PIVOT Grant Application Deadline Today — This is the last day for hotels, restaurants, and other local businesses affected by the pandemic to apply for COVID-19 relief funding from Fairfax County’s PIVOT grant program. The application portal will close at 11:59 p.m. [Fairfax County Government]
COVID-19 Mostly Spreading Among Unvaccinated People Now — “From December 29 to June 25, 99.7 percent of new COVID-19 cases have occurred among unvaccinated or partially vaccinated Virginians, according to VDH. Those residents made up 99.3 percent of hospitalizations and 99.6 percent of deaths over the same time period.” [Virginia Mercury]
McLean Nonprofit to Raffle Off Nats Memorabilia — “The McLean area branch of the American Association of University Women’s (AAUW) used-book sale, its annual charitable fund-raiser, has been postponed again due to lingering effects of COVID-19. Instead, the group will hold a substitute fund-raiser featuring [Washington Nationals pitcher Max] Scherzer memorabilia, along with a request for contributions to support education and local scholarships for women.” [Sun Gazette/Inside NoVA]
Help Clean Up Nottoway Park This Weekend — “Join us at Nottoway Park on Saturday, July 10th, to celebrate Latinx Conservation Month, and help manage invasive plants, visit some sheep, and learn how to care for plants. Nottoway Park is located at 9537 Courthouse Road in Vienna, VA.” [Palchik Post]
The Virginia Department of Transportation has selected Shirley Contracting Company to build a bridge and shared-use path along Old Meadow Road, providing a crucial connection from Tysons Corner Center to the McLean Metro station over I-495.
The contract was awarded in June but has not been finalized yet. VDOT project manager Abraham Lerner confirmed that construction is still expected to start this summer.
“At this time we do not have a specific date when the construction of the Tysons Old-Meadow Road project is expected to begin,” Lerner told Tysons Reporter by email. “We need to finalize the administrative processes related to getting the contractor under contract…We will reach out to the community prior to starting construction work.”
Based in Lorton, Shirley Contracting is an affiliate of Clark Construction, which has been involved in numerous other projects in Fairfax County, including the second phase of Metro’s Silver Line project.
The project will provide a bridge over the Capital Beltway for pedestrians and bicyclists, who currently have no easy way to cross the interstate at the Route 123 interchange. It will also involve the addition of a 4,662-foot-long, 10-foot-wide trail along the west side of Old Meadow Road.
Construction will unfold in two phases due to the availability of funding, according to Lerner.
The first phase will introduce the bridge and a portion of the shared-use path up to the Provincial Drive intersection. Construction will be supported by $8.5 million in funding and is expected to be complete in the summer of 2022.
The shared-use path will then be extended to Route 123 during the project’s second phase, which will begin construction once “additional funding becomes available,” VDOT says.
A motorcyclist died on Sunday (July 4) after crashing off of Interstate 66 near the Nutley Street exit, Virginia State Police reported yesterday (Wednesday).
According to police, Eddie B. Short, 55, of Manassas was traveling west on I-66 on a 1999 Harley-Davidson Sportster when the motorcycle went off the interstate and hit a crash attenuator. The crash occurred at 12:33 p.m. on the Fourth of July.
Short, who was wearing a helmet, was transported to Fairfax Inova Hospital, where he died from the resulting injuries that same day.
VSP Public Relations Director Corinne Geller confirmed to Tysons Reporter that the crash occurred near Exit 62 for Nutley Street. The cause of the crash has not been determined as the incident remains under investigation.
State police say Short was one of 10 people who died in traffic crashes on Virginia highways over this past Independence Day weekend, which was counted from 12:01 a.m. on July 2 to midnight on July 5.
Four of the reported fatal crashes involved motorcycles, and one involved an all-terrain vehicle.
Preliminary data shows that 399 people have been killed in traffic crashes in 2021 as of July 7, four more deaths than had been recorded at this point last year, according to a VSP news release.
Overall, state troopers responded to 669 traffic crashes and 1,550 incidents involving stranded or disabled motorists during the holiday weekend. They also arrested 61 drunk drivers and issued 4,025 citations for speeding, 1,434 for reckless driving, and 510 for not wearing a seatbelt.
“We are at the height of the summer travel season, which is why we need every Virginian committed to being a safe, responsible driver,” VSP Superintendent Col. Gary T. Settle said. “Please put as much attention into driving, buckling up and complying with speed limits as you do with planning your summer getaway. You and Virginia’s safety depend on it.”
Photo via Google Maps
Tropical Storm Elsa Heads to Virginia — After leaving Florida behind, Tropical Storm Elsa is expected to bring heavy rain and strong winds along the East Coast from Georgia to New England through Friday. Forecasts show the storm passing to the east, but the D.C. area on I-95 could get some rain and breezy conditions tonight. [Capital Weather Gang]
Falls Church Developer Proposes More Senior Housing — “The Falls Church Gateway developer partnership getting underway with work on the 9-acre site of the former George Mason High School came to the F.C. City Council Monday with a request, granted a preliminary vote by a 7-0 margin, to expand the senior living building set for the site from 225,000 square feet to 260,000, including a height increase to 15 stories to accommodate up to 215 units.” [Falls Church News-Press]
Cause of Bird Deaths Still Unknown — The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources received more than 1,400 reports of sick or dying birds in Northern Virginia, including Fairfax County, between May 23 and June 30. No cause has been identified yet, but symptoms of the illness include eye swelling and neurological issues. [Vienna Police/Twitter]
Travel Ban Puts Falls Church Couple’s Wedding Plans at Risk — “The pandemic has prevented a couple from Falls Church, Virginia, from walking down the aisle, and now they say they’ll lose $30,000 if the U.S. travel ban on citizens from Britain and other European nations isn’t lifted soon.” [WTOP]
Bloomingdale’s is setting up shop at the Mosaic District — with a culinary twist.
The clothing retailer announced today (Wednesday) that it will launch a new concept for a smaller, more tailored store at the Merrifield mixed-use development on Aug. 26.
Dubbed “Bloomie’s,” the 22,000 square-foot venue will feature a rotating assortment of fashion brands as well as the first Virginia location of the Colada Shop, a Caribbean eatery and cafe that started in D.C. in 2016.
“Our new Bloomie’s store will deliver everything [customers] love about Bloomingdale’s in a highly edited, convenient, and unexpected way,” Bloomingdale’s CEO Tony Spring said in a press release. “We’ve been part of the Washington, D.C., metro area community for decades, and we are excited to welcome new and longtime customers to Bloomie’s to be the first to shop this fresh and casual experience.”
Bloomingdale’s plans to introduce a small-store concept at the Mosaic District this fall were first reported in January by the fashion magazine WWD and its sister publication Footwear News. The Mosaic District confirmed the news through social media.
According to Footwear News, Bloomie’s is part of a broader effort by Macy’s Inc. — Bloomingdale’s parent company — to adapt to an uncertain retail landscape that was shifting away from traditional department stores even before the tumult brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Macy’s Inc. laid off about 3% of its workforce last summer, including hundreds of Bloomingdale’s executives, and is in the midst of a three-year downsizing plan that involves shuttering 125 stores and eliminating 2,000 positions, moves that the company projects will save $630 million annually.
Bloomingdale’s Director of Stores Charles Anderson says the company’s familiarity with the D.C. area, which includes a store in Tysons Corner Center, made the Mosaic District a logical place to introduce the Bloomie’s concept.
“We have two powerful existing Bloomingdale’s stores in the area and a vibrant online business, so Bloomie’s enters a market where customers know our brand,” Anderson said in a statement. “We chose this first Bloomie’s location within Mosaic District…because it provides an approachable and convenient location for customers.”
According to Bloomingdale’s press release, the Mosaic District store will emphasize fresh styles, with deliveries of new apparel coming in multiple times a week.
A centralized front desk will provide various customer services, including a returns dropbox, in-store and curbside pickups for online purchases, and customization and alteration services. The fitting rooms will also be outfitted with digital intercoms that customers can use to request assistance.
Perhaps the most unusual aspect of Bloomie’s, however, is its partnership with Colada Shop, which will have an outdoor patio seating area in addition to its indoor dining room.
The restaurant serves coffee, cocktails, and a variety of Caribbean food, including Cuban sandwiches and empanadas, depending on the location. It currently has two sites in D.C. and one location in Potomac, Maryland.
“My team and I are incredibly excited to become part of one of the DMV’s most innovative retail and entertainment communities,” Colada Shop CEO and co-founder Daniella Senior said. “Not only are we energized to bring the Caribbean way of life to Virginia, but we are also honored to be side-by-side with our partners at Bloomie’s and committed to create the most vibrant and sophisticated experiences for our guests.”
The store will mark its arrival in the Mosaic District “pre-opening activations” throughout the month of August and various festivities during the week of its grand opening on Aug. 26, the press release says.
The Mary Riley Styles Public Library will be closed for about a month starting this Sunday (July 11), as staff begin the process of moving into their newly renovated facility at 120 N. Virginia Avenue.
The City of Falls Church announced the impending closure in late June, stating that the new, expanded library building is expected to open to the public in early to mid-August.
“The library renovation and expansion project is coming to an end and the outside of the new library building is looking great!” the news alert said. “There’s still work that needs to be done on the inside including moving our entire collection into its new home and setting up public and staff spaces.”
The library has operated out of temporary trailers near Oak Street Elementary School (previously called Thomas Jefferson Elementary) since construction on the renovation began in February 2020.
In the works since 2017, the renovation will add about 6,000 square feet of space to the library, which was originally constructed in 1957 and had not been expanded since 1992, according to the project website. Other changes include a relocation of the Local History Room, larger conference rooms, and clearer distinctions between spaces for different age groups.
Once the temporary trailer closes, several library services will be suspended, including curbside pickups, pickups for reserved materials, and interlibrary loans.
Due dates will automatically be pushed back during the closure, but items can be returned through outdoor dropboxes that will initially be outside the trailer before moving to the front of the new building. A second drive-up drop will also be available at the new library.
Mary Riley Styles Public Library says response times to emails, text messages, and voicemails may be slower than usual because of the move, but staff will continue to communicate during the closure. They will also still make and mail out new library cards.
Once the new building opens, the library plans to continue providing up to two automatic renewals, as long as no other patrons have a hold on the material, and fines for overdue materials will not be imposed until 28 days after the due date.
Photo via City of Falls Church/YouTube
County Leaders Frustrated by State Funding for Prosecutors — Fairfax County leaders say Virginia’s current formula to determine funding for Commonwealth’s Attorney offices undermines criminal justice reform efforts by rewarding localities that seek incarceration over diversion. A 15-month, state-commissioned study of the issue is set to launch this month. [The Washington Post]
Progress on Unemployment Rate Stalls — “Like much of Northern Virginia, Fairfax County’s jobless rate has improved substantially from the depths of the COVID crisis a year before, but now seems struck in neutral as it attempts to return to pre-pandemic lows…Fairfax’s jobless rate of 3.7 percent in May was up a tick from 3.6 a month before, according to figures reported June 30 by the Virginia Employment Commission.” [Sun Gazette/Inside NoVA]
Tysons-Based Engineering Contractor Acquired — “Newport News-based Fortune 500 military shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries will acquire McLean-based defense contractor Alion Science and Technology Corp. from Veritas Capital in a $1.65 billion, all-cash deal, HII announced in a news release Tuesday. The deal is expected to close by the end of this year.” [Virginia Business]
County to Hold Virtual Meeting on Strategic Plan — “Join us July 21 for a virtual community conversation to share your thoughts on the Fairfax Countywide Strategic Plan as we move forward to shape the future of Fairfax County together. Register online.” [Fairfax County Government/Twitter]
With the Fourth of July now in the rearview mirror, community transmission of the novel coronavirus remains low in Fairfax County, but some indicators suggest COVID-19 levels could be on the rise again.
With the addition of four new cases today (Tuesday), the Fairfax Health District has reported exactly 100 new cases over the past week — almost as many as the entire month of June — bringing the total for Fairfax County and the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church to 78,204 cases.
The weekly average has ticked back up since mid-June, climbing from zero cases over the preceding week on June 19 to 13.3 cases today, as has the testing positivity rate, which went from a moving seven-day average of 0.7% on June 27 to 0.9% as of July 2, according to Virginia Department of Health data.
These trends reflect the state of the pandemic in Virginia as a whole, which saw May’s steady decline in cases level out in June and now has a weekly average of 180 cases, up from an all-time low of 129 cases on June 20.
Fairfax County’s primary metrics of a 0.9% testing positivity rate and 1.2 new daily cases per 100,000 people over the past seven days are still well within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s thresholds for a low level of community transmission, which is defined as fewer than 10 cases per 100,000 people and a positivity rate under 5%.
In addition, the severity of cases has been reduced from earlier in the pandemic. The Fairfax Health District reported one hospitalization in the past week for a total of 4,138 people and four deaths for 1,145 deaths overall.
In a blog post published on Friday (July 2), the Fairfax County Health Department attributed the continued low levels of COVID-19 transmission to its ability to identify and isolate individuals who are sick with the respiratory disease and the success of the ongoing vaccination campaign.
According to the FCHD vaccine data dashboard, 743,038 Fairfax Health District residents have gotten at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose. That is 62.8% of the overall population and three out of every four adults (75.1%). 651,344 residents — 66.5% of adults and 55% of the total population — have been fully vaccinated.
“While we still have work to do and need those unvaccinated to continue to be diligent and wear masks, Fairfax County has made incredible strides in our vaccination efforts,” Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said in a newsletter on Friday, reporting that there is only one zip code in the county with a vaccination rate under 70%.
McKay announced that the county flag outside the Fairfax County Government Center has returned to full mast to reflect the end of Virginia’s COVID-19 State of Emergency at the beginning of July. The county’s state of emergency remains in place, however.
County health officials also warn that COVID-19 case levels could surge, particularly among people who have not been vaccinated, due to the spread of variants. The Delta variant first detected in India is considered the biggest current threat.
As of July 2, Northern Virginia had recorded 596 infections caused by variants of concern, including 17 cases confirmed to come from the Delta variant. That variant, which has proven especially contagious, now accounts for more than one in every five cases nationwide, according to the FCHD.
The county health department says studies suggest that the COVID-19 vaccines that have been authorized in the U.S. “remain very effective against the Delta variant.”
“Vaccination remains the best tool in preventing a Delta surge,” Fairfax County Director of Epidemiology and Population Health Director Dr. Benjamin Schwartz said in a statement. “This virus can take advantage of any cracks in our defenses. For those who have not yet gotten vaccinated, I urge you to do so. Your actions will keep us on the road to recovery from the pandemic.”
Fairfax County residents can find sites offering COVID-19 vaccinations through vaccines.gov or the Vaccine Administration Management System (VAMS).
With summer in full swing, the Latin American fusion restaurant Blend 111 hopes to conjure up a cool sea breeze with a new seafood-focused tapas pop-up concept that will launch next Monday (July 12).
Pescao, which translates to “fish” in English, will operate out of Blend 111 (111 Church St. NW) in Vienna every Monday through Sept. 6. The menu will only be available during dinner hours from 4-9 p.m.
“We really wanted to try a small plate, tapas style concept,” Blend 111 owner and sommelier Michael Biddick said in a statement. “With all of the isolation and difficulty that we have all seen over the past 18 months, we thought that a concept that focused on sharing and having new experiences with friends as vaccinations increase was needed.”
Developed by Executive Chef Andrés-Julian Zuluaga, the menu will feature seafood small plates that are intended to be shared. There will be cold dishes, such as oysters and crab and trout cavier arepas, as well as hot dishes, including scallops and pulpo (grilled Spanish octopus).
The pop-up will also serve side dishes, cocktails, and wine, according to a press release.
Pescao represents a continuation of Biddick’s efforts to keep refining Blend 111, as relayed to Tysons Reporter when the restaurant marked its two-year anniversary in Vienna in May.
That willingness to adapt has been crucial during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to the introduction of a to-go lunch menu and the conversion of the venue’s parking lot into a patio for outdoor dining.
Biddick says the restaurant has seen “a steady increase” in customers since January.
“Since we have the patio space, we were fortunate to be able to host guests outside,” he said. “Even with the restrictions removed and higher vaccinations, guests still prefer to sit outdoors.”
McLean District Leads String of Vehicle Thefts — Fairfax County police have been investigating a series of stolen vehicle reports since early June. The incidents usually take place overnight and involve the suspects entering unlocked vehicles with the keys inside. The majority of thefts have occurred in the McLean District, which has 15 cases. [FCPD]
Tysons Boulevard Closure Delayed — Plans to close a section of Tysons Boulevard’s northbound lane for bicyclists and pedestrians have been postponed “due to a small delay in installation.” The temporary closure was scheduled to begin today (Tuesday) but will instead start next Wednesday (June 14). [Fairfax County Department of Transportation]
I-495 Ramps in Idylwood to Close Overnight — “The ramps from northbound I-495 to I-66 East and I-66 West are scheduled to be closed nightly Tuesday, July 6, through Thursday, July 8, from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., and Friday night, July 9, from midnight to 4 a.m. for paving and implementation of a traffic shift…The I-66/I-495 Interchange is being rebuilt as part of the Transform 66 Outside the Beltway Project.” [VDOT]
Nearby: Tornado Touched Down in Arlington — The National Weather Service confirmed on Friday (July 2) that a tornado touched down during the thunderstorm that passed through the D.C. area the previous day. The twister charted a 4.4-mile path from northern Arlington to the National Mall and brought winds that reached 90 miles per hour. [ARLNow]
