will be charged between $2.25 and $2.50 during those times, depending on how far they travel. The new budget also raises the base fare for both buses and rail from $2 to $2.25, the cap for MetroAccess service from $4 to $4.50, and the price of rail and bus passes.
The increases will keep fares “in line with inflation,” WMATA said in a press release.
The transit authority also hopes to generate some more revenue by introducing a 5-cent hourly rental fee for its bicycle lockers, capped at $1 per day, though vehicle parking rates will be unchanged.
In a statement, Metro Board Chair Paul Smedberg acknowledged that the budget “asks for a shared sacrifice from our employees and customers,” but WMATA stressed it was able to avoid the “catastrophic” cuts proposed last year, when it projected a $750 million funding deficit.
“We appreciate the collaboration of our regional partners on this board-approved budget that will keep our community moving,” Metro General Manager and CEO Randy Clarke said. “This region is a great place to live, work, and play, and our recent ridership reflects the vital role Metro plays in getting people where they need to go.”
Some “targeted” service reductions will still be implemented, including “modest” headway increases for the Orange Line on both weekdays and weekends and for the Green and Yellow lines on weekends, according to a staff report. Metro also plans to utilize more six-car trains and a two-hour peak period.
Metro says it averted more drastic moves like station closures and worker layoffs by identifying $50 million in “cost efficiencies” — including a wage freeze for non-union positions — and securing increased funding commitments from D.C., Maryland and Virginia.
However, the amount of money headed to the transit agency from Virginia remains up in the air. The General Assembly passed a two-year budget in March with an additional $149.5 million for Metro, but Gov. Glenn Youngkin proposed an amendment earlier this month that would allocate $133.7 million — most of it redirected from the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC).
Last week, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors urged state lawmakers to reject Youngkin’s proposal, noting that funding is already running low for NVTC, which manages funding for transit systems throughout the region, including Metro.
The ongoing wrangling over the state spending plan has created some uncertainty for the county, which is considering an additional $10 million for Metro in its proposed FY 2025 budget.
Now that Metro has finalized its budget, the county anticipates adjusting its contribution, but the final numbers are contingent on what the state does. Read More
Appalachian folk songs and AC/DC will both take over Herndon High School’s auditorium later this month.
The tunes will come courtesy of the school’s band, known as the Pride of Herndon, which will give a free concert on Oct. 30 as a show of gratitude after the community came through during a recent “Tag Day” fundraiser.
Held this year on Sept. 9, the annual fundraiser involves band students going around town to knock on doors, seeking donations to support the school’s extensive musical program.
“We realize there are many choices when it comes to donating, and we are so grateful to our community for their generosity,” Pride of Herndon director Kathleen Jacoby said. “Tag Day contributions help pay for concert programs, music, uniforms, instrument maintenance, invitational performances, and master instructors.”
The celebratory concert will start at 7 p.m. on the school auditorium at 700 Bennett Street. The program will include classical music and the aforementioned folk songs from the wind ensemble, along with pop and rock jams from the marching band.
Fresh off its 75th anniversary season, the Pride of Herndon has more than 100 students across different ensembles, including marching and jazz bands, a symphonic band, wind and percussion ensembles, an indoor drumline and a color guard.
The band is still raising money so students can travel to Waikiki, Hawaii, for the upcoming Pearl Harbor Memorial Parade, which commemorates the Dec. 7, 1941 attack that officially pulled the U.S. into World War II. The Herndon High School band was selected to represent Virginia in this year’s parade.
According to a message on the band’s website, it remains $5,000 short of its fundraising goal to cover all travel and shipping expenses.
(Updated at 4:15 p.m.) A redevelopment proposal for nearly 9-acre parcel of land near Lake Fairfax Park is headed for a vote before the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors this month.
The plan by SEM Fairfax Land Associates calls for eight single-family homes on a cul-de-sac off of Lake Fairfax Drive, along with the preservation of a log house that was built in the 1790s.
At a Fairfax County Board of Supervisors meeting on Sept. 26, Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn introduced a board matter to set a board date for the application.
“In addition to the aforementioned preservation of the Log House, these Applications will ensure that the currently unmaintained unnamed cemetery #44FX1397 is well maintained in perpetuity and most importantly, that the cemetery remains undisturbed,” Alcorn wrote in the board matter.
The application went before the Fairfax County Planning Commission on July 26 and Sept. 27, when the commission recommended it be approved.
Hunt Club Cluster residents in Reston pushed back against the redevelopment of the property, which includes a possible slave cemetery.
At the commission’s hearing, attorney John McGranahan said that the applicant made several changes to the proposal. The applicant relocated lot six — one of the most significant changes in response to residents’ concerns about the encroachment of the lot on the cemetery.
“It was a lot harder than changing the lines on the drawing,” McGranahan.
Other changes include adding landscaping along Lake Fairfax Drive, added a sign to identify the cemetery as the Johnson Farm Cemetery and increased open space.
Fairfax County can officially retire Lee Highway and Lee-Jackson Memorial Highway as its names for routes 29 and 50.
The highways will be renamed after their route numbers effective July 5, the county announced today (Thursday).
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted on Sept. 13 to drop the highway names, which were homages to Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, but the Commonwealth Transportation Board didn’t approve the changes until May 24.
“The renaming of both roadways signifies our unwavering dedication to acknowledging the experiences of our community, especially our African American neighbors,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said in a statement. “Thanks to the dedicated work of all the community members who participated in the Confederate Names Task Force, we can put these divisive names behind us and continue to move our County in the right direction.”
According to the county, its records will automatically update on July 5 to reflect the new street names, including for property taxes, voter registrations and Fairfax Water.
However, individual property and business owners will be responsible for updating their address when it comes to their driver’s license, legal documents, utility bills, mail and other services.
The county says it’s developing a grant program to provide financial assistance for those affected by the name changes, though the program needs to be approved by the Board of Supervisors.
The Virginia Department of Transportation will replace the road signs, but the county has agreed to cover those costs, which were previously estimated to range from $1 million to $4 million, depending on the length of the new names.
The Board of Supervisors created the Confederate Names Task Force in 2021 after the Fairfax County History Commission identified hundreds of sites bearing names associated with the Confederacy, including Lee and Lee-Jackson Memorial highways.
According to the task force’s report, Lee Highway covers about 14 miles from Centreville to Falls Church, with a break in the middle where Route 29 meets Route 50 in Fairfax City. It was named after Robert E. Lee in 1919.
Lee-Jackson Memorial consists of about 8 miles of Route 50 in western Fairfax County. The name was adopted in 1922.
The highways have already undergone renamings in other jurisdictions, including Arlington County, Fairfax City and Loudoun County.
(Updated at 4:25 p.m.) Two members of Rep. Gerry Connolly’s staff were assaulted this morning by a Fairfax resident with a baseball bat.
The City of Fairfax Police Department and the United States Capitol Police (USCP) are investigating the incident at 10680 Main Street, Suite 140. The suspect has been arrested, while the victims were taken to the hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening, police said.
According to police, 49-year old Xuan-Kha Tran Pham entered Connolly’s Fairfax District Office in the Mainland Building around 10:49 a.m., carrying a metal baseball bat and used it to assault two staffers.
Connolly wasn’t present at the time.
“Right now, our focus is on ensuring they are receiving the care they need,” Connolly said in a statement. “We are incredibly thankful to the City of Fairfax Police Department and emergency medical professionals for their quick response.”
Read more on this story at FFXnow…
Photo via Google Maps
At Herndon Middle School, a teacher has taken the issue of student meal debt in his own hands.
Science and special education teacher Gabe Segal has worked with other staff and nonprofit organizations to pay off more than $1,000 in student meal debts at the school.
“I’ve always prided myself on building relationships with students, staff and families in the community,” Segal wrote in a statement to FFXnow. “As I’ve gotten to know the students and community, I realized the impact the pandemic and inflation has had on them. Although 1/3 of students qualify for free meals, some families have fallen through the cracks.”
His goal is to pay off lunch debt at the school and start a larger effort to establish free, universal meals in the county and, eventually, the state.
Meal debt stands at $708,140 across Fairfax County Public Schools, as of mid-January.
According to FCPS data, end-of-year balances hovered around $101,000 in the 2021-2022 academic year, $153,000 in 2020-2021, $212,000 in 2019-2020 and $214,000 in 2018-2019.
As of October 2021, roughly 31% of students in FCPS qualify for free and reduced-price meals. The costs of breakfast and lunch are determined by the school board, while the cost of reduced-price meals are established by the federal government.
For elementary school students, breakfast currently costs $1.75, and a lunch costs $3.25.
Families with an income of less than 130% of the poverty level quality for free meals, while those with incomes between 130 and 185% of the poverty level qualify for reduced-price meals.
Under a state law amended last year, school employees are prohibited from requiring students who aren’t able to pay for a meal or who have meal debt to throw away meals after they are served.
Additionally, meal debt can’t be used to bar students from participating in extracurricular school activities. School systems can receive donations or other funds to eliminate or offset meal debt.
FCPS did not immediately indicate how it handles meal debt upon graduation. A spokesperson for the school system did not respond to a request for comment on what accounts for the current rise in meal debt.
For the first two years of the pandemic, all students were able to get meals for free under waivers funded by federal relief money, resulting in a major uptick in cafeteria food distribution.
That allowance ended on July 1, 2022, but FCPS is still offering free meals to students at 34 schools this year through a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). Herndon Middle School is not one of the schools included in that program.
Photo via Google Maps
The Virginia Attorney General’s office has launched an investigation into Fairfax County Public Schools, alleging that delays in notifying students of commendations for their preliminary SAT test scores may constitute civil rights violations.
Attorney General Jason Miyares announced yesterday that the entire school system will be subject to a review that began last week with a focus on Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJ).
The expansion comes after principals at Westfield and Langley high schools reportedly informed families over the weekend that they also didn’t notify students designated as “commended students” by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) this fall.
“It’s concerning that multiple schools throughout Fairfax County withheld merit awards from students,” Miyares said in a press release. “My office will investigate the entire Fairfax County Public Schools system to find out if any students were discriminated against and if their rights were violated.”
In a letter to FCPS Superintendent Michelle Reid, Miyares said his office is investigating whether the school system violated the Virginia Human Rights Act’s prohibitions of discrimination based on race, color and national origin.
Reid said she “proactively” alerted the attorney general’s office to the lack of “timely notification” for Westfield and Langley students after it was found by an independent review that the school system initiated last week, according to a message sent to the community yesterday.
“As soon as this new development was confirmed, Westfield and Langley high schools notified all impacted families and their broader respective school communities,” Reid wrote. “Please be aware that FCPS is committed to sharing information that impacts our communities as soon as possible.”
Reid said school staff have been contacting colleges where the affected students applied.
“We are sincerely sorry for this error. Each and every student, their experience and success, remain our priority,” she said.
Initially, the delay at TJ appeared to be “a unique situation due to human error,” Reid said on Wednesday (Jan. 4).
She said then that the attorney general’s investigation will include “a review” of TJ’s admissions policies, which were revised in 2020 in an effort to diversify the magnet school’s student body. A lawsuit arguing that the changes discriminate against Asian students is currently in a federal appeals court.
Notably, the delayed notifications for commended students at TJ were first reported by Asra Nomani, co-founder of the Coalition for TJ, which filed the lawsuit opposing the admissions changes.
The National Merit Scholarship Program recognizes the top 50,000 scorers on the pSAT, a practice standardized test often considered by colleges. Though only a handful of actual scholarships are awarded each year, about 34,000 students get letters of commendations that go out in late September, per the website.
FCPS announced in mid-September that 238 of its students had advanced to the semi-finals. It didn’t mention how many students were commended.
In letters to the Washington Post, local public education advocate Holly Hazard and a former university admissions director argued that Miyares and Gov. Glenn Youngkin — both Republicans — have “wildly overreacted” to the delayed notices, a sentiment echoed by a couple Democratic elected officials.
https://twitter.com/ssurovell/status/1610986188554338304
“There is nothing to investigate,” state Sen. Scott Surovell (D-36) told FFXnow, noting that information about pSAT scores is available online through the College Board website.
“Fairfax County has the best public schools in Virginia and the Governor and Attorney General are trying to bring their culture war to Fairfax because they’re not willing to invest in public schools or treat our teachers like licensed professionals,” he said in an emailed statement.
The investigation precedes a General Assembly session convening Wednesday (Jan. 11) that will see consideration of a voucher program allowing public funds to be used for private school expenses, among other education-related proposals.
It also kicks off a year where all 12 seats on the Fairfax County School Board — currently held entirely by Democrats — will be up for election.
A Fairfax County School Board member plans to advocate for adding security vestibules at schools in the wake of the deadliest school shooting in the U.S. in nearly a decade.
Melanie Meren, who represents Hunter Mill District on the board, will introduce a motion at a meeting tomorrow (Thursday) requesting that Fairfax County Public Schools develop a plan to fund and install vestibules at all facilities, she said in social media posts last night (Tuesday).
Police, hazmat crews, and other first responders are on the scene of a death in the Town of Herndon.
The Town of Herndon Police Department is advising people to avoid the 500 block of Florida Avenue while the investigation is underway.
“There is no threat to the public,” the department says.
INCIDENT ALERT: Police, rescue, and HAZMAT crews are in the 500-block of Florida Avenue investigating a death. There is no threat to the public. Please avoid the area while the incident is being investigated. Updates as available. #HerndonPD pic.twitter.com/RjaKwcS0iz
— Herndon Police (@HerndonPolice) May 9, 2022
The National Weather Service has issued a Flood Watch for Fairfax County and the rest of the D.C. area.
The alert is set to take effect at 5 p.m. today (Friday) and last until 2 a.m. tomorrow (Saturday), though current forecasts indicate that rain is likely to continue throughout the weekend.
“Widespread rainfall totals of 1-3 inches are expected through tonight,” the NWS said. “This may lead to localized instances of flooding.”
Later this afternoon (Thursday), Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay will descend by rope down a 14-story hotel in Arlington County.
McKay is among over 70 volunteers and VIPs participating in a charity rappeling event at the Hilton (2399 Richmond Highway) in Crystal City to raise money for New Hope Housing, a Northern Virginia nonprofit that provides assistance for people experiencing homelessness.
The event will unfold over two days, with elected officials and other VIPs rappeling down starting at 4 p.m. today. Arlington County Board member Matt de Ferranti has also been confirmed as a participant.
(Updated at 10 a.m. on Feb. 16) Police believe that the man who was found dead in downtown Herndon on Feb. 11 may have been killed.
Jose Giovanni Arias Velasquez, 22, died as a result of injuries to the upper body, according to the Herndon Police Department. Authorities released more details about the incident — including the name of the victim — today (Feb. 16).
UPDATE 3: The case is being investigated as a homicide. The victim, Josue Giovanni Arias Velasquez, 22, of no fixed address, died by trauma to the upper body. The investigation is ongoing. Updates as available. #HerndonPD
— Herndon Police (@HerndonPolice) February 16, 2022
The Herndon Police Department says it received a call about a deceased man in the 1000 block of Alabama Drive around 8:30 a.m on Feb. 11.
The investigation is ongoing.
UPDATE 2: Around 8:30 am HPD received a call for a deceased male who was found with trauma to the upper body. It appears his injuries were not self-inflicted. The investigation is ongoing and more details will be released as available. #HerndonPD
— Herndon Police (@HerndonPolice) February 11, 2022
State of Emergency Declared for Snow — “Governor Ralph Northam today declared a state of emergency in advance of a winter storm that is predicted to bring snow and other winter weather to many parts of Virginia. This storm, expected to arrive Thursday evening into Friday morning, comes on the heels of a storm Monday that left more than a foot of snow in some parts of the Commonwealth.” [Office of the Governor]
Reston Company Sponsors NASCAR Driver — The technology contractor Leidos is teaming up with basketball legend Michael Jordan’s racing team to become the official sponsor for Bubba Wallace, the only full-time African American driver in NASCAR. Wallace’s new Leidos No. 23 car will debut at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, in March. [WTOP]
Cornerstones Highlighted in ‘State of the County’ Address — Community partnerships have been vital to Fairfax County’s COVID-19 response over the past year, Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said earlier this week. The Reston-based nonprofit Cornerstones is among the groups involved, providing primary medical care, dental care, pharmacy assistance, and COVID-19 testing. [Patch]
County Seeks Farmers Market Vendors — Applications for farmers and other producers to serve as vendors at the Fairfax County Park Authority’s farmers markets will be open from Jan. 21 to Feb. 11. The county operates 10 markets, including the Lake Anne Village Center market in Reston and one by the Red Caboose in Old Town Herndon. [FCPA]
