Route 7 Lane Shifts Begin — There will be permanent lane shifts between Towlston Road and Lewinsville Road beginning today. All residences, businesses and other facilities will remain accessible. [Virginia Department of Transportation]
Filing Now Open for Reston Community Center Poll — “Candidate filing is now open for Reston Community Center’s 2020 Preference Poll to fill three seats on its Board of Governors. The Board of Governors is a nine-member body responsible for overseeing the policies, programs and financial planning for RCC.” [RCC]
Northern Virginia Trails Eastern in New COVID-19 Cases — “While the northern region was the center of the coronavirus crisis in Virginia months ago, it has been trailing the eastern region for new cases lately. In the eastern region, additional restrictions have been implemented in Hampton Roads due to increasing new cases, hospitalizations and positive tests.” [Reston Patch]
Photo via vantagehill/Flickr
Earlier this week, Gov. Ralph Northam announced new regional restrictions to address a surge of COVID-19 cases in Hampton Roads.
The new restrictions, which go into effect today, lower the maximum number of people allowed at gatherings, limit late-night alcohol assumption at restaurants and cut back indoor dining for restaurants.
The eastern region’s beaches and non-compliance with public health guidelines and mandates appear to be some of the factors for why the area became a coronavirus hot spot.
While the eastern portion of the state has seen a rising number of cases, Northam noted that the percent positivity rates for Northern Virginia and the western region were below the statewide rate.
“There’s been a dramatic decrease in Northern Virginia,” Northam said, about the rate.
When asked by reporters earlier this week if he would consider domestic travel restrictions, Northam said that it’s an option he’s considering. Some states are asking travelers from “high-risk” states to self-quarantine following their arrival.
Let us know in the poll and comments section below if you think Northam’s regional effort is sufficient or if he should announce statewide restrictions.
Photo via Governor of Virginia/Facebook
Bechtel Taps New President — “For the first time in four years, Bechtel Corp. will have a new president and chief operating officer. Executives for the Reston engineering and construction company said Thursday that Craig Albert, president of its infrastructure segment, will take the reins as its president and COO, stepping in for current COO Jack Futcher, who is set to retire at the end of 2020.” [Washington Business Journal]
Town of Herndon is Open for Business — “The town has launched a “Herndon is Open for Business” promotional video campaign. The town with the help of HCTV is visiting 10-15 small businesses a month to highlight the unique and variety of businesses in the community.” [Town of Herndon]
New State Grant Launching Soon — “A new program, Rebuild VA, will open for applications on August 10 to help small businesses and nonprofit organizations whose normal operations were disrupted by the economic emergency created by the pandemic.” [Fairfax County Economic Development Authority]
Reston Firm Going Public — “SOC Telemed has signed a deal to go public through a merger with a blank-check company, 16 years after the Reston telemedicine provider launched as a videoconferencing service for hospitals — and as the coronavirus pandemic stimulates unprecedented demand for virtual care.” [Washington Business Journal]
Photo vis Marjorie Copson
Boston Properties, the owner of Reston Town Center, has taken a hit in earnings since the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the regional economy.
According to a quarterly earnings statement, the real estate owner’s funds from operations were down by 14 percent in the second quarter this year when compared to this time last year. The company earned $236.9 million for the first three months ending on June 30.
Boston Properties CEO Owen Thomas attributed the earnings drop to layoffs, rent concessions with struggling tenants, and dips in parking fees from office tenants that are now working remotely.
Still, the company reported some big wins. Earlier this year and in the thick of the pandemic, Microsoft signed a 400,000-square-foot-lease in Reston Town Center.
It’s unclear how the pandemic will pan out for the company. Rent collections remain high, with collections of 94 percent of rents overall, Thomas said.
“I’m particularly proud of our team’s commitment to serving our customers with the highest level of professionalism that is our standard at Boston Properties,” he said.
He also noted that greater acceptance of part-time work from home may act as a headwind to office demand growth.
“So longterm, we think the product is here to stay. And the question is, who is going to be providing that and who is going to get through this pandemic most successfully?”
Photo by Jay Westcott
Sandstone Care opened up a new Reston branch to the public on July 20. The drug and alcohol rehabilitation center has locations in the DMV area, as well as in Colorado.
Since the onset of COVID-19, there has been a notable increase in overdoses and suicide deaths, according to Marcello LaRocca, the founder of Sandstone Care. With the enforcement of staying at home and social distancing, it’s not surprising that people are feeling disconnected.
“The pandemic is bringing about isolation in pretty significant ways,” said LaRocca. “It’s definitely fueling a mental health surge, unfortunately.”
The community-based outpatient program specializes in serving teens and young adults. A big issue the age group is currently facing is uncertainty regarding the fall, specifically whether or not they will be going back to school.
Sandstone Care is aiming to support people through virtual services and assessments, while also keeping an in-person option for people when possible.
“A lot of families, four months into the pandemic, have screen fatigue. Not having that connection can be a real challenge,” said LaRocca.
The facility is taking many measures to ensure safety during the COVID-19 pandemic. In their day treatment programs, they are enforcing social distancing and mask-wearing and giving temperature screenings. There will be increased sanitation, and only essential personnel are allowed in the office.
The reception from the public has been very positive. Virginia is a pretty underserved area, especially with resources for teens, according to LaRocca, so there has been a lot of support around their establishment.
“I think there’s a lot of excitement and support from the other community mental health centers and hospitals,” said LaRocca. “It’s hard to be a human being right now.”
The National Suicide Prevention Hotline can be reached at 1-800-273-8255.
Photo via the Sandstone Care/Facebook
Gov. Ralph Northam said during a press conference today that local health officials are pointing to a “significant shift” of people in their 20s or younger getting COVID-19.
As of today (Tuesday), just over 19% of the total reported cases statewide affected people in their 20s, making it the highest percentage of all age groups, according to the Virginia Department of Health (VDH). In the Fairfax Health District, that age group represents 16.6% of the cases — the third-highest age group behind people in their 30s (19.3%) and 40s (18.5%).
Kids and teenagers have roughly the same percentage of cases (10%) compared to people ages 70 and older both statewide and in the Fairfax Health District, VDH says. People ages 70 and older account for the majority of the deaths related to the virus.
Long term care facilities account for roughly half of the outbreaks statewide and just over 75% of outbreaks in the Fairfax Health District. Northam shared that almost 3,000 people have covered from COVID-19 in nursing homes, bucketing the statistic under one of the several “major steps forward.”
Many school systems around the country, including Fairfax County Public Schools, have been struggling recently about how to return to school during a pandemic as health officials learn how the virus affects kids.
The Fairfax Health District has two of the state’s eight cases of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C). Here’s what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says about MIS-C:
Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a condition where different body parts can become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs. We do not yet know what causes MIS-C. However, we know that many children with MIS-C had the virus that causes COVID-19, or had been around someone with COVID-19. MIS-C can be serious, even deadly, but most children who were diagnosed with this condition have gotten better with medical care.
In addition to noting the age demographics for COVID-19 cases, Northam said today that Northern Virginia is one of the areas of the state with an encouraging percent positivity rate of COVID-19.
“There’s been a dramatic decrease in Northern Virginia,” Northam said.
He noted Northern Virginia’s is 5.7%, while the western region of the state is at 5%. Statewide, the percent positivity rate is right around 7%.
Concern about a surge of COVID-19 cases in Hampton Roads prompted the governor to announce restrictions for that region.
“I’m worried that people are starting to lose hope and that’s not a good thing,” Northam said.
Photo via Governor of Virginia/Facebook
Organizers had hoped the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival would take place at a rescheduled date this year.
But today, the Greater Reston Arts Center announced that the festival will be canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic this year. Organizers hope that the next festival will take place on its typical weekend — the third weekend in May. This year’s festival was rescheduled to September 11-13.
“This was a hard decision, knowing how deeply this impacts our artists (who we know value this opportunity, especially now), our audience (who may have appreciated the sense of normalcy the festival could provide), and ourselves (as a small arts non-profit with the festival accounting for over a third of our annual net income),” said Jaynelle Hazard, GRACE’s Executive Director and Curator.
GRACE noted that implementing phase three requirements — including 10 feet of distancing, a 1,000-person cap, and one-way flow of pedestrian traffic — seemed “impossible challenging for an open-air street festival of our magnitude.”
“Volunteer numbers are likely to decline (and our volunteers are essential to a well-run festival in the best of times), and artists who remained committed to the event had dropped in recent weeks. We carefully surveyed all options and held on as long as we could; however, we have reached the point where we cannot, confidently, safely or practically proceed. The safety of everyone involved is our top priority,” wrote Erica Harrison, Associate Curator and Festival Director.
Gov. Ralph Northam is expected to make an announcement on the status of phase three in Virginia during a press conference tomorrow.
Photo by Charlotte Geary
Reston Association’s Board of Directors is improving gaps around financial decision-making due to its acceptance of a $1.3 million Paycheck Protection Program loan that it did not qualify for several months ago.
Some RA members criticized CEO Hank Lynch for pursuing the PPP loan in late March without consulting the Board of Directors in a formal meeting. RA President Julie Bitzer, board members, general counsel, and RA’s Principal Financial Officer were consulted prior to making the decision. The funds were returned on May 14 with no legal penalties or financial costs.
In a July 23 statement, Bitzer said the process indicated there is a “substantial gap in our governing instruments.”
“Specifically, formal controls on the manner in which RA may obtain unsecured loans do not exist,” she wrote in the board-authorized statement.
She also noted that staff and board officers made “assumptions and errors” in the rush to protect RA’s financial stability in response to COVID-19, adding that the majority of the board does not believe Lynch acted with ill intent or exceeded his authority.
In May, Reston Association declined to release information about the amount of the loan to Reston Now. The issue was first publicly raised during a May board meeting when Lynch briefed the board on why the loan was returned.
Nonetheless, RA passed several motions to close gaps in decision-making and improve overall coordination this month:
Move to direct the CEO to present to the FiscalCommittee all current unsecured loans previously entered into for their review and to direct the FiscalCommitteeto provide its review and recommendations on those loans to the Board at the September 2020 regular full Board meeting.
Move to direct that the BOD and CEO establish a periodic review of our business processes and controls to continue to refine our operations.
Move to instruct the Fiscal Committee and Board Governance Committee toreview and provide draft amendments to Staff’s draft revisions of Assessmentand Finance Resolution 10:Budget Amendments to clarify what constitutes amaterial change to the biennial budget that will require action by the Board ofDirectors. The BOD asks that it be presented Resolution 10 draft amendments on or before its November2020full BOD meeting for their consideration and action
In late June, the board also directed the CEO and staff to take no action on obtaining more loans — whether secured or unsecured — without board approval.
Bitzer also noted that Lynch’s decision to cancel summer programs qualified as a public health decision, not a budgetary decision. The decision was critiqued by some members who asserted that the change was a budget amendment, which only the board is authorized to complete.
“Few, if any, organizations were fully prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic, and RestonAssociation was no exception. Organizations had to respond to the crisis, initially at least, with the resources they had on hand and then quickly assemble additional resources to deal with both obvious and also not-so-obvious potential challenges to the organization’s functioning and, for some, their very existence,” Bitzer wrote.
Photo via YouTube
Northam Considers Rolling Back Reopening — “Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has a warning for Virginians. He tweeted Saturday that he will be watching public health data as COVID-19 cases increase in the Commonwealth.” [FOX 5]
Quiet Opening for Apple Store in Reston Town Center — “The new, larger store has quietly opened for business, welcoming customers earlier this month. Usually, new Apple stores are accompanied by much hoopla and celebration. But not this time. In order to keep crowds down, the store just opened. Temperature taking, hand sanitizing, limited customers inside, and lines out front are all part of the new Apple store experience.” [The Burn]
Design Review Board Candidates Sought — Reston Association is seeking volunteers to serve on the board for two volunteer positions. The application is available online. [Reston Association]
Photo via vantagehill/Flickr
Fairfax County has surpassed 15,000 cases as of today (Thursday) as the trajectory of cases continues to remain stable in the county.
One of the most important measures of community transmission — charting confirmed cases by new cases per week — indicates that cases are not growing exponentially. For the last three weeks, the number of new cases has remained relatively stable.
The Virginia Department of Health reported 49 new cases today — a number that is in line with previous daily increases for the last week.
But it’s unclear how complete the data are. The number of total tests administered per week has remained stable since a reported high on the week of May 24. However, the number of positive tests remains low.
Racial disparities continue to remain prevalent in the county. The Hispanic community accounts for 60 percent of total confirmed cases where race is known, even though they comprise just 16 percent of the population.
In Northern Virginia, the number of weekly total cases reported hovers in the 500s, with slight increases reported since last month.
Overall, the state has reported 81,237 confirmed cases, 7,437 hospitalizations, and 2,054 total deaths.
The Fairfax County Health Department is encouraging residents to continue to practice social distancing and wear masks when in public. Cleaning supplies and children’s face coverings are also still needed.
Photo via vantagehill/Flickr
Background Checks on Gun Sales — “A Virginia judge has ruled that most of the state’s new law requiring background checks on all gun sales does not violate constitutional rights, except for a wrinkle that effectively bans people between the ages of 18 and 21 from buying handguns.” [Inside NoVa]
Free COVID-19 Testing in Herndon — The Fairfax County Health Department is offering free testing on Thursday, July 23 at Holly Cross Lutheran Church in Herndon from 2-8 p.m. Various time slots are available. No doctor referral is needed and identification is not necessary. [Fairfax County Health Department]
Slower Sales for Scout & Molly’s in Reston — “Like many small business owners, Jane Abraham has had to make some hard decisions this year due to the coronavirus pandemic just to try and keep her business afloat. Abraham and her daughter, Betsy, own and operate two Scout & Molly’s dress franchises, one at Reston Town Center and the other at Ballston Quarter in Arlington. When Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam ordered all non-essential businesses to close in March, Abraham was forced to lay off her four employees.” [Reston Patch]
Photo via vantagehill/Flickr
At a press conference yesterday, Gov. Ralph Northam said that he is increasing enforcement of public health and safety regulations to prevent a statewide surge in COVID-19 cases.
“If you own a restaurant or a business and you’re not following the regulations, your license will be on the line and we will not hesitate to take action if needed,” Northam said.
Northam said he’s created teams to conduct unannounced visits to establishments. Members will include people from the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), Virginia ABC, Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and other licensing agencies. The VDH is deploying 100 employees to help with increased enforcement, he said.
Businesses have the right to refuse service to customers who are not following the rules. “Remember that you don’t have to serve a patron who is not wearing a face covering. You can tell them to leave,” Northam said.
Additionally, Virginia’s health commissioner sent letters to health district officials to remind them of their authority to enforce physical distancing and face-covering rules in restaurants and public places, Northam said.
“I want to make it clear that these enforcement actions are to stop the people who are clearly flouting the rules: You are being selfish and you are hurting everyone who is doing the right thing to help us all beat this virus,” Northam said.
The new measures stem from a large bump in cases in the state’s eastern region, mainly in the Tidewater region, Northam said, attributing to the surge mainly to young people socializing without masks.
“We’re seeing some troubling numbers,” Northam said, pointing to the Hampton Roads area.
The northwest region is “holding steady,” while the southwest and central areas have seen either small increases, Northam said. Northern Virginia, which has two-thirds of the state’s population, has seen a dip in COVID-19 cases.
Until a vaccine is widely available, Northam said that he is considering other actions, like reducing the cap on gatherings. Northam said has told the Virginia ABC to develop a plan for an earlier cutoff for alcohol sales at restaurants and will announce more on that soon.
Image via Facebook Live
Northern Virginia’s COVID-19 cases appear to be holding steady as Virginia sees an uptick in cases.
Statewide, new daily cases hit a low point in mid-June with 380 cases before an increase last week, according to the Virginia Department of Health. Last Monday, 354 new cases were reported in Virginia before jumping to 972 new cases today (Monday).
Testing for current and past infection has been increasing statewide, according to labs’ testing numbers.
Meanwhile, the Fairfax Health District has seen consistent numbers of tests since June with 1,000-2,000 tests per day.
The current seven-day trend for the percentage of positive tests is 6.7% statewide and 5.9% for the Fairfax Health District.
In mid-June, Fairfax Health District saw the majority of its new daily cases drop from triple digits to double digits. As of today, 74 new cases were reported in the health district.
The epidemic curve for the Fairfax Health District, which shows the number of new cases in a week by the date symptoms started, has been decreasing since May, according to Fairfax County’s dashboard. (Data has not been completed from June 28 to today.)
In total, Fairfax County has had at least 14,556 cases, 500 deaths and 1,713 hospitalizations. Of the state’s 529 outbreaks, 67 were located in the Fairfax Health District.
After receiving thousands of applications, Fairfax County officials want to add funds to its grant program to support more small businesses and nonprofits facing financial turmoil from the pandemic.
On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors will consider spending $20 million to expand Fairfax RISE, according to the draft agenda for the meeting.
The county board originally made the grant program in May with $25 million from funds through the CARES Act. Businesses can receive the following amounts based on the number of employees:
- 1-10: $10,000
- 11-25: $15,000
- 26-49: $20,000
The county is especially trying to help women-owned, minority-owned and veteran-owned businesses stay in business during the pandemic.
Of the 6,280 applications the county received in June, 6,038 qualified for funding, meaning the county would need more than $60 million to support all of them, according to the county.
“As the Grant Program was oversubscribed, a random selection was used to determine the order of processing for all applicants,” according to county documents.
The county invited 2,183 applicants — 36% of the total qualified applicants — to submit documentation and start the certification process. The county documents say that some businesses that qualified during the first review phase may become disqualified in the second review phase if they don’t meet the documentation requirements or don’t respond.
Now, the county wants to expand the program to hopefully fund approximately 65%-80% of the applicants by adding $20 million from the county.
Virginia started Phase Three of reopening last week, opening the door to more options for indoor public spaces like restaurants and fitness centers.
The recent surge of coronavirus cases in California and Texas has led to growing doubts that indoor dining and bar services will — or should — open soon.
While Virginia is fortunate enough to see the number of new cases per day on the decline, some suggest that indoor dining should remain closed to further slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Bolstered by a growing body of research, public health officials say that indoor dining poses more dangerous health risks than other retail activities, even with social distancing.
Patrons can breathe indoor air that is contaminated by the virus and air conditioning. Outdoor dining, however, appears to be safer because respiratory particles are more quickly diluted in open air.
But restaurants — some of which are already struggling due to previous closures and restrictions — may need indoor dining to remain in-tact in order to survive.
Let us know what you think. Should Virginia continue with phase three restrictions or try to preempt a resurgence by closing indoor dining completely?
Photo via The Breeze Restaurant and Sports Bar: Facebook
