Chestnut Grove Cemetery, a historic cemetery deeded to the Town of Herndon, is poised to increase fees for burials, lots and other services.

As part of ongoing budget discussions for fiscal year 2023, the town is considering increasing fees by between 13.5 and 15% for most lots.

According to staff, that’s partly because of a decrease in the number of burial sites at the property, which was first formally recognized as a cemetery in 1872. The cemetery was deeded to the town in 1997 by the Chestnut Grove Cemetery Association.

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The Kensington Reston Open House April 23

Join our open house on Saturday, April 23 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

By appointment only by RSVPing.

We invite you to join The Kensington Reston for a peek inside our community at our Hello Spring Open House!

Gather with us to celebrate the warmer weather and longer days of spring. Visit our community to experience the Kensington difference for yourself. From the moment you step inside, you’ll feel an indescribable sense of family, belonging and home.

Stop by and meet our team of best-in-class professionals whose spirit of uncompromising commitment to excellence in care and service is brighter than ever. Learn about how our assisted living and memory care services are multi-faceted and highly personalized. We are a family of families that cherish the fact that every single day, we get to contribute care, attention and friendship to our residents.

To ensure your safety and the safety of our residents, our Hello Spring Open House is by appointment only. We are fully vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19 and we are taking all the necessary precautions to keep our community safe. Our team is also available to meet virtually!

To RSVP, or for questions about joining our Kensington Family or our COVID-19 protocols, click this link.

The preceding sponsored post was also published on FFXnow.com

The redevelopment of a seven-acre site on Reston Station Boulevard is nearly complete transforming low-rise office buildings into a residential development with some ground-floor retail.

Faraday Park, which includes two residential towers with 408 units and 26 townhouses, has opened its second tower — Faraday East — for pre-leasing. The building, which was formerly the site of a parking lot and is located at 11201 Reston Station Boulevard, includes 166 apartments.

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The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office has 71 vacancies. There are over 200 vacancies at the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board. And that’s not all.

Staff vacancies continue to be a challenge at county agencies across the board, administrators and employee leaders told the Board of Supervisors at budget hearings last week.

“Staffing shortages particularly impact vulnerable populations and lead to increased waiting times for services,” CSB Member-at-Large Anne Whipple said at a hearing on Thursday (April 14).

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It’s been a turbulent couple of years for air travel.

For more than a year, face masks have been a required accessory for flyers due to COVID-19. That ended Monday (April 18) when a federal court ruled against the Biden administration’s mask mandate for public transportation.

The country’s major airlines all dropped their mask requirements even before the federal government confirmed it would not enforce the mandate or appeal the judge’s ruling — a decision that has inspired cheers, anger, and perhaps some relief for flight crews after months of hostile confrontations with passengers.

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Morning Notes

Traffic and construction on I-66 outside the Dunn Loring-Merrifield Metro station (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Two Hospitalized in West Springfield Crash — “Yesterday at 4:09 PM, units responded to three-car crash on Old Keene Mill Rd at Hillside Rd. #FCFRD used “jaws of life” to free 2 persons from one car. Both transported to hospital w/serious, non-life threatening, injuries. 1 person from another car transported w/minor injuries.” [FCFRD/Twitter]

Virginia Hits 14-Year High in Crash Fatalities — “In 2021, 968 people died in crashes on Virginia roads. That’s up 14.3% from 2020, when there were 847 crash fatalities. And it’s the highest number of annual deaths since 2007, which saw 1,026 fatalities.” [WTOP]

Merrifield Cancer Screening Center to Open Next Month — “The Inova Saville Cancer Screening and Prevention Center will be the first of its kind in Northern Virginia. It’s designed to be a one-stop shop to not only detect the disease but prevent it. Anyone can make an appointment, and referrals are not needed.” [NBC4]

Reston Association Unveils Pool Schedule — “Summer is coming soon & so are the pools! We’re excited to announce the schedules for Seasons 1, 2, and 3, of our pool facilities! You can also find scheduled RSTA swim meets, and our Memorial Day hours at reston.org/aquatics!” [RA/Twitter]

Vienna Artist Reacts to War in Homeland — “The war in Ukraine hits hard for Vienna Arts Society member Viktoriya Maslova, who was born and grew up in that Eastern European nation…Speaking at the Vienna Art Center on April 13, Maslova described how Russian forces had invaded her homeland from three sides in what she said was an effort to displace Ukraine’s government.” [Sun Gazette]

Fire Department Encourages Fitness with Chantilly Center — “The Wellfit center offers strength training and physical therapy for Fairfax County’s finest and is part of an all-encompassing strategy FCFRD has undertaken that is unique in the country. Alongside these services, the department provides dietary guidance and behavioral counseling…to ensure firefighters are in the best shape possible to perform their arduous tasks.” [Fairfax Times]

Big Trucks to Motor into Herndon — “Families with children who love big trucks take notice. The Town of Herndon’s Department of Public Works will be putting the town’s large vehicles and heavy equipment on display during ‘Big Truck Days’ in May.” [Patch]

It’s Wednesday — Clear throughout the day. High of 60 and low of 37. Sunrise at 6:26 am and sunset at 7:52 pm. [Weather.gov]

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Gov. Glenn Youngkin visited Google’s Reston Station office today (Tuesday) to help the company share its plans to continue building up Virginia’s technology industry.

Flanked by public officials at a media event, Google executive Vint Cerf announced it will invest over $300 million in Virginia this year.

“Virginia is a shining example of the work we’re doing across the United States with a growing office right here in Reston Station and continued investments that we’re making in our data centers in northern Virginia,” Cerf said.

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For months, several businesses at North Point Village Center have been struck by overnight burglaries.

The series of burglaries at Bobby’s Bagel Cafe, Gregorio’s Trattoria, Matsutake Sushi and Sake Bar between September and March led police to launch a stakeout to catch the possible suspect.

Those efforts paid off Friday night (April 16) after a detective spotted the alleged suspect near the shopping center trespassing on private property.

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Morning Notes

Sunrise at Reston National Golf Course (photo by Terry Baranski)

Masks Now Optional on Metro — “Effective immediately, Metro will make masks optional on Metrorail, Metrobus and MetroAccess for its customers. Masks also will be optional for Metro employees. This change comes as a result of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) suspending enforcement, while the Biden Administration reviews a federal judge’s ruling.” [WMATA]

McLean Community Center Faces Anti-Equity Backlash — Protests of a “Drag Storybook Hour” at Dolley Madison Library last summer by some McLean residents have grown into broader opposition to MCC promoting diversity and inclusion in its programming. The tension has manifested in this year’s governing board race, where nine candidates, including a former Trump administration official, are vying for three open seats. [The Washington Post]

Capital Beltway Overnight Closures Planned in Tysons — “The I-495 (Capital Beltway) general purpose lanes and 495 Express Lanes will have nightly lane closures Friday, April 22 and Saturday, April 23 to allow crews to set the new pedestrian bridge truss in place as part of the Tysons/Old Meadow Road Bike/Ped Improvements project.” [VDOT]

Recess for Middle Schools Approved — “Middle school students in Fairfax County, Virginia, will get a short daily recess period beginning next year. The school board voted Thursday night to update its student and staff health and wellness policy to allow for a 15-minute recess period every day.” [WTOP]

Alcorn Plans to Seek Reelection — “Barely halfway through his term as Hunter Mill District Supervisor, Walter Alcorn has announced plans to seek re-election in November 2023 to a second 4-year term…His main reason is that he wants to see initiatives that he has worked on actually implemented.” [The Connection]

Research Reveals County Libraries Were Segregated — “Yes, FCPL was segregated. Yes, separate services were provided for White residents and for Black residents. The surface answer we had provided for years gave way to the truth, that our path to desegregation was mirrored across the region for our residents.” [The UncommonWealth]

Sediment Removal Project Underway in Reston — “Fairfax County Stormwater Management will be performing a sediment removal project at dry pond 0330DP located at 11950 Walnut Branch Rd. The project will start the week of April 18 and is expected to last a few weeks.” [Reston Association/Twitter]

Volunteers Needed to Pack Ukraine Donations — All the coats and other winter clothes collected for Northern Virginia’s donation drive for Ukrainian refugees will be delivered to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Oakton. Volunteers are needed on Friday and Saturday (April 22-23) to help pack the items for shipping to Poland. [Dalia Palchik/Twitter]

New Playground Opens at Lorton’s Laurel Hill Park — “The playground is appropriate for children ages 2 to 12 years old. Features include a large spinning Americans with Disabilities Act accessible play structure, small tot play composite and a large unique play structure for children 5 to 12 years old.” [Fairfax County Park Authority]

It’s Tuesday — Partly cloudy throughout the day. High of 47 and low of 37. Sunrise at 6:27 am and sunset at 7:51 pm. [Weather.gov]

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While Fairfax County’s goal of creating 10,000 affordable housing units by 2034 is laudable, ambition alone will not address all of the county’s existing needs, residents and housing advocates say.

Affordable housing groups, residents, and other community members raised issues at budget hearings last week with how the county is seeking to address gaps in affordable housing. Many called for funding increases, a request that will have to be balanced with potentially competing priorities, such as property tax relief.

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On March 12, a resident of Fairfax County, or possibly the cities of Fairfax or Falls Church died from COVID-19.

Reported to the Virginia Department of Health within the past week, the most recent confirmed death brings the Fairfax Health District’s death toll from the pandemic up to 1,500 people.

While deaths and hospitalizations remain low, COVID-19 cases continue to rise locally.

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