As Silver Line Phase 2 slowly pulls into the station of completion, local officials are expressing their frustration at constant delays and missed deadlines.
In a brief update at yesterday’s (Sept. 28) Fairfax County Transportation Committee meeting, it was reiterated that Silver Line Phase 2 is expected to be substantially completed by the end of the year.
“In our discussions with [Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority], they are holding, at the moment, to the fourth quarter of 2021,” said Martha Elena Coello, special projects division chief for the Fairfax County Department of Transportation.
There are currently only two unresolved issues, according to a slideshow presented at the meeting, both of which are at the railyard and do not need to be resolved for substantial completion.
Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn said he was hopeful that meant MWAA would be handing over the project to Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority [WMATA] in late October, after the planned outage at Wiehle-East Reston Metro Station to tie-in the two lines. That work was supposed to be completed in June.
If the project does hit this new deadline, it would still be two months from a previous missed Labor Day deadline and years beyond the initial completion date.
Alcorn and others at the meeting showed their frustration at how Silver Line Phase 2 has been besieged by constant delays.
“This is four years overdue from the original date,” said Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay. “To not express some frustration here… would be a mistake. I think all of us are very frustrated.”
Alcorn also was noticeably exasperated at the pace of the project.
“Our next meeting of the transportation committee is December 14. We better have substantial completion by then,” he said.
In response, MWAA acknowledges the disappointment that many have about the delays.
“We understand the frustrations of everybody, elected officials and public alike,” MWAA spokesperson Marcia McAllister told Reston Now. “Our goal is to proceed with the [October] outage, evaluate the work that is done that weekend, and make decisions as soon as possible.”
McAllister also reiterated that MWAA is “holding on to fourth quarter 2021” as a timeline for substantial completion.
In multiple previous MWAA reports, it was revealed that there were significant disagreements between MWAA and the contractor Capital Rail Constructors (CRC) on the timeline.
While MWAA said it would be completed by the end of the year, CRC said spring 2022.
But now, CRC seems to be backing off their timeline, noting that increased collaboration with the authorities have quickened the pace.
“We are working together with MWAA and WMATA on coordinating and finalizing testing to target substantial completion of the Silver Line Phase 2A in Q4,” CRC project executive Keith Couch wrote in a statement to Reston Now.
Even if Silver Line Phase 2 is substantially completed by late October, as noted in the presentation provided to the committee, WMATA will still need approximately six months to complete testing, pre-revenue preparations, and to open the system to riders.
That could mean an opening date of April or May 2022.
The $2.8 billion public transportation project will include six new stations, extending Metro from Reston to Loudoun County.
It remains a potential game changer for the region, though many with financial investment connected to the project have grown understandably impatient.
“A lot of folks have contributed substianal money to making this happen,” said McKay at the transportation committee meeting. “And they are sitting here, waiting for service.”
Fairfax County will resume an effort today (Wednesday) to avoid arresting people in mental health crises by using behavioral health experts in the hopes of eventually putting the service into effect 24/7.
Pairing a crisis intervention specialist with specially trained police officers, the “co-responder” teams address 911 calls related to behavioral health issues for the resumed service, a micropilot program that is expected to be in place three days a week.
“Over time, we’re going to have a better sense of handling these types of calls, and we might get to a place where we don’t have to have both behavioral health and police at the same time,” said Lee District Supervisor Rodney Lusk, chair of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors’ Public Safety Committee.
The county initially tested the approach for over a month this past March with teams working in eight-hour shifts Wednesdays through Fridays, ultimately diverting 40% of incidents from potential arrest or hospitalization.
One such case involved a family situation between siblings, where an autistic man assaulted his adult sister, said Abbey May, emergency and crisis services director for the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board (CSB), which provides multiple mobile emergency response services, among other health supports.
“She had locked herself in the bathroom and reported her brother had slipped a knife under the door to intimidate her,” May said.
A co-responder team gathered critical information from talking to the woman, asking what calms her brother down and what makes him upset. The police officers and crisis intervention specialists explained that they were both there to help.
“They were able to successfully de-escalate the situation without the use of force, incarceration, or hospitalization,” May told the Board of Supervisors yesterday (Tuesday) at its public safety committee meeting.
To support the resumed micropilot program, the CSB is reallocating one of its two Mobile Crisis Units. The pairings with police will continue on a limited basis, and it’s unclear how long the initiative will last this time, but it could serve as a bridge to an expanded service, said Lisa Potter, director of the county’s Diversion First program.
The county’s effort to reform how it responds to certain 911 calls comes after Virginia adopted a law last year creating a Marcus Alert system.
Named after high school biology teacher Marcus-David Peters, who was killed by a police officer while experiencing a mental health crisis in 2018, the statewide system is designed to ensure behavioral health experts are involved in emergency responses related to mental health and substance use issues.
The law requires every Community Services Board to create a co-responder model. Fairfax County must have a program in place by July 2023 and is now working to align its initiatives with the new state requirements.
Fairfax County could use its American Rescue Plan Act money to fund an expansion of the micropilot. County leaders have identified a multi-pronged approach that includes having an officer and crisis intervention specialist travel and respond together in teams that would each cover two police districts.
The $4 million ARPA-funded proposal would create four co-responder teams in the field and cover 26 positions — which would include 10 crisis intervention specialists, eight police officers, and other staff — as well as vehicles and other equipment.
While other mental health efforts help divert unnecessary arrests and jailing, the co-responder approach provides real-time 911 responses, May said. Diversion First leaders have pressed to eventually make the effort available around the clock.
County Stops Using Blotter Due to Data Concerns — The Fairfax County Police Department has stopped using an arrest blotter following concerns that the data could be used to deport immigrants. [The Washington Post]
More on Yesterday’s Loud Boom — An enormous loud boom that reverberated throughout Northern Virginia was most certainly caused by lightning, according to a radar snapshot of thundershowers. [The Washington Post]
Reston Company Lands Big Contract — Noblis, a Reston-based company, has secured a five-year, $263 million contract from the Department of Defense’s defense threat reduction agency. [Virginia Business Monthly]
Fairfax County Public Schools has pulled two books from its shelves after a local mom complained to the school board that the titles contain graphic sexual content and pedophelia.
A spokesperson for FCPS confirmed to FFXnow that “Lawn Boy” by Jonathan Evison and “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe have been temporarily pulled from shelves.
Two committees under the supervision of the school system’s library service coordinator will assess the suitability of both texts for high school libraries. The committee will include representation from staff, students, and parents, according to the spokesperson.
“The recommendation of the committees will be put forward to the Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services who will make a final decision as to whether FCPS continues to provide access to these books in our high school libraries,” the spokesperson said.
Stacy Langton, a Fairfax County mother, held up content from the books at a heated Sept. 23 school board meeting. The material — which was blurred in a recording of the meeting — included details of a man having sex with a boy, oral sex, masturbation, and nudity.
“Pornography is offensive to all people,” Langston said. The recording also muted Langton’s descriptions of the books’ content, which she said includes a scene in which a 10-year-old boy recounts sucking an adult man’s penis.
A Patch review of the two books disputed that characterization, reporting that “Lawn Boy” — a coming-of-age novel about a Mexican landscaper — contains no scenes of adults having sex with minors and that the illustration that drew objections in “Gender Queer,” an autobiography, appears in the context of the author’s teenage fantasy.
Another county resident and former FCPS teacher — Adrienne Henzel — said she was appalled by what she described as “homo-erotic material” supported by county taxpayer dollars.
FCPS Pride, an employees’ group that represents the LGBTQIA+ community and formed in 2015, said the inclusion of books that represent “oft-excluded communities such as LGBTQIA+ and other marginalized groups” help feel students more welcome and safer. LGBTQIA+ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer and questioning, and asexual.
“These books are ‘mirrors and windows’ as they ‘tell a story’ to give a window on a community that a reader may not belong to, and they share a narrative with which a given student may identify,” said Robert Rigby, co-president of FCPS Pride and an FCPS high school teacher.
Rigby told FFXnow that FCPS Pride is thankful for librarians who have established catalogs and collections that include all communities — especially marginalized ones.
Langton’s comments drew several objections from Springfield District board member Laura Jane Cohen, who noted that there were children in the room and that the books are available only in high schools.
She was cut off when she went over the three-minute time limit for public comments and refused to leave the podium for the next speaker, prompting the school board to take a five-minute recess “to clear the room.”
The incident was picked up by several conservative-leaning national news outlets and flagged by Asra Nomani, vice president of strategy and investigations for Parents Defending Education, a recently formed nonprofit organization that fights what it calls “indoctrination” in education.
At last night's @FCPSNews school board meeting, brave mom Stacy Langton revealed porn + pedophilia in library books. The board cut her mic + fled but I was able to record Stacy. Parents yelled, "Shame!" at the board for turning the county into #Fairfaxxx. No rest for @defendinged pic.twitter.com/efbT6c79H2
— Asra Q. Nomani (@AsraNomani) September 24, 2021
Langton said she was inspired to protest the distribution of the books after a similar discussion at a school board meeting in Texas.
But Rigby says the current “attacks” on literature with LGBTQIA+ and Latinx characters reflect a longstanding trend of protests against books that center marginalized individuals, including Black and Asian people, people with disabilities, and immigrants.
Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, says her office has seen an increasing number of challenges to books focused on LGBTQIA+ characters and related themes based on the data it collects from censorship reports and media coverage.
Six of the top 10 most challenged books in 2018 and eight of the books on the 2019 list drew objections due to “LGBTQIA+ content,” though the 2020 list is dominated by texts that deal with racism and Black people’s experiences.
Protests of LGBTQIA-related material, which have targeted picture books like “And Tango Makes Three” as well as novels aimed at a more mature audience, often stem from a perception that it sexualizes children or is otherwise inappropriate, a stance that the ALA has “great difficulty with,” Caldwell says.
“There are families who have a desire and a need for this information,” she said. “There are young adults who have the ability to understand and want to read about other people’s lives, and they should be able to read this without another person’s values coming into play.”
The removal of “Lawn Boy” and “Gender Queer” from Fairfax County high schools came just before the start of Banned Books Week, an annual initiative organized by the ALA and other literary and free speech organizations to advocate for open access to information and spotlight censorship issues.
This year’s event kicked off on Sunday (Sept. 26) and lasts through Saturday (Oct. 2).
While parents can guide what their own children read, those personal beliefs should not dictate whether students in general have access to specific books, says Nora Pelizzari, director of communications for the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), another group involved with Banned Books Week.
“It is imperative that books be judged based on the stories they tell, the way they tell them and what they can share about the world, rather than on passages taken out of context of the full book,” Pelizzari said in a statement. “When selecting books for school libraries, librarians have a responsibility to ensure that diverse voices and stories are available to all students, perhaps particularly those who have traditionally struggled to find stories they feel represent their lives and experiences.”
Both the ALA and NCAC argue that books should remain on shelves whenever a school or library reviews them in response to a removal request. Taking them out of cirulation before a review is conducted “privileges the personal viewpoints and opinions of the challengers,” Pelizzari says.
“NCAC encourages districts to ensure that they have strong book review policies in place and to follow them closely when challenges do arise, to ensure that educational reasoning and not personal viewpoints guides the selection of school materials,” Pelizzari said.
Angela Woolsey contributed to this report.
Over a month into the current school year, Fairfax County Public Schools is grappling with two key issues: how to recruit and retain staff, especially in special education and transportation, and how to feed students.
FCPS officials have said shortages in those areas are affecting the rest of the country, while supply chain issues have resulted in more students getting fewer choices to pick from in school cafeterias, thanks in part to free meals becoming available to all students.
When it comes to staff retention, the Fairfax County School Board approved some immediate relief at its regular meeting on Thursday (Sept. 23), increasing seasoned bus drivers’ salaries by 2.5%. The change will show up in their paychecks starting Oct. 23.
The change excludes new bus drivers who got a pay boost in August when the board voted to increase starting hourly rates from $19.58 to $22.91.
“Attract is one thing, but retain is something altogether different,” Springfield District Representative Laura Jane Cohen said.
In consultation with stakeholders, FCPS is conducting an in-depth market compensation study that it plans to finish by the end of the school year. The need to retain experienced bus drivers will only grow in urgency, as 25% will become eligible to retire.
FCPS also offers a $3,000 signing bonus, and Superintendent Scott Brabrand said the changes have boosted applications from about five to seven per week to an additional 20-50 each week.
Meanwhile, as of Sept. 15, FCPS had 133 teaching vacancies, nearly half of them in special education, according to Karen Corbett-Sanders, the school board’s Mount Vernon District representative.
Brabrand has suggested that state requirements for special education teachers need to be adjusted to ease the process for existing teachers, saying Thursday that he plans to bring the school board more information later to help its advocacy efforts.
School systems nationwide have reported bus driver deficits as potential hires turn to higher-paying commercial jobs, among other factors.
However, the commercial driving sector is experiencing labor shortages of its own, which are colliding with supply chain disruptions and increased student demand to create problems in school cafeterias.
In its annual “Opening of Schools” report, FCPS says it is now serving some 138,000 students per day — about 28,000 more than before the pandemic. Brabrand reported on Thursday that the school system distributed a record number of meals the previous week, when 150,000 students used its food services.
Mason District School Board Representative Ricardy Anderson noted that families have raised concerns and wondered about the quality of the food. Department of Financial Services Assistant Superintendent Leigh Burden said the issues have affected the number of the options available to students, but not the quality.
“We’ve had to double down on some of our oldies but goodies like pizza, which maybe doesn’t make students upset, but we want to continue to fully implement the food and nutrition health guidelines,” Brabrand said.
Anderson said knowing about the supply chain issues could help families better understand the situation that FCPS is facing.
A transformer blowing out? A meteor? Or just really loud thunder?
A big boom was reported across a wide swath of Fairfax County from Reston and Herndon to McLean around 10:40 a.m. today, leaving many residents confused regarding the possible source.
Most residents have assumed that the sound was caused by loud thunder that accompanied a slow and steady rain in the region that’s expected to last most of the day.
The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department reported that it dispatched units to the 13000 block of Woodland Park Road in Reston at approximately 10:59 a.m. after a building there was struck by lightning, though it’s unclear if that was the source of the reported noise.
Heard the loud boom? Can’t totally confirm this is related but-at approximately 10:59 AM, units were dispatched to building struck by lightning in 13000 block of Woodland Park Road. Lightning protection system did its job-no damage to building! Two minor injuries. #FCFRD #weather pic.twitter.com/K0ZFmFvdxK
— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) September 28, 2021
One McLean resident told FFXnow that she heard “a loud boom/explosion that did not sound like thunder” around about 10:35 a.m.
“We are on Brook Rd between Rt 7 and Old Dominion Dr.,” Diane Van Tuyl wrote. “My friend in Great Falls on Towlston Rd also heard it. She felt rumbling and some shaking.”
Other residents took to social media to share their bafflement regarding the possible source of the sound, which one user compared to a concussion grenade:
Shook the crap out of my house in Herndon. Loudest thunder I’ve ever heard!
— CH (@zaynadu) September 28, 2021
Heard it McLean too. The pup was not happy about it. I thought maybe a transformer blew. Cloudy here but no rain/ thunder/ lightning.
— Tara Ajello (@tara_ajello) September 28, 2021
Big flash and then big boom in south Reston. Set off a car alarm across the street
— Martha Vockley (@MarthaVockley) September 28, 2021
Last week, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said a similar boom heard through the greater Shenandoah County region was a fireball.
Photo via Breno Machado/Unsplash
Reston Association is weighing how it will address expected costs that are projected to rise.
A budget document presented to the board suggested a 6% increase in next year’s assessment, which would potentially move dues from $718 to $764. But acting CEO Larry Butler said the board has a variety of ways to try to address the potential increases in costs, which could include reducing services or a mixture of strategies.
Butler discussed possible funding scenarios at the Board of Directors meeting last week. The second draft of the budget will go to RA’s fiscal committee for review on Oct. 13 following a public hearing on Oct. 6.
The board is expected to hold a second public hearing on Nov. 10 and adopt the final budget on Nov. 18.
The budget for 2021 set $19.2 million for operating revenues. That’s slated to rise to $21.6 million for 2022 and nearly $21.7 million in 2023, where budget documents appear to use a placeholder of an increased assessment fee.
Rather than have an increased assessment fee simply take care of the issue, the board is exploring budget iterations about how to move forward.
“Clearly you can — you can just raise the assessment 15.5%,” Butler said during a Thursday meeting regarding the biennial budget, which would make the assessment $829. “I’m … not recommending that.”
RA is looking to increase operating costs from less than $16 million for its 2021 budget to $17.5 million next year and $17.9 million the following year, based on a budget draft so far.
Around two-thirds of the service organization’s operating costs are personnel, and Butler is strongly recommending a 3% merit-based increase. He suggested that would help retain staff, which total around 100 full-timers.
The association is also looking at a five-year capital projects plan. It calls for improvements to facilities such as pools including Lake Thoreau and tennis courts, of around $3 million to nearly $4 million each year from 2022-2026.
According to a memo from Butler to the board of directors and a fiscal committee, the draft budget called for adding several new positions that include the following:
- a registrar to assist members with online transactions, run reports, improve the customer experience and more; the position would have a total compensation of $60,000 and that could reduce other budget line items by $13,800 with the new position,
- a financial services manager, whose salary and benefits would total $102,000,
- a capital projects manager whose total compensation would be $84,000,
- an applications analyst, whose duties would include but not be limited to data analytics, with a compensation package of $108,000.
The association is also eyeing whether it would replace or change current openings that involve a director of information technology and an aquatics program manager.
Despite the draft budget discussed, the association says a preliminary budget is not yet available.
RA spokesperson Mike Leone said in a statement, “The Board of Directors, Fiscal Committee and RA Staff are working to develop a draft budget for discussion at the Oct. 4 Board Budget Work session.”
When Herndon resident John Gluck heard that he had gotten the part on NBC’s new drama “Ordinary Joe,” he freaked out.
The local-student-turned-television-star had never auditioned for a role like this, but he had always been a singer, a piano player, and a movie-lover. So, when NBC put out a casting call in early 2020 looking for a young actor with muscular dystrophy, then-11-year-old Gluck knew he had to go for it.
“The [casting call] is perfect for me and I’m probably not going to get another opportunity like this,” now 13-year-old Gluck tells Reston Now, reminiscing about the moment that changed his life. “Well, I guess I’ll give it a shot.”
He sent an audition tape and got a call a few weeks later to do another audition via Zoom with producers, writers, and potential co-stars. Two days later, he was told he was officially casted on the NBC show.
“[The producers] really liked my energy, enthusiasm, and passion,” says Gluck, from Atlanta, Georgia, where he’s in the midst of production on the show. “I am very energetic.”
After a long COVID-related delay, “Ordinary Joe” finally premiered to big ratings last week on NBC and will have new episodes on Monday nights at 10 p.m. for at least the remainder of the year.
Gluck plays “Christopher,” a co-starring role though to reveal the specifics of the character would be a bit of a spoiler.
“It was very surreal to see my name in the credits [last week].” he says. “I screamed. I’ve been waiting like two years to actually see that. So, the fact that [the show] is out there for the world to see is really awesome.”
Gluck was in second grade, at Crossfield Elementary School, when he caught the acting bug, making short films that “really helped me come out of my shell.”
He started taking classes at Lopez Studios, a 25-year-old performing arts school in Reston.
“John is great talent, great voice, overall personality, and has been in several of our mainstage performances,” Victor Lopez, the owner and founder of the school, tells Reston Now. “John is a model student, does his homework, and now we are seeing it pay off.”
Gluck is a lifelong musician, singing and playing the piano. Performing is nothing new for him, but auditioning for an acting role was.
“My acting coach had to explain how to do an [acting] audition. I didn’t know all of the vocabulary,” Gluck says.
However, in another stroke of destiny, he saw the sides (portion of script used for auditions) and it included belting out “New York State of Mind” by Billy Joel. He sang a rendition of the song for his audition and the producers were very impressed.
“They told me the second they heard that, they thought ‘Oh my goodness, we need to keep him,'” he says. “Now, I’m singing in every other episode, which is incredible.”
Over the summer, he drove with his family from his Herndon home to Atlanta, where he’ll be staying until December as the show wraps up production. While he’s living his dream, he admittingly misses home and knows this wasn’t an opportunity he could ever pass up.
Gluck has muscular dystrophy and understands that this is a special chance to be a role model.
“There’s not a ton of representation for muscular dystrophy on screen. The few movies and shows that I’ve seen where they do have a character with muscular dystrophy, they aren’t actually played by somebody with muscular dystrophy,” Gluck says. “I know I’m representing lots of people that are just like me and they’re going to see someone like themselves on TV.”
As a newbie to television acting, he was surprised about a few things on set. For one, how many camera angles and takes they do for every single scene. Also, there are television monitors everywhere, showing producers and actors scenes as they will look to the viewer at home. For Gluck, it kinda feels like getting sucked into the television.
“There’s a lot of monitors everywhere and I’m watching what’s going on… like I’m watching on TV,” he says. “Then, I literally roll right into the scene, which is a very crazy feeling.”
Gluck explains his acting style as one that fully understands the context of the scene, realizing that what’s written in the script isn’t always the only things that need to be communicated.
“If a character is asking a question, I’ve got to realize what they are actually saying? They are not just asking this one question, I have to know what they are truly meaning to say. This has to come not just through my words, but the way I act.”
All of this is truly impressive for any actor, much less one who’s 13 and new to the business. But Gluck certainly has the “it” factor, that special something that makes it clear someone is a star. He hasn’t thought specifically about what’s coming next for him, other than he wants to continue to work in the television business, perhaps behind the cameras as well.
For young actors like him, who are thinking of auditioning for a role that they may think is out of their reach, Gluck’s advice is simple.
“Go for it. It never hurts to try,” he says. “[If you don’t], you could be missing out on something really big. With your acting, just leave it all out there. Give it all you got.”
Pfizer Booster Shots Now Available — Beginning today, the Fairfax County Health Department will begin providing booster shots of the Pfizer vaccine. Four groups of people are eligible for the dose. [Fairfax County Government]
Reston-based Company Makes List of Top Employers – Maximus, a government service provider, was included in Forbes’ annual list of America’s best employers for diversity. JLL, a business services and supplies company, topped the list. [Forbes]
Local Tennis Courts Closed — The tennis courts at Lake Anne will be closed today and tomorrow due to court painting, according to Reston Association. [RA]
Public Hearings on RA Budget Set — The Board of Directors will hold public hearings on its proposed budget on Oct. 13 and Nov. 10. The budget is currently under development. [RA]
FCPS is ramping up efforts to provide on-site testing and prepare for vaccinations for elementary school-aged kids, including by enlisting a third party that hasn’t been publicly identified yet.
Although the Food and Drug Administration has not yet approved emergency use of COVID-19 vaccines for kids ages 5-11, Pfizer says its vaccine is safe for that age range, and it could obtain authorization in October.
That will open up vaccinations to an additional 87,693 FCPS students, according to Melanie Meren, who represents Hunter Mill District on the Fairfax County School Board.
As part of its preparations, FCPS is developing a survey for families to determine what their needs are and how it can best respond, Assistant Superintendent for Special Services Michelle Boyd said at a school board meeting on Thursday (Sept. 23).
The survey will ask questions such as:
- Whether parents would be okay with students getting vaccinated during the school day without their presence
- Whether they would be interested in participating in clinics with their children
- Whether they would prefer their primary medical provider to vaccinate students
Meren told FFXnow that the survey is a step in the right direction, but there needs to be more done.
During the meeting, she proposed that FCPS work with community partners, including public health officials and medical providers, to develop a plan for how to use different resources like bloodmobile services to deliver vaccinations.
Her motion calls for convening “community stakeholders to plan for mass distribution of children’s vaccines in Fairfax County, so that vaccines are accessible to families in accordance with families’ personal decisions about vaccinating children.”
Meren noted that pediatricians’ offices are already overwhelmed, and she wants FCPS to look at ways to be best prepared, noting that schools have had to take on an unprecedented public health role.
“The school division is being tasked with really stepping up in ways that have never been seen before in terms of public health,” Meren said at the school board meeting.
Meren also proposed that the school board direct Brabrand to create a Department of Special Services staff position to help the assistant superintendent manage public health-related work in FCPS.
Since both items were introduced as new business, meaning that they weren’t up for discussion or action, the school board will address them at its next regular meeting on Oct. 7.
At the same time, FCPS is continuing to tackle issues related to its existing COVID-19 health procedures, primarily when it comes to disruptions to in-person learning.
“We’ve already got some kids entering their second quarantine,” FCPS Superintendent Brabrand said during the school board meeting. “28 days without a teacher or instruction is not something we can do.”
Out of roughly 178,000 students, FCPS has recorded 818 positive COVID-19 cases in August and September as of yesterday (Sunday).
However, as of Sept. 15, around 2,900 students have had to stay home due to potentially coming into contact with people who have contracted COVID-19, according to FCPS.
While noting that student transmission of the virus is low, Brabrand reiterated at the school board meeting that FCPS is continuing to look at ways to improve its COVID-19 communication policies and procedures.
Braddock District School Board Representative Megan McLaughlin said she wants FCPS to show it’s serious about helping minimize the time that students are not in school, noting that Loudoun County Public Schools has reduced its mandated quarantine period from 14 to 10 days.
Fairfax County Health Director Dr. Gloria Addo-Ayensu recommended 14 days at a Board of Supervisors committee meeting last Tuesday (Sept. 21), stating that the 10-day alternative allowed by the CDC carries an estimated 10% increase in the risk of post-quarantine transmission.
Starting this week, FCPS is offering an online platform where students who have to be paused, quarantined, or isolated due to a COVID-19 infection or exposure can live-stream in-person classes.
However, FCPS has otherwise declined to expand its virtual options, despite requests from many community members, including several speakers who delivered remarks during the community participation portion of Thursday’s board meeting.
“We simply don’t have the staff,” Brabrand said. “We don’t even have the staff right now to operate full in person. We’re strained to provide staffing for the limited virtual that we have, per CDC guidelines for students with diagnosed medical and health needs.”
He added that the area school systems like Prince George’s and Arlington counties that have offered broader virtual programs have significant wait lists or are filling up to 40 to 50% of their staff positions with substitute teachers.
After seeing COVID-19 cases climb throughout August, Fairfax County seems to be finishing September at a plateau in the Delta variant-driven surge that has refilled hospitals in many parts of the country.
The Fairfax Health District, which includes the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church, added 160 new cases today (Monday), bringing its total for the pandemic up to 88,817 cases, according to the Fairfax County Health Department.
The novel coronavirus has now contributed to 4,283 hospitalizations and 1,178 deaths, including five in the past week.
While community transmission is still considered high, the county is currently averaging 187.3 cases per day for the past seven days. That remains on par with the case rate in mid-April, right before vaccinations became available to all adults and stifled the virus until the Delta variant’s arrival, but the weekly average has only exceeded 200 cases for exactly one day — Sept. 16 — since late February.
The recent stabilization of COVID-19 cases coincides with preparations for the biggest shift in Fairfax County and Virginia’s vaccination campaigns since adolescents became eligible for the vaccine in May.
Backing an authorization issued by the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday (Sept. 22), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorsed a recommendation by its advisory committee on Friday (Sept. 24) that booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine be made available to certain populations.
The CDC’s new guidelines state that adults 65 and older, individuals 18 and older in long-term care settings, and people aged 50-64 years old with underlying medical conditions should get a third dose of Pfizer’s vaccine at least six months after they received the first two required doses.
Booster shots can also go to people 18 and older who are at increased risk of contracting COVID-19 due to underlying medical conditions or their occupation, including:
- First responders
- School staff
- Public transit workers
- Food and agriculture workers
- Grocery store workers
- Manufacturing workers
- Corrections workers
- U.S. Postal Service workers
These categories generally align with the populations who were prioritized for the initial vaccine rollout.
The CDC says the vaccine remains effective at preventing severe illness due to the coronavirus, but recent data suggests the amount of protection it provides against infection and mild illness decreases over time. Preliminary research indicates that booster shots can increase recipients’ immune response.
State vaccination coordinator Dr. Danny Avula said in a statement that Virginia welcomes the CDC’s support for booster shots, which were only available to immunocompromised people before.
“The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) has been working with its vaccination partners — pharmacies, healthcare providers, hospitals and other institutions — to prepare for this rollout,” Avula said. “We are confident that we will have enough supply, and that access will be widely available.”
VDH officials confirmed last week that the state is exploring a variety of strategies for delivering booster shots, including potentially reviving the mass vaccination site at Tysons Corner Center that delivered more than 50,000 doses in the spring.
The Fairfax County Health Department said on Friday that booster doses will soon be available for those who are eligible at pharmacies, medical providers, hospitals, and county sites, but it is still “waiting on specific federal and state implementation guidance prior to offering booster doses to residents.”
The county’s Vaccine Administration Management System now allows Fairfax Health District residents to find and schedule an additional dose as well as their first and second doses.
VDH notes that its top priority continues to be getting the vaccine to people who haven’t gotten any doses yet, since data shows that unvaccinated people are significantly more likely to contract COVID-19 and develop severe illness as a result, leading to possible hospitalization and death.
As of today, 814,362 Fairfax Health District residents have gotten at least one vaccine dose. That is 68.8% of the total population, including 81.3% of people 18 and older and 83.9% of adolescents aged 12 to 17.
740,341 residents — 74.3% of adults and 62.6% of the overall population — are fully vaccinated, meaning they’ve gotten two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Virginia and Fairfax County have not yet started reporting data on how many people have received a booster shot.
Photo via CDC/Unsplash
A former youth minister at a Reston church faces multiple charges related to the unlawful filming of a minor.
Douglas Johnson worked as a youth minister at St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Reston from 2005 to 2018. The Chesapeake Police Department told Reston Now that Johnson voluntarily turned himself in to police on Sept. 25.
He faces six criminal charges related to unlawful videotaping a female minor in Chesapeake, according to a statement released by the church.
In a statement, the Catholic Archdiocese of Arlington stated that he underwent a criminal background check and completed training to prevent and report abuse as a condition of employment.
Prior to his employment, he volunteered at both St. John Neumann and St. Thomas à Becket Catholic Church in Reston.
Here’s more from the archdiocese on the issue:
No known complaints or allegations have been made against Johnson related to his time as an employee and volunteer at St. John Neumann and a volunteer at St. Thomas à Becket. If you are aware of misconduct or abuse on the part of any cleric, employee, or volunteer of the Diocese, immediately notify civil authorities and reach out to the diocesan Office of Child Protection and Victim Assistance at (703) 841-2530.
The Diocese of Arlington has a zero-tolerance policy for abuse and is fully committed to training our clergy, staff and volunteers to identify and report suspected instances of abuse. All clergy, staff and volunteers undergo mandatory abuse prevention and awareness training, and safe environment training is also provided to students in the Diocese’s schools, religious education and youth programs. Anyone who works with minors must also undergo background checks every five years. The diocesan Office of Child Protection and Victim Assistance works with parish staff to ensure training and prevention policies are followed throughout our parishes and schools. No one with a credible allegation against them is serving with minors in the Diocese.
Tuesday, September 28
- Health and Wellness Fair (5:30-7:30 p.m.) — The YMCA Fairfax County Reston is hosting this Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce Network Night that features healthy snacks, alcohol and wellness resources.
Wednesday, September 29
- BEER RUN pre-Ragnar Q&A (6:30-8:30 p.m.) — While registration has closed for Ragnar Sunset NoVA‘s Saturday race, you can still learn more about it, run some laps and have some beers while asking questions with the race director at Lake Anne Brew Plaza.
Thursday, September 30
- Herndon Farmers Market (8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.) — Stop by for some fresh produce from local vendors. Recurs weekly.
Friday, October 1
- “A Familiar Melody” (8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday as well as 2 p.m. on Sunday) — A NextStop Theatre Company show brings together a selection of Broadway hits. Tickets are $30.
Saturday, October 2
- Reston Farm Garden Market Fall Fest (9 a.m. to 7 p.m.) — Enjoy bounce houses, games, a maze and petting zoo, train rides and more. This recurring weekend event takes place on Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 31. Cost is $28 per child, $6 for adults and free for children age 2 and under.
- Reston Farmers Market (8 a.m. to noon) — After taking a break last week due to the Reston Multicultural Festival, this staple returns with local vendors.
- The Seldom Scene (8 p.m.) — American bluegrass band The Seldom Scene performs at the CenterStage at Reston Community Center Hunters Woods. Cost is $25 for Reston residents.
- Movies in the Park (7 p.m.) — Enjoy a showing of “Tom and Jerry” at Lake Newport Soccer Field and bring a picnic dinner or buy popcorn, candy and drinks there. Free for kids 3 and under.
Sunday, October 3
- GWTCS 5K Run — (8:30 a.m. to noon) — The Greater Washington Telugu Cultural Sangam is bringing people to Lake Fairfax Park and recognizing participants with medals. Event includes breakfast. Tickets for kids are $10 and adults are $15. Registration deadline is Saturday, Oct. 2.
- Putting the Animals to Bed (6:30 p.m.) — Learn how Frying Pan Farm Park staff put the animals to bed. Bring a flashlight or lantern for this twilight tour. The cost is $10 per person.
- Mushrooms of Reston (2-3:30 p.m.) — Learn about the area’s natural resources in this adult nature program. Tickets start at $5.
Reston Company Helps Dump Data — A Reston-based data privacy and governance software provider company called ActiveNav wants to help companies dump extra data. The company created a new tool that helps others analyze what data is toxic or vulnerable. [Technical.ly]
Proposed Plea Deal in Alleged Child Rapist Case Rejected — A Fairfax County judge rejected a proposed plea deal between prosecutors and a man accused of repeatedly raping a girl — a rare step that cast some doubt on evidence presented by the Herndon Police Department’s investigators. The three-year sentence was perceived as too lenient. [The Washington Post]
County Health Department Waits for Guidance on Booster Shots — The county’s health department is waiting on federal and state partners to determine when to begin offering booster shots to residents who have already received the Pfizer vaccine for COVID-19. [Fairfax County Government]
Before we head into a weekend, let’s take a look back at the biggest stories on the site in recent days.
- Red Velvet Bakery opening Saturday, first 200 people get free cupcake
- Another tenant will leave The Spectrum by the end of the year
- From dish washer to owner, local immigrant brings pizza spot to Reston
- Pet business moving to nearby spot in Reston
- Residential development by Reston golf course eyes demolition this year
If you have ideas on stories we should cover, email us at [email protected] or submit an anonymous tip. Photos from around the Reston and Herndon area are also welcome, with credit always given to the photographer.
Feel free to discuss these topics, your socially distanced weekend plans, or anything else that’s happening locally in the comments below.
