To lift little spirits and keep up an annual tradition, a Sunrise Valley Elementary teacher and her teaching assistants decided to coordinate with her students’ families to decorate t-shirts for the kids while keeping in mind safety and social distance guidelines.

“Every school year they make t-shirts for all the kids, the kids make their stencil designs and then they spray paint it so they can remember their kindergarten year,” Megan Bailey, mother of Alexandra said. “But this year because of the pandemic they had to adjust their way of doing it.”

To work around school closures, teacher Stefanie Marik individually met the families at 18 different homes, where the kids had already prepared a shirt with some sort of stencil pattern, according to Bailey, who added that it took roughly three or four hours.

“My teammates (Miranda Stitzel and Kristen Lauver) and I wanted to give some closure to our young friends, make sure they feel connected and at the same time be Covid safe,” Marik told Reston Now, adding that this tradition has been going on for over 10 years.

Marik also said that the team felt so much love from their community and they were thankful to be able to keep up that bond between themselves and the students.

Alexandra’s mother said that the young girl was almost speechless when she was able to see her teachers and didn’t want them to leave.

“She was so excited, it was really hard on the students. My child is an extrovert so she was really missing the classroom environment,” Bailey said about Alexandra. “Their little five and six-year-old brains can’t really grasp what was going on. She wanted to hug them, but that’s not really possible right now,”  McCue said.

Marik mentioned that other parents, like Sarah McCue, were really touched by the activity and the teachers hope to get a Zoom “class photo” in the shirts.

Photo courtesy Stefanie Marik

Gov. Ralph Northam announced today that Virginia is on track to enter Phase Three next Wednesday (July 1).

“That gives us about three and a half weeks in Phase Two, where we have been able to follow the data,” Northam said, adding that he wants people to keep wearing masks and follow guidelines to avoid recent spikes on other states.

During his press conference today, Northam and state health department officials said that Virginia is seeing a decline in cases and hospitalizations.

Phase Three guidelines will:

• allow social gatherings with groups of 250 or less
• lift the restrictions on non-essential retail stores
• allow fitness centers and pools to open at 75% capacity
• reopen child care facilities

Still, things such as overnight summer camps for kids will not be allowed, Northam said. Northam said that the “safer at home” recommendation is still in place for people who are immunocompromised, and remote work is encouraged.

Other changes include public access to online data from nursing homes and long term care facilities throughout the state, according to Northam. This data includes the number of cases and number of deaths, one of Northam’s advisers said.

“Now that there are more cases in the facilities, we can release the information without compromising the confidentiality,” he said.

To track and limit the spread of COVID-19 in care facilities, Northam also announced that $56 million will be available for testing of both residents and care-takers.

Image via Facebook Live

As restrictions ease, restaurants around Reston Town Center are starting to reopen for in-house dining with alternative services to keep customers and staff safe.

Many restaurants in the area are taking to social media letting customers know that they’re open for business. Still, for those who don’t feel comfortable dining around other people yet, many locations are also offering takeout and delivery.

Here is a list of updates from eateries around Reston Town Center.

Sit Down Options: 

Barcelona Wine Bar (2900 Larimer Street) has reopened on-site dining with five tables that are available on a first-come-first-serve basis, according to one of the location’s staff members.

Bartaco (12021 Town Square Street) appears to be open for take-out and delivery only, according to its Facebook page. Dine-in options are also available.

Clyde’s (11905 Market Street) is now offering both indoor and outdoor seating, its Facebook page said.

Crafthouse (1888 Explorer Street) is open for indoor dining, its Facebook said, adding that the location will be operating with alternative hours which can be found on the restaurant’s social media sites.

Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls (11939 Democracy Drive) is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. everyday. The restaurant offers takeout, outdoor seating and limited indoor seating.

Mon Ami Gabi (11950 Democracy Drive) is another eatery at Reston Town Center which has opened for indoor and outdoor dining, according to a post on Facebook.

Jackson’s Mighty Fine Food & Lucky Lounge (11927 Democracy Drive) is open for take-out and indoor/outdoor in-person dining, its website said. Reservations can be made online.

Morton’s Steakhouse (11956 Market Street) is open for on-site dining, offering guests both lunch and dinner, the website said. Reservations and menus can be found online.

North Italia (11898 Market Street) is open for indoor and outdoor dining, a staff member told Reston Now.

PassionFish (11960 Democracy Drive) is open for patio dining, according to a Facebook post.

Ted Bulletin (11948 Market Street) opened its dining room and outdoor seating at varied capacity, the website said.

The Capital Burger (11853 Market Street) offers indoor seating, outdoor dining options and take-out, according to a staff member.

The Counter (11922 Democracy Drive) is also open for limited indoor and outdoor seating, an employee told Reston Now.

Takeout/Delivery 

&Pizza (1826 Library Street) is open, according to the Facebook page. But, it is unclear if they offer seating at this time.

Ben and Jerry’s ice cream shop (11916 Market Street) is open, according to its website.

Pitango Gelato (11942 Democracy Drive) is open for takeout, its website said.

Starbucks (1444 North Point Village Center) is open for takeout, its Facebook page said.

Sweetgreen is also open at 11935 Democracy Drive, according to Facebook.

Temporary Closures: 

Community Canteen is still closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic according to the Facebook page. It has not yet announced a reopening date.

Le Pain Quotidien is also still closed, according to its website.

Peet’s Coffee is also temporarily closed, according to its Facebook page.

Permanent Closures:

Big Bowl at the Reston Town Center said on its website that the location closed permanently.

Photo via Mon Ami Gabi/Facebook

Since COVID-19 has negatively impacted community members, Community Foundation for Northern Virginia recently awarded $1.5 million in grants to 70 regional non-profits around the Northern Virginia region, including Reston and Herndon.

So far, four rounds of grants have been given out to the non-profits and a fifth-round is currently under review. Reston based non-profit Cornerstones, received $15,000 in the first phase of the grant which will go towards promoting “self-sufficiency by providing support and advocacy for those in need of food, shelter, affordable housing, quality childcare, and other human services,” according to the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority.

In round two, Herndon-Reston FISH, which assists local residents in crisis, was granted another $15,ooo, the page said. FISH, which is short for Friendly Instant Sympathetic Help, assists low-income families and individuals by helping to pay utilities, offering personal finance classes, and assisting with medications and health, its website said.

“The Community Foundation’s COVID-19 Response Fund…is built to help carry the heaviest burdens for those who can’t do this alone — or can’t do this alone anymore,” Eileen Ellsworth, president, and CEO of the CFNV said. ‘Those for whom future planning is a luxury because today’s needs have overthrown it. Those who are suffering the most with the least wherewithal to weather the storm.”

Photo via Cornerstones/ Facebook

In an attempt to embrace the new normal, Herndon co-working space Office Evolution (205 Van Buren Street Suite) made serious changes around the facility that are intended to keep people safe as they return to an office environment.

Martin Gruszka, the location’s owner, said that he only lost around 5 percent of total revenue because of COVID-19. The remainder of his 120 customers is slowly preparing to return.

To maintain his customer base, while the COVID-19 pandemic shut down many non-essential businesses, Gruszka allowed people to freeze their memberships for three months so they wouldn’t have to pay for space they couldn’t use.

Gruszka said he worked through the last months to institute “’emergency operation” procedures to keep tenants safe.

Changes include:

• thinning out seats in board rooms
• getting rid of certain furniture items
• spreading out desk
• putting up whiteboards between workspaces that act as dividers
• creating “sanitation stations” that offer cleaning products and hand sanitizer
• putting up traffic direction signs
• UV air sterilization systems

In addition to all the layout changes, Gruszka said that crews are coming in more frequently to dee-clean common areas in the space as well.

Though the co-working space didn’t host many virtual events because Gruszka said people didn’t really find value in them, he also said that the staff at the space work to create a welcoming “family” environment.

“We’ve had some networking groups that have been using our center,” he said.

As a national chain, Office Evolutions has locations around the United States and typically caters to mid-career adults who want a quiet, mature space to work, according to Gruszka.

To help its members, Office Evolution has used social media to promote things like small business loans, safety information, and other ways to help stay afloat during this crisis, Gruszka said.

Photos courtesy Office Evolution

Updated 6:25 p.m. — Corrects a reference to the survey as a study and that the 825 were FCPS staff members — not all teachers. 

After COVID-19 disrupted Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) earlier this spring, teachers, staff and school board members are trying to find ways to offer more mental health support.

Throughout the last several months of remote learning, the focus has been on a combination of peer-led programs, remote family check-ins with school-sponsored mental health staff and a message of “resiliency,” according to Bethany Koszelak, a mental health specialist for FCPS.

“Yes, this has been hard on a lot of people, but most youth are resilient and bounce back,” she said, adding that FCPS has been coordinating with teachers to keep an eye on students who might need help.

Mental Health Chain of Command in FCPS

In the FCPS system, regardless of age or year, students typically have access to a therapist, psychologist and social worker who can provide social-emotional support.

Counselors, which Koszelak considers to provide something called “tier one” support, provide guidance lessons to cope with emotions and social issues. If students need additional support, they will be referred to the school-sanctioned therapists and psychologists by the counselors.

As the county’s school board considers a boost in funding for social-emotional learning in the next school year, part of the funds — if approved in the next few weeks — would go toward hiring more staff and possibly bringing on additional mental health professionals full time, according to Koszelak.

Though nothing is set in stone, Karl Frisch, who presents the Providence District on the school board, said he wants to improve the infrastructure for mental health.

“The last several months have likely caused some trauma here and we need to be in a position to respond to it,” he said. We anticipate students will have an increased need.”

Rising Demand for Mental Health Support

Though Koszelak said she doesn’t have statistics to back up an increase request, a survey released by the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers reported that 55% of the 825 staff members who responded said that their students’ mental health had deteriorated since the start of distance learning.

Still, students are not the only ones at risk for mental health challenges.

More than 90% of the teachers said that their stress level has increased since the start of distance learning in March.

“Respondents chose school counselors to have the highest positive direct impact on student mental health and social-emotional needs, followed by social workers, psychologists and parent liaisons,” the survey takeaway said, backing up the school board’s idea.

Among top sources of stress for teachers, many said that they felt anxiety over technology failures, a lack of direction from FCPS leadership and difficulty adjusting to new technology.

“They need to check in with teachers and really care how we’re doing. Right now, the only message we hear is you’re failing. Not providing mental health support to elementary during this time is so WRONG! These kids need it just as much as the middle and high school kids… If anything, we will all need increased mental health support when returning to school because we are all struggling right now,” one survey respondent wrote.

FCFT sent the survey results to Tysons Reporter on May 12, before the murder of George Floid that re-sparked wide-spread outrage over systemic racism and police brutality.

It is unclear how this might add a toll to students/staff mental health but Koszelak said that there are options for students to incorporate discussions about civil rights and current events in the classroom.  She added that students even begin to learn about civil rights and Martin Luther King Jr. in the second grade.

Meeting an Invisible Need 

In reality, though, the need for help is likely elevated since Frish said that students and families don’t always know how to ask for help when they need it or even realize that it could help.

Around the country, statistics show that issues like domestic violence and child abuse have risen since the start of lockdown since places like child care centers, schools and offices that would typically recognize signs of abuse in-person are closed.

“Children are specifically vulnerable to abuse during COVID-19. Research shows that increased stress levels among parents [are] often a major predictor of physical abuse and neglect of children,” the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration said in an online article.

To combat this, FCPS teachers were told to look for signs of violence and abuse while interacting with their students over Zoom, Koszelak said, noting that if a student wasn’t coming to class, a school counselor would be sure to reach out to the family.

“The teachers still had live video conference calls with students,” according to Koszelak. “You can gauge when there are some concerns and the teachers know there are protocols to reach out to the clinicians.”

In addition to basic screening measures, FCPS mental health experts were also keeping a keen eye on families with a history of known problems, she added.

Additional Resources for Students and Families

FCPS offers a variety of programs to assist both students and families.

They include:

• Parent Resource Center: tips on how family support will benefit students
• KOGNITO: a walk through difficult conversations with students
• Student Voice Campaign: student sourced media on healthy coping mechanisms
• Mental Health First Aid for youth
• Our Minds Matter Virtual Club Meeting
• Parent Wellness Consultations: for middle and high school students

Some of these resources are met with concerns though: “I did Mental Health First Aid training several years ago, but it was never implemented at my school,” one teacher wrote in the FCFT survey.

“I think there needs to be widespread training in this program at each school for any and all teachers, coaches, counseling staff, and administrators who are willing and able to handle it because we need as many resources for students and staff as possible,” the teacher added.

Looking Ahead to Upcoming School Year

Though kids are on summer break, the Fairfax County School Board is considering hiring 10 more mental health care specialists and increasing funding for various social-emotional learning programs.

Board members are considering a $7 million addition to the program but it is still uncertain how the money would be distributed.

They are expected to vote on changes and plans for the upcoming school year during the upcoming June 26 meeting, according to Koszelak.

Photo via Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

When Metro stations started shutting down and people grew uncertain about other modes of public transit after the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Green Lizard Cycling co-owner Beth Meyer said that people turned to cycling for their transportation needs.

Green Lizard Cycling, a locally owned Herndon-based business that is known for customizable bicycles and an on-site cafe, has been out of family-style and entry-level road bikes for over a month, according to Meyer.

“Instantly out commuter base tripled at least,” she said, adding that this has been the case for almost all locally owned bike stores.

“Everyone all over the country has sold out their bicycles basically,” according to Meyer. “You can still get high-end road bikes and mountain bikes but I don’t think we have a bike under $1,400 right now.”

To make up for the shortage, people have been bringing older, antiquated bikes in for repair, Meyer said, adding the shop also asked suppliers if they’d consider releasing their 2021 models earlier.

She said that the vendors agreed to move up their release dates and people can expect new lines to appear in the store by mid-July.

Because of high demand for service, anyone who brings in a bicycle for repair should expect longer wait times, she said.

As of Sunday (June 14) the average wait time for a typical repair at Green Lizard is about 10 days but Meyer said that she’s heard that some weeks backlogged by seven weeks.

Since many shops around the area are experiencing similar trends, the bicycle shop supports each other whenever possible by trading parts.

Despite the wait, Meyer asked that customers be patient with the shop and mechanics — since they’ve never seen demand like this and are working diligently to fill requests.

People are nervous about the pandemic and uncertain about the future, she said, adding that everyone processes these emotions differently and it can lead to inpatient and agitated customers.

Online reviews have dipped because new customers are frustrated that sometimes the shop has to source parts from across the country to fit niche needs — which takes time, according to Meyer.

“We want to do the work and we want to do it correctly,” she said. “If you’re going down a hill at a high speed, that’s your life in our mechanic’s hands. Our guys take that very seriously.”

Since the shop’s founding seven years ago, Meyer said that most of the shop’s mechanics have worked there since the beginning and are extremely knowledgeable.

One of the techs was once on the Brazilian Olympic Cycling Team and another mechanic worked for the US Paralympics, US Olympic Team and UnitedHealthcare Professional Women’s Cycling Team.

“It’s been such a crazy time for us,” Meyer said. “Don’t get frustrated with your local bike shop. We are trying our best.”

For those hoping to get outdoors and beat the “depression doldrums that 2020 is causing,” cycling is a great option, according to Meyer, who added that there is a great regional community for cyclists in the area.

Photo via Green Lizard Cycling/Facebook

After being prompted by the murder of George Floyd and national protests in support of the Black Lives Matter movement,  community members in Reston are turning to local bookstores for resources on systemic racism and the black community.

Scrawl Books, located at 11911 Freedom Drive, has already sold hundreds of anti-racism books, according to manager Molly McMahon.

“We have seen a profound uptick in sales for books by and about people of color, diversity, black lives matter issues and titles that address the causes and effects of racism (both fiction and nonfiction) over the past few weeks,” she said.

In the coming weeks, the location will also be organizing free books talks and events to help promote activism and education.

On Thursday (June 18), guests can tune into Zoom to hear from Daven McQueen about her new novel, “The Invincible Summer or Juniper Jones,” which focuses on a biracial adolescent sent to live with his aunt and uncle in Alabama in 1955,” according to McMahon.

Later in the month, on June 25, Mahogany L. Browne will give a book talk about her novel “Woke: A Young Poet’s Call to Justice.”

Some of the best sellers so far include “‘How to be an Antiracist‘ by Ibram X. Kendi, ‘Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America‘ by Ibram X. Kendi and ‘White Fragility‘ by  Robin D’Angelo,” McMahon said.

Because of high demand across the country, some of the books are on back-order form publishers, according to McMahon but they would once again be available on shelves later this month.

“We ensure our inventory increases along with demand for specific titles and topics, so we can fill orders as quickly as possible,” she said.

At the shop, some of McMahon’s favorite titles for all ages from Black authors include:

To examine the next steps in community recovery and look toward the future after COVID-19, Cornerstones hosted a virtual town hall earlier this week with Fairfax County officials.

As a Reston non-profit organization, Cornerstones helps community members in need of things like food and housing, they work with leaders around the community to achieve mutual goals like One Fairfax.

Officials from the Fairfax County School Board and members of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors reflected on the economic downturn, consequences for affordable housing and social programs, assistance for those struggling with homelessness, and new resources for students.

Housing

Among some of the largest changes for the board of supervisors, were the cuts to the upcoming fiscal budget, according to Drainsville District Supervisor John Foust.

“The thing that hurt me the most was, as chairman of the housing committee, we had originally planned to put an additional $25 million into the housing fund,” he said.

Many low-income workers, who have been already been hit-hard by COVID will continue to struggle if there isn’t affordable housing available for them, agreed Walter Alcorn and John Foust.

Along the Silver line in Tysons and Reston, Foust said that he and his team are working to lower the income level requirements for workforce housing so more people can afford to live in the area in which they work.

When COVID- 19 shut down the local libraries and other public spaces, Alcon said that this caused the homeless population to become more visible to the public and institutions which aim to help them.

“It made visible a problem our library had been shielding for many, many years,” he said.

Alcorn wants to work with Cornerstones to provide daytime services for homeless people that will allow them to empower themselves and become self-sufficient.

It might take longer to accomplish certain programs but it all depends on priorities, he said. “A priority for me is making sure that our homeless shelter is rebuilt and our library is as well.”

Education and Student Support

For students at-risk students, many of which qualify for free and reduced lunches, the FCPS has instituted a plan to bring in 10 new social workers and a few special education teachers, according to Melanie Meren, the school board representative for the Hunter Mill District.

When the pandemic caused school closures earlier this year, FCPS “nutrition staff began rerouting food supplies and began a very robust program to distribute food,” Elaine Tholen, Drainsville FCPS Board Member said, that county busses were actually dropping food off to disadvantage families at regularly scheduled bus routes.

Until this point, FCPS served around 1.2 million meals and delivered 22,000 laptops to students, according to Tholen.

Going forward, Tholen said that FCPS will be working with teams of bilingual teachers and parent liaisons to ensure that every student has the resources they need to be successful in distance learning.

“We understand that this individualized care is so important,” she said.

Still, county and school board officials remain optimistic about the road ahead.

“When the pandemic first started hitting our community, we really saw a lot of people step up and ask how they could help,” Alcorn said.”We were able to connect a lot of those folks with organizations with Cornerstones.”

Alcorn also noted that he finds it hopeful to see how many people around town who have come out in support of the Black Lives Matter movement after George Floyd’s murder.

“I’ve been to a number of marches and demonstrations within the last week. The feeling is positive without exception,” he said.

Photo via Element5 Digital/Unsplash

(Updated 5:55 p.m.) As the Black Lives Matter movement sweeps across the world in response to George Floyd’s death, Fairfax County locals are taking to the streets to call for racial equality.

Reston Now interviewed Sean Perryman, the president of the Fairfax NAACP, to gain insight into underlying issues in the community and how the group is advocating for solutions.

After graduating from the Vanderbilt University Law School and working as a civil litigator, Perryman decided to join the NAACP back in 2016 after Donald Trump’s election. Since becoming president in 2019, he has led the group to promote the NAACP’s mission to “ensure a society in which all individuals have equal rights without discrimination based on race.”

“I threw myself in because I didn’t like what I was seeing at the national level and wanted to get involved at the local level,” he said.

Though Fairfax County is thought of as a progressive and liberal area, “there is a history of violence here that often gets overlooked,” Perryman said.

Throughout the last several years, Perryman recalled several incidents of alleged police brutality and discrimination against Black individuals that he claims were overlooked by the public.

Just recently, a Fairfax County police officer was charged with three misdemeanor counts of assault and battery after using a stun gun on a black man, the Washington Post reported.

Fairfax County hired a research team to look into the use-of-force incidents by Fairfax County police after a study found a disproportionate impact on black individuals. The research team is expected to reveal its findings early next year.

“The use of force here is disproportionate here for the police department [against black and brown people],” he said, adding that it is still better than some surrounding jurisdictions.

NAACP’s Demands for Reform

Perryman claims students of color and students with disabilities are taken into police custody disproportionally compared to their white peers in Fairfax County Public Schools.

“Sometimes these were for issues like disorderly conduct,” Perryman said. “What does this mean? For a kid, does that mean they were just being bad in school?”

Perryman said that NAACP’s efforts have been able to reduce arrests in schools by 60%. Still, he wants to see more done: “I’ve always said we need to get the cops out of schools and put in more counselors.”

In terms of One Fairfax, Perryman said he thinks the policy is good for “looking at things through an equity lens,” but added that the county’s school board and Board of Supervisors have a long way to go before the policy is more than “lip service.”

“You can’t have One Fairfax when you have a Robert E. Lee High School, and the school is named after a Confederate general who wanted to enslave black people,” he noted as one example.

The Fairfax County School Board voted in 2019 to consider renaming seven schools, including Mosby Woods Elementary School, named after people with Confederate ties. Recently, the school board resumed its process to consider renaming Robert E. Lee High School.

In the next several months, Perryman said that the group will continue to push for police reform at the county, state and national levels.

The NAACP wants to see qualified immunity eliminated, Perryman said. “It ensures trust in the system. If you have trust in the system, you don’t have people going through the streets looking for justice,” he said.

If elected officials are determined to enact changes, Perryman said new policies could be in place within a year. For a complete list of NAACP’s agenda items, people can visit the organization’s website.

Ways Community Members Can Support 

For people who want to keep rallying and showing up to protests, Perryman said that he hopes people will try to keep in mind precautions such as wearing masks and social distancing. Last week, Fairfax NAACP held a car rally where people could listen and participate in their cars.

If people want to support the NAACP, they donate or ask how they can be of service. Though some people requested that the NAACP help them organize rallies, Perryman said that isn’t the purpose of the group.

People can become better allies by educating themselves about systemic racism in American history, Perryman said.

“One of the best things to do is to Google the origins of policing,” he said. “Our policing system is relatively new and in the course of American history, the way we do policing originated out of slave patrols,” he said. “I think a lot of people are shocked by that.”

Perryman suggested books such as “Stamped From the Beginning” and “How to Be an Anti-Racist” both by Ibram X. Kendi, who runs an anti-racism center at American University in D.C.

“Historical context helps you to solve a problem and look at things in a different light,” Perryman said.

Photo courtesy Sean Perryman 

Gov. Ralph Northam announced this afternoon at a press conference that the Northern Virginia area can move into phase two starting Friday (June 12).

Northam said that the COVID-19 metrics for Northern Virginia continue to improve.

“Our hospitalizations for COVID are trending downward, particularly in the last week,” Northam said, adding that hospitals are under capacity.

The rest of Virginia entered phase two last Friday (June 5).

So far, there have been 51,738 cases of coronavirus in the Commonwealth of Virginia but an expert at the press conference said this number will jump as labs are backlogged with data.

At the same press conference, Northam also released a plan to reopen public schools for the 2020-2021 school year. Changes will include social distancing measures and adaptations to perform health checks, according to Northam.

Students will not be required to wear face coverings, according to the Virginia superintendent, but they will be encouraged for older students.

Image via Governor of Virginia/Facebook

CVS announced dozens of new drive-thru testing sites for COVID-19 in Virginia, including one in Great Falls

These locations are a part of a nationwide initiative offering 986 total testing locations, the website said. The Great Falls location is 1020 Seneca Road.

Of the 39 pharmacies offering the tests, there are no locations in Herndon or Reston, but several around the Tysons area.

Patients must register in advance at CVS.com and take a brief survey before making an appointment, according to the website.

The locations will accept most major insurance providers so people may be able to get a free test, the site said.

Respondents are asked for information including birthdate, symptoms, if they have a reference from a doctor or official and if they have preexisting health conditions that might put them at a higher risk.

CVS joins the growing list of places where people can get tested. Tysons Reporter recently compiled a list of places where people can get COVID-19 tests around Tysons.

Image via Google Maps

Route 7 drivers can expect delays and temporary closures due to construction beginning June 19.

The Virginia Department of Transporation will work on reconstructing the Delta Glen Court intersection and shift eastbound Route 7 traffic to the north.

People may experience lane shifts and temporary changes to the traffic pattern during construction between Baron Cameron Avenue and Carpers Farm Way. All residences, businesses, churches, and public facilities will still be accessible.

From June 19 at 7 p.m. until Jue 20, changes according to VDOT include:

•  Temporarily median closure until the daytime hours on June 20
• Drivers on westbound Route 7 to Delta Glen Court will proceed to Baron Cameron Avenue and U-turn to access Delta Glen Court
• Drivers on eastbound Route 7 to Colvin Run Road will proceed to the Carpers Farm Way/Colvin Run Road intersection and turn left
• Drivers will encounter single lane closures on eastbound and westbound Route 7 near the Delta Glen Court/Colvin Run Road intersection

Other closures reroutes will take place throughout the rest of the year, the press release said.

Those who want to see detailed plans for construction can check out VDOT’s online interactive updates map.

“As a reminder, the Route 7 speed limit has been reduced to 45 miles per hour in active work zones between Reston Avenue and Jarrett Valley Drive,” VDOT said.

Image courtesy VDOT

Tomorrow (June 9), a Reston Chick-Fil-A and the CORE Foundation are partnering to collect food and shoes for people in need.

The drive, which is one of several set to take place in the area, will run from 5 to 7 p.m. at Chick-Fil-A  (1494 Northpoint Village Center) and those who donate will receive a special offer from the eatery, according to the Facebook page.

For those who are unable to make the specific hours, people can still drop donations outside in a bag on a designated table or at the drive-through, according to the post.

“Your donation of canned goods and pantry items as well as gently used shoes will be delivered to Supporting Seniors in Place, Helping Hungry Kids and other food pantries,” the Facebook page.

The CORE Foundation, an organization based in Reston, helps small entrepreneurs reach their goals, according to its website, but also runs other fundraisers and support efforts.

Next week, the drive will be held at Glory Days in Reston, according to Mark Moody, a CORE Volunteer.

“If successful, we will continue this year-round to help keep our pantries stocked,” he said.

Photo via Chick-Fil-A/Facebook