Flash Flood Watch in Effect — The National Weather Service has issued a Flash Flood Watch for Fairfax County and the rest of the D.C. area through 10 p.m. today (Wednesday). Multiple rounds of heavy showers and thunderstorms could drop up to one to two inches of rain per hour, leading to rapid rises in streams, creeks, and poor drainage areas. [NWS]

Transportation Mask Mandate Extended to Next Year — “The Transportation Security Administration said Tuesday that it will extend a federal mask mandate for airline, bus and train passengers into next year, requiring the face coverings until Jan. 18, 2022…While a CDC order imposing the transportation requirement has no end date, TSA enforcement rules had been set to expire Sept. 13.” [The Washington Post]

Fairfax County Sends Out Jury Questionnaires — Approximately 60,000 Fairfax County or City of Fairfax residents might soon receive a jury duty questionnaire in the mail. The survey is the start of a screening process to determine an individual’s eligibility, which could lead to a summons and a call to report for service. The Fairfax County Courthouse has started hosting more in-person proceedings but renewed its mask requirement earlier this month. [Fairfax County Government]

NOVA Partners with AT&T on IT Training — “AT&T has created an IT apprenticeship program with Northern Virginia Community College and the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry, the company announced Tuesday. The two-year program will offer students information technology training and 2,000 hours of on-the-job training in technical, soft skills, lab work and related skills…Those selected will work as part-time AT&T employees and train at NOVA’s Reston complex and AT&T’s Oakton facility.” [Virginia Business]

Photo via vantagehill/Flickr

Ten graduating seniors from South Lakes High School each received up to $16,000 from a local scholarship fund this month.

The Reston Scholarship Fund at the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia awarded 10 scholarship to the students, who will be attending Northern Virginia Community College in the fall, on Sunday (June 9).

State Del. Ken Plum (D-36th), Moses Ulom of the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia, and Monica Gomez, an SLHS pathways counselor spoke at the event.

The following students received awards:

• Hadi Abdelhalim
• Mathani Abdelrahman
• Aamina Ahmad
• Arnoldo Alejandro Avalos Alvarenga
• Zayyan Budiman
• Andrea Coca Ventura
• Gisela Hernandez-Estrada
• Priscilla Maradiaga
• Tsiyon Wakjira
• Brenda Yanes

Awards are available for up to six years as long as the student works to attain an undergraduate degree and demonstrates academic merit and financial need.

This is the fourth year the foundation has offered scholarship funding for SLHS graduating seniors. Academic performance, essays, financial need and recommendations are considered in the selection process.

Photo via Liz Blankespoor

Starting today (Feb. 15), South Lakes High School students can apply to the Reston Scholarship Fund of the Community College of Northern Virginia.

Liz Blankespoor, a Restonian and co-founder of the scholarship fund, told Reston Now in an email that the scholarship is currently supporting 22 graduates of South Lakes High School who are working on their post-secondary degrees.

The scholarship awards 10 scholarships each year to seniors planning to attend the community college before transferring to a four-year college.

South Lakes High School senior graduating in June must:

• be attending the Northern Virginia Community College in this fall
• have a GPA of 2.75 or higher
• demonstrate financial need

The scholarships vary amounts, with a possible award of up to $16,000. They are spread over the course of six years and are renewable for students who maintain a GPA at or above 2.75 and continue to demonstrate financial need, Blankespoor wrote.

Submissions are due by May 1.

File photo

Three big-name developers are partnering to build the “Midline,” a mixed-use project with 1.8 million square feet of development near the Wiehle-Reston East Metro Station.

If approved, the project by JBG, EYA and Chevy Chase Land Co. would bring 1.2 million square feet of residential development, a senior living center, 260,000 square feet of office and up to 250,000 square feet of retail to 17.5 acres east of Wiehle Avenue, south of Sunset Hills Road, and west of Michael Faraday Drive.

The Fairfax County Planning Commission will vote on the project on September 27. A vote by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is likely in October, but an official date has not been scheduled yet.

The plan requires redevelopment of four low-rise office buildings and surface parking. Northern Virginia Community College will relocate to 1821 Michael Faraday Drive, two blocks east of the development. Plans for the relocation of Marymount University are not known.

Four blocks with several buildings are proposed. Block A would include one building with 127 independent units and a 33-bed assisted living facility. The second building would include a 225-unit multi-family building and around 103,870 square feet of other uses. Block B would include a 225-unit multi-family building and around 260,000 square feet of office space. The 14-story office building is the tallest in the development. 

The plan for blocks C and D is more flexible, with a mix of multi-family units and townhouses proposed. Overall, the residential portion of the development would serve up to 1,500 residents.

The applicant is also seeking a 21 percent reduction in the number of required parking spaces. State law allows reductions if proposed development has high density and is nearby a current or planned Metrorail station.

In an Aug. 30 report, staff from the county’s Department of Planning and Zoning said the location of townhouses along Reston Station Boulevard is “a central site design concern.” Reston’s comprehensive plan envisions the street as a main street with ground floor retail. The report also notes that lawns for townhouse owners are so small they may be hard to maintain.

In addition to contributions to the county’s road fund, the applicant will provide $40,000 for four new traffic signal preemption devices near the development and around $1.5 million for the county’s school fund. Estimates indicate the development would generate between 123 and 148 new students.

The Midline project adds itself into a mix of approved and in-progress applications near the Wiehle-Reston East Metro Station.

Photos via handout/Fairfax County Government

A new technology center has opened up its offices at 1821 Michael Faraday Drive.

Northern Virginia Community College’s Reston Technology Center, which includes a new technology training hub, opened earlier this year. A grand opening celebration is set for April 25 from 12:30  to 2:30 p.m.

The center offers night, weekend and day classes in coursework varying from cybersecurity to business.  It contains 11 classrooms, three computer labs, a library and a multi-purpose room.

Individuals interested in attending the grand opening ceremony should RSVP online.

Image via Reston Center

Adam John of Reston is one of four Northern Virginia Community College students named to the Phi Theta Kappa Top Ten All-Virginia Academic Team

John, 25, studied biology at NOVA’s Loudoun Campus and served as president of the Alpha Zeta Rho chapter of Phi Theta Kappa. He completed two research-based internships and will transfer in the fall to Columbia University to study neuroscience.

He said he hopes these experiences will help him gain acceptance to a MD-PhD program, where he plans to pursue medical research in brain function.

John was honored — along with Allan Edzii of Sterling, Amanuel Eshete of Alexandria, Isabela Lopes of Gainesville — at a recognition ceremony last month in April.

Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, the national honor society for two-year college students, is the largest honor society in higher education with 1,285 chapters on college campuses in all 50 of the United States, plus internationally.

Photo: Adam John/Courtesy Northern Virginia Community College