For those unsure what to get their loved ones this holiday season, Reston Museum has created a gift-giving guide with niche gift ideas.
The guide includes gifts for kids, collectors, and history lovers. All gift shop proceeds will support Reston Museum’s work.
New items in this year’s collection include pint glasses, Reston-inspired pins, and mugs with new designs.
“Over 70% of the Museum’s gift shop items are custom made or specifically feature Reston,” Reston Museum Executive Director Alexandra Campbell said. “From unique stocking stuffers to our best-selling books such as ‘Community is what it is all about: An Ode to Lake Anne’ by Cheryl Terio-Simon the gift shop has something for everyone that will truly feel special.”
The guide is available online, but museum organizers say the most comprehensive selection is available at the shop itself.
Reston Museum members get 10% off of gift shop items.
“November and December are the perfect time to visit the museum to view the Famous Restonians Exhibit, shop, or join the Puzzle Swap event happening on December 2nd,” Campbell stated.
Visitors who bring a puzzle set to the museum on Dec. 2 will get to swap their item for another puzzle. In addition, all items will be 10% off that day.
Reston Museum is located in Lake Anne Plaza at 1639 Washington Plaza. Admission is free, and the nonprofit museum is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day, except on Saturdays (when operating hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) and Mondays, when it’s closed.
Virginia’s next General Assembly won’t convene until Jan. 10, but senators and delegates have already begun penning legislation. (And by that, we mean the Virginia Division of Legislative Services is hard at work translating their goals into the high-flown tones of state code.)
On Monday, the start of the 2024 session’s official prefiling period, lawmakers dropped the first bills that will be up for consideration this January.
Much more is yet to come as Democrats and Republicans jockey for ways to realize their key priorities on everything from hot-button issues like abortion access to the more bread-and-butter legislation that ensures state laws and agencies remain abreast of an ever-changing world. Democrats will have control of both the House of Delegates and Senate when lawmakers return to Richmond, but the slimness of their majorities means they aren’t guaranteed to get everything they want.
Here’s what was proposed on the first day bills could be filed:
Constitutional amendments on abortion
Two bills — House Joint Resolution 1 from Del. Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria, and Senate Joint Resolution 1 from multiple female Democratic senators — would start the process of amending the state Constitution to declare that “every individual has the fundamental right to reproductive freedom” and that the right should not be denied or infringed upon “unless justified by a compelling state interest and achieved by the least restrictive means that do not infringe an individual’s autonomous decision-making.”
No single bill has the power to change the state Constitution. Amendments require that a resolution be passed by a majority of both houses during a session and then held over to be passed again by the next elected legislature, with an election intervening between the two approvals. If it succeeds the second time, voters must approve the change in a referendum before it takes effect.
Constitutional amendment on felon voting rights
Two bills — House Joint Resolution 2 from Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker, D-Alexandria, and Senate Joint Resolution 2 from Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton — would begin the process of amending the Constitution to restore voting rights to felons who have served their time. Currently, Virginia is the only state in the U.S. that strips voting rights from all felons for their entire life, with restoration only possible if they petition the governor and the governor decides to grant their request.
“A person who has been convicted of a felony shall not be entitled to vote during any period of incarceration for such felony conviction, but upon release from incarceration for that felony conviction and without further action required of him, such person shall be invested with all political rights, including the right to vote,” the amendment states.
Constitutional amendment on property tax exemption for surviving spouses of a soldier who died in the line of duty
The General Assembly previously passed a potential constitutional amendment that would extend the property tax exemption that’s currently available to the spouses of soldiers killed in action to spouses of soldiers who died in the line of duty. This year, Del. Jeremy McPike, D-Prince William, has proposed a second vote on the amendment, as well as a bill that would authorize the required referendum on the issue.
Increases to the state minimum wage
In 2020, the Virginia General Assembly under Democratic control voted to gradually raise the state minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $12 an hour over the course of three years. That legislation also provided for further increases of the minimum to $13.50 in 2025 and $15 in 2026 if the General Assembly again voted to approve them by July 1, 2024. If those increases didn’t get a second green light, the bill ordered that the minimum wage be pegged to inflation going forward.
House Bill 1 from Del. Jeion Ward, D-Hampton, and Senate Bill 1 from Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, would restart the increases on the same schedule laid out in 2020.
Assault weapons ban
Bills from Del. Dan Helmer, D-Fairfax, and Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, would make it a Class 1 misdemeanor for anyone to import, sell, manufacture, purchase, possess, transport or transfer an assault firearm.
Notably, the bill includes exceptions for any firearm that is antique, permanently inoperable, manually operated by bolt, pump, lever or slide action or manufactured before July 1, 2024.
Repealing Virginia’s Clean Cars law
Del. Tony Wilt, R-Rockingham, and Sen. Richard Stuart, R-Westmoreland, have put forward bills to repeal a 2021 Democrat-backed law that tied Virginia’s vehicle emissions standards to California’s rather than following the federal government’s less strict limits.
Under the Clean Air Act, states are prohibited from setting their own vehicle emissions standards and must choose between the federal and California limits. Since Virginia adopted the California standards, the Golden State has decided to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars beginning in 2035, a choice that Virginia will also be bound to follow.
Senate Bill 3 from Stuart would simply repeal the 2021 law. House Bill 3 from Wilt would go a step further, forbidding the State Air Pollution Control Board from adopting or enforcing any model year standards related to controlling emissions from new vehicles and prohibiting the state from requiring any new car “to be certified as compliant with model year standards related to the control of emissions adopted by California.”
This article was reported and written by the Virginia Mercury, and has been reprinted with permission.
(Updated at noon) Trains are taking off at the Dulles Airport Metro station one year after the opening of Phase Two of the Silver Line — but ridership at the other five stations of the $3 million project has a long way to catch up.
In the backdrop of post-pandemic recovery, ridership for stations beyond the airport is modest, according to Metro data.
More than 3.5 million trips later, daily average ridership on the rail extension hovers at 3,600 trips. Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority (MWAA) planners had hoped for 20,000 riders a day when the rail line was being planned in the early 2000s.
But that was well before the pandemic upended how people work and travel, among other societal trends.
Jordan Pascale, a spokesperson for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), emphasized that “many factors have changed since then,” especially the massive shift to telework that has contributed to reduced revenue and a $750 million budget shortfall.
As more companies usher — and, in some cases, threaten — their employees to return to long-empty offices, Pascale notes that the Metro system has recovered more than half of the riders it lost at the onset of the pandemic.
“Our ridership has continually increased, but recovered unevenly with strong ridership on weekends, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays,” Pascale said.
One year ago today, the long-anticipated Silver Line Extension opened six new stations in Northern Virginia. They’ve now seen 3.5 million trips!
The extension took a lot of work, and I’m thrilled to see so many Virginians making good use of it every single day. https://t.co/FWFdfaDU1p
— Rep. Gerry Connolly (@GerryConnolly) November 15, 2023
While Dulles Airport boasts more than 1.2 million cumulative entries, the stations in Herndon and Reston hover in the mid-to-high 400,000s.
Herndon has had more than 482,000 entries since service began last November, compared to 431,000 at Innovation Center and 450,356 at Reston Town Center. Ashburn has the second highest ridership figures (774,000), while Loudoun Gateway — which is on the west end of the rail — stood at 156,000, as of Nov. 12.
“The biggest wins are probably the new connectivity with Dulles Airport and across the Dulles Corridor,” said Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn, who represents Reston. “The rail line provides convenient options for airport passengers and workers, and for many who live and work in the Dulles Corridor. It has also reduced the number of vehicles driving to and parking in the commuter garage at the Wiehle Reston-East station.”
The next step is creating the infrastructure and development to support Phase Two, which took more than 50 years to come to fruition.
That process is “just starting,” according to Michael Hartnett, a senior director of research at real estate firm JLL. The firm released a report on the completion of the Silver Line earlier this month.
The population within a half-mile of the station is expected to grow by 11% in the next five year, according to Hartnett’s research. It’s expected to carry a disproportionate share of the overall growth anticipated in Northern Virginia.
Four major developments are planned or nearly complete along the Silver Line extension, including Halley Rise in Reston, Rivana at Innovation Station, and Moorefield Station in Ashburn. They are bringing 1.9 million square feet of office space, more than 7,000 residential units and more than 8 million square feet of mixed-use and retail space, Hartnett said.
Some stations are head of the curve when it comes to redevelopment. But surrounding development may take time to boost ridership overall.
Ridership is surprisingly modest at the Reston Town Center station compared to less developed stations like Herndon, even though it’s surrounded by Reston’s urban core and connects directly to Brookfield Properties’ recently built Halley Rise development.
(Correction: This story initially said Halley Rise was built by developer JBG Smith.)
Hartnett says the Reston Town Center station has the most unique strengths, serving as a doorstep to one of the region’s top town centers with more development under construction. He also considers it to be the most pedestrian-friendly of the six new Metro stops.
In some areas, walkability is more of a reality than in others. Alcorn says building infrastructure and pedestrian connectivity around the Metro stations is a top priority. That would mean adding crosswalks, bicycle lanes and sidewalks.
“For existing communities the top areas for improvements are improved pedestrian connectivity through safe and convenient trails, sidewalks, and crosswalks,” Alcorn said. “Short-term this means more and higher visibility crosswalks, better separation between vehicle lanes and [pedestrian and bicycle] paths, and lower vehicle speeds as [the Virginia Department of Transportation] allows.”
Fairfax County planners are taking a close look at options for improving the Wiehle Avenue corridor. A major flashpoint is a crosswalk at the Dulles Toll Road, the future of which is pending further analysis by transportation planners.
“A very productive community workshop was held on Nov. 13 and many excellent ideas were proposed to make that stretch safer and more inviting for walking and biking,” Alcorn said.
(Updated at 12:30 p.m. with Metro information) Thanksgiving is nearly upon us, bringing with it the promise (or threat, depending on your situation) of family gatherings and days off for many public services.
The Fairfax County, Fairfax City, Herndon and Vienna governments will all observe the holiday tomorrow (Thursday) by closing their offices, but schedules are more varied for Friday (Nov. 24).
Many private businesses and indoor shopping centers will also close for Thanksgiving, though most will reopen for Black Friday, because there’s nothing like a day of unabashed consumerism to follow a day of gratitude for what we have.
Shopping Malls
Tysons Corner Center, the D.C. area’s biggest shopping mall, will close tomorrow, but shoppers can get an early start on Black Friday, when doors will open at 6 a.m. and stay open until 10 p.m. Tysons Galleria will also close for Thanksgiving and open with modified hours of 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday.
Over at Fair Oaks Mall, a Thanksgiving closure will be followed by Black Friday hours of 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Springfield Town Center will be open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday.
Trash and recycling
Fairfax County trash and recycling customers won’t experience any change in services for the holiday. However, the I-66 Transfer Station and I-95 Landfill Complex will be closed on Thanksgiving and open the day after. Administrative offices will be closed through Friday.
“If you have private collection, please contact your hauler,” the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services says.
The Town of Vienna will have no waste collection on Thanksgiving, and on Friday, only trash and recycling will get picked up. The Town of Herndon isn’t collecting yard waste this week, and Thursday trash pickups will be collected on Friday instead.
Fairfax City will similarly conduct both Thursday and Friday curbside collections on Friday.
Transportation
On Thanksgiving, Metro will operate trains and buses on a Sunday schedule, with trains running from 7 a.m. to midnight. Regular service will resume Friday.
Fairfax Connector will provide Sunday service tomorrow and holiday weekday service on Friday. The bus service’s stores and customer service center will close for Thanksgiving, reopening for regular hours on Friday.
Fairfax City’s CUE bus system won’t operate on Thanksgiving, but reduced weekday service, with one bus per route, will be available Friday.
Starting at noon today, the Virginia Department of Transportation is pausing most highway work and lane closures on major roads until noon on Monday, Nov. 27. Drivers will also be able to use the I-66 Express Lanes inside the Capital Beltway (I-495) without any rush-hour tolls on Thanksgiving. Read More
Fire Department Has Thanksgiving Safety Tips — “Did you know Thanksgiving is the peak day for home cooking fires? According to the NFPA, Thanksgiving day has more than three times the daily average for such incidents…Please help prevent an unexpected visit to your home from our firefighters on Thanksgiving Day!” [FCFRD]
Man Arrested for Tysons Corner Center Burglary — Fairfax County police officers responded to Macy’s at Tysons Corner Center at 2:13 a.m. yesterday (Tuesday) after a community member reported that a burglary alarm was activated by “a man pushing a cart filled with merchandise away from the store.” Police recovered “$38,787 worth of clothing and accessories.” [FCPD]
Pedestrians Killed in Crashes Remembered — “The World Day of Remembrance event recognized the 18 pedestrians killed in traffic crashes in Arlington, Alexandria, and Fairfax County since November 20, 2022 as well as unnamed pedestrians who were killed or seriously injured in the region. Seventeen of these 18 deaths occurred in Fairfax County.” [Fairfax County Health Department]
Tysons Company Releases Food Waste Survey — “MITRE and Gallup have released a State of Food Waste in America survey that collected user-reported data of daily food waste from 9,000 households in all 50 states and the District. The average household wastes 2 pounds of food per week.” A free app designed by Mitre researchers can be used to track food waste and “how much money you’re throwing out.” [WTOP]
Police Talk Opioids at Community Meeting — “Anyone who reports a fentanyl overdose or revives a victim with Narcan won’t be charged with a crime. That’s the message detectives with the Fairfax County Police Department’s Overdose Investigations Unit brought to a community meeting in Annandale on Nov. 17…Parents at the meeting wanted to learn more about fentanyl and how to talk to their children about drugs.” [Annandale Today]
Chantilly Contractor Enters Merger — “Chantilly, Virginia-based defense contractor Amentum Services has signed a deal to merge with the critical mission solutions and cyber intelligence government service division of Dallas-based Jacobs. The spin-off will create one of the largest publicly-traded companies headquartered in the D.C. region.” [WTOP]
Fort Hunt Playground Will Get New Swings — “The Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) Board recently approved a matching grant request from the Villamay Community Association to fund the installation of swings at the Gilbert S. McCutcheon Park playground…The Park Authority’s $13,000 grant will supplement the community association’s $13,000 contribution.” [On the MoVe]
Mosaic District to Light Holiday Tree Friday — “Join us at Mosaic to welcome the arrival of the holiday season with a merry and bright tree lighting. Bring your family and friends to experience the Jolly Man as he spreads holiday cheer and makes his way through Mosaic on a firetruck and greets onlookers. Visitors can also meet and greet Santa in the Target lobby after the tree lighting.” [Mosaic District]
It’s Wednesday — There’s a 20% chance of rain before 10am, followed by partly sunny skies and a high near 61. Expect a mostly cloudy night with a low of 41. Thanksgiving will be sunny and 55 degrees, accompanied by northwest winds at 8-13 mph and gusts up to 22 mph. [Weather.gov]
FFXnow Takes a Holiday — FFXnow is taking a short break for Thanksgiving. Barring breaking news, we won’t be publishing tomorrow (Thursday) or Friday (Nov. 24).
Fairfax County officials are gearing up to expand the police department’s use of automated license plate readers (ALPR).
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a $136,270 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice today (Tuesday) to further support the program. The Fairfax County Police Department is seeking the expansion in response to a rise in violent carjackings and stolen vehicles, according to county staff.
The FCPD introduced the camera system last year with an eight-week trial period that placed the technology in two locations. This spring, the department installed another 25 readers, extending the trial through Oct. 31.
Over the last 13 months, county officials say the police department has recovered 125 stolen vehicles and 22 firearms using the technology. The system also reportedly helped find 19 missing persons.
“The placement of these systems into neighborhoods will foster new partnerships with the communities that have requested LPR support. It will also increase communications between police and the neighborhoods,” county staff said in a memo to the board.
The camera system comes from Flock Safety, which has installed ALPRs in more than 2,000 localities across the country.
The technology captures a vehicle’s license plate, color, make and model and sends a real-time alert to law enforcement if a stolen vehicle used in a crime matches records in the database.
County officials say the program doesn’t conflict with the county’s public trust and confidentiality policy, which aims to ensure that immigrant residents can utilize county services without the fear that information will be disclosed to federal immigration officials.
“The FCPD LPR program specifically prohibits users from using the system to identify, alert, or enforce any immigration related warrants, which is a practice that is reinforced in the training class and every time a user logs into the system,” county staff wrote.
The FCPD is permitted to store data for up to one year, but Flock Safety’s system only stores data for up to 30 days, FFXnow previously reported. The issue of data retention has been a subject of legal and legislative debate.
In 2019, a federal court ruled that an FCPD database of photos of vehicle license plates violated Virginia privacy law. A year later, the Virginia State Supreme Court overturned that decision. During its session this year, the General Assembly considered a bill that would limit how data from ALPRs is stored, but it was left in a senate transportation committee.
After several months of uncertainty about the future of Reston Town Center North, some clarity is on the horizon.
The RTC North Task Force — a group assembled by Hunter Mill District Walter Alcorn last year — has officially completed its recommendations for the area, which is roughly bounded by Baron Cameron Avenue, Town Center Parkway, Bowman Towne Drive and Fountain Drive.
The report, which follows months of meetings and an in-person walkthrough, recommends the placement of several public facilities across eight blocks.
At a Fairfax County Board of Supervisors meeting today (Tuesday), Alcorn described the step as a “significant milestone.”
“It should be noted that discussion is ongoing by the Task Force on possible interim uses of county parcels, specifically Blocks 1 and 8, pending funding and county approval processes,” Alcorn said. “It is recognized that there will be a need for flexibility with community needs changing over time.”
The task force recommendations for where to locate facilities in RTC North break down as follows:
- Block 1: Future school site
- Blocks 2, 4 and 6: Inova development
- Block 3: New library
- Block 5: Homeless shelter and human services building
- Block 7: Athletic field
- Block 8: Recreation center
The task force recommends placing a new Reston Regional Library on Block 3, which will face a central green. The new library would have 40,000 square feet of space, including a community meeting space.
“Following best practices in community design, the new library facility should serve as a location for placemaking, which means designing spaces to create community interaction in indoor and outdoor settings,” the report says.
According to the task force proposal, the Embry Rucker Shelter and associated housing would be located on Block 5. Originally built in 1986, the shelter has long needed upgrades. The new 25,000-square-foot facility would have medical beds, training and workforce development services, and 18 permanent housing units.
The task force anticipates the new location will allow residents to access transportation and employment opportunities effectively. The current shelter will continue to operate until the new facility is completed.
Block 5 will also have a new, 160,000-square-foot health and human services building to replace facilities currently located at 1850 Cameron Glen Drive (Block 1) and Lake Anne. The existing Cameron Glen Drive facility will be demolished, making way to accommodate a future FCPS school.
But the school likely wouldn’t happen for at least another 30 years.
When the current shelter on Block 7 is demolished, an athletic field would follow, adjacent to a new recreation center on Block 8. But because the rec center is seen as a long-term project, the task force suggests using that site as a common open area in the interim.
The task force will meet on Nov. 29 to discuss those potential interim uses, which could include a dog park, exercise circuit, accessible playground, walking trails, food trucks and pickleball courts, Alcorn said.
The 90,000-square-foot recreation center was proffered as part of an agreement with the Board of Supervisors. The report says the Fairfax County Park Authority will conduct a user survey to determine what services and amenities should be offered.
Fairfax County is refining its vision for RTC North after an unsolicited offer by developer Foulger-Pratt fell through earlier this year. The proposal would have included 350 affordable housing units and a new Reston Regional Library.
To facilitate the redevelopment, the county is in the thick of swapping land with Inova, which owns parcels that currently host an emergency room, the North County Human Services Center and the Sunrise assisted living facility.
Under an agreement that has been in the works since 2015, Inova will retain the emergency room and Sunrise parcels, which will be developed as blocks 2 and 6, while getting a 5-acre parcel owned by the park authority (Block 4) in exchange for giving the human services center site to the county.
In September, the board unanimously approved a motion to implement a real estate exchange agreement with Inova that would facilitate the construction of a new Embry Rucker Shelter, library and affordable housing.
A Block 9 next to the Reston Police District Station wasn’t included in the task force recommendations. Owned by the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority, the block is expected to be redeveloped as affordable housing, according to the report.
A new bakery and cafe will open its doors in Reston Town Center next week, just missing Thanksgiving and Black Friday.
Tatte Bakery & Cafe is set to open on Wednesday, Nov. 29 at 11910 Market Street at 7 p.m. The date was first reported by The Burn.
The business, which has 10 locations in the area, sells breakfast items, tartines, quiches, soup, shakshuka, sandwiches and salads.
The company, which was started about 15 years ago by Boston pastry chef Tzurit Or, has a location in Clarendon that opened in 2021. Another location is anticipated in Old Town Alexandria.
When announcing that it had leased 3,750 square feet in Reston Town Center, Or told the Washington Business Journal that Tatte was eager to be in “the true core of Reston.”
The bakery is located near the town center’s renovated Mercury fountain and across the street from the pavilion, where an ice skating rink opened earlier this month. The annual Reston Holiday Parade will pass through Market Street this Friday (Nov. 24).
In December, Reston Town Center will add the wine-focused restaurant Sixty Vines, though an exact opening date hasn’t been announced yet.
Car Crashes Into Electric Pole on Route 29 — A two-vehicle crash took out an electrical pole at the Graham Road intersection in Idylwood early last night (Monday). No injuries were reported, but all eastbound lanes were blocked during the afternoon rush-hour as police and Dominion Energy responded to the scene. [FCPD/Twitter]
Tysons Corner Center Lights Holiday Tree — “Step into a winter wonderland at Tysons Corner Plaza, where the festive spirit comes alive! This quick highlight reel captures the essence of the Tysons Corner Christmas Tree Lighting Celebration that took place on November 17, 2023.” [Drew Lehmann/YouTube]
Local Reporter Sips and Shops at Tysons Mall — “Tysons Corner Center recently announced ‘Shopping With a Twist,’ meaning you can buy boozy drinks at participating restaurants, carry them around the mall while you shop and take them into certain stores. So, obviously, I had to try this.” [Axios D.C.]
Wealth Gap Persists in Northern Virginia — New research indicates that Northern Virginia still has “concentrated areas of poverty and poor opportunity alongside others of tremendous wealth and success. That reality persisted — and in some cases even worsened — as Northern Virginia overall experienced continued growth and progress in the years between 2013 and 2021.” [DCist]
Increase in Thanksgiving Travel Expected — “More than 1.25 million people in the D.C. region will be hitting the roads over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, making it the second-highest number since AAA began tracking holiday travel in 2000. And, gassing up for the travel will be considerably cheaper this year.” [WTOP/Inside NoVA]
Cinnamon Bun Shop in Herndon Expected Soon — “The new Cinnaholic Gourmet Cinnamon Rolls shop is getting closer to opening day at its upcoming location in Herndon. The sign has gone up over the doorway and the hiring of staff is underway…No official opening date yet, but according to posts on social media, it should be announced soon.” [The Burn]
Vienna Police Bring Back Cancer Awareness Campaign — “During November, the Vienna Police Department’s no-facial-hair policy has been relaxed to enable male officers to participate in the Zero Cancer Grow-and-Give fundraising campaign, town officials said. For the third year in a row, Police Chief James Morris suspended the dress-code rule to enable officers to put down their razor during #NoShaveNovember.” [Gazette Leader]
German Christmas Market Coming to Reston — The German military will host a Christmas market at 11150 Sunrise Valley Drive on Thursday, Dec. 7. There will be “rows of charming stalls adorned with twinkling lights and decorations” and plenty of handcrafted gift options, along with German food and drinks, including beer. [Patch]
It’s Tuesday — Expect rain after 10am with a high of 53°F and 100% chance of precipitation with accumulation between half and three-quarters of an inch. Tuesday night, rain continues, mainly before 1am, with lows around 47°F. An additional 1 to 2 inches of precipitation is possible. [Weather.gov]
Before the new class of General Assembly members takes office in January, they are facing a push from local government leaders to quickly address Virginia’s historical underfunding of its school divisions.
In September, the General Assembly convened a group to examine how the state’s funding formulas could be updated to fix the problem, with recommendations due next November, ahead of the 2025 legislative session. However, many local governments say the timeline needs to be faster and are urging the legislature to take action immediately, at the start of the new budget cycle.
“We’re not asking for anything additional from the state,” said Jason Bellows, president of the Virginia Association of Counties. “We’re just asking them to fully fund their agreed commitments of their fair share.”
This July, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, which conducts analysis and provides oversight of state agencies on behalf of the General Assembly, found that Virginia schools receive 14% less state funding than the 50-state average, equal to roughly $1,900 less per student.
Part of the problem, the report found, was that complicated funding formulas underestimate how much divisions need: In fiscal year 2021, for example, schools spent $6.6 billion more than was allocated by the Standards of Quality formula, which is used to calculate how much the state must contribute to fulfill its constitutional obligation to maintain high-quality public school systems.
Perhaps more significantly, during the Great Recession, state funding levels dropped dramatically and the legislature imposed a “support cap” limiting the number of support positions the state would fund. Positions affected by the cap included central office and administrative, technical, clerical, maintenance and instructional support positions.
But despite the state’s financial recovery following the recession, funding levels have never been fully restored, and the support cap was only partially lifted by the last state budget negotiated late this summer.
Many local governments weren’t surprised by JLARC’s findings, which they say validate years of school divisions arguing the state inadequately funds public education.
Bellows said public education is supposed to be a “50-50 share” between the state and local governments, with the federal government helping as necessary.
“The local governments have been stepping up to the plate and funding public education well above what we are required to do because the state, in their minimum requirements, can’t get the job done,” he said.
Timelines and budgets
After the release of the JLARC report this summer, the General Assembly included a provision in the budget calling for a work group to consider its recommendations and present them by Nov. 1, 2024. But many local government leaders want the legislature to act sooner as annual budget discussions loom and federal pandemic relief funds dry up.
Joe Flores, director of fiscal policy for the Virginia Municipal League, said the General Assembly and governor should prioritize taking action on the funding and formula problems during the upcoming legislative session.
“If this is a priority for the administration and for lawmakers, and we know it will be, we would hope that they would commit to begin to address these as soon as possible and as early as when the governor releases his budget, and if not, then [through] budget amendments that the General Assembly may put forward,” Flores said.
Planning for the future has also been complicated, officials say, by the legislature’s delay in adopting budget changes until September.
“Nothing is more detrimental to local government than leaving us in limbo for six months while essentially bureaucrats in Richmond argue over pennies,” Bellows said.
While that budget included an extra $427.7 million for public education, the funds were one-time money, a product of pandemic-era surpluses that Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration is encouraging divisions to use to staunch learning losses. Youngkin will present his recommendations for the state’s next two-year budget in December.
While the contents of that budget haven’t yet been announced, Youngkin spokesperson Macaulay Porter said in a statement that the report “lays plain that the previous two administrations never truly sought adequate funding for K-12 education and more importantly, never sought to reform the system to make sure funding goes to serve students and teachers in the classroom.”
On Wednesday, however, the Virginia Board of Education voted to exclude elimination of the support cap from its list of changes it is seeking to the Standards of Quality as part of a regular two-year review.
Chad Stewart, a policy analyst with the Virginia Education Association, said the SOQ revisions process has been disappointing compared to years past, when the draft would be provided to the public by October.
“The board has really set the tone and the pathway for what the most important best return on investment items are for the General Assembly to vote on,” Stewart said. “And without the due diligence of the process this year, without the research basis for why they’re making these recommendations and how they justified it, we will have to see how much credibility there is for these recommendations and how much lawmakers are going to take them into account.”
This article was reported and written by the Virginia Mercury, and has been reprinted with permission. It was slightly edited for length, and links to the Fairfax County website and a previous FFXnow story were added by FFXnow.
A new CBD boutique is set to celebrate its grand opening on Dec. 6 at Lake Anne Plaza in Reston.
Launched by Radhika Murari, a Reston resident and entrepreneur, OmBaked sells cannabidiol products that are aimed at holistic wellness.
“Soon after I began my journey into the CBD space, I realized that the CBD industry is the wild west, with very little regulation. So, I imposed my own quality guidelines,” Murai said in a statement. “Every product at OmBaked has been selected by me after thorough research, including having folks in Reston try the products. All the products we carry have certificates of authenticity (lab tests). Moreover, we do not carry any smoking/vaping products or anything that has synthetics.”
The company is Murari’s second. She also owns OmMade Peanut Butter, which makes gluten-free and vegan peanut butter that was since picked up for sale by Whole Foods.
“My dream of opening OmBaked has become a reality thanks to the support of my family and fellow Restonians,” Murari said. “I am excited to continue contributing to the flourishing small-business tapestry of Virginia.”
A ribbon-cutting ceremony will begin at 3 p.m. Attendees will get to sample the company’s CBD products.
The business is currently open daily from 11 a.m to 7 p.m. at 11414 Washington Plaza West.
A medical device printer in Herndon is among five local companies that will receive funding from Fairfax County’s new grant program for startups.
3D Orthobiologic Solutions (3DOS), which launched in 2019, seeks to manufacture 3D-printed medical devices and dental impacts.
“Their IP technology licenses a Stanford University patent. The company has been accepted by Johnson & Johnson’s accelerator program JLABS,” the county said in an overview.
The Fairfax County Department of Economic Initiatives announced the inaugural winners of Fairfax Founders Fund grants earlier this month. The fund is intended to support companies that are involved in creating innovative technology products and have demonstrated potential for growth.
The other four companies that received funds are:
- Anapact: An Alexandria-based company that makes smart headgear for boxers and MMA fighters to offer real-time feedback on performance, impact and damage.
- BloomCatch: The Centreville company aims to combat the growing labor shortage in the gardening industry by offering digital access to plant care information through an app to train employees.
- NearStar Fusion: The Chantilly-based company, which was founded in 2023, provides a globally scalable clean fusion energy option by using pulse plasma guns as a new component for a fusion power plants.
- Healp: The company, which is based in Fairfax Station, provides an app that connections patients and medical providers that focuses on rare conditions and illnesses at no cost to the patient.
“We are delighted to recognize and support these exceptional startups in Fairfax County,” Department of Economic Initiatives Director Rebecca Moudry said in the announcement. “These grants will empower our local firms to advance their innovations, meet business goals, and drive economic growth and technological progress in our community.”
The application period for the next round of funding runs from Nov. 27 through Jan. 8. Companies receive up to $50,000 to prepare for later-stage investment.
To be eligible, companies must be based in Fairfax County, have raised no more than $1 million of startup funding so far and have received no more than $250,000 gross revenue in the 12 months before they apply, among other criteria.
First proposed in July 2021, the Fairfax Founders Fund was conceived as a way to support female, Black and Hispanic entrepreneurs, who are less likely to receive investments for startups from other sources than male and white entrepreneurs.
“The primary objectives of the fund are to stimulate economic development, connect startups with local resources and partnerships, and promote economic mobility by ensuring that early-stage capital is accessible to entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds,” the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority said.
Hayfield Student Overdoses — “In a letter to families and staff, FCPS Superintendent Dr. Michelle C. Reid said a student at Hayfield Secondary School overdosed Friday. It is unclear if the student was on school property when the overdose occurred. Reid said in the letter that out of concern for the student’s privacy, the district will not be releasing any further information regarding the overdose.” [WUSA9]
Metro Fare Revenues Dip Despite Ridership Improving — “Revenue from fares, parking, advertising and other sources during the fiscal quarter amounted to $108.4 million, which is $17.7 million less than Metro predicted…Metro leaders didn’t express significant concerns Thursday while learning of the quarterly revenue gap, saying the pandemic proved the agency can’t rely so heavily on fares.” [Washington Post]
Nonprofit for Foster Children Moves to Annandale — “UMFS, a statewide nonprofit that provides services to at-risk children, relocated its Northern Virginia office last week to a space inside the Annandale United Methodist Church on Columbia Pike. The organization helps find foster parents for children who’ve been removed from their birth parents, trains foster parents to help children who’ve experienced trauma, and helps foster parents adopt the children in their care.” [Annandale Today]
Police Investigate Chantilly Convenience Store Robbery — “At 3:21 p.m. [on Saturday, Nov. 18] two men entered the Chantilly Check and Convenience Store armed with a firearm. The suspects forced an employee to open a safe and stole cash. The victim was not harmed, and the two men ran from the area.” [FCPD]
Halloween Candy Stolen From Kid in Vienna — A Vienna resident reported on Oct. 31 that a teen “approached her child and stole the candy he had collected that night, while another teen a few feet away was waving a knife,” according to the police department’s weekly crime recap. Police also got a report from a child who said teens “pulled out a toy gun in an attempt to scare him” in the Vienna Community Center parking lot on Nov. 11. [Vienna Police]
Construction Update on One University Housing — Construction is underway on both student housing and affordable housing for seniors as part of the One University project near George Mason University. Utility work along University Drive “is currently on schedule to be completed by the end of January,” setting the stage for improvements at the Ox Road intersection. [The Walkinshaw Advisory]
AI Coding Class at TJ Popular Among Students — “In Room 18 at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County, Virginia, teacher Malcolm Eckel watched as his students worked on artificial intelligence for tic tac toe…Student Anika Saraf described the AI course as one of the best offered at the high school, largely because of the problem-solving skills students develop.” [WTOP]
I-66 Rush-Hour Tolls Paused for Thanksgiving — “The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) will be suspending many highway work zones and lifting most lane closures on interstates and other major roads in Virginia from noon on Wednesday, Nov. 22 until noon on Monday, Nov. 27…All rush-hour tolls on the I-66 Express Lanes Inside the Beltway will be lifted on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 23.” [Gazette Leader]
It’s Monday — Clouds will increase throughout the day, reaching a high temperature near 50 with a gentle north wind around 7 mph. Moving into Monday night, expect a mostly cloudy sky and a low temperature around 37. [Weather.gov]
The Reston Holiday Parade has been selected as one of the 20 best holiday parades in the U.S. — and it has a chance to join the top 10.
Set to return next Friday, Nov. 24, the annual Reston Town Center tradition is competing against such high-profile events as Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City and the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, to be named one of the country’s 10 best holiday parades by USA Today’s 10Best, which provides travel and lifestyle advice.
The 2023 Readers’ Choice Award nominees were initially submitted by the expert panel and then narrowed down to 20 choices by the 10Best editors.
Public voting for the top 10 is currently underway. Voters must be at least 18 years old and can cast one vote per day until the poll concludes at noon on Nov. 29. The winners will be announced on Dec. 8.
Now in its 32nd year, the Reston Holiday Parade previously ranked at no. 8 in the USA Today 10Best poll in 2019, and it currently sits in that spot on the leaderboard for this year’s Best Holiday Parades ranking.
Starting at 11 a.m. on Market Street, the hour-long, half-mile parade features Santa and Mrs. Claus in a horse-drawn carriage, antique cars, dances and floats carried by guests. There will also be live entertainment, including the Herndon High School marching band.
The festivities will conclude at 6 p.m. with the Clauses lighting a tree on Market Street.
The parade also came in at no. 60 in a poll conducted in October by Mixbook, a photo book brand, on the country’s most cherished Thanksgiving traditions. Events were ranked based on celebrations that respondents most wanted to experience.
Philadelphia’s 6abc Dunkin’ Parade topped the list, followed by Detroit’s America’s Thanksgiving Parade. Missouri’s Thanks-for-Giving Parade came in third.
“As we embrace these cherished Thanksgiving events, we’re not just celebrating traditions, but also enjoying what makes each community across America so special,” Mixbook Director of Brand Leslie Albertson said.
As Virginia’s one state psychiatric hospital for youth continues to face bed shortages, additional regional youth mental health services could provide relief to kids and teens in Fairfax County.
While there are options for adults, Northern Virginia doesn’t have any crisis stabilization facilities for youth, according to Daryl Washington, executive director of the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board, which provides mental health, substance use and disability services.
A crisis stabilization facility would provide an alternative to hospitalization, while making it easier for youth to receive psychiatric care close to home.
“It has many of the same services that a hospital would have where they have nursing staff, counselors, therapists and prescribers that can prescribe medication that are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Washington said.
As Washington told the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors last month, there’s no formally committed state funding or a public timeline for a regional facility, whichwould be developed in collaboration with other Northern Virginia counties.
However, state budget amendments approved in September include $58 million to enhance and modernize comprehensive crisis services, and CSB staff, along with county building experts, have toured possible locations.
Plans to build out regional youth crisis services come amid a national shortage of behavioral healthcare workers and challenges with state psychiatric beds in Virginia. The only youth state hospital — the Commonwealth Center for Children and Adolescents in Staunton — is not operating at its 48-bed capacity.
“In fiscal [year] 2019, we were able to get 154 kids admitted to the youth state hospital, but last year there was only enough availability where we could get 41 admitted,” Washington said.
On top of that, Washington says the Staunton hospital recently faced challenges in maintaining its accreditation from the Joint Commission, receiving three preliminary denials between May and July before reaching accredited status in September. That status was confirmed with a follow-up survey in October.
FFXnow contacted a Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services spokesperson for comment but didn’t receive a response by press time.
Although the county also sends youth to local private hospitals, only some of them accept kids, and the wait time for a psychiatric bed can be long, according to Washington
“Last fiscal year, we had 139 kids that had to wait eight hours or longer to find a hospital bed,” he told FFXnow. “For the Northern Virginia region, it was 332 kids that had to wait eight hours or longer before we could locate a hospital bed for them.”
In some cases, the state hospital is a better fit for care. When a private hospital is appropriate, keeping kids local is preferable, Washington said.
“If we have a youth in our community, our number one goal is to try to get them care as close to home as possible,” Washington said. “You almost always get better outcomes when you can provide services and treatment as close to home as possible.”
Elsewhere in the state, a 12-bed crisis stabilization unit for youth recently opened in Wythe County.
“It’s a new service that the state is wanting to stand up and expand, but it just takes time to build that infrastructure and level of care,” Washington said.
Image via Google Maps
