It took longer than anticipated, but Capital Bikeshare is finally expanding in Reston, a move that has been in the works since August 2017.

The Fairfax County Department of Transportation will start installing 19 new stations throughout Reston in early July, FCDOT spokesperson Robin Geiger told Reston Now.

Previously expected to take place in early 2020, the expansion was stalled by the COVID-19 pandemic. It will more than double the size of the bicycle-sharing service in the area, which currently has 16 operating stations.

“We did have significant production delays as a result of the pandemic, affecting both bicycles and stations,” Geiger said. “…More information about the installation will be coming this summer.”

Funded by a $1 million federal Transportation Alternatives Program grant, the new stations will be located at:

• Baron Cameron Avenue and North Hampton Avenue
• Becontree Lane and Goldenrain Court
• Fairway Drive and Hook Road
• Golf Course Square and Golf Course Drive
• Green Range Drive and Glade Drive
• Inlet Court and Wiehle Drive
• Lake Newport Road and Autumn Ridge Circle
• Links Drive and Wedge Drive
• North Village Road and Park Garden Lane
• Olde Crafts Drive and Cartwright Place
• Reston Parkway and Bennington Woods Road
• Ridge Heights Road and Owl Cove Lane
• Ridge Heights Road and Seahawks Drive
• Ring Road and North Shore Drive
• Soapstone Drive Convenience Center
• South Gate Community Center
• South Lakes Drive and Reston Parkway
• Vantage Hill Road & Wainwright Drive
• Wainwright Drive and North Shore Drive

Geiger says Fairfax County is still considering adding a station at Reston Community Center’s Hunter Woods facility, but that location could not be included in this phase because federal funding can’t support projects on private property.

The county joined Bikeshare in 2016, concentrating the 17 initial stations in Reston and Tysons to support Metro’s newly opened Silver Line Phase 1.

According to Geiger, the service was doing well prior to the pandemic, particularly in Merrifield, which was the site of its most recent expansion. Merrifield and Vienna are now slated to get 10 more stations.

Like other transportation services, though, Bikeshare saw a significant drop in usage due to COVID-19, with both ridership and membership taking hits as people limited travel and many started working from home.

“At its worst, early in the pandemic membership was around 20% of ridership when compared to past years,” Geiger said by email. “Most of the lost trips were by annual members who were commuting by bicycle.”

Fairfax County saw a 50% decrease in Bikeshare riders in 2020 overall compared to 2019.

Geiger says ridership levels did start to pick back up last summer, primarily from non-members, meaning people who were utilizing the service for a single trip or day instead of getting an ongoing subscription.

“Usage patterns systemwide changed as well, with fewer trips to Metro stations, but more to recreational locations, and grocery stores,” she said.

With the upcoming Bikeshare expansion, county officials hope to see a resurgence in usage as people return to public spaces and communal activities. One such activity could be coming to Reston, thanks to the impending bicycle stations.

“We plan to have an event celebrating the installation sometime this summer, probably in August,” Geiger said.

Updated at 2:25 p.m. — The gas leak at Reston Town Center has now stopped after the gas company “clamped the line,” the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department reported at 1:20 p.m.

Updated at 12 p.m. — The gas leak situation at Reston Town Center is now stable, the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department says, though it is estimated that it will take the gas company a couple of hours to secure the leak.

No injuries have been reported, and examinations of buildings in the vicinity did not reveal any gas leaking into structures, according to the department.

Earlier: A gas leak possibly related to utility work at Reston Town Center prompted multiple buildings to be evacuated this morning (Friday), a tipster told Reston Now.

A Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department spokesperson confirmed that units are currently on the scene in response to a gas leak involving a four-inch gas line.

The department has also confirmed that some buildings were evacuated as a precaution.

“Awaiting gas company to shut line down,” FCFRD said in a tweet. “Avoid area.”

Roads in the area of Market Street at the intersection with Explorer Street have been closed due to fire department activity, according to Fairfax Alerts. The alert says to “expect delays if traveling in the immediate area.”

Units on scene of a gas leak on Market Street at Explorer Street in Reston. Four-inch gas line involved. Some evacuations of buildings nearby as a pre-caution. Awaiting gas company to shut line down. Avoid area. #FCFRD #traffic pic.twitter.com/EuM3gx4VMF

— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) June 25, 2021

David Taube contributed to this report.

Hospitality workers looking to return to their jobs and hotels trying to recover from the pandemic are seeing signs of progress in an industry wrecked by shutdown orders and an upheaval in business trips.

Fairfax County’s new PIVOT grant program is prioritizing grant money for hotels, while also assisting other hard-hit businesses with $25 million in federal COVID-19 relief money. The program received 581 fully completed applications — including 15 in the lodging category — on Wednesday (June 23), its first day accepting applications.

Applications will be accepted through July 9, and the order they are received has no bearing on priority. But if funds are limited, lodging businesses with at least 10 rooms will be addressed first before a lottery then determines which companies in need will get money.

Managers in the Reston-Herndon area say they’re around half capacity. One said many furloughed staff are inquiring about when they can return, and three wedding parties stayed there recently.

Michael Riddlemoser, manager of the Inns of Virginia’s Falls Church location, said his 32-room hotel is also around 50% full, down from 75 or 80% full before March 2020.

“We just need more people coming into town,” he said. “DC [needs] to get full for us to start getting the DC business.”

A “Fairfax County Economic Recovery Framework” report presented to the county board of supervisors in January found that the accommodation and food services industries shed more jobs than any other sector, projecting a loss of 12,420 jobs or 26% of its workforce through December 2020.

“The pandemic has had disproportionate impacts across industries, with hospitality, food service, and small retailers most heavily impacted and facing the longest trajectory for recovery,” the study said.

The leisure and hospitality sector has lost 3.1 million jobs during the pandemic, representing over a third of all unemployment in the U.S., according to an American Hotel & Lodging Association report from February.

The report said the industry lost over 17,000 jobs in Virginia last year and was projected to lose over 13,000 jobs this year.

UNITE HERE Local 25, which represents about 7,200 hospitality workers across the DC region, had only 2% of members working last July, but the employment rate has bounced back to 25% in Northern Virginia, according to Benjy Cannon, the union’s director of communications.

Cannon attributes recent gains over the last eight weeks to vaccinations and domestic travel.

But the union believes pre-pandemic occupancy levels won’t return until international travel and long-term business travel returns, Cannon said. With unemployment benefits set to expire in September, that could lead the group to press legislators for changes.

“By late 2023, 2024, the industry is slated to recover stronger than it was in 2019,” Cannon said. “So, while this is an unfortunate bump in the road and our members are certainly mourning over it, we do still think that this region, this market, can recover in a really robust fashion and expect it to, even if it’s still a few years away.”

Photo via Febrian Zakaria on Unsplash

Reston Man Among Suspects in Maryland Murder — Reston resident William Rivera-Martinez, 20, is among five people who have been arrested and face charges in the April murder of a 15-year-old Nelson Ramos. As of Thursday morning (June 24), Rivera-Martinez was in Fairfax County custody and awaiting extradition to Prince George’s County. [The Washington Post]

Threat of Mass Evictions Looms with Moratorium Set to End — Fairfax County officials say there’s “plenty of emergency rental assistance” to help residents at risk of eviction, but with Virginia expected to let its eviction moratorium expire when the COVID-19 state of emergency ends on June 30, they worry it will take too long to get the money to landlords to stave off evictions. [Inside NoVA]

Herndon Startup Chosen for Amazon Program — The data analytics company HawkEye 360 has been chosen by Amazon Web Services for a four-week business accelerator focused on the space industry. The 10 companies selected for the program will get business advice and support in their efforts to collect data from satellites for cloud computing. [Axios]

Reston Trucking Software Company Acquired — “Trucker Tools LLC, a Reston outfit that offers a digital freight management platform, has been acquired by ASG, a California company backed by private equity firm Alpine Investors that specializes in purchasing and building software-as-a-service companies.” [Washington Business Journal]

Photo via vantagehill/Flickr

(Updated at 8:55 a.m. on 6/25/2021) The threat of COVID-19 is starting to dissipate, but some of the changes that the Reston Community Center implemented in response to the pandemic could be here to stay.

Despite the expenses associated with video production, the community center will continue to offer some hybrid programming going forward, letting people choose whether they want to participate in person or virtually, RCC Executive Director Leila Gordon says.

Gordon told the RCC Board of Governors when it met on June 7 that the reservation system put in place for drop-in activities after the community center reopened in July 2020 could also become a permanent fixture.

Before RCC started requiring reservations, some programs would attract more people than they could accommodate, leading to “squabbles” over space in a water aerobics class, for example, in the Terry L. Smith Aquatics Center lobby, according to Gordon.

The new system, which requires attendees to get a pass in advance, has alleviated those issues.

“This system now allows people to pick the time they want to come, to be assured that there will be space for them,” Gordon said. “They make a kind of appointment and commitment…So, some of those innovations are things that we will keep.”

Even with facilities closed for more than three months and many programs, including summer camps, canceled, RCC’s June 2021 Annual Report suggests this past year was a busy one, as staff continuously adjusted to the ever-changing conditions introduced by the pandemic.

RCC used the lull in on-site activities to address a host of capital projects, including minor upkeep that is normally confined to a two-week maintenance period each August.

Projects tackled in the last year include:

• A CenterStage renovation that put in a new carpet and an assistive listening system, while completely replacing the existing seating with the addition of 260 new seats
• RCC Lake Anne Wellness Studio floor replacement
• New safety features, such as clearer step delineation, and a new carpet for the Hunter Woods pool overlook
• Installation of new meeting room dividers at RCC Hunter Woods
• Installation of 12 data ports across the Lake Anne and Hunter Woods facilities to support livestreaming

RCC also tackled most of the remaining tasks on its aquatics center renovation, most recently replacing gutter grates in a process that was completed last Friday (June 18).

Gordon says the center will be closed for about 12 days at the end of August so the contractors can put in the final touches, including applying a protective coating to the gutter’s cement ceiling and calibrating the dehumidification unit.

RCC’s other priorities for the past year included supporting its community partners, maintaining communications with staff and patrons — particularly older individuals who might have felt especially isolated — and adapting programs and events to online or socially distanced settings. Read More

Save those rotting veggies and bits of meat left over from last night’s dinner, because Fairfax County is expanding its composting program.

As of yesterday (Wednesday), residents can now bring their food scraps to four county farmers markets for composting. The locations include the Herndon Farmers Market, which operates from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Thursdays.

Food scrap composting turns waste into a resource. Those wrinkling carrots or uneaten bread crusts can be transformed over time into natural fertilizer, putting nutrients back into the soil.

Proper composting can also prevent food waste from ending up in landfills and streams, taking up space and potentially damaging the ecosystem.

“The county is working to divert as much waste from disposal as possible,” Fairfax County Department of Public Works spokesperson Sharon North said in an email. “In the past few years, we have focused on glass recycling and reducing contamination to improve single stream recycling…Providing food scraps drop off locations will help divert this compostable material from disposal.”

North says food scraps can account for as much as 20% of waste, but nearly all of it can be composted, including meat, bones, dairy, vegetables, fruit and bread.

Some food-related paper products, such as paper plates, paper towels, and napkins, can be composted as well, as long as there’s no cleaning products or bodily fluids on them. Plastic bags, dryer sheets, yard waste, fats, oils, grease, tin foil, and foam containers, however, should never be composted.

Fairfax County first implemented a composting pilot program in November 2020 at two larger locations: the I-95 Landfill Complex in Lorton and I-66 Solid Waste Transfer Station in Fairfax.

North says the initial pilot program was a success, prompting county leaders to discuss options for an expansion.

“One of the main things we learned is that our residents are willing to separate out food scraps and bring them to compost drop off locations,” she writes.

The I-95 landfill and I-66 transfer station will remain permanent composting drop-off sites. The four farmers markets that are now part of the program’s expansion were specifically chosen due to their accessibility and central locations within the county.

Three of the markets, including the Herndon farmers market, are seasonal and managed by the Fairfax County Park Authority. The Mosaic District farmers’ market is a year-round, private market operated by FreshFarm.

“Making locations more accessible throughout the county at Farmers Markets will allow for more opportunities to drop off food scraps for composting rather than having that material in the trash,” North said.

The compost program is expected to cost the county an estimated $50,000 annually.

Photo via Philip Cohen/Wikimedia

The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority will soon add two new seats to its seven-member commission, which has remained the same size since it was created in 1964.

Virginia legislators and the governor approved a measure earlier this year allowing the change, which takes effect July 1 and will help meet diversity needs, officials say.

Charged with helping the county attract, retain, and support businesses, the FCEDA commission consists of local business and community leaders appointed by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.

FCEDA Chair Cathy Lange says the expanded board will help the authority bring different viewpoints to the table after the county has changed and grown over the past 57 years.

“We need a richness of perspectives to help the FCEDA understand why companies start here, grow here and stay here,” Lange said by email. “This diversity of needs also is directly tied to our understanding and support of talent attraction and retention. The companies want and need a broad and diverse talent pool, and we have to connect the talent to the companies.”

According to Lange, the EDA board hopes to further diversify representation of emerging and growing business sectors, such as financial services, cyber, cloud, and data analytics, as well as entrepreneurs and small business leaders “building the next base” of companies.

“At the same time, we can identify leaders who are reflective of the growing diversity in our county and its business community,” Lange wrote.

In its legislative agenda for the General Assembly’s 2021 session, Fairfax County noted the authority was created by state law in 1964, allowing the county to appoint seven board members.

“That number has not changed in the 50 years since the FCEDA was created, though Fairfax County has changed substantially during that time,” Fairfax County officials said in the report, which was adopted on Dec. 1.

In the legislative agenda, officials noted that the county’s increasing diversity extends to its economy:

The County has experienced tremendous growth, as has the local economy — the number and size of companies has increased, and businesses have expanded into new and diverse industry sectors. Increasing the size of the FCEDA board could further diversify participation from the County’s business community, while maintaining focus on the County’s traditional business base (including government contracting and IT services).

Among its services, the authority helps businesses find office space in the county, assists with special tax-exempt bonds for companies and nonprofits, and aids international firms seeking office space in Fairfax County.

While headquartered in Tysons, the authority has offices around the country and the world, including in Germany, India, Israel, South Korea, and the U.K. as well as Los Angeles.

Lange said in the email that Fairfax County is an amazing success story, and expanding the commission will help to ensure that continues.

“Understanding what different companies need to succeed here helps us to inform county leaders on what policies and programs need to be implemented to continue our success,” Lange wrote. “This also will help us understand how to market the county to businesses that want opportunities to grow and success, and how to market the region to talent.”

FCEDA vice president of communications Alan Fogg said by email that he expects there will be movement around appointments starting next month.

Two local service groups launched an outreach initiative on Tuesday (June 22) to help transport veterans to and from medical appointments.

The free service is being managed by the Reston-based Dulles Airport Transportation Association and its longtime partner NV Rides, a network of volunteer driver programs housed at the nonprofit Pozez Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia.

With the initiative, the organizations hope to address one of the many issues that veterans face when seeking health care, exemplified by the cancellation of millions of medical appointments at Veterans Affairs medical facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although virtual visits have surged and vaccinations are rising, medical needs persist.

“The program hopes to harness the power of the special bonds that exist between the men and women who’ve selflessly served our country,” a press release announcing the launch says.

DATA and NV Rides were already collaborating to give veterans rides through their existing Veterans Connect program. This expansion is specifically dedicated to serving elderly veterans and those with disabilities.

Targeted toward veterans in Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William counties, the program is currently recruiting additional volunteer drivers, who can be veterans or other community members. Drivers utilize their own vehicles.

Interested individuals can visit the Veterans Connect Facebook page or contact Luke Frazza at [email protected] or 703-819-3459, and Karla Nativi at [email protected] or 571-455-2836 to volunteer or learn more.

“While veterans have long stepped up to support their brothers and sisters in arms, elderly veterans have told us they are more likely to take advantage of a volunteer ride provided by someone with whom they have literally or even figuratively shared a foxhole,” the press release said.

Before the pandemic, the NV Rides network provided about 1,100 rides per month to non-driving adults 55 and older, primarily in Fairfax and Loudoun counties, according to the group.

With stay-at-home orders last year, ridership declined by 60%, but partners continued to provide ride services to the most critical medical care appointments. Over the past year, ridership has bounced back, with the network providing over 1,500 rides last month, the organization says.

“We think this veteran-specific expansion of our NV Rides program will underscore our belief that our network provides ‘More than just a ride,'” NV Rides Manager Jennifer Kanarek said in a statement. “…Stories of joyful moments between volunteers and passengers are far more often the rule than the exception.”

Researchers have found that transportation can be a major barrier to accessing health care, a concern that has persisted in Fairfax County’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout.

The county is now offering a free weekend shuttle to and from its vaccine clinic on Route 1 in Alexandria. Other available transportation options include free taxi rides and rides for people 55 and older from the Shepherd’s Center.

In addition to the Veterans Connect program, DATA has also partnered with the nonprofit Northern Virginia Veterans Association to provide free rides to veterans for COVID-19 vaccine appointments, WDVM reported in May. That effort is being funded by an $80,000 grant from the Federal Transit Administration.

“The feedback we’ve received from local veteran service organizations has been nothing but positive,” Veterans Connect Mobility Manager Luke Frazza said in a statement. “Support for the project has transcended those who served however, and garnered praise from across our community.”

General Assembly to Hold Special Session in August — “Governor Ralph Northam today [Wednesday] issued a proclamation calling the members of the General Assembly into special session on Monday, August 2. A special session is necessary to fill judicial vacancies and allocate more than $4.3 billion in federal relief funding.” [Office of the Governor]

TJ Admissions Changes Result in Increased Diversity — The Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology Class of 2025 will include more Black and Hispanic students, more girls, and more economically disadvantaged students than past years, according to Fairfax County Public Schools data. This is the first cohort to be admitted under a new admissions system that ditched the magnet school’s usual admissions test and $100 application fee. [The Washington Post]

Herndon Office Building Sold — The investment company Boyd Watterson Asset Management has purchased a 160,000 square-foot office building at 13651 McLearen Road for $48 million. The McLearen Center is in the same complex as the Transportation Security Administration’s Freedom Center and Nysmith School, and it counts Boeing as a long-term tenant, though the lease is set to expire in May 2022. [Washington Business Journal]

Reston Contractor Reports Medicaid Data Breach — Maximus Corp., a government health data services provider based in Reston, says a data breach that occurred between May 17 and 19 exposed the personal information of more than 334,000 Medicaid healthcare providers nationwide. The incident did not affect information about patients or Medicaid beneficiaries, according to the company. [Information Security Media Group]

Irish Rock Band Joins Arrowbrook Concert Lineup — The D.C.-based Irish rock band Scythian will perform at Arrowbrooke Centre Park in Herndon on July 17 as part of Fairfax County’s Music at Arrowbrook Centre concert series, one of several free summer concert series organized by the county park authority. [Fairfax County Park Authority]

Photo via vantagehill/Flickr

Designs for the $3.5 million renovation of Lake Thoreau pool were approved by the Reston Association Design Review Board last night (June 22), keeping the project on track for construction in the fall.

The board ratified several key design elements, including a re-working of the roof, ADA access with a ramp into the main pool, a repositioning of the spa away from the bathhouses, and a redesign of the overlook deck.

Since these plans were last brought to the design review board in March, RA staff had tweaked the roof, spa location, and additional seating for the zero-depth pool area. The update also further extended the ADA ramp into the pool, reduced the size of the overlook area, and limited the profiles of the walkways going down towards the lake.

Overall, the revised plans were met with approval and enthusiasm from the design review board.

A substantial portion of the discussion was around the roof line and architecture of the new pool house. The concept that was agreed upon — called concept 2a — included vertical columns, which are mostly for aesthetics.

“[It] has a little more architectural detail than the other ones, which are more simple overhangs,” said Michael Wood, architect and Design Review Board member. “Our pool houses are all unique at all of our pools. So, to me, that’s a good stance.”

RA Director of Capital Projects Chris Schumaker said that staff is “continuing to refine” the pool house’s interior layout to accommodate storage and provide better accessibility to patrons.

“We tweaked the front office to provide a more welcoming entryway,” Schumaker said.

There are also plans for a pollinator garden, “artistic” birdhouses, and public art.

“We are working with the public art community right now…to come up with some request for proposals,” Schumaker said.

Now that the plan has passed the design review board, the next step is to get the RA Board of Directors’ approval. Then, RA plans to hire a contractor that will provide its own insight and expertise before sending the designs to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.

RA hopes to get a contractor approved by the RA Board by August or September, but the multi-million dollar pool renovation has hit several recent roadblocks, including soaring material costs and a lack of contractor availability.

The project’s cost has also been a sore spot ever since it began last year.

Nonetheless, with this approval, construction could still potentially start in October or November, with completion anticipated in the fall of 2022 and a grand reopening at the beginning of the 2023 pool season.

The Reston Community Center wants residents to share their leisure and recreational needs as well as their thoughts on social and racial equity in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

After the pandemic temporarily stalled the effort, RCC launched a six-question survey on June 10 to get public input on its 2021-2026 strategic plan, which will guide the organization’s approach to funding and programming over the next five years.

RCC previously commissioned the University of Virginia to conduct a community survey in 2019. The goal of that survey was to gauge how people used the community center’s activities and facilities, along with their opinions on the possibility of a new Reston performing arts venue.

This new online survey will serve as a “kind of temperature check” on whether the issues identified in the 2019 survey “had been dramatically altered in any ways” by the pandemic, according to Reston Community Center executive director Leila Gordon.

RCC also plans to convene focus groups this summer to help craft the new strategic plan.

According to Gordon, the RCC Governing Board initially planned to meet in January to determine the core “pillars” of the strategic plan, but with Fairfax County seeing high COVID-19 transmission rates at the time, those discussions were postponed until April.

The board ultimately settled on six main themes for the strategic plan: facilities, equity, programs and services; community connections, communications, and stewardship and accreditation.

“Its goals and objectives will help us allocate resources, assess opportunities, establish priorities and hold ourselves accountable,” Gordon said.

One of the questions in the survey addresses social and racial equity issues in the community, asking, “How do you think RCC can help Reston continue to be a welcoming, inclusive and accessible place to live, work, learn and play?”

Gordon says RCC approaches social and racial equity from a variety of angles, from programs that deal with racism and related issues to an emphasis on diversity when it comes to hiring staff.

However, former police officer Derek Chauvin’s murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020 and the nationwide protests for racial justice that followed that summer served as a reminder that more work needs to be done.

“RCC has had programming focusing on racial and social equity for several years as an outgrowth of our long-time commitment to meaningful celebration of the King holiday, as well as honoring the values established by [Reston founder] Bob Simon at the outset of Reston’s creation,” Gordon said in an email. “With the response to the murder of George Floyd, it was clear that this journey for the community, county and country is far from over.”

After the survey closes on July 16, RCC will hold focus group meetings, which will include translation services for people the survey was unable to reach, to get feedback on the identified themes the survey discusses. A follow-up presentation from the University of Virginia will take place July 26.

Staff will draft the strategic plan and finalize it with the community center’s board in September, when the public will be able to weigh in on the plan itself.

The final plan is slated to be approved at the board’s Oct. 4 meeting.

Photo via Reston Community Center/Facebook

Live theater is slowly but surely making its way back to the D.C. area.

While the demands of a theatrical production schedule mean that full-scale, Broadway-style shows like those promised by the Kennedy Center can’t be expected until the fall, some theaters have managed to return to physical stages by turning to more stripped-down works that take advantage of the limitations placed on audience capacities.

Among the organizations taking that plunge is Herndon’s NextStop Theatre Company, which will perform a play on stage in front of a live audience later this week for the first time since the venue closed on March 12, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Premiering at 8 p.m. on Friday (June 25), “White Rabbit Red Rabbit” is artistically bold but carries minimal risk from a public health standpoint. Each show features a single actor and will have no more than 30 people seated in the audience.

“Obviously, the decision to return to in person performances was not taken lightly,” NextStop Producing Artistic Director Evan Hoffmann said. “We felt that limiting our audience size from over 100 to just 30 was a good first step that allowed us to proceed, while also being extra careful. We are hopeful that this will be a launching pad for much bigger things in the near future.”

Here is NextStop’s description of “White Rabbit Red Rabbit,” which has been performed around the world in more than 25 languages:

No set. No director. A different actor each night.

Described by The New York Times as a “playful, enigmatic and haunting show,” White Rabbit Red Rabbit is the international hit by Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour. Unable to leave Iran, Soleimanpour tours the world through his words with this unique theatrical experience. Receiving the script in a sealed envelope for the first time onstage, the actor and audience embark on a surprising journey where anything can happen. Veteran NextStop actors will tackle this daring and unexpected comedy that will be unlike anything you’ve experienced before.

Hoffman confirmed that this will be NextStop’s first production inside its theater at 269 Sunset Park Drive, but the company found a variety of ways to stay busy and continue utilizing that space over the past 16 months.

In addition to offering small educational classes last summer, the theater opened for private movie screenings in September, and the company started putting on concerts in the parking lot outside later that month.

NextStop returned to the world of theater on April 30 with the online musical “First Date,” which was filmed on stage and at various locations around Herndon.

The company has scheduled eight performances of “White Rabbit Red Rabbit,” each led by a different actor, concluding with Elena Velasco on July 17. The premiere will star Curtis McNeil, who was previously featured in “The Mountaintop.”

Tickets are now available through NextStop’s website for $25.

While a large percentage of Fairfax County residents have received their COVID-19 vaccine, there are still ongoing efforts to help — and convince — those who have not yet gotten the vaccine.

Nearly three quarters — 73.7% to be exact — of all Fairfax County Health District residents over the age of 18 have had at least their first shot, which is actually above Virginia as a whole.

About 65% of residents are considered fully vaccinated, meaning at least two weeks have passed since they received their final shot.

However, those statistics do not take in account those who got their vaccine through federal sources, such as the defense and veterans’ affairs departments, notes Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay.

“We remain committed to making vaccine as easily as possible to obtain for those in our community who want it,” he wrote in a statement.

While the days of supply scarcity long gone, some people still remain reluctant or hesitant to get vaccinated for a variety of reasons.

About 7.5% of county residents answered that they were “unsure,” “probably not,” or “definitely not” going to get a COVID-19 vaccine, according to a federal survey distributed in late May and early June.

To help address hesitancy, public officials and businesses have developed several incentive programs, like free baseball tickets and Krispy Kreme donuts, though Virginia is not offering cash or lottery incentives like other states.

Now that a majority of county residents are vaccinated overall, McKay says the county’s goal is to vaccinate at least 70% of adults in every neighborhood, and it has turned to a variety of methods, from a regional, multimedia awareness campaign to partnerships with local businesses and nonprofits, in its effort to hit that target.

“Community partners continue to offer up space for vaccination clinic sites, with community leaders urging the importance of getting vaccinated,” McKay said. “I have always said that we would only get through the COVID-19 pandemic together and am proud that our Fairfax County community continues to get us closer to that goal.”

For many residents, getting vaccinated is more a question of access than desire.

In recent months, the county and state health departments have set up several community vaccine centers, including one in an abandoned Lord & Taylor, and equity clinics. The county is even offering free transportation to some via the Fairfax Connector. Fairfax County Public Schools also hosted a series of vaccine clinics over several weeks.

Child care can be another barrier to access, so a number of companies are offering free child care to those getting the vaccine or recovering from it.

In total, the Fairfax County Health Department says it has held 307 vaccine equity clinics since February with an additional 23 clinics scheduled for the remainder of this month.

Mobile clinics are also still occuring and ongoing in partnership with George Mason University’s Mason and Partners mobile vaccination unit.

However, some clinics and access points are shutting down in the coming weeks as the vaccine becomes more widely available. For example, the Tysons mass vaccination site is slated to close on Saturday (June 26) and the FCPS clinics ended on June 10.

“Our outreach team and community health workers continue to work with community partners to provide vaccine education, identify potential vaccination clinic sites and help residents navigate the vaccination process,” an FCHD official wrote. “While the Tysons Community Vaccination Center is closing June 26, the Government Center remains open and will continue to offer walk-in service.”

The spokesperson also highlighted that vaccine supplies remain high and available through a number of expanding options, including private health care providers, pharmacies, and grocery stores.

Of course, getting the remaining portion of the population vaccinated isn’t only a county challenge, but a nationwide one as well.

Just today (Tuesday), U.S. officials admitted that the country is not going to hit the White House-stated goal of at least 70% of American adults having received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Fundraiser Launched for Family of Homicide Victims — “A family member of the mother and two children killed over the weekend in Herndon has launched a GoFundMe campaign to pay for funeral expenses…As of 1 p.m. on Tuesday, the campaign had raised more than $3,600 toward its goal of $30,000.” [Patch]

Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art Reopens Gallery — “We are pleased to announce that Tephra ICA at Signature, our satellite gallery space highlighting work by local and regional artists, has reopened for visitors. The gallery is located at the Signature apartment building in Reston, VA, and visitors are welcome Tuesday-Saturday, 11am-5pm.” [Tephra ICA]

Leidos Lights Up HQ for Pride Month — Leidos will light up its headquarters building at Reston Town Center in rainbow colors today “as a tribute to PRIDE Month and the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots,” the information technology contractor says. This is the second year that the company has put on the display, which will run around the clock through June 30. [Leidos]

Nearby: Person Arrested at Loudoun County School Board Meeting — “The Loudoun County School Board shut down a public meeting Tuesday on a new policy involving transgender students after people at the meeting reportedly started speaking over public commenters and refused to cooperate. One person was arrested and there was at least one person injured, authorities say.” [NBC4]

Photo via vantagehill/Flickr

Fairfax County’s once-a-decade redistricting process took a significant step forward this morning (Tuesday), as the Board of Supervisors approved appointees to a committee that will be responsible for recommending new district boundaries.

The 20-person Redistricting Advisory Committee consists of one resident representative from each of the county’s nine magisterial districts as well as three at-large members.

The county board made a conscious effort to appoint individuals from a variety of backgrounds, including people from the local African American, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Arab-American communities, according to the news release.

“Redistricting must be done fairly and in a way that ensures transparency and fair representation of the diversity of Fairfax County,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said in a statement. “This is a community-led process, and I am confident the committee will develop fair and equal districts and everyone will have the same access to representation.”

Like other localities, Fairfax County is required by Virginia law to reexamine its electoral district boundaries every 10 years to ensure that each district has roughly the same number of people, with adjustments based on how the population has changed.

Because redistricting is tied to U.S. Census data, whose delivery has been delayed this year, the RAC won’t be able to start its work until Aug. 30. The committee is scheduled to deliver a report with its proposed district boundaries on Oct. 19, though it will ultimately be up to the Board of Supervisors to adopt a new plan on Dec. 7.

The county says members of the general public will be encouraged to provide input on the new district maps, including through an online portal that will allow residents to draw their own maps.

“Public input will be key to the committee’s efforts,” the county said. “Residents are encouraged to submit their own plans and provide feedback, revisions and comments on the committee’s or other’s proposed plans.”

The Hunter Mill District, which includes Reston, will be represented on the committee by Richard Chew, the Hunter Mill District chair for the Fairfax County Democratic Committee. He is one of seven FCDC members appointed to the RAC.

The full list of appointees, information about the redistricting schedule, and an overview of the legal criteria and policies guiding the process can be found on the county website.