The National Weather Service has issued a Flash Flood Watch for much of the D.C. area, including Fairfax County.
In effect until 2 a.m. tomorrow (Tuesday), the alert says showers and thunderstorms could bring up to 4 inches of rain in some areas, potentially leading to rapidly rising stream and creek waters.
The full alert is below:
…FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 2 AM EDT TUESDAY…
The National Weather Service in Sterling Virginia has issued a
* Flash Flood Watch for portions of DC, Maryland and northern Virginia, including the following areas: in DC, District of Columbia. In Maryland, Anne Arundel, Central and Southeast Howard, Central and Southeast Montgomery, Prince Georges and Southern Baltimore. In northern Virginia, Arlington/Falls Church/Alexandria and Fairfax.
* Until 2 AM EDT Tuesday.
* Showers and thunderstorms are expected to produce 1 to 2 inches of rain through this evening, with localized amounts of up to 4 inches possible. Heavy rain in a short amount of time may result in rapid rises of water on small creeks and streams and in urban areas.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
You should monitor later forecasts and be prepared to take action should Flash Flood Warnings be issued.
A Severe Thunderstorm Warning is also in effect for Reston and Herndon until 6:30 p.m., with the NWS warning of 60 mile-per-hour wind gusts that could produce power outages and downed trees.
“At 544 PM EDT, severe thunderstorms were located along a line extending from South Riding to Herndon to Wolf Trap, moving northeast at 50 mph,” the agency said.
With the potential for multiple rounds of showers & thunderstorms into the overnight, a Flash Flood Watch has been issued for the DC metro into parts of northeast MD through 2 AM Tuesday. Flash flooding is possible in small streams and urban areas. Latest: https://t.co/5RyZgoXicj pic.twitter.com/qfUSunieBQ
— NWS Baltimore-Washington (@NWS_BaltWash) October 25, 2021
Pedestrian accessibility and walkability issues with a proposal to redevelop Isaac Newton Square were officially cleared by the Fairfax County Planning Commission.
At a meeting on Oct. 20, planning commissioners unanimously approved road and infrastructure plans for the northernmost area of the site. APA Properties plans to tackle the first 15 acres of the 32-acre project, which is located north of Sunset Hills Road and west of Wiehle Avenue.
John Carter, the planning commissioner for the Hunter Mill District, said the county and the developer had to sort through multiple issues associated with the site — many of which are common issues with urban planning in Reston.
Carter said the county’s priority was improving accessibility within the private neighborhood and to the Wiehle-Reston East Metro Station. Problems are especially apparent when different developers own private streets and have different plans for street maintenance and improvements.
“It is quite a problem dealing with these issues,” Carter said.
APA Properties committed to working with the county’s Urban Forestry Division to preserve willow oak trees on the property, which are currently in their prime and can last over 100 years.
The application was also smoothed out so that pedestrians do not have to walk into a stormwater retention facility after crossing a six-inch-high curb.
“That is not a workable scheme and we should try to avoid that,” Carter said, especially for individuals with a wheelchair or a cane.
The developer committed to raising the grade of the street up to the level of sidewalks and installing stormwater management troughs where there is no on-street parking.
Streetlights in the neighborhood will also be lower than in other areas. APA Properties will also install straight curbs instead of rolled curbs, which allow trucks and other vehicles to easily jump the curb.
Carter noted that straight curbs are necessary as parts of Reston continue their transition into more urban-style living.
Photo via handout/MRP Realty
Fairfax County’s COVID-19 case levels haven’t entirely come down from the late-summer Delta variant surge, but they appear to be headed in that direction.
The Fairfax Health District, including the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church, added 72 cases today (Monday) for a total of 92,739 cases over the course of the pandemic. 4,360 residents have been hospitalized by the novel coronavirus, and 1,209 people have died, including eight people in the past week.
The county is now averaging 107.4 cases per day for the past week — just over half of what it was seeing at the height of the Delta surge on Sept. 16, when the weekly average was at 204.6 cases, according to Virginia Department of Health data.
While COVID-19 transmission has declined, Fairfax County has seen an uptick in vaccine demand that roughly coincides with the expansion of eligibility for booster shots at the end of September.
Since third doses of the Pfizer vaccine became more widely available on Sept. 28, the number of doses given to Fairfax Health District residents has increased from around 1.5 million to more than 1.6 million today, according to the Fairfax County Health Department.
The district took almost twice as long to get through the previous 100,000 shots, hitting 1.4 million doses administered on July 4 and not exceeding 1.5 million until Aug. 31.
Roughly 78,000 individuals have gotten a booster shot so far. That number is expected to increase now that additional doses of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines have been authorized, FCHD spokesperson Lucy Caldwell says.
Updated on Thursday (Oct. 21), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s booster shot guidelines recommend the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for people 65 and older, long-term care residents, and adults who face a higher risk of infection due to an underlying medical condition or where they live or work.
The CDC also recommends that anyone 18 and older who received the J&J vaccine at least two months ago get a booster dose. People who get a booster can choose from any of the three available vaccines, not just the one that they originally received.
“If you decide to get a booster dose by mixing and matching, VDH urges you to consult with your doctor or healthcare provider who can assist you in making the best decision for your own situation,” Virginia State Vaccine Liaison Dr. Danny Avula said in a statement. “We also stress that all three vaccines authorized for administration in the United States are highly effective in preventing severe COVID-19 illness, hospitalization and death.”
824,722 Fairfax Health District residents — 69.7% of the population, including 82.4% of people 18 and older — have gotten at least one vaccine dose.
752,274 residents — 75.6% of adults and 63.7% of all residents — are fully vaccinated, meaning they’ve gotten at least two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or a shot of the J&J vaccine.
Appointments for any of the vaccines can be found through vaccines.gov. The FCHD is providing assistance with scheduling from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays through its COVID-19 Call Center at 703-324-7404.
Photo via CDC/Unsplash
Monday, Oct. 25
- “The Blackest Battle” (7:30 p.m.) — A production at the CenterStage blurs the lines between cinema and live performance, showing a story of racial violence in a futuristic setting after reparations have been paid. Tickets start at $15.
Tuesday, Oct. 26
- Network Night (5:30-7:30 p.m.) — Join Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce members and non-members for a monthly networking event. Tickets start at $20.
Wednesday, Oct. 27
- “Here Today” (10 a.m. to noon) — Senior Movie Day at Reston Town Center’s Bow-Tie Cinemas shows the 2021 movie about a comedy writer (played by Billy Crystal) who develops an unexpected friendship (with Tiffany Haddish) while they try to navigate life in the Big Apple. Free for adults ages 55 and over.
Thursday, Oct. 28
- Meet the Artists (2:15-3:30 p.m.) — Jazz singer Darden Purcell, a former Air Force Band vocalist, shares some of her favorite songs at the CenterStage. Free.
Friday, Oct. 29
- “The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!)” (8 p.m.) — A satirical performance reminiscent of musical theater greats ranging from Andrew Lloyd Webber to Rodgers and Hammerstein kicks off at Reston Community Center’s CenterStage. Performances run through Nov. 6. Tickets cost $20 for adults, but discounts are available.
Saturday, Oct. 30
- Falling for Fall (10:3o-11:30 a.m.) — Preschool programming shows the natural environment along with activities at Walker Nature Center. Cost is $6 for Reston Association members.
- Boo at the Pool (12:30-4 p.m.) — Swim after floating and sunken treats in the Reston Community Center’s Terry L. Smith Aquatics Center. Cost is $4 for Reston Association members.
Sunday, Oct. 31
- “The Turn of the Screw” (2 p.m.) — Catch the final performance of a NextStop Theatre Co. horror production. Tickets are $25. Adapted from the classic Henry James horror story, the play follows the journey of a governess caring for two kids when she begins to wonder if the home is haunted.
(Updated at 12:55 p.m.) A nonprofit helping people with disabilities is moving closer toward maintaining, renovating and upgrading a farmhouse built in 1891 at Frying Pan Farm Park.
The organization, ServiceSource, says it’s ready to proceed with the project to add programming, a “grab and go” café and a handicrafts specialty shop to the 12-room Ellmore Farmhouse, where its clients would operate the services and benefit from an array of music, dance and art classes as well as reading groups and other activities.
“ServiceSource seeks to engage with the Frying Pan Park visitors and park guests by offering supplemental amenities including … [selling] handcrafted items made by people with disabilities through our Bloom Artisans Program,” the organization says, noting that individuals who create the items receive 100% of the sales. “ServiceSource participants regularly participate in classes and craft greeting cards, soy-based candles, organic soaps, and handwoven scarves and tote bags.”
On Tuesday, Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn requested the board expedite a Board of Supervisors public hearing for Feb. 8, noting that supervisors approved the organization for its Resident Curator Program on May 4. The organization’s lease runs for 29 years.
The program allows county properties to be leased for a long-term period for no rent while resident curators maintain standards to preserve historic properties and promote them to the public.
ServiceSource spokesperson Kendra Hand said the organization is ready to proceed with the upgrades once it gets approval. The organization is looking to fundraise $660,000 for the project, according to the organization. Helping to round that out, a 50th anniversary virtual celebration will take place Dec. 9, where all proceeds will help the Ellmore Farmhouse project.
The farmhouse (2739 West Ox Road) is painted white inside and out and features hardwood floors. The organization hopes to add meeting and multipurpose rooms as well as a computer room and community room at the two-story home, all while preserving its historic character.
The county’s Planning Commission is scheduled to hold a public hearing on Jan. 26.
LuminoCity Festival Comes to Roer’s Zoofari — The annual LuminoCity Festival has selected the local zoo for this year’s annual exhibit. The light exhibit is inspired by different cultures. This is the first year the festival is being held outside of Manhattan. [Local DVM]
Metro Service Reduced through October — Metro is reducing its service through at least Oct. 31 as it examines the safety of its 7000-series railcars. Trains will operate basic service every 15-20 minutes on the Red Line and every 30-40 minutes on all other lines. Silver Line service will run between Wiehe-Reston East and Federal Center SW only. [Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority]
Search for New Schools Superintendent Underway — The Fairfax County School Board has hired GR Recruiting to conduct a nationwide search for the next schools’ superintendent. In July, Scott Brabrand, the current superintendent, announced that he will not be seeking an extension of his contract beyond the 2021-2022 academic year. [FCPS]
Photo by Jay Westcott
Herndon Police Chief Maggie DeBoard says that the lack of beds in mental health facilities is compounding a mental health crisis and taking much-needed local officers off the streets for extended periods of time.
Currently, law enforcement officers must transport mentally ill individuals who are a danger to themselves and others to a state facility for treatment if a temporary detention order is issued. Those orders, which are issued by a magistrate, can last for up to 72 hours, tying up police officers who often have to sit with the individual until a bed is found.
“It is a significant drain on staff,” said town attorney Lisa Yeatts.
At a meeting before the Herndon Town Council earlier this month, DeBoard encouraged the town council to support state legislation that would prohibit the issuance of temporary detention orders when space is not available at a state health facility.
Often, state facilities do not have beds. And when they don’t, police officers must stay alongside the individual until a bed is available or the temporary detention order is lifted.
In one instance last month, two Herndon police officers — one of whom was certified but in training — had to transport a man who voluntarily agreed to come with police for mental health evaluation from his home. While on the interstate, the man began strangling himself in the backseat of the police car with the seatbelt.
Police pulled over, de-escalated the situation by force, and tried to find a bed for the man for 23 hours.
Eventually, they found a bed in Petersburg — nearly 141 miles from the Herndon Police Department. In another case, police officers had to travel to Roanoke with a person in a mental health crisis.
DeBoard noted that the crisis is complex and cannot be explained by a shortage of beds alone. State funding for private transportation, limited local resources, lack of coordination between mental health facilities and law enforcement were identified as other factors.
In July, five of the state’s eight mental health hospitals were closed to new admissions. The facilities were ordered to reduce their bed capacity and consolidate staff because of a workforce crisis that caused a “dangerous environment where staff and patients are at increased risk for physical harm,” according to Alisan Land, commissioner of the state’s Department of Behavioral Health and Departmental Services.
The Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police and Foundation stated that law enforcement did not create this problem and cannot solve it alone. In a statement earlier this year, the organization wrote the following:
Mental health professionals have shared that it isn’t whether the person has insurance that determines whether a bed is found. The critical problem hospitals are facing is the growing number of violent persons in mental health crisis that the hospitals and mental health facilities can’t accommodate and that present a great risk for staff. We can empathize but law enforcement can’t solve this problem.
The state’s mental hospitals have been struggling for years to handle a spike in admissions. State law requires them to admit patients after eight hours if a bed can’t be found at another facility, including private ones.
Councilmember Signe Friedrichs said that she has seen the local health impact of this crisis. She got involved in a situation when an individual was screaming on the streets of the town, creating a stressful situation for the individual, the business owner involved, police officers called, and a taxi driver asked to come to the scene.
“All of these things are cascading and causing more difficulty for the police,” Friedrichs said.
The problem will require a solution with a coordinated effort from the state as it is a statewide challenge, DeBoard said.
Portales Aloso waited an hour on Tuesday (Oct. 19) for a Metro train from Reston into D.C. The wait on Wednesday was 20 minutes.
He was among countless commuters in the D.C. area who faced travel delays this week after the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority pulled more than half of its railcars from service due to reported safety issues.
The issues involving deficient wheel axles came to officials’ attention after a Blue Line train derailed in Arlington on Oct. 12, prompting mass inspections and a National Transportation Safety Board investigation.
The reduced service levels will continue through at least Oct. 31, WMATA General Manager Paul Wiedefeld announced at a media briefing today (Friday).
“We understand it has been a difficult week for people who depend on Metro in the region, and acknowledge the challenges our customers are experiencing,” Wiedefeld said. “We are working as quickly and safely as possible to inspect every wheel on the 7000-series railcars and it’s important to get that right.”
Metro says it is working to bring older trains into service to offset the absence of the 748 cars in its 7000-series fleet, bringing some 2000-series railcars out of storage and finishing maintenance repairs on the 6000 series.
The transit agency still has 100 cars in the 7000-series fleet remaining for inspection, and it currently has no estimate for when full service will be restored.
WMATA is encouraging riders to use its bus service, though Wiedefeld told media that Metrobus is operating at about 97% capacity.
Multiple Fairfax Connector bus drivers told FFXnow earlier this week that, despite the Metro delays, they didn’t notice any differences in the number of passengers on their routes, suggesting riders haven’t opted for other public transit as an alternative.
Salim Furth, a senior fellow at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center who has analyzed how the pandemic could prompt long-term commuting changes, is pessimistic about the chances of Metro’s situation improving, at least in the near-term.
“This is bad, scary, and might get much, much worse before it gets better,” he said Monday on Twitter.
He’s encouraging policymakers and WMATA to plan now for worst-case scenarios and heavily focus on expanded bus service and pop-up bus lanes.
A Metro spokesperson told FFXnow that the service issues are not expected to impact the delivery of phase two of the Silver Line next year.
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay says the county is investing in transit with projects over the next few years to cut congestion and incentivize public transportation, including bus rapid transit systems on Richmond Highway and Route 7.
“Ultimately, this incident demonstrates the need for extensive and accessible public transit infrastructure,” McKay said in a statement.
Still, there is no immediate plan to add bus drivers or routes to Fairfax Connector, the largest bus system in Northern Virginia, said transportation department spokesperson Robin Geiger.
She noted the system has room on express bus routes to D.C. and the Pentagon to accommodate additional riders, providing one alternative to rail.
Further down the road, Fairfax Connector is planning to add new express bus routes between Reston and Arlington using I-66 toll money. The county got a final approval on its application to the Commonwealth Transportation Board on Wednesday.
The Northern Virginia Transportation Commission, which ranks the I-66 Commuter Choice program projects, reviewed the proposal last year. The approval will cover the costs of acquiring six new buses.
(Updated at 12:35 p.m.) Reston-based company ScienceLogic is relocating its headquarters.
It’s looking to move into the 13th floor office space at 11955 Democracy Drive. That’s the corner building anchored by Fidelity Investments.
“We’re very excited about the new space,” said Kirk Winkler, senior vice president, Global Enterprise Systems & Operations for the company. “It’s a beautiful panoramic view around the area.”
It’s been located for over a decade by Hunter Mill Road at 10700 Parkridge Boulevard.
ScienceLogic has been transitioning since the start of Oct. 1 and plans to be fully ready for occupancy by Jan. 1, Winkler said. It has a three-year lease and an option to extend for another three years, he said.
“We’re going to be doing a hybrid work environment, and so we don’t expect as many people to come back full time, meaning five days a week, but we expect probably about 120 people to be in the office starting in the new year,” he said, noting that depends on what happens with COVID-19 and federal health guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Even before the pandemic, 50% of the company’s workforce was remote, and it was fully remote during the first six months of the pandemic, Winkler noted. Roughly 5% of its Reston headquarters employees who were there before the pandemic have been using the office regularly. That 50% telecommuting ratio is expected to return next year.
Real estate company Avison Young previously listed the Reston Town Center space as having over 27,000 square feet (about half the size of a football field). It noted it can accommodate 17 offices, 152 workstations, multiple conference rooms as well as other spaces and a kitchen/café.
ScienceLogic is an information technology operations management company that provides a range of services, including artificial intelligence for IT operations, and has employees around the world.
Winkler recently visited the office with the company’s executive team. He noted the open-space environments, almost entirely an open office, bring a lot of light into the space, allowing people to see downtown Bethesda, the National Cathedral, the Blue Ridge Mountains and more.
In addition to closed conference space, open conference areas and standing desks will help deliver a collaborative environment, he says.
Photo via Google Maps
More Time for Feedback on Fairfax Connector — An online survey intended to gauge feedback on Fairfax Connector bus service in Centreville, Chantilly, Vienna and Tysons has been extended to Oct. 27. The county says feedback is essential in order to improve service. [Fairfax County Government]
Celebrating Halloween Safely — The county is encouraging its residents to celebrate Halloween safely this year by getting vaccinated and wearing masks indoors where there is substantial or high levels of community transmission. [Fairfax County Government]
Reston Scholars Earn Top Honors — Reston Patch rounds up the names of local students who distinguished themselves academically, including students who made to University of Maryland’s Dean’s List. [Reston Patch]
Photo via vantagehill/Flickr
Janie Daum sometimes wishes she never got involved investigating the paranormal and speaking with spirits.
“Most people that want to do it, they get obsessed with it,” she told FFX Now. “They want more. They want to be touched. They want to hear them. They want to see them. And that’s not always going to happen.”
Daum has been running Northern Virginia Paranormal out of her home in Vienna for about 12 years. She works with a medium to investigate all sorts of disturbances: ghostly run-ins at homes, moving furniture at department stores, odd happenings at old museums.
She specializes in electronic voice phenomenon (EVP), the recording of sounds that could be the voices of spirits.
“I’m still the kind of person that’s on the fence about a lot of things. There’s no just black and white,” Daum said. “There is just a lot of gray area and you just have to listen to what you’re hearing from the spirits, what you’re recording and playing back.”
Daum’s interest in the paranormal was sparked partly by her 18-year-old daughter. They watched the TV show “Paranormal State” together and decided to go on a trip to investigate a purportedly haunted bar in Long Island.
“I got an EVP from a man who said his name was Tommy,” she said. “And that kind of got me hooked.”
That wasn’t the first time, though, that Daum experienced something unexplainable. After her grandfather’s funeral, she spotted him walking down the hall of their home.
“There are little things in my life that kind of drew me to this direction,” she said.
Though she had some hesitations, Daum says her investigations stem from a desire to help folks in need, both those on this mortal coil and those that have left it.
“I always try and find out [the spirit’s] names, who they’re attached to, and if there’s any message that they need to get to a living being that is still walking the Earth, and if there’s a way we can help them,” she said.
Most spirits don’t mean any harm, she says. They are simply lost, stuck, or otherwise can’t go through to the light. However, spirits have the same character traits they did when they were alive.
“If they were an S.O.B. in life, they’re still an S.O.B. on the other side,” said Daum.
She prioritizes investigations for families with children. For instance, when a child repeatedly talks about a man who comes out of their closet and claims to be a doctor, that family needs her expertise.
“If it’s a repeating thing that is continuously happening, it’s not just a child’s imagination,” she said.
While Daum doesn’t like to reveal specifics out of respect for her clients’ privacy, she does more investigations in Loudoun County and rural Maryland than Fairfax County.
Fairfax County is more affluent with newer buildings, she explains. Plus, some are embarrassed about calling paranormal investigators.
“Even if they have issues, things happening that they can’t explain, they don’t want anybody to know about it,” Daum said.
That being said, she’s willing to share some stories about businesses that have since closed — like the Amphora Restaurant near her home in Vienna.
“I knew George[Bilidas] the owner and I was there after his death,” Daum said. “And he [was] there. He actually came and sat in the booth next to me and playing with a bunch of keys in his hand.”
There was also the time she got called to investigate the women’s restroom at the now-closed Lord & Taylor’s at Tysons Corner Center, which has recently been repurposed as a mass vaccination site.
“The woman who worked at the register there, which was just outside the ladies’ restrooms, would see the clothes on the racks move,” Daum said. “One customer was in the ladies’ bathroom and heard a chair being dragged across the floor.”
She went to the store and attempted to do EVP readings, but the music from the overhead speaker was too loud. When she asked to have it turned down, mall management wasn’t exactly on board.
Other cases have involved televisions randomly turning on at a teacher’s house in Fairfax, employees being bothered at a Fairfax County-owned building, and a Herndon neighborhood built on farmland.
“The farmer lost his land because of taxes,” Daum said. “He’s still around and he’s upset.”
After a bit of lull in 2020, she says calls for her investigative services have picked up again. She’s happy to help anyone who believes they have spirits in their home or workplace. Northern Virginia Paranormal can be reached via Facebook or by email at [email protected] or [email protected].
If you do encounter a spirit during this Halloween season or any other, Daum has some advice.
“We have to…always respect these spirits and treat them as if they’re a person. Some of them don’t even know that they’re deceased. Some of them think they’re still alive,” she said. “And they have feelings. You can hurt their feelings by the things you say to them. So, you do really have to be careful.”
Photo via Gregg Scott/Flickr
The funeral for Michael Delaney, who went missing after walking out of Reston Hospital last year, is being held this Friday (Oct. 22) at 10 a.m. at St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Reston.
In July, Delaney’s remains were found in the Sugarland Run area concluding a 14-month long search for him.
He served in the Navy for over a decade and was a Vietnam War veteran, as his obituary notes. During Delaney’s service, he or his crew received a number of commendations and medals. He was honorably discharged as a Lt. Commander in 1980.
Internment at Arlington National Cemetery will occur at a later date, notes the obituary.
In 1978, he married Dyanna R. Park, whom he met while attending Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington. They lived in Reston the rest of their lives where Delaney worked as a system analyst and for Fairfax County Public Schools.
He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016.
On May 9, 2020, Courtney Park-Jamborsky dropped off her stepfather at the emergency room at Reston Hospital Center. He had fallen earlier in the day and suffered only a minor cut, but Park-Jamborsky wanted to be cautious. She, however, couldn’t enter the emergency room due to COVID-19 protocols.
“I stood at the sliding emergency room door at the hospital, and he stood there with me,” she told Reston Now earlier this year. “I felt like I was letting a five-year-old walk through that door without someone helping him. But I had confidence that [Reston Hospital] knew what they were doing. I never thought in a million years that he would disappear.”
She never saw her stepfather again. Delaney was officially reported missing two days later, as surveillance video showed him walking out of the facility at 9 p.m. on May 10.
Searches using helicopters, K9s, and rescue teams commenced but police couldn’t locate Delaney.
14 months later, his remains were found only a few miles from Reston Hospital. It remains unknown exactly how or when he died.
“Skeletal remains were found on July 10 which led our Search and Rescue team to the area of Sugarland Run. During that search, officers found the remains of what was later determined to be Mr. Delaney, which was confirmed by the Medical Examiner,” a Fairfax County Police Department spokesperson wrote to Reston Now in an email.
“It is unknown what occurred during the time that Mr. Delaney was reported to be missing, but detectives believe that he likely passed in days following his disappearance. Detectives do not suspect foul play in his death and the investigation is closed.”
The obituary notes that Delaney died on July 10. That’s not the actual day of death, however, but rather the date remains were found.
“It is [Office of the Chief Medical Examiner] practice to use the date found as the date of death instead of determining the actual date of death,” confirms an OCME spokesperson to Reston Now.
Delaney loved helping people, according to the obituary. He gave blood often, was a fabulous chef and a history buff. He enjoyed double-feature movies, the Vienna Inn, crossword puzzles, and football.
“He was, above all, a kind and gentle soul,” reads the obituary.
In July, Park-Jamborsky remained hopeful that her step-father would be found alive.
“Every day, I wake up in the morning and think ‘will today be the day that I get the call … that Michael’s body has been found or maybe he’s been found living with a loving family or a widowed woman that wanted to take care of him,” Park-Jamborsky said at the time. “But then I think this isn’t the movies.”
Those wishing to honor Delaney’s memory are being asked to make a donation to the Alzheimer’s Association.
A new spa salon concept will replace space vacated by Red Door, a spa that closed permanently due to the pandemic last year.
Privai, a luxury skin and body care company, will open at 11838 Spectrum Center in the DC area in early 2022, a company spokesperson tells Reston Now. The company will debut one of several locations that describes itself as one that focuses on “personalized wellness for the whole being.”
The business, known as Mynd Spa & Salon Inc. filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy in March just days after announcing a temporary closure of all locations on social media.
The first locations in the area will open at Westpoint and Bethesda. Locations in Tysons Corner, Gaithersburg and Fairfax Corner are expected to open early next year.
Here’s more from the company on their brand:
Founded upon the belief that everyone deserves “spa in a bottle” skincare products that provide accessible luxury and rejuvenation, Christina Stratton and Ilana Alberico developed the Privai line following the success of their spa and wellness management company, Innovative Spa Management (ISM SPA). This next evolution of the Privai brand brings their passion about self-care and personalized wellness to life in order to better serve individuals’ body, mind, and sense of self.
“We want to offer a place that truly realizes individual needs: from spa and body treatments to salon and beauty services. We understand that no two guests are alike, and it is this belief that inspires us to curate unique experiences, one’s antidote for respite and recharging,” Stratton said.
The spa will be managed by ISM SPA, a boutique spa management and wellness design firm.
Privay assumed the leases of Red Door locations across the DC area. The Reston location is roughly 4,000 square feet and will include spa services in addition to salon services like manicures, pedicures and hair treatments.
Image via Google Maps
Though they have cropped up with increasing regularity both locally and nationally in recent years, conversations about how to handle symbolic reminders of the Confederacy remain as emotionally charged as ever.
That was evident in the most recent meeting of Fairfax County’s Confederate Names Task Force, which has been charged with determining whether the county should rename Lee and Lee-Jackson Memorial highways.
“We have a nice taste of different people from different parts of Fairfax that want to weigh in,” task force chair Evelyn Spain said. “We value all of their opinions on whether this end result comes to change the name or not change the name of Fairfax streets.”
The two-hour meeting at the Fairfax County Government Center on Monday (Oct. 18) followed the launch of a community survey last week. Postcards advertising the survey are expected to roll out to residents across the county starting this weekend.
Also accepting public comments by email, phone, mail, and at four upcoming listening sessions, the task force will use the input to inform its recommendation to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.
“I don’t want people to be back here in 30 years because we made a wrong decision,” one member said.
The Financial Cost of Changing the Names
Changing the names of both highways could cost Fairfax County anywhere from $1 million to $4 million, Fairfax County Department of Transportation Director Tom Biesiadny told the task force.
According to FCDOT, there are 171 Lee Highway signs along the county’s 14.1-mile stretch of Route 29 and 55 Lee-Jackson Memorial Highway signs on 8.4 miles of Route 50.
The cost varies depending on each kind of sign, particularly ones on traffic light mast arms or other overhead structures. If a new street name is longer than the existing one, replacing the signs will require more work due to the added weight, Biesiadny explained.
“What we’re going to replace it with does matter,” he said.
Biesiadny also reported that, based on estimates from neighboring localities that have adopted new highway names, a name change would cost businesses about $500 each to update their address on signs, stationary, and legal documents, among other possible expenses.
Other jurisdictions are looking at providing grants to cover businesses’ costs, according to Biesiadny, who noted that the county would need to conduct a survey of businesses to get a more precise estimate.
What’s in a (Street) Name?
For the task force, however, the question of whether to rename the highways hinges less on money than on what the names say about a community’s values and identity.
In a facilitator-led discussion on street name criteria, several members cited inclusivity and reflecting Fairfax County’s increasingly diverse population as key concerns.
“There’s no reason that we need to keep telling these same limited truths,” Bunyan Bryant from Mason District said. “…We’re not bound forever and ever to that. Yes, there is this history some are wedded to, but that doesn’t represent us today.”
Some task force members said tying street names to history helps create a sense of place, even if that history is less-than-inspiring.
Ed Wenzel, one of four Springfield District representatives, noted that Lee-Jackson Memorial Highway was used by troops during the Civil War, which he said “had a tremendous impact” on Fairfax County.
“Gallows Road is grisly history, but I don’t think anyone would ask to change that name,” Braddock District member Robert Floyd said, citing the common but unproven impression that the street running from Tysons to Annandale once led to a gallows or hanging tree.
Others argued that Fairfax County has overly fixated on the Civil War at the expense of other people and events from its past, noting that the county has many historical sites commemorating that era, such as Ox Hill Battlefield Park.
“Remembering and learning about history is different from glorifying history,” said Dranesville District member Barbara Glakas, a member of the Herndon Historical Society. “I think we need to look at who we’ve been glorifying.”
Should the task force recommend changing the names in its report to the county board in December, a couple of members suggested eschewing people as namesakes, given the potential for controversy.
When asked, Biesiadny confirmed that simply calling the highways Route 29 and Route 50 is an option, pointing to Chesterfield County as an example.
In that case, the local board of supervisors approved Route 1 as the name for its segment of Jefferson Davis Highway in June, seemingly to avoid the moniker defaulting to Emancipation Highway as mandated by the Virginia General Assembly.
Snow Days to Stay — The Fairfax County Public Schools System is resuming snow days this year after the pandemic changed the school system’s inclement weather policy. The first five snowy days will be traditional inclement weather days. But after that, the school system plans to have unscheduled virtual learning days “wherever possible.” [FCPS]
Metro Hires Consultants to Analyze Safety — The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s Board of Directors plans to hire an external consultant to offer advice on safety. The move comes a week after the derailment of a Metrorail train on the Blue Line. [Reston Patch]
Reston Company Raises $4.5 Million in Seed Round — ForecastEra, Reston-based company, formally announced a new seed round investment of $4.5 million. The company offers a account planning, sales, revenue and demand forecast suite that is native to Salesforce. [InsideNOVA]
