Fairfax County police and a local supervisor are asking residents to slow down and be more careful, especially at two Reston crosswalks often used by pedestrians and bicyclists.
In a new traffic safety campaign, the Fairfax County Police Department and Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn are bringing attention to the crosswalk at Glade Drive and Charthouse Circle in South Reston as well as the crosswalk at New Dominion Parkway and Fountain Drive near Reston Town Center.
Alcorn noted in videos shot for the campaign that his office have received “many complaints” about speeding on these particular roads.
Pfc. Katy Defoe, a crime prevention officer at the Reston District Station, confirms to Reston Now that they have also received a number of complaints from neighbors about not only speed, but also several other safety issues.
At the Glade Drive and Charthouse Circle intersection, Defoe says complaints are often related to people driving their cars too fast while also not stopping at the crosswalk. A new law that went into effect about a year ago now requires drivers to fully stop their vehicles, as opposed to yielding, at all crosswalks.
The crosswalk at New Dominion Parkway and Fountain Drive is often busy with pedestrians making their way to Reston Town Center. However, that hasn’t stopped drivers from speeding along those roads which can make it harder to stop. Additionally, pedestrians and bicyclists often note that the crosswalk light is too short, Defoe says.
Pedestrian and bicyclist safety has continued to be a major issue in Reston and Fairfax County. Last month, the county’s planning commission called on the county, state, and Metro to improve pedestrian and bicycle access at transit stations.
In recent years, there have also been repeated incidents of pedestrians being struck by fast-moving vehicles — sometimes fatally.
There have already been seven pedestrian and two bicyclist fatalities in the county this year, according to statistics provided by the FCPD.
Officials fear that these incidents could become more frequent as the warm weather and eased public health restrictions bring more people will be outside.
“During the summer months, you can expect to see an increase in pedestrians, bicycles, and vehicles sharing the road to enjoy our community’s amenities,” Captain Thea Pirnat, commander of the Reston District Police Station, wrote in Alcorn’s latest newsletter promoting the safety campaign. “Please pay attention to your surroundings, follow all the rules of the road, and arrive at your destination happy and safe.”
Alcorn, in the videos, asks drivers to pay attention to speed limits and to give themselves enough to get to the destination.
“I struggle with this myself, but it is important,” Alcorn added.
Distracted driving is also an issue that Alcorn addresses in the videos. A state law barring drivers from holding mobile devices while on the road went into effect at the beginning of this year. As of early April, FCPD had given out more than 415 tickets in violation of this new law.
He also asks pedestrians and bicyclists to remove earbuds or headphones in order to remain alert and to cross at crosswalks whenever possible.
Alcorn notes in the newsletter that he’s working with the state and county transportation departments to improve infrastructure. Additionally, the Board of Supervisors is developing a countywide Active Fairfax transportation plan that combines the county’s existing bicycle master plan and trails plan.
via Google Maps
Police Investigate Offensive KKK Flyers — Bigotry-filled flyers aimed at the Fairfax County School Board were found earlier this week in the Springfield and Sully Districts, apparently distributed by the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. School board members and local leaders, including Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay and the president of the county’s NAACP chapter, denounced the flyers, which are under investigation by county police and the FBI. [Patch]
Carjacking Reported in Reston Town Center — A man with a gun told a person in the passenger seat of a 2004 Toyota Corolla to get out and drove away in the car. The incident occurred at 5:25 a.m. on June 12 in the 1800 block of Presidents Street. The victim was not injured, police say. [FCPD]
A History of Slavery in Herndon — Ahead of Juneteenth, which commemorates the abolition of slavery in the U.S., Herndon Historical Society member Barbara Glakas delves into the lives of some past Herndon residents known to have held slaves. She notes that information about individual enslaved people is difficult to find due to the limited availability of written records. [Patch]
Reston Station Releases Showcase Video — Reston Station released a video yesterday (Thursday) showcasing the vision for the mixed-use development by the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station. The video breaks the area up into the Metro Plaza District, the Reston Row District that will be anchored by a JW Marriott hotel, the health-oriented West District, and the office-heavy Commerce District. [Reston Station/Facebook]
D.C. Area Sees More Hunger During Pandemic — “More families in Virginia and Maryland, and significantly more Latino families, were pushed into food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report on hunger in the D.C. area, which a nonprofit official called a ‘dramatic shift in the face of hunger.'” [WTOP]
Photo via vantagehill/Flickr
(Updated at 3:35 p.m.) For the second year in a row, Fairfax County will observe Juneteenth as an official county holiday.
The county and Virginia first recognized the occasion as a paid holiday in 2020, and the General Assembly unanimously passed legislation making the holiday permanent in October. Juneteenth will be a federal holiday for the first time this year after Congress approved a bill earlier this week.
Juneteenth falls on June 19 every year to mark the anniversary of the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned that the U.S. Civil War had ended and that the Emancipation Proclamation had abolished slavery almost two years earlier.
Because June 19 is a Saturday, Fairfax County will instead close government offices and give most employees a day off tomorrow (Friday). Closures include health department COVID-19 vaccination clinics, the circuit and general district courts, and Fairfax County Public Library, which will also be closed on Saturday.
The Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services says there will be no change in its trash and recycling collection services, but county residents who utilize private collectors should contact their hauler directly to find out their hours.
DPWES offices will be closed tomorrow before reopening at 7:30 a.m. on Monday (June 21). The I-66 Transfer Station at 4618 West Ox Road and the I-95 Landfill Complex at 9850 Furnace Road will both be open tomorrow.
Reston Community Center is observing Juneteenth, but the Hunters Woods and Lake Anne facilities will both be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Most Fairfax County Park Authority facilities will remain open with the exception of the Green Spring Gardens historic house in Alexandria and the visitor center for Frying Pan Farm Park in Herndon.
As part of a series of commemorative activities organized by the park authority, Frying Pan will host a Juneteenth celebration from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday with crafts, food vendors, and a talk by author Dr. Kelley Fanto Deetz, who will discuss her book “Bound to the Fire: How Virginia’s Enslaved Cooks Helped Invent American Cuisine.”
According to the Friends of Frying Pan Farm Park, the park is currently looking for volunteers to help direct parking during the event. There are eight open spots for a shift from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Volunteers must be at least 16 years old and will be provided with training and safety equipment.
Fairfax County’s celebration will also include its inaugural Juneteenth Resiliency Award to recognize people between the ages of 13 and 21 “who have exhibited true perseverance to strive towards meaningful contributions and outcomes in their lives and/or the lives of others in the Black community,” according the county news release.
The 10 award recipients will be announced during a ceremony at 7 p.m. on Saturday that will also feature remarks from Fairfax County Executive Bryan Hill, Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay, and Lee District Supervisor Rodney Lusk. The ceremony will air live on TV and online through Channel 16.
While all of its branches will be closed, Fairfax County Public Library has compiled a reading list and other educational resources for anyone interested in learning more about Juneteenth.
Photo via Fairfax County Park Authority
A former Oakton High School student will get another day in court after a three-judge panel ordered a new trial in her lawsuit against the Fairfax County School Board over school officials’ handling of a sexual assault report in 2017.
In an opinion released yesterday (Wednesday), Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Judges James Wynn Jr. and Stephanie Thacker reversed a judgment rendered by a jury in 2019 and sent the case back to the U.S. District Court for a new trial, stating that the lower court incorrectly defined the legal standard to determine whether officials knew about the reported assault.
“We hold that a school’s receipt of a report that can objectively be taken to allege sexual harassment is sufficient to establish actual notice or knowledge under Title IX — regardless of whether school officials subjectively understood the report to allege sexual harassment or whether they believed the alleged harassment actually occurred,” Wynn wrote in the majority opinion.
A third judge on the panel, Judge Paul Niemeyer, wrote a dissenting opinion that Fairfax County Public Schools is not liable under Title IX — the federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education — because its conduct was not so indifferent that it caused or amounted to discrimination.
Identified in court documents as Jane Doe, the plaintiff argued in a complaint filed against the school board in 2018 that FCPS administrators and employees did not meaningfully and appropriately respond to her report that a fellow student sexually assaulted her during a school band trip.
A junior at the time, Doe said she “struggled academically, emotionally, and physically” as a result of the experience, alleging that school officials suggested she might be disciplined for the incident and did not inform her parents about her report or the result of the subsequent investigation, according to Public Justice, the nonprofit representing her.
A jury in Alexandria determined in August 2019 that Doe had been assaulted and that the experience affected her education, but they found that the school board could not be held liable because it didn’t have “actual knowledge” of the assault, a term some jury members later said they found confusing.
That confusion became the basis for Doe’s appeal of the ruling, which came before the appeals court for oral arguments in January.
“I’m so grateful that the Fourth Circuit is sending my case back for a new trial, and recognized that Fairfax’s legal arguments would lead to ‘absurd results’ for student survivors like me,” Doe said in a statement provided by Public Justice. “It means a lot to me that the appeals court’s strong opinion will protect other survivors. Every student deserves to feel safe in school.”
An FCPS spokesperson said yesterday that the school system “respects the court’s decision” and was in the process of reviewing the opinions.
Public Justice attorney Alexandra Brodsky, who delivered the plaintiff’s arguments before the Fourth Circuit, said in a statement that the appeals court’s ruling makes clear “ignorance is no defense to violating students’ rights.”
“FCPS’s behavior — dismissing a student’s report of sexual assault out of hand — is too common among school districts across the country,” Brodsky said. “The Fourth Circuit’s ruling in Jane Doe’s case should serve as a warning that all schools must train staff to recognize and address sexual harassment.”
With federal money that gives low-income households a discount on internet service set to run out this year, Fairfax County leaders and staff are looking at ways to ensure people get access to broadband internet, which they’ve likened to a utility like electricity or water.
A staff report presented to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors’ information technology committee on Tuesday (June 15) found that there are significant disparities in internet access among homes in the county due to infrastructure and affordability.
While different county representatives — from the school system to the Department of Family Services — were collaborating prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, they started looking more intently at equity issues during the pandemic, as technology needs hit a crescendo between students attending school from home and job seekers looking for work.
“Many of us saw at the outset how difficult it was for community members to work from home or for their children to be educated from home — whether or not they had the technology available, if they had strong enough internet connectivity, if they had space in their own homes to do this, or if they were trying to locate wireless within the community and do all of this from their own cars,” Fairfax County Public Library Director Jessica Hudson said.
Some zip codes are more affected by this lack of connectivity than others.
According to an analysis presented by the county, an estimated 4.2% of households in the county have no broadband internet access, but that number jumps up to 20.8% in the zip code 22044 and 18.8% in zip code 22041, both neighborhoods in the Seven Corners area of Falls Church.
The county estimates that 10.7% of households in north Reston (zip code 20190) are without broadband internet, along with 6.2% of Herndon residents (zip code 20170).
The gaps in connectivity are concentrated in areas with many people of color and lower-income households, Fairfax County Chief Equity Officer Karla Bruce said on Tuesday.
The Federal Communications Commission internet discount, known as the Emergency Broadband Benefit or EBB, helps lower-income households get a $50 discount each month for broadband service, among other benefits.
Officials are continuing to share information about the program, providing outreach in multiple languages and partnering with nonprofits and other community organizations.
You can still get the discount even if you have another benefit called Lifeline, which provides a $9.25 monthly discount indefinitely, Hudson said.
But the $3.2 billion fund set up to provide the EBB benefits nationwide is expected to run out this year, possibly around Thanksgiving, according to Hudson.
Among the county’s efforts to improve access, the library system offers Chromebooks that people can check out for two weeks at a time, along with extended exterior WiFi access outside buildings (except in parking garages) from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
In addition, Neighborhood and Community Services is conducting a countywide analysis of Wi-Fi access, and the Department of Housing and Community Development and Redevelopment and Housing Authority are conducting a site analysis to address connectivity barriers, according to the county presentation.
“All of these community agencies are trying their hardest to find ways to connect with residents and make sure that they have appropriate technology, digital literacy skills, and access points,” Hudson said.
County supervisors asked for more information to target areas in need as part of the county’s efforts to help overcome access issues.
Photo via Corinne Kutz/Unsplash
A couple of days a week, Mary Achi gets up around three in the morning to bake tartes, baguettes, croissants, and other assorted pastries.
She’s the baker and owner of the French-inspired cafe and bakery Le Vingt-Trois that opened at the end of February at 311 Sunset Park Drive in Herndon.
“I’m an interior designer…and I renovated the whole place,” Achi told Reston Now. “Baking [has been] my hobby since a very young age. I merged these two things together and created my dream.”
Everything is baked in-house, and all the recipes are her own, from the sandwiches to the croissants to the tartes. A lot of the freshly-baked goodies can be found on the cafe’s Instagram.
“I’ve always loved French food,” Achi said. “I think it’s a very classical food, very simple but tasty at the same time.”
She’s completely self-taught, she says, and often had her husband try her new recipes.
“I tested all the food on my husband. He’s gained weight because of me,” Achi said, laughing.
The bakery’s name is also connected to Achi’s relationship with her spouse. “Le Vingt-Trois” translates to “The Twenty-Three” in French.
“That’s me and my husband’s lucky number,” she said.
Achi is from Australia but moved to Herndon in September. She had visited the town often because her husband’s family lives here, and Herndon’s charm drew her in.
“Every time I came here, I just fell in love more and more with this area and all of Virginia,” she said. “The people are very nice and supportive. That’s why I love it here.”
Le Vingt-Trois opened in the late winter, when COVID-19 restrictions were still in effect.
While it was a risky move, business has been going “pretty well.” Achi anticipates it will tick up even further with the bakery opening on Saturdays starting this week.
Achi says people thought she was “crazy” for opening during the pandemic, but now, with vaccinations on the rise and restrictions relaxed, both customers and even other businesses are thanking her.
“Once I opened, people started coming to thank me…for helping things get back to normal,” Achi said. “Also, other businesses that closed during the pandemic thanked me because I influenced them to reopen again.”
The cafe is open 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., serving breakfast, brunch, lunch, and afternoon coffee.
When coming in for the first time, Achi recommends a few menu items but highly vouches for one in particular.
“Our apricot tarte is the top seller. Also, croissants and the chicken avocado sandwich [sell] well,” she said. “But the Jambon Beurre is to die for.”
While the days can be very early and the work hard, for Achi, it’s all a hundred percent worth it.
“I’ve always dreamed of opening my own cafe and having it where people can sit down, chat, listen to very calm music, and feel relaxed,” Achi said. “And sell my own recipes….this is that exactly.”
Photo via Le Vingt-Trois Cafe & Bakery/Instagram
Amazon Partners with Metro on Affordable Housing — Amazon will devote $125 million to fund the construction of 1,000 new affordable housing units on land owned by Metro or near Metro stations. The initiative is intended to help bring more low and middle-income residents closer to public transit and job centers, but it will be up to developers to apply for the funds. [The Washington Post]
County Brings COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic to Reston — The North County Governmental Center (1801 Cameron Glen Dr.) will host a COVID-19 vaccine clinic today from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be provided, which has been authorized for adults 18 and older, and walk-in appointments are available. [Hunter Mill District News]
Georgetown Pike Bridge Closes Tomorrow — Georgetown Pike over Difficult Run will be closed to traffic between Old Dominion Drive and Towlston Road in Great Falls from 8 p.m. Friday (June 18) to 4 a.m. on Monday (June 21). The closure will enable crews to make bridge repairs, which will involve some overnight noise from concrete demolition and other construction activities. [VDOT]
Reston Association Yard Sale Returns — The 80 Family community yard sale is coming back on Saturday (June 19) after missing last year due to COVID-19 health restrictions. Scheduled for 8:30 a.m. to noon in the RA parking lot (12001 Sunrise Valley Dr.), the event will include a Kona Ice truck selling shaved ice and a Purple Heart collection truck that will accept donations of unsold items. [Patch]
Reston Software Company Launches Second Year of Scholarship Program — The Ellucian Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the recently acquired company Ellucian, will accept applications for its PATH Scholarship Program until July 14. The program gives higher education institutions block grants of up to $25,000 “to support students facing economic hardship and educational disruptions.” [Ellucian]
Photo via vantagehill/Flickr
Fairfax County is slated to send additional funding to businesses that suffered the most during the COVID-19 pandemic, but a Black nonprofit says more can be done.
The Northern Virginia Black Chamber of Commerce has repeatedly been neglected in the development of major business grant programs connected to Fairfax County, the nonprofit’s executive director Sheila Dixon says.
“I would have thought we would have had the opportunity to be at the table,” she said.
The county says it’s committed to working with more than 55 chambers, including minority chambers, multicultural groups, and other community and business support groups in multiple languages with its most recent financial assistance initiative.
A working group of local minority business owners is also trying to make changes and build bridges. A webinar co-hosted by the Community Foundation of Northern Virginia on June 23 seeks to address the needs of minority-owned businesses and how they can be helped.
The group has reached some conclusions and recommendations about equitable recovery across the region and is sharing data, according to the event description. Georgetown University adjunct professor Melissa Bradley, who also co-founded a business mentoring service called Ureeka, is the keynote speaker.
The county has noted these kinds of inequities. A consultant report for the county completed in January detailed how low-income and minority households faced greater difficulties in the workforce, along with women, who have been held back by affordable child care challenges.
Those findings came from working with businesses and a roundtable of minority chambers. The Northern Virginia Black Chamber of Commerce was invited to give input and was also asked to participate in a survey about impacts and recovery, according to the county.
Fairfax County’s Relief Initiative to Support Employers (RISE) program, which gave grants to small businesses and nonprofits, dedicated at least 30% of funding to businesses owned by women, minorities, or veterans. Those businesses ended up with 72% of the approximately $53 million of RISE funding, according to the county.
“We are building on and expanding those efforts,” county spokesperson Wendy Lemieux said in an email, adding that the county is committed to extensive outreach with businesses, particularly ones owned by women and people of color affected by the pandemic.
Unlike the RISE program, the county’s new PIVOT grant program didn’t include any provisions explicitly dedicating funds to often marginalized groups when the Board of Supervisors passed it last week.
Meanwhile, the Black chamber of commerce has shared the PIVOT grant information, but it’s also continuing its own initiatives to help businesses recover from the economic effects of COVID-19.
The organization recently launched an outreach called BTRNow (Build Thriving Returns Now) that provided an online workshop for kid entrepreneurs this spring, held a “Caring through COVID” panel discussion on Monday (June 14), and is currently carrying out a listening tour, among other programming.
Dixon says a lot of the chamber’s members have pivoted amid the pandemic and have been thriving.
But she also noted that there can be disparities, and various Black businesses might be reluctant to apply for resources if they’re skeptical that the support will materialize, even if race is considered as a factor in applications.
“It will be interesting to see if people feel more comfortable,” Dixon said. “We are building up and scaling up our businesses and providing them with the education and the resources that are available within the community.”
Photo via Nathan Dumlao/Unsplash
Three individuals stole cash from people in a car last night (June 15) at the 2200 block of Winterthur Court, approximately the same location as a fatal shooting in March.
According to the Fairfax County Police Department, three people ranging in ages from 20 to 37 years old approached the victims’ car near the Hunters Woods area around 11:04 p.m. and demanded money. One person entered the car and took cash before all three people ran away.
Officers found the three individuals, all of them Reston residents, in an adjacent neighborhood with the assistance of a police helicopter, FCPD confirms to Reston Now. They were detained and charged with robbery.
The 2200 block of Winterthur Court is the same location as where Santos Antonio Trejo Lemus, 40, of Reston, was shot and killed in March while walking near his home. Police have yet to identify the man who shot Lemus beyond saying that the person was male.
FCPD has offered a cash reward of $2,000 for tips and information related to the homicide.
The FCPD says it does not have any new information to release at the moment about the murder, and the department is still asking anyone who has information to call police or submit tips anonymously.
A reader who alerted Reston Now about last night’s police activity said that they were driving up Reston Parkway at around 11:20 p.m. when they saw parked police cars with their lights flashing at several intersections, including Glade Drive, South Lakes Drive, and Colts Neck Road.
They also noted that a helicopter was circling overhead in the Hunters Woods and Reston National Golf Course areas.
If you’re passing a cyclist or group of riders in a vehicle, you’ll soon have to change lanes a lot more.
A new law going into effect July 1 will require drivers to switch lanes if they can’t maintain three feet of distance when passing cyclists.
The Fairfax County Police Department says this means motorists may have to cross double yellow lines, imploring people to “share the road.” Police told Reston Now that they hope people will abide by the new legislation and help keep everyone safe on roadways.
“I think it’s going to be huge in the long run,” Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling President Bruce Wright said Monday while stopping during a bicycle ride on the Washington & Old Dominion Trail. He acknowledged that the change may require some education.
Wright says the new law means that vehicles will generally need to shift lanes, because lanes in the state are typically 11 or 12 feet wide.
“In effect, almost every lane in Virginia will require a motorist to safely pass,” he said.
The state law was adopted in February after General Assembly legislators removed a provision that would have allowed cyclists to treat stop signs like a yield sign.
Some states, including Delaware, allow the so-called “Idaho stop” for bicycle riders. Like Virginia, Washington, D.C., considered the stop-as-yield measure but also declined to adopt it.
The new law also ends a requirement for cyclists to file into a single lane when being passed.
Tensions between cyclists and drivers played out on the county police department’s Facebook post about the issue. Several people noted cyclists should obey traffic laws, too.
Wright says those online arguments between cyclists and drivers are similar to honking as well as dangerous behaviors on the road.
“There’s so much animosity, and it’s aggressive,” Wright said.
Some people on social media questioned whether double yellow lines should ever be crossed.
Current law already allows drivers to cross double yellow lines when passing others, including cyclists, skateboarders, and scooters. Another provision involves giving enough distance to mopeds, animal-drawn vehicles, and more when drivers pass them.
Pedestrian and bicycle safety is a persistent concern in Fairfax County, where seven pedestrians and two cyclists have died in car crashes so far this year. Whether these new laws help alleviate those issues remains to be seen.
(Updated, 12:20 p.m.) The Fairfax County Government Center, where county policy is created and official functions take place, is an imposing, modern-looking building. Above the main doors is the county seal: a royal-looking crest with lions, a horse, and the date “1742.”
Unlike the building, the seal is of a different time. Adopted seven decades ago, it bears a version of the coat of arms belonging to Thomas Fairfax, the sixth Lord Fairfax and a slaveholding British loyalist who once owned much of the land that makes up Fairfax County today.
As neighboring counties and cities reexamine their logos and symbols, it seems like only a matter of time before Fairfax County faces its own questions.
When asked if there’s been discussion about further research into the county logo, representatives of the Fairfax County History Commission said it’s not on the agenda or a priority right now.
The commission is currently undertaking an inventory of local African American history after completing one about Confederate names on public places.
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay wrote in a statement to Reston Now that officials are listening to the community but have yet to hear about any issues with the county seal.
America was unfortunately built in part through the oppression of people of color. We cannot separate this history from Fairfax County, but we can listen to the community on what symbols are continuing to create divisiveness and inequity. Symbols of the Confederacy, for example, do not speak to the County’s values today, so we are working to remove these through the proper processes. Currently, there are ongoing efforts to change road names as well as other Confederate symbols and the Board previously took action to remove the monument of John Quincy Marr from the courthouse. We have not heard from our community members that these same messages are felt from the County seal. We continue to invest significant resources into our historically underserved communities to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to thrive in Fairfax County.
The county selected the seal as its logo in 1949 ahead of an impending visit from the then-Lord Fairfax. It won over a dozen other seals belonging to the Fairfax family due to “its clarity when reproduced,” according to historical documents from Fairfax County Public Library’s Virginia Room.
A county flag with the seal was unveiled on June 13, 1968, the day before Flag Day, in response to repeated requests for a flag from county schools.
“We probably ought to have a Betsy Ross here to get the flag ready for Flag Day,” said Gil Shaw, the flag’s creator and the county’s director of information services at the time. “But the coat of arms of Thomas Lord Fairfax will soon fly over the lands he once owned and which became Fairfax County in 1742.”
Early colonial Virginia land history is admittingly a bit confusing due to the limited availability of written records and a lack of variety in names.
“The famous one, for our purposes, was the sixth Lord Fairfax,” explains Steve Harris-Scott, an assistant professor in George Mason University’s history department and an expert on colonial Virginia history.
“The nobles generally passed on their names to their first-born son, so when they took over the title, they were all the same names,” he said. “There was a Thomas Fairfax, first Lord Fairfax, then there was Thomas Fairfax, the second Lord Fairfax, etcetera.”
The sixth Lord Fairfax was born in England in 1693 to the fifth Lord Fairfax and Catherine Culpepper.
Through his mother’s side, he inherited about 5 million acres of land in 1710 known as the “Northern Neck,” which encompassed today’s Fairfax County. Taken from the indigenous people who had lived there for centuries, the land was a gift to Catherine’s father, Thomas Culpepper, from the restored King Charles II for his support during the English Civil War.
“[This land] is essentially bordered by the Rappahannock [River] on the south and the Potomac on the north,” Harris-Scott said.
However, Fairfax spent most of his life in England and didn’t move to Virginia until 1742, the date on the county’s logo. He also may never have resided in what is now Fairfax County, according to Harris-Scott. Read More
Police Seek Help in Search for Missing Lorton Woman — Fairfax County police are offering a $20,000 reward for information about the disappearance of 72-year-old Lorton resident Emily Lu, who was last seen at an Aldi in Woodbridge on June 3. Homicide detectives are now involved in the case, as police suspect foul play. [WTOP]
Woman Robbed at Herndon ATM — “Town of Herndon Police are investigating a robbery that took place recently at an ATM on Elden Street, according to the weekly crime report. Around 8:30 a.m., on June 5, a woman told police she was at an ATM in the 300 block of Elden Street when to people approached her and demanded money.” [Patch]
Attorney General Nominees Hold First General Election Debate — Incumbent Attorney General Mark Herring and Republican challenger Jason Miyares each presented the other’s vision as “radical wrong turns” for Virginia in a debate yesterday, the first since the Democratic primary wrapped up last week. Herring highlighted his support for police reform and stricter gun regulations, while Miyares criticized his opponent as having “a criminal first, victim last mind-set.” [The Washington Post]
Reston Community Center Recognizes Volunteers — “We love our RCC volunteers! Thank you for all that you do to build community. We enjoyed being with you June 12 for the Volunteer Appreciation celebration.” [RCC/Instagram]
Reston Hospital Gives Scholarships to Local Students — South Lakes High School students Virag Ellen Murphy and Emma Lynch are among 16 high school seniors in Fairfax and Loudoun counties to receive scholarships from Reston Hospital Center. The hospital’s medical staff awards $13,000 in scholarships every year to local high schools in support of students who plan to pursue a career in health care. [HCA Virginia]
Photo via vantagehill/Flickr
Parents who have spent the last year calling for a five-day return to school for Fairfax County Public Schools students are circulating petitions to remove three Fairfax County School Board members.
They are Springfield District representative Laura Jane Cohen, Dranesville District representative Elaine Tholen, and At-Large Member Abrar Omeish.
“Our petitions are all about the board ignoring science, dismissing the wishes of parents to have kids in school, and putting politics (unions) before our children,” the Open FCPS Coalition group told Reston Now. “We have people of all walks of life — young and old, with kids and without kids signing. People were afraid to sign at first because they didn’t want to get involved. But as more time passed, and people got disappointed about the school board lying to us, they started signing.”
They admitted that the campaign faces long odds. According to Ballotpedia, Virginia has seen just one successful recall campaign in at least the past decade, with the majority of efforts — including one against former Mason District School Board representative Sandy Evans — failing to reach a circuit court.
This parent coalition has been around since November and started distributing petition templates to other counties around that time. But the momentum did not pick up until mid-February, members said.
“December and January, people still weren’t getting out much and if they were, it wasn’t to come and sign a petition,” the group said. “Many people who sign now sign because of other things that they are frustrated with, but we are just glad people are recognizing our efforts.”
The Open FCPS Coalition describes itself as a bipartisan organization.
According to the Virginia Public Access Project, donor records show that its largest gifts have come from former Republican governor candidate Pete Snyder and N2 America Inc., a conservative group that has been vocal in school reopenings. Its largest expenditure has been for signature collection services, an expense that went to a center-right door-to-door voter contact firm with ties to N2 America.
“Anyone who wants to donate is welcome to…If the Dem party wants to donate we surely will take it,” the group said. “But it seems that though many Dems have signed and silently support, some are afraid to stand up for open schools. Thankfully we have Dems in our group who are bold and brave and know that nothing about the recall is personal or about politics. It is about what is moral.”
Coalition members aimed to collect enough signatures to recall at least one school board member by the end of this school year, which concluded on Friday (June 11).
The coalition chose Cohen, Tholen and Omeish after watching school board meetings and determining only one member had a record of voting and speaking that prioritized reopening over other issues: Braddock District representative Megan McLaughlin, according to the group’s website.
So, members narrowed down their targets to the two members who were elected with the fewest number of votes — Cohen and Tholen.
“Based on this discovery, the voters in their districts would likely provide the most support for the removal effort,” according to the website.
When reached for comment, Tholen said she centers all her work and decision-making on what is best for students.
“I am busy at this point fulfilling my job as a school board member,” she said. “I am closing out this school year, celebrating our class of 2021, planning for summer programs and preparing for fall when we will welcome all students in person five days per week.”
Cohen, meanwhile, said that her “focus is, has been, and always will be ensuring our students have the best opportunity to be successful in our schools.” Read More
The Herndon Town Council will resume in-person meetings next month after 15 months of virtual meetings due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The first in-person meeting since last March will be held on July 6.
“The Herndon Town Council is resuming in-person meetings due to the greatly improved state of the pandemic in Fairfax County, as the decrease in infections and increase in vaccinations make it safer to gather in person,” said Anne Curtis, chief communications officer for the Town of Herndon.
Seats will be spaced six feet apart, and masks will be required for unvaccinated attendees to comply with CDC guidelines.
Public hearings and work sessions will still be available for viewing via live stream, but interactions via WebEx will be discontinued. Those who wish to address the council must do so in person.
“While I am so appreciative of my colleagues on council, town staff and town citizens for their forbearance during this extraordinary time, I don’t think any of us expected we’d be meeting online for more than a year,” Herndon Mayor Sheila Olem said. “I am excited to see faces and to recapture the energy that is only found in person. I hope citizens will come out and participate as we resume our in-person sessions.”
The first in-person meeting will be on July 6 at 7 p.m. at the Herndon Community Center (814 Ferndale Ave.). The first in-person public hearing will be on July 13 at 7 p.m. in the council chambers located at 765 Lynn Street.
More information on upcoming meetings can be found on the Town of Herndon website.
“The council is looking forward to greater citizen involvement in their meetings, as the opportunity for in-person testimony on issues that come before the council resumes,” Curtis said.
Metro service changes announced last week — including increased services, late night hours, and reduced fares — are being praised by many in the community.
On Thursday (June 10), the Metro Board approved a host of improvements with the intention of luring back riders after more than a year of reduced services and free-falling ridership.
The changes include more frequent service during both peak and non-peak times, extending operating hours until 1 a.m. on weekends, a flat $2 weekend rate, and free transfers between bus and rail.
The changes will take effect starting Labor Day weekend, the traditional end of the summer.
“These are all very positive changes,” Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn told Reston Now. “The only thing that made these service improvements possible is the money from our federal partners. Because Congress stepped up and delivered, we’re able to make these service improvements and, frankly, do what needs to be done to help build back ridership.”
Metro received nearly $723 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds, including $193 million from the American Rescue Plan enacted in March. These funds not only prevented severe cuts, but allowed Metro to increase services while cutting fares.
Local labor unions are also pleased with the changes, including ATU Local 689, which represents more than 10,000 regional transit workers and said it “strongly supports” the service increases.
“We know that public transit is a safe and effective way for riders to get where they need to go, but we have to do the work to rebuild rider confidence,” ATU Local 689 President Raymond Jackson wrote in an email to Reston Now. “The first step to this is making sure that passengers know there will always be a bus or train there for them when they need it. That requires full service. We’re proud that WMATA took this step.”
Alcorn says that, during the pandemic, cuts to service were a “significant hardship” for those who couldn’t work from home, like hospitality workers, who often need rail and bus service at different times than those in other industries.
“We realized that, in the middle of the pandemic, that there’s still a lot of folks that depend on transit to get to work and to do what they need to do to get around,” Alcorn said.
John Boardman is executive secretary and treasurer for Local 25, a union that represents about 7,000 people who work in hotels, casinos, and restaurants in the D.C. metro region. He says expanding services is inherently beneficial to their members.
“Our jobs are not 9 to 5 jobs. They start early in the morning and can go late into night,” Boardman said. “More transportation and longer hours helps our workforce. Reliable transportation is one of the issues that affects people’s ability to get back to work.”
Increased service and fare cuts will also greatly benefit those most vulnerable in the community, such as the clients the D.C. Reentry Action Network, a regional organization that assists people being released from prison.
“Any reduction in the cost of transportation would contribute greatly to reducing the already tremendous hurdles one faces when returning home,” founder Paula Thompson told The Washington Post.
Metro admits it could still take years for ridership to return to pre-pandemic levels. A graph presented at the transit agency’s June 10 board of directors meeting estimates that even by the end of 2024, ridership may still be off by as much as 25% from late 2019 levels.
But it’s hoped that these changes could at least spur gradual growth. Read More
