The renovation and expansion of Dranesville Elementary School is slated to begin next year — despite some lingering concerns.
The Fairfax County Planning Commission voted unanimously on Wednesday (Oct. 4) to approve a nearly 44,000-square-foot addition to the school at 1515 Powells Tavern Place in Herndon.
But the vote came as some commissioners questioned the need for the scope of the expansion.
Dranesville District Commissioner John Ulfelder, whose district includes the Herndon area, said the school’s current enrollment of around 588 students may not justify the intensity of the expansion, which would boost capacity to around 1,000 students.
“Is the school system aware of some big influx of students that will be coming to this elementary school?” Ulfelder asked, adding he was unsure why Fairfax County Public Schools was pursuing the project now when other schools have more dire capacity needs.
The school currently has the capacity to accommodate 756 students, according to the land use representative for FCPS, John McGranahan. He noted that the planned capacity boost would likely accommodate long-term enrollment.
Dranesville Elementary is about two miles north of the Town of Herndon, which anticipates significant population growth in the next 10 to 15 years.
“This is a full renovation, and the capacity enhancement, it is in the queue to be renovated,” said McGranahan, who is an attorney with Hunton Andrews Kurth.
The renovation will include modern amenities, a cafeteria, an expansion of the main corridor, new classrooms, a new library, a larger gym, a security vestibule and a relocation of the main office. The school first opened its doors to students in 1988.
“Most of the time, the school system gets criticized for buildng too little,” McGranahan added.
The renovations and additions were funded in a 2023 school board referendum and approved in the capital improvement program for 2023-2027. Construction is expected to begin next year and wrap up in 2026.
Funds to plan and design the expanded school were provided by a 2021 school bond, but the 2023 school board referendum that would fund construction needs to be approved by voters on Nov. 8.
Braddock District Commissioner Mary Cortina said Dranesville Elementary has long been slated for renovations, based largely on decisions made by the Fairfax County School Board and the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.
“The school board and the Board of Supervisors have already acted,” Cortina said.
The project was identified in the school system’s renovation queue in 2009. It ranked 53 out of 63 projects in the queue.
The Oakton-based nonprofit that runs Northern Virginia’s suicide and crisis hotline is now offering mental health services specifically geared toward young, LGBTQ people.
PRS announced yesterday (Thursday) that it’s hiring 40 new crisis workers who have specialized training and experience to handle calls and texts from LGBTQ individuals who are 25 or younger.
The support services are part of the organization’s CrisisLink program, which operates the national, 24-hour 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline for most of Virginia.
“Providing tailored crisis services will help us reach more people and connect them with safer life-saving services and resources that affirm their identities,” PRS CEO Joseph Getch said in a statement. “We now have crisis workers dedicated to this community that have additional training, lived experience, and a dedication to serving individuals within the LGBTQIA+ community. We are proud and eager to provide hope, empathy, and compassion.”
Formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 9-8-8 was established by Congress in 2020 as the nationwide phone number for accessing emergency mental health support. It officially replaced the pre-existing, 10-digit number on July 16, 2022.
The legislation required the new lifeline to have a “mechanism” where LGBTQ youth, minority and rural callers can access specialized services, because those populations are statistically at higher risk of contemplating or dying by suicide.
More than half (52%) of high school students who identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual or who are questioning their sexual identity reported recently experiencing poor mental health, and 45% had seriously considered suicide within the past year compared to 15% for their heterosexual peers, according to a February report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC report, which examined trends from 2011 to 2021, didn’t address gender identity, but this summer, Denmark released a first-of-its-kind study that found transgender people died by suicide at 3.5 times the rate of the rest of the country’s population.
In Virginia, 43% of LGBTQ youth, including 53% of transgender and nonbinary youth, reported seriously considering suicide in the past year. In addition, 13% of LGBTQ youth, including 17% of trans and nonbinary individuals, attempted suicide in the past year, according to state-level data collected in 2022 by The Trevor Project.
The LGBTQ youth-focused suicide prevention nonprofit attributes those trends to the rejection and discrimination those populations experience in society, especially in a year when lawmakers have introduced hundreds of bills restricting their access to health care, education and other rights.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration rolled out policies in July that direct schools to identify students based on their legal sex and names, though Fairfax County Public Schools has maintained its existing policies that support transgender and gender-expansive students.
“We know these young people face stigma, discrimination, and oppression making reaching out for help and connecting to safe resources incredibly difficult and scary,” Gretch said, noting that PRS is continuing “to evolve our crisis services to meet the needs of different populations.”
Established in 1963, PRS provides therapy, peer support, housing and employment assistance and other behavioral health services, along with its CrisisLink call center, which receives 14,000 calls per month on average, including 4,500 from Northern Virginia.
According to a press release, PRS is one of only four 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline centers in the country to offer chat and texting option to LGBTQ youth in addition to calls.
The LGBTQIA+ service provides several ways to get in touch: text “Q” to 988; press 3 when prompted while calling 988; or go to 988lifeline.org/chat and check the LGBTQI+ box in the pre-chat survey. These options are designed for anyone under 25 who wants to connect with a trained crisis worker specifically focused on meeting the needs of LGBTQIA+ youth and young adults.
A Fairfax County Public School basketball coach is facing embezzlement charges.
Drew Smerdzinski, 33, of Herndon, embezzled money from a school event, the Fairfax County Police Department said today (Friday).
According to the FCPD, detectives began an investigation in July after the police department received a tip from FCPS about the possible misappropriation of funds by an employee.
Smerdzinski turned himself in yesterday (Thursday) after detectives obtained a warrant for him on Wednesday (Oct. 4). He was suspended from his position after his arrest, police said.
Smerdzinski was employed at James Madison High School in Vienna, but “the embezzlement occurred in relation to his role as a basketball coach,” an FCPD spokesperson says. He’s not listed in the school’s staff directory.
He was charged with felony embezzlement and released on an unsecured bond.
FCPS declined to comment, citing the police investigation.
Toll Lanes Proposed on I-495 From Springfield — “A proposal to widen an 11-mile stretch of the Capital Beltway in Virginia has entered a new phase with the release of nine possible construction alternatives. Topping the list is an extension of toll lanes into Maryland.” The concepts also include dedicated bus lanes and “technological enhancements.” [Washington Post]
Teens Arrested in Kingstowne Shooting — “Two teenagers were arrested in connection with a shooting that took place last month in the Kingstowne Shopping Center, according to the Fairfax County Police Department. Shortly after 9:30 p.m. on Sept. 22, police officers responded to the 5900 block of Kingstowne Towne Center for the report of the sound of gunshots…No one was injured from the gunfire.” [Patch]
Early Education Center Nears Opening in Lorton — “A few months after the July 26 opening of Lidl supermarket at Liberty Market in Lorton, several other businesses are preparing to open their doors. One of the highly anticipated openings is the new Brynmor Early Education & Preschool, which will hold a ribbon- cutting ceremony and tours Saturday, Oct. 14 at 10 a.m. before opening to children ages six weeks to five years on Monday, Oct. 16.” [On the MoVe]
Fairfax County Libraries See Few Book Complaints — “As some books are getting challenged across the country — and in some cases, removed from school libraries in Virginia — few concerns result in formal complaints in Fairfax County libraries, according to Dustin Booher, the library system’s collection coordinator. On average, one or two books per year make it to the formal review process.” [WTOP]
Vienna Town Council Sets Hearing on Tree Preservation — “With one additional vote that hadn’t been there a week earlier, the Vienna Town Council narrowly agreed Oct. 2 to hold an [Oct.] 23 public hearing on a proposed tree-canopy ordinance…The Council differed over elements of two proposed tree-canopy ordinances.” [Gazette Leader]
Animal Shelter Staff Reunite With Rescued Beagles — “It’s been a year since we welcomed 26 beagles as part of the historic rescue of 4,000 beagles from a mass breeding facility owned by Envigo. We were thrilled to see some Fairfax County alumni at the recent Beagleversary Bash hosted by The Humane Society of the United States.” [Fairfax County Animal Shelter/Facebook]
‘Historic Ascent’ for Reston Tech Company’s New CEO — “Toni Townes-Whitley officially started as the CEO of Reston-based Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) on Monday, October 2. Townes-Whitley is one of two Black women currently running Fortune 500 companies. She succeeds Nazzic S. Keene, a rare example of a woman CEO handing off to another woman at a large publicly-held company.” [FCEDA]
Discount Offered Cirque Du Soleil Tickets in Tysons — “@tysons_va has partnered with @Cirque to host a Tysons Community Day during their US debut of Echo on Oct. 8! Attendees can use this link to receive up to 20% off their tickets, receive free popcorn, and have the chance to meet the cast after the 5PM show” [Dalia Palchik/Twitter]
It’s Friday — Patchy fog is expected before 9am followed by mostly cloudy skies and a high near 77. Night brings a 60% chance of showers and possible thunderstorms, a low of 61. Rainfall amounts will generally be under a tenth of an inch but could be higher with thunderstorms. [Weather.gov]
Any Fairfax County residents who recently bought a budding tree or shrub may want to keep an eye on its leaves.
A relatively new disease called vascular streak dieback is killing plants from nurseries in Virginia and five other states, the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services’ (DPWES) Urban Forest Management Division says.
“Dieback may look like yellowing or paling of the leaves’ green color (leaf chlorosis), brown or scorched leaf margins and stunting and/or wilting of current year’s growth,” DPWES said in a press release on Tuesday (Oct. 3).
In Virginia, the plants that appear to be most susceptible to the disease are maple, dogwood and redbud trees, according to Virginia Tech and the Virginia Cooperative Extension (VEC), which have cataloged 21 different affected woody ornamental plant species, as of March.
First detected in cacao in Papua New Guinea during the 1960s, vascular streak dieback was mostly confined to southeast Asia until the past couple of years. The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) confirmed that the disease had emerged in the state last year.
Researchers have traced the disease to a fungus called Ceratobasidium theobromae, whose spores get carried from plant to plant by the wind, according to DPWES.
“After a spore infects a leaf, it travels into the branch and the main stem’s woody tissue, eventually killing the plant,” the department says. “Researchers continue to study VSD, and the fungus related to it, to find ways to prevent infection and the potential spread into the natural environment.”
Available data on how to prevent VSD is limited, but Virginia Tech and the VEC say it can help to minimize stress on plants by ensuring they have the right amount of soil, water and other conditions needed to stay healthy.
Here’s more from DPWES:
Virgina Cooperative Extension recommends that nurseries ensure best management practices of plant stock to prevent chances of infection. Residents looking for trees in nurseries may consider asking nursery staff about vascular streak dieback and if the internal woody tissue may safely be checked for VSD before purchasing. Also, look for any signs of scorched leaves and buds or dieback of young stems. If VSD is suspected in a recent purchase report it to the Virginia Cooperative Extension and dispose of the plant material correctly to prevent its potential spread. Plants, or the suspected live branches, also may be bagged and either taken or mailed to the Extension, where the disease can be positively identified. If mailing, a two-day delivery is best to avoid damage to live tissue.
The county’s urban forest management team has also been combatting a beech leaf disease that emerged in the area last fall and the invasive spotted lanternfly, which feeds on trees, shrubs and herbs “in unusually large numbers,” DPWES has said.
The annual Herndon Homecoming Parade will return to town on Saturday, Oct. 14.
This year’s theme — which is used to plan floats — is “Through the Decades” with a focus on the years between the 1970s and 2000s.
Residents are encouraged to line up along Elden Street between Locust Street and Lynn Street to cheer on the Herndon High School band, class floats, students, athletes and clubs joining the celebration.
Here’s the schedule for the day, including details on how the event will affect traffic between the hours of 6:30 a.m. and noon.
6:30 a.m. — Locust Street restricted to local traffic only via Center Street; no access from Elden Street.
8:00 a.m. — All side streets with access to Elden Street closed, with homeowner access only. This includes Grace, Main, Peachtree and Ferndale from Vine Street (enter at Center and Vine Streets); and School, Spruce, Lillian Chase, Nathaniel Chase, and Grace from Locust Street (enter at Center and Locust Streets).
8:30 a.m. — Lynn Street in both directions closed; including access from Nachman Way, Dyer Court, and Station Street.
8:30 a.m. — Station Street municipal parking lot entrance at Station Street closed — use the Center Street entrance.
9:00 a.m. — Center Street on either side of Elden Street closed.
9:30 a.m. — Herndon Homecoming Parade BEGINS!
9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. — Elden Street from Monroe Street to Sterling Road/Locust Street closed.
Residents in these areas will have local access only. Parking is available in the municipal surface lot Station Street and the Herndon Municipal Center lot.
Routes will re-open between noon and 1 p.m. as the parade clears.
Virginia is beginning to create plans for how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the primary driver of climate change, on a state and regional basis thanks to millions of dollars from the federal government.
This June, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded about $6 million in grants to Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality, regional planning organizations in Northern Virginia, Richmond and Hampton Roads and the Monacan Indian Nation to create two plans.
One, the Priority Climate Action Plan, will identify projects that can immediately start reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The other, the Comprehensive Climate Action Plan, aims to craft long-term strategies to achieve reductions.
“This grant will help us plan for reducing climate pollution and promoting climate resilience in the commonwealth, both of which are central to our mission,” said DEQ Director Mike Rolband at a webinar last week. “Just as changing climatic conditions impact all of Virginia, these changes also impact all of the environmental programs here at DEQ. “
The funding for the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program comes from the Inflation Reduction Act, major federal legislation passed last year that aims to spur investments in climate technologies.
The priority plan is due in March 2024. Projects included in the plan will be eligible to compete for an additional $4.6 billion round of grants for implementation.
The comprehensive plan is due later, in July 2025, and will involve broader strategies for reducing emissions from the transportation, electricity and other sectors, as well as an analysis of the benefits of greenhouse gas reductions.
Both plans require that officials consider the benefits of reductions for low-income and disadvantaged communities and monitor emissions.
Statewide plan
Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality will be the lead agency coordinating the state’s planning process, which will include the Virginia Department of Transportation, Department of Housing and Community Development, Department of Conservation and Recreation and other agencies.
Virginia has already taken a number of significant steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, many of which DEQ cited in its application to the EPA.
The 2020 Virginia Clean Economy Act seeks to decarbonize the state’s electric grid by 2050 by setting renewables development targets for regulated utilities and mandating that increasing portions of their generation be carbon-free. In 2021, Virginia also tied its vehicle emissions standards to California’s rather than remaining on the federal standard in an effort to drive greater adoption of electric vehicles, and the state is planning to use National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program funds for charging infrastructure buildouts.
Additionally, Virginia since 2021 has participated in the regional carbon market known as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI. That program requires electricity producers to pay for allowances for each ton of carbon they emit and returns the revenues to the state for energy efficiency and flood preparedness programs.
Most state-level efforts, however, were initiated under Democratic control of government, which disappeared when Gov. Glenn Youngkin won the governorship and Republicans retook the House of Delegates in 2021. The state energy plan unveiled by Youngkin last fall calls for the continued use of natural gas as part of an “all of the above” approach to meet energy needs, and the administration is pushing for Virginia to leave RGGI, despite legal opposition to the move.
At the webinar hosted by DEQ to explain the planning process, Tom Ballou, DEQ’s air data analysis and planning director, noted that transportation is Virginia’s largest greenhouse gas contributor, responsible for 42% of the state’s emissions. According to Virginia’s greenhouse gas inventory from 2021, that is followed by the electric power sector, at 21%, and then the industry, commercial, residential and agriculture sectors.
Of the emissions in Virginia, 80% are from carbon dioxide, followed by methane at 12%. If carbon dioxide is removed, methane, a greenhouse gas that is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere, would constitute 62% of Virginia’s emissions.
“This type of data analysis could be important during the planning process if reducing high-potency emissions, one of DEQ’s goals, is further explored,” said Ballou.
Data centers, which have boomed in Virginia and led Dominion Energy to alter its long-term plans to account for rising grid demand, are another part of the state’s planning discussion.
“These data centers rely on fossil fuel generators to supply emergency backup power when needed,” DEQ’s work plan states. The Climate Pollution Reduction Grants will help “ensure that the development and siting of data centers is done in an environmentally responsible manner through the promotion of Tier IV generators, micro grids, innovative technologies (hydrogen), and streamlined transmission line approvals.”
DEQ is looking to increase staffing for the planning process and already has brought on one person. The agency will also be working with local governments to include their desires in the priority plan.
Regional planning
The three regional authorities that received funding include PlanRVA, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments and the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission. The Monacan Indian Nation, which also received funding, is based in the Lynchburg area.
Each of the regional planning groups are following a similar process to DEQ that seeks to gather data while incorporating climate-related policies and plans they’ve previously adopted into their strategies.
In Richmond, that means using the RVAGreen 2050 sustainability plan to encourage more efficient building operations, implement carbon sequestration strategies and adopt zero-waste practices.
“The Richmond region, like many other metropolitan areas, is a fast-growing hub with a vibrant economy. But it also faces significant climate-related challenges, especially extreme heat, increased precipitation, and sea level rise,” said Nicole Keller, resilience planner at PlanRVA. “We will work alongside Virginia DEQ and the other awarded metro areas across the state to undertake this significant planning effort. Climate pollution and greenhouse gas reduction is an issue that is much larger than our local footprint.”
Similarly, MWCOG will be relying on its Climate and Energy Action plan to reduce emissions by 2030. MWCOG will oversee the Northern Virginia efforts, which will encompass other Virginia counties as far west as Warren County, as well as the District of Columbia and Maryland.
At a recent MWCOG Transportation Board meeting, Climate & Energy Program Director Jeff King said the creation of the priority plan and simultaneous application for the additional implementation funding made for a “really interesting grant. Haven’t seen one quite like it.”
Hampton Roads Planning District Commission meanwhile is seeking a consultant to help with the planning process.
“We are just getting started,” said Whitney Katchmark, the commission’s principal water resources planner. “Initially, we will build on locality ideas and support green energy development.”
Attempts to reach the Monacan Indian Nation for comment were unsuccessful.
Photo via Ella Ivanescu/Unsplash. This article was reported and written by the Virginia Mercury, and has been reprinted with permission.
The Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services (DPWES) has proposed a new grant program to help curb flooding in the county.
The flood mitigation assistance program (FMAP) would reimburse residents and property owners for purchasing and installing approved products and services that reduce the risk of flood damage to their property.
The program calls for a cost-sharing agreement where the resident or property owners cover 50% of the cost, and the county covers the other half up to $5,000, DPWES Deputy Director Eleanor Ku Codding told the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors at an environmental committee meeting on Tuesday (Oct. 3).
The program was made to be flexible, according to Codding. It’s open to residential or commercial multi-family properties, common-interest communities, and places of worship. Approved flood mitigation practices include:
- window wells
- flood gates
- modified basement areaways
- sump pump backup batteries
- utility protection
- exterior grading or drains
However, if an owner wanted to use another flood mitigation service not listed, it would be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Codding said, since drainage is not a straightforward issue, sharing the cost is a good solution.
“By establishing a cost-share program, we are allowing residents to be empowered to take action to mitigate that risk of flooding,” she said. “In addition, we have seen that the best flood risk reduction programs — including FEMA — include these types of cost-share programs.”
Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust supported the program but called for the county to take more action.
“We should be thinking bigger in terms of stormwater management because it’s a huge problem,” Foust said. “And once we adopt this, then we’ll be done with it. We’ll check it off and move on to the next thing, and I just think the problem deserves more.”
Codding said other programs could be brought to the board in the future.
The county has discussed raising its building stormwater standards to accommodate more frequent and extreme flooding, and earlier this year, it piloted a program for sharing the cost of projects with private property owners, essentially testing the approach proposed for the new assistance program.
Funded through the county’s Stormwater Service District taxes, FMAP would start on July 1, 2024, and applications would be reviewed on a first come, first served basis. The Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District would administer the program.
DPWES will return to the board at a public hearing to get authorization to sign the memorandum of understanding with the conservation district. The agreement will establish rules for how the district should administer the program.
Screenshot via FCFRD/Twitter
Another strike may be on the horizon for the D.C. area, this time led by office cleaners who say wages have stagnated even after they were expected to keep working through the pandemic.
About 9,100 janitors, more than 3,000 of them in Northern Virginia, are voting this week on whether to go on strike if they’re unable to agree on a new contract with the Washington Service Contractors Association (WSCA) before the existing one expires on Oct. 15.
Cleaners employed in commercial buildings across Fairfax and Loudoun counties unanimously voted on Tuesday (Oct. 3) to authorize a strike, following the lead of their colleagues in D.C., who voted a day earlier, according to 32BJ SEIU, the Service Employees International Union’s branch for the D.C. region.
Coinciding with a three-day strike by Kaiser Permanente employees that’s reportedly the largest ever by U.S. health care workers, Baltimore area cleaners were set to vote yesterday (Wednesday), followed by Montgomery County workers today and Arlington County workers tomorrow.
“No one wants to strike, but we are ready to strike if employers keep pushing cuts that cleaners can’t afford,” 32BJ SEIU Executive Vice President Jaime Contreras said.
According to the union, a core sticking point in the contract negotiations, which began in June, has been a proposed reduction in shift lengths from five to four hours for about 1,100 cleaners — a third of the Northern Virginia workforce.
The change would amount to a 20% pay cut for the affected cleaners, who would have earn $100 less per week and have less time to do the same amount of work, the union says.
Peter Chatilovicz, the WSCA’s lead negotiator, told FFXnow yesterday that proposal has been taken off the table, noting that it would’ve primarily affected D.C. workers. The goal was “to provide flexibility to bring in new workers,” not cut wages for existing ones, as commercial property owners adapt to a challenging office market, he said.
The region has lost about 1,000 office janitorial jobs in recent years, according to 32BJ SEIU. A union spokesperson confirmed the shifts proposal was “verbally” withdrawn, but as of last night, nothing has been put on the record in writing.
The cleaners and WSCA last held contract negotiations four years ago, and there’s a “tentative agreement” for the next one to be the same length, extending to October 2027, Chatilovicz says. He’s “cautiously optimistic” that a deal will be reached in time, but the two groups are still split on pay.
“That’s the big issue right now is coming up with a wage compromise so that employees who are not the highest paid employees in the area or in America get a fair wage during this time, and so that we’re able to still be competitive and deal with the issues in the industry,” Chatilovicz said. “So, it’s a typical negotiation where we’re trying to exchange proposals and come up with a compromise that management can live with and the union is satisfied with.”
Under their current contract, Fairfax County cleaners earn $15 per hour, while Loudoun cleaners get $12.50 an hour. They also receive benefits like paid vacation, holidays and sick leave, health insurance if they work full-time and access to a training, education and legal services fund, per 32BJ SEIU.
While those rates exceed Virginia’s minimum wage, albeit just barely in Loudoun County, they’re not enough to match inflated prices and soaring rents, the union argues.
Alejandria Paz, a member of the union’s bargaining team who has worked as a cleaner at 1881 Campus Commons in Reston for over a decade, says she’s already struggling to keep up with the rising costs of food, rent, transportation and other necessities.
However, she also sees the prospect of reduced hours and pay as a frustrating reflection of how little attitudes toward cleaning staff have changed, despite the heightened attention to building cleanliness and ventilation brought by COVID-19. Read More
Reminder: Car Tax Payments Due Today — “Personal property taxes — better known as car taxes — are due on Thursday, Oct. 5. Bills were mailed this summer, and there are many convenient ways to pay…If you have a question or concern about your tax bill, contact the Department of Tax Administration.” [Fairfax County Government]
Silver Line Phase 2 Ridership Tops 3 Million — “One million people have used the Dulles International Airport Metro station since it opened last fall, Metro and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) announced Wednesday…Ridership passing through the six new stations has surpassed 3 million, with Dulles station accounting for about one-third of riders.” [Washington Post]
Lincolnia Restaurant to Close After 20 Years — “After decades in business, a local restaurant near Alexandria’s West End border will close at the end of the month. Foxfire Grill owner Terri Fox recently announced the closure on the company website and social media.” [ALXnow]
Fairfax City Considers Easing Rules for Social Services — “The proposed changes eliminate language in the existing ordinance that makes it more difficult for some organizations to provide social services as part of their mission.” The amendment before the city council would eliminate requirements related to outdoor space, proximity to alcohol sales and “neighborhood impact mitigation.” [Patch]
Residents Coming to Hybla Valley Affordable Housing — “The Residences at North Hill may soon be getting residents. According to developer Whitney Ellis at Pennrose, tenants will begin moving into the apartment community within the next two weeks, following contractor completion of a short punch list of items.” [On the MoVe]
Virginia Addressing Incorrect Voter Removals — “Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration said this week, with early voting underway, that it is working to fix an issue that misclassified probation violations as felonies and has led to an unknown number of eligible Virginians being removed from the voter rolls.” [Associated Press/WTOP]
Report Urges Localities to Bolster Security Against Shootings — “Virginia localities should be required to conduct active shooter drills, ensure that police have easy access to their municipal buildings and invest in technology that would allow officials to detect weapons and track the whereabouts of a shooter, a state commission convened after the 2019 Virginia Beach shooting has recommended.” [Washington Post]
Vienna Offers Family Bicycle Tour — “The Vienna town government’s Bicycle Advisory Committee will host a family-friendly bike ride around the town on Sunday, Oct. 22 beginning at 10 a.m. at the Vienna Community Center. The 5.5-mile ride will mostly occur on low-volume streets with hills kept to a minimum, and also will include a brief foray onto the new Interstate 66 Trail.” [Gazette Leader]
It’s Thursday — The weather will be partly sunny with a high temperature near 78°F and calm wind picking up to southeast 5-9 mph in the morning. Thursday night will be mostly cloudy, with a low temperature around 63°F and southeast wind around 6 mph. [Weather.gov]
A survey of Reston Association members found high levels of interest in maintaining and expanding current parks and recreation facilities instead of investing in new facilities.
The survey results — which included over 1,700 responses and is among the largest RA survey to date — will inform RA’s future decisions about parks and recreation, particularly a long-range plan for facility maintenance and upgrades.
“This successful survey response was achieved because of a carefully designed survey, education, community and outreach campaign,” RA staff said in a presentation for the board of directors.
The board was slated to discuss an initial overview of the survey results at its meeting last Thursday (Sept. 28), but it voted unanimously to instead discuss it at a later date.
The survey found that members who use RA facilities are most satisfied with them. Additionally, Reston’s paved paths are used by almost all RA members and are its most widely valued resource.
However, members said they were dissatisfied with its swimming pool facilities, flagging pools as the most pressing area for improvement.
RA’s leadership is expected to release the full survey data to members this month. The results will inform a work plan developed by the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee in the fourth quarter of the year. RA’s Board of Directors will consider the work plan in December.
In recent years, RA conducted surveys in 2005 and 2015. This year’s survey was conducted with the assistance of the consultant Noise Doctors.
The survey is intended to inform future parks and recreation planning, along with resource management. Survey results were collected over an eight-week period.
Photo via RA/YouTube
Planning officials in the Shenandoah Valley and central Virginia fear proposals to change Virginia’s transportation funding system could significantly reduce state funding for smaller transportation projects for cyclists and pedestrians.
The Commonwealth Transportation Board has been reviewing the state’s transportation funding process, SMART SCALE, which has been in place for the past seven years.
Some of the proposals being considered by the board include favoring larger transportation projects over smaller ones, lowering the number of applications local governments and planning organizations can submit and reducing the weight given to land use in applications.
Significantly, many bike and pedestrian projects could go unfunded under the proposed changes. According to data collected by a working group made up of Virginia’s Office of Intermodal Planning and Investment, which advises state transportation leaders, and several consultants, 75% of the bike and pedestrian projects recently funded through SMART SCALE would have gone unfunded under the new rules.
“We certainly think there’s a lot of focus on highway road expansion statewide and no focus on climate change impacts with this approach,” said Stewart Schwartz, executive director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth.
Trip Pollard, a senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center and leader of its Land and Community Program, said he’s concerned the proposed changes to SMART SCALE will harm the state’s ability to meet its goals of reducing air pollution and protecting the environment.
“Staff is doing some great work on this and there are some good reasons for some of these changes, but cumulatively, I definitely don’t agree with them,” Pollard said. “I think it really fundamentally shifts where the money is going to go.”
Other changes attempt to evaluate projects over a longer time scale. For example, the working group is recommending that the Commonwealth Transportation Board consider adding to the application process a project’s congestion benefits 10 years into the future and forecast the economic value of a project.
“What we’re doing here is trying to get at the metrics that better show us the value so that we can apply that in our scoring system,” said Transportation Secretary Shep Miller at the board’s Sept. 20 work session.
Making room for larger projects
One of the most controversial recommendations made by the working group, which has been reviewing the SMART SCALE proposals since March, is for Virginia to expand its definition of “high-priority projects,” or projects that have a regional or statewide significance.
Currently, state law defines high-priority projects as those that “reduce congestion or increase safety, accessibility, environmental quality or economic development.”
The working group is recommending adding to that list projects that include “new capacity highway, managed lanes, new or improved interchanges, new or improved passenger rail stations or service, freight rail improvements, high-capacity fixed guideway transit, transit transfer stations, and new bridge.”
Planning leaders from the Shenandoah Valley and central Virginia, however, worry that expanding the high-priority designation could edge out other, smaller kinds of transportation proposals by weighting decisions against them. That could force local governments to find other sources of funding. Read More
Bitez — a restaurant that sells gyros and crepes — appears to be coming to the Village Center at Dulles in McNair.
According to the property owner’s website, the business is slated to open at 2443 Centreville Road in the former location of Tava Fry.
Bitez has an existing location in Annandale that opened on March 31. Its owner, Layth Mansour, graduated from Annandale High School and an athletics apparel store in Arlington, according to Annandale Today.
Mansour also owns a Arabic restaurant and hookah lounge called Eska that was supposed to open in Arlington in February 2022, FFXnow’s sister site ARLnow reported, but the space has instead sat dormant for more than two years.
Bitez offers halal, New York-style Middle Eastern food, like falafel, gyros, and chicken and lamb over rice. The company did not immediately return a request for comment.
The center at 2445 Centreville Road has three vacant spaces, including a spot for a fitness-related business.
Hat tip to Sriram Sridharan
(Updated at 3:30 p.m. on 10/6/2023) The Fairfax County Police Department has come out in opposition to the prospect of enhanced powers for the two entities charged with overseeing its handling of community complaints and conflicts.
The department has adopted or is in the process of adopting all but nine reforms proposed by the nonprofit Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) and community members in a Police Reform Matrix Working Group (MWG), Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis told the Board of Supervisors at a safety and security committee meeting yesterday (Tuesday).
However, Davis said the police “do not concur” with the MWG’s recommendations that the county expand the authority of its Police Civilian Review Panel (PCRP) and Independent Police Auditor (IPA), which were both created in 2016 to provide independent oversight of the FCPD.
“The FCPD has engaged in mutually respected dialogue and cooperation with both the civilian review panel and the independent police auditor since the creation of these two entities,” Davis said. “We do not concur that any of these changes are necessary, merited by inefficiency on the part of the FCPD or required for any objective review of the circumstances.”
Convened in June 2020 by Franconia District Supervisor Rodney Lusk, who chairs the board’s safety and security committee, the working group recommended in a May 12, 2023 report that the panel and auditor be granted the authority to conduct independent investigations and suggest or impose discipline against officers.
The group also called for an expansion of the PCRP’s scope to include automatic reviews of FCPD administrative investigations involving allegations of bias or profiling, and an option for the IPA to recommend that the commonwealth’s attorney turn over criminal investigations of shootings by police and in-custody deaths to independent investigators.
Currently, the panel is only authorized to review completed police investigations into abuse of authority and serious misconduct allegations, while the auditor reviews use-of-force investigations.
When the Board of Supervisors established the two entities, Virginia had no set model or regulations for civilian oversight of law enforcement, but a state law adopted in 2020 granted broad powers, including the ability to independently investigate complaints and make or recommend disciplinary decisions.
The PCRP pushed for that expanded authority in a review of its first four years released in February 2021, and its stance hasn’t changed, according to current panel chair Todd Cranford.
“The PCRP continues to advocate for increased authority to review certain FCPD activities on behalf of community members in Fairfax County,” Cranford said in a statement. “[In] furtherance of this objective, we have had, and continue to have, constructive discussions with Chief Davis and the Board of Supervisors on this and other issues. Chief Davis has expressed his disagreement previously, but we remain committed to seeking reasonable expansion of the Panel’s authority.”
Cranford noted that the decision on whether to expand the panel’s authority “will ultimately lie with the Board of Supervisors,” as dictated by state law.
Independent Police Auditor Richard Schott, who has served in the position since 2017, says, if the county hires and funds independent investigators, as suggested by the MWG, decisions about when to utilize them should be left to the commonwealth’s attorney.
“I do not think the Auditor should be called upon to decide when to mobilize investigators who are employed by the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office,” Schott told FFXnow.
Lusk says he would be open to looking at adding independent investigators to the commonwealth’s attorney’s office, but the county would have to delve more deeply into the potential costs and how exactly that arrangement would work.
He expressed support for expanding the PCRP’s authority. However, the panel has added “a number of new members” in the past year, and the county is also now searching for a new executive director after Steven Richardson, the first person to ever hold the position, stepped down.
While Lusk doesn’t know all the circumstances around Richardson’s departure, he says it could take a few months for the county to hire a replacement. The Board of Supervisors and human resources department hope to start interviewing candidates “in the next month or so,” he told FFXnow.
“But once we have completed the training for the panel members and hire the new executive director, I think the first step would be for us to go with monitoring authority for the panel and then we could move from there into the investigatory authority,” Lusk said.
In his presentation, Davis noted that the IPA has never disagreed with the police department’s findings on an investigation, and the PCRP has only diverged once, though both groups have made policy and training recommendations in their incident and annual reports.
“This speaks to our commitment to work in alignment with our community groups and demonstrates the effectiveness of our partnership,” the FCPD said in a statement, which can be read in full below.
In a statement released prior to the committee meeting, the Fairfax County NAACP, ACLU People Power Fairfax and faith leaders on the MWG argued that the “lack of disagreement is indeed concerning, but reflects the limited scope of [the PCRP’s] authority rather than the good conduct of the police force.” Read More
Reston Pub Makes Leap to D.C. — “Makers Union, Thompson Restaurants’ 4-year-old tavern in Reston, Virginia, busts out of the suburbs with a shiny new D.C. edition serving tomahawk dinners for two, ‘sea-cuterie’ boards, and lots of brown liquors — plus a neon-lit reminder to ‘get nauti’ in its Southwest Waterfront neighborhood.” The second location opened on Monday (Oct. 2). [DC Eater]
Dranesville District Supervisor Candidates Face Off — “While frequently exchanging unpleasantries at a forum hosted Sept. 27 by the Great Falls Citizens Association (GFCA), candidates seeking to become the next Dranesville District supervisor fielded questions on taxes, the environment, law enforcement, Metro funding and drag-queen shows.” [Gazette Leader]
Fairfax City Officer Helps Snake Stuck in Glue — “Animal Control Officer Carroll responded to a snake stuck in a glue trap. ACO Carroll purchased vegetable oil and was able to free the snake from the trap. ACO Carroll then released the snake back to it’s natural habitat.” [Fairfax City Police/Twitter]
McLean Cybersecurity Firm Shuts Down — “IronNet Inc. has ceased operations and laid off its entire staff after it was unable to secure the capital it needed to remain in business. Following repeated warnings that it was on the verge of insolvency, the company founded by a former director of National Security Agency officially shut down on Sept. 29.” Hit by allegations that it mislead investors, the company went public just over two years ago. [Washington Business Journal]
Silver Line Restaurant Recommendations Wanted — “I’m working on a food story about Metro-accessible establishments along the Silver Line, so tell me about your favorite spots to grab [beer, pizza, salads] and more from McLean to Ashburn! Help me end the stereotype that NoVA is nothing but soulless chains!” [Wyatt Gordon/Twitter]
Providence Community Center Has New Name — “On September 30, 2023, community leaders joined family members of the late Jim Scott to rename the Providence Community Center as the Jim Scott Community Center…Scott, who died in 2017, served as Providence District Supervisor for 14 years and in Virginia’s House of Delegates for 22 years.” [Neighborhood and Community Services]
FCPS Middle Schoolers Sprint Into Sports — “When Fairfax County, Virginia, began offering middle school sports for the first time this school year, eighth-grader Claire Brown didn’t hesitate to sign up. She decided to join the cross-country team, the first organized sport offered at Sandburg Middle School, because she anticipated it might help her with other sports she plays.” [WTOP]
McLean Fire Department Plans Open House — “The McLean Volunteer Fire Department is hosting an open house on Oct. 14, an event that will include activities for the whole family. The open house will feature life-saving, fire-prevention and emergency medical demonstrations.” [Patch]
It’s Wednesday — The weather forecast predicts patchy fog clearing before 10am, followed by sunny skies with a high around 84. Wednesday night, watch for patchy fog returning after 4am, while the rest of the evening remains mostly clear with a low around 58. [Weather.gov]
