Dense Fog Advisory in Effect — The advisory is one effect through 11 a.m. today. Drivers should slow down, use headlights and leave plenty of distance between vehicles. [National Weather Service]
County Reiterates Need for Testing — The county is encouraging residents to get tested in order to perform case investigations and identify close contacts — a move that prevents the spread of COVID-19. A new strain is circulating in the United States that could be 50 percent more contagious. [Fairfax County Government]
Red Cross Blood Drives Coming to Reston Soon –The American Red Cross is hosting several blood drives in the area, including one on April 2 at the YMCA in Reston. A second blood drive is planned on April 5 at Herndon Ward LDS. [Reston Patch]
County Launches Parks Storytelling Project — ‘The Park Authority’s Healthy Strides program is launching a new storytelling project called “I Love Parks” — the theme of the annual 5K/10K/Kids Dash scheduled for Saturday, May 1, 2021. Share how parks have affected your life over this past year of pandemic shutdowns by submitting a photo and your story. Your experience could become part of a slideshow that will be showcased on the Park Authority’s website and on social media.’ [Fairfax County Government]
Photo via vantagehill/Flickr
Local police are investigating burglaries at three Herndon businesses that happened on March 15.
Two burglars smashed the front doors and windows of businesses on the 700 block of Grant Street with rocks and stole cash registers. A third suspect waited in the car, according to the Herndon Police Department.
Information about the incident was released on Tuesday. A spokesperson for HPD declined to release the names of the targeted businesses.
“We aren’t releasing the business names right now, for privacy reasons and because of the ongoing investigation,” the spokesperson told Reston Now in a statement.
Police believe the burglars attempted to target another business but ultimately failed.
New electric vehicle charging stations are coming to Target in Reston this summer.
While the stations have been installed, they won’t go live until the summer. Four 150 kilowatt-hour chargers are planned at Target, which is located at 12197 Sunset Hills Road.
The stations are powered by Electrify America, a Reston-based company that promotes zero-emission vehicle adoption through an a fast and convenient charging network across the country.
The company, which was founded in 2016, currently does not have plans for additional stations in Reston and Herndon, a company spokesperson told Reston Now. But other locations are planned in Northern Virginia.
So far, the company has built more than 570 charging stations with around 2,500 individual chargers. Last year, Electrify America also completed two cross-country routes.
Roughly 800 total stations with about 3,500 chargers that are specifically designed for quick charging are planned by the end of this year.
The expansion at Target is part of a nationwide push to expand electric vehicle charging option. In 2018, Target announced that it plans to add the stations to 600 parking spaces at more than 100 sites across more than 20 states.
“Accelerating our efforts to install new charging stations at Target stores across the country is one way we’re building on our commitment to investing in solutions that leave our communities better for future families,” said John Leisen, vice president of property management at Target.
Photo via Matt Bianco
Virginia to Further Ease COVID-19 Restrictions in April — “As COVID-19 vaccinations continue to rise in Virginia, certain sports and entertainment venues may begin to operate with additional capacity and indoor and outdoor gathering limits will increase starting Thursday, April 1…More than two million Virginians, or approximately one in four people, have now received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.” [Gov. Ralph Northam]
Fairfax County Board Adopts Resolution Condemning Anti-Asian Racism — The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously yesterday to adopt a resolution condemning “all bigotry, harassment, and hate violence directed at Asian Americans in our community.” [Chairman Jeff McKay]
Access to DC Cherry Blossoms Limited — The National Park Service will limit pedestrian and vehicle access to the Tidal Basin, East Potomac Park and West Potomac Park during the peak of the bloom period. [Patch]
Photo via vantagehill/Flickr
Updated at 9:45 a.m. on 4/6/2021 — True Food Kitchen has extended the job fair for its new Reston Town Center site into late April, a spokesperson says.
Earlier: After months of delays, True Food Kitchen is opening in Reston Town Center on April 28.
The 7,798-square-foot restaurant is also kicking off a three-week job fair to hire 100 staff members ahead of its opening at 1901 Democracy Drive.
The schedule for job fairs is below. Applicants can also apply online.
- Now – Saturday, March 27; 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
- Monday, March 29 – Saturday, April 3; 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
- Monday, April 5 – Saturday, April 10; 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
The restaurant includes a dining room, outdoor patio, and bar. Its dining chairs are made of recycled soda bottles and the space is designed around an open kitchen concept.
True Food Kitchen’s menu adheres to a diet developed by Dr. Andrew Weil, who specializes in integrative medicine. The menu focuses primarily on anti-inflammatory foods.
Open jobs include chefs, cooks, servers, hosts, dishwashers, and managers.
Photo via True Food Kitchen
When Gary and Diane Reedy opened Famous Toastery in Reston two years ago, the couple looked forward to running a brunch and breakfast spot near Reston Town Center’s future Metro station.
Nearly two years after operating Famous Toastery, the couple decided to close the Reston location at 12100 Sunset Hills Road. The business, which offers a combination of breakfast, brunch, and lunch options, is one of several ground-floor retailers at RTC West, a mixed-use development owned by JBG Smith.
It is the last business venture for the couple, which built several businesses — including some of the first laser tag facilities in the area — in previous years.
Gary Reedy says the landlord of the property was difficult to deal with during the pandemic.
He says that although a discount on the rent was offered for six months, payments had to be paid back over two years.
‘We tried working with the landlord over the spring and summer with no progress,’ Reedy said.
The couple is now retired after 25 years of building businesses in Fairfax and Loudoun counties.
Famous Toastery has locations throughout the country, including a location in Ashburn and Roanoke.
Photo via Carlos Banos
A contractor who was injured while working on the roof of a home in Reston was rescued Monday evening.
According to the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department, the man — who was repairing a roof at 1514 Park Glen Court — injured himself with a nail gun.
Fire and rescue crews lifted the man from the roof of the townhouse and transported him to a local hospital.
The incident happened around 6:22 p.m. A spokesperson for the fire department told Reston Now that the man’s injuries were not life-threatening.
Photos by Joel Shprentz
County Seeks Help with Vaccinations — The county’s health department is hiring roughly 250 vaccinators. Interested candidates should have experience vaccinating and hold a current license or multistate licensure privilege. [Fairfax County Government]
Reston Association Election Underway — Voting ends on April 2 at 5 p.m. Four candidates are running for two at-large seats and one person is vying for the South Lakes District seat. A 10 percent quorum is required for the results of the election to be considered valid. [Reston Today]
Local Organizations Receive Homeless Reduction Grants — Twelve projects in the Northern Virginia area received a total of $2.1 million in state grants from the Virginia Housing Trust Fund. Reston-based nonprofit organization Cornerstones received $100,000 to fund housing stabilization case management. [Patch]
State Bans Single-Use Styrofoam — Gov. Ralph Northam has signed a bill into law that bans the use of Styrofoam cups and food takeout containers. Food chains with 20 or more locations cannot package or dispense food in the containers beginning July 2023. [Patch]
Photo via vantagehill/Flickr
The number of COVID-19 cases in Fairfax County has remained relatively stable, mimicking case rates first reported in May of last year.
The stabilization of cases comes as Fairfax County picks up the pace of vaccinations. As of today, the county reported 119 new cases — a number that has remained relatively constant over the last week. Last May, daily case rates hovered in the 100s, similar to case rates that have occurred this month.
The county has said it can meet a deadline of May 1 for expanding eligibility for vaccine appointments to all adults, but officials remains noncommittal on whether or not every Fairfax County resident will receive a vaccine by May 31.
But the push for more vaccines continues. In a March 19 letter to Gov. Ralph Northam, the Northern Virginia Regional Commission urged the state health department to provide more vaccines.
With additional doses allocated to our health districts immediately, we can put that capacity to work to quickly assist the Commonwealth in achieving its vaccination and equity goals, the commission wrote.
Working w @GovernorVA and NoVA colleagues to up our vaccine doses. We're grateful for the increase these last few wks, but we still have over 300K in the region on the waitlist. We have the capacity to vaccinate equitably/efficiently and are working to get doses to meet demand. pic.twitter.com/p2N9EcH8rK
— Jeff McKay (@JeffreyCMcKay) March 19, 2021
So far, the county is making appointments for people who registered on Feb. 18. Still, 28 percent of the total people registered in the county still remain on a waiting list. That’s nearly 98,000 people of the 354,889 people registered.
In the county, 132,307 people are fully vaccinated and 248,323 people have received one dose. The county recently began administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which only requires one dose.
The county has also begun community vaccine clinics — which are not widely publicized — in order to target vulnerable populations.
Statewide, the number of vaccinations has picked up. More than two million Virginians have received their first dose and 1.1 million people are fully vaccinated.
The county also recently expanded eligibility criteria for vaccinations to include workers in manufacturing, grocery stores, and the food and agriculture industry.
As the pace of vaccinations picks up, the Centers for Disease Control has updated its policies on social distancing. Although the CDC still recommends universal masking, students should maintain a distance of at least three feet instead of six feet in classroom settings.
Photo via Fairfax County Health Department
In a divisive decision, the Fairfax County School Board voted late last week to recognize some religious holidays in the next school year, but fell short of giving students a day off on those days.
Next year’s academic year will not give students a day off on 15 religious observances, including Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Eid, and Diwali. In what proponents described as a middle-ground option, the holidays would be recognized as special days during which tests, quizzes, field trips, and other events would not be scheduled.
Overall, students would receive an allowance of 16 hours to make up for any religious or cultural reasons.
The following religious and cultural observance will be observed; Eid al-Adha, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Día de los Muertos, Diwali, Bodhi Day, Three Kings Day/Epiphany, Orthodox Christmas, Orthodox Epiphany, Lunar New Year, Ramadan, Good Friday, Theravada, Orthodox Good Friday/Last Night of Passover and Eid al-Fitr. The days were selected based on absentee rates over the last five years.
Employees will also be given up to 16 hours of any time missed for religious and cultural observances.
School board chair Ricardy Anderson touted the move as one that favors “equity and inclusivity.”
“It aims to center equity by elevating our systems’ respect for religious and cultural observances. While this final calendar for 2021-22 may not align with the goals of everyone in Fairfax County, it recognizes all religious and cultural observances where Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) has seen above-average absences over the last five years,” Anderson wrote in a statement.
In a letter to the FCPS community, Superintendent Scott Brabrand recognized that the discussion surrounding this issue was divisive and riled by faith organizations and parents.
“We acknowledge that while this has been a challenging discussion, FCPS is committed to equity for all of its students and staff. Moving forward, FCPS will establish a calendar development process that allows the School Board to identify clear criteria and priorities for the calendar; defines the roles of staff, Board, and community members; and creates a robust community engagement process that outlines how and where feedback will be solicited and shared with the Board,” Brabrand said.
But the decision drew concern from many local and area religious groups. In a joint statement, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Association of United Hindu and Jain Temples of Metropolitan Washington, Durga Temple of Virginia, Hindu American Foundation, Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, McLean Islamic Center, Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation, and Temple Rodef Shalom wrote that the school board’s attempt to divide religious groups backfired.
“While the school board has sought to divide us further, we have coalesced around this issue, strengthening our commitment to one another and to the equity of religious minority groups in Fairfax County. We will continue to hold the FCPS School Board and Administration accountable to ensure that our communities are not disadvantaged by the decisions taken today,” the statement reads.
The new rules will go into effect when the school year begins on July 1. The board also voted to decouple Good Friday from Spring Break.
Photo via FCPS
Local Police to Hold Meeting on Recent Crimes — The Fairfax County Police Department will host a community engagement forum on March 23 to discuss recent crimes in Reston. The meeting takes place via Zoom. [RA]
Virginia Extends Tax Deadline — Gov. Ralph Northam has exceeded the deadline for filing individual income taxes from May 1 to May 17. The federal government also recently pushed the deadline for federal income tax filings and payments from April 15 to May 17. [Northam]
Nearly a Quarter of Virginians Receive At least One Vaccine Dose — ‘ Virginia surpassed 2 million residents with at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, representing 23.9 percent of the population. According to Virginia Department of Health data, 3,075,086 total doses have been administered, with 2,039,437 people receiving at least their first dose.’ [Reston Patch]
Answers Sought in Reston Shooting — ‘Detectives from the Fairfax County Police Department’s Major Crimes Bureau were knocking on doors in Reston Wednesday seeking information about a recent fatal shooting in the area, according to a post on FCPD’s Twitter account. On March 11, officers responded to the report of gunshots in the 2200 block of Winterthur Court.’ [Reston Patch]
Photo by Ray Copson
Before we head off into another weekend with COVID-19 abound, let’s take a look back at the biggest stories on Reston Now in recent days.
- Reston-based smart water bottle to shut down
- UPDATED: Four businesses burglarized in Hunters Woods Village Center
- Boston Properties wants to replace garage parking with office space at Reston Gateway
- COVID-19 vaccinations pick up in Fairfax County amid steady case levels
- Updated: Fairfax County receives 3800 doses of J&J vaccine, more coming end of March
If you have ideas on stories we should cover, email us at [email protected] or submit an anonymous tip.
Feel free to discuss these topics, your social distancing plans, or anything else that’s happening locally in the comments below.
This year’s graduating classes may get to celebrate their achievements with socially-distanced graduation ceremonies.
Earlier this week, Gov. Ralph Northam released preliminary guidance for graduation ceremonies at high schools and universities this spring and summer.
“We are releasing this guidance early to allow schools to begin planning for this year’s events,” Northam said Wednesday in a statement. “While graduation and commencement ceremonies will still be different than they were in the past, this is a tremendous step forward for all of our schools, our graduates, and their families.”
Northam wants all outdoor ceremonies to be capped at 5,000 people or 30 percent of venue capacity.
Indoors events are limited to 500 people or 30 percent of the venue capacity. All attendees must wear masks and follow social distancing guidelines to the extent possible.
Seating areas should be reconfigured to accommodate social distancing, among other recommendations pitched by Northam.
Updated guidance is expected to be released as part of a forthcoming executive order.
The guidance comes as Fairfax County Public Schools prepares for a return to five days of in-person classes in the fall. Since Feb. 16, more than 98,000 students and staff members have resumed in-person classes.
More than two-thirds of the state’s public school teachers and staff have received at least one dose of the vaccine. The statewide positivity rate for COVID-19 also continues to fall, currently standing at 5.4 percent.
Last year, some students celebrated with car parades, while other schools returned to virtual celebrations or graduate photo opportunities.
With this in mind, we’d love to know what you think about how and if in-person graduation ceremonies should resume this year. Let us know in the poll below.
A Reston Now employee was kicked out of Reston Town Center on Tuesday afternoon for taking photos.
Jay Westcott, a staff photographer for Reston Now and its sister sites Tysons Reporter, ALXnow and ARLnow, was asked by a security guard to leave RTC after he attempted to take several photos outdoors. Westcott has earlier been asked by an editor to update Reston Now’s file photos, which we use to illustrate stories about everything from new office tenants to events and other happenings.
Westcott had just paid for parking and begun taking photos of a landscaping crew when he was approached by a security guard.
Boston Properties, the Massachusetts-based company that owns RTC, says that any media, photographer or videographer must seek a permit — processed through RTC’s marketing — each time they want to take photos in the center.
The permit application notes that all photos must be approved by RTC prior to publication and “are available for licensing by Reston Town Center management for use in Reston Town Center publications.”
‘This is not a new policy. Some brands have policies in place regarding professional photography so we normally escort media on site,” said Ashley Arias, director of TAA Public Relations, Boston Properties’ PR agency.
The application also stipulates that storefronts, loading docks, and building entrances cannot be photographed without written permission.
Reston Now owner and publisher Scott Brodbeck said that although RTC is privately owned, it is a de facto public space.
“Jay is a consummate professional who was simply updating our stock photos of the area. Credentialed members of the media should not be required to obtain permits in order to do their jobs in such a setting,” Brodbeck said. “That’s doubly true given that any member of the general public is able to take such photos with their smartphones without being hassled by security.”
Some local photographers say that although the permit process is cumbersome, RTC’s marketing team is forthcoming and welcoming.
“I just keep a copy of the PDF on my phone, and any time a security guard requests a permit, I show them my phone, they take a quick glance at it, and let me carry on,” Reston-based photographer Charlotte Geary told Reston Now.
Boston Properties’ photography policy highlights some elected officials’ concerns about the privatization of publicly used spaces.
Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn said that the photography restriction in open areas of RTC underscores the fact that open areas in RTC are not public open spaces and rather “private property accessible and usable by the public with conditions established by the private property owner.”
He says his task force, which is reviewing Reston’s Comprehensive Plan, is taking a look at the pros and cons of privately owned and maintained open spaces versus publicly owned and maintained spaces. The topic was discussed at a December meeting.
It’s not the first time the privatization of open space has been an issue in Reston.
In the spring of 2019, Comstock Companies, the developer of Reston Station, clashed with the county over the permissibility of campaigning on its property.
Staff photo by Jay Westcott
Document Shredding Schedule Set for Fairfax County — The county’s solid waste management program has set the schedule for document shredding. The next shredding date is this Saturday. [Fairfax County Government]
COVID-19 Vaccine Form Now Available in Spanish — The county’s vaccine registration form is now available in Spanish. Users can toggle between the English and Spanish versions of the form by selecting language on the top right of the screen. [Fairfax County Government]
Drive-In Movies Take Place in Isaac Newton Square Parking Lot — Reston Association is holding its first drive-in movie event at 7:30 p.m. this Saturday. The event is $40 per car for RA members and $50 for all others. [RA]
Northern Virginia Reports Rise in COVID-19 Cases — “The Virginia Department of Health reported 674 new cases in Northern Virginia on Thursday, the most since Feb. 13. The region’s seven-day average of new cases, which peaked Jan. 18 at 1,628.4, had fallen as low as 318.4 on Saturday, but now stands at 407 cases per day.” [Inside NoVA]
Photo via vantagehill/Flickr
