McLean Downtown Plan Public Hearing Today — The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing at 4:30 p.m. today (Tuesday) on the McLean Community Business Center plan, which unanimously passed the planning commission earlier this month. The plan aims to revitalize McLean’s downtown area but has faced objections over parking, building heights, and the potential impact on local schools. [Fairfax County Government]
Capital One Center Starbucks Closed — The Starbucks at Capital One Center (1610 Capital One Drive North) is temporarily closed “due to limited office occupancy during the COVID pandemic,” a spokesperson for the development confirmed to Tysons Reporter, adding that the coffee shop is expected to reopen “in the near future.” [Capital One Center]
Madeira School Expansion Approved — “Fairfax County supervisors on June 8 voted 10-0 to grant a special exception allowing Madeira School to add a new science building, more faculty housing and improved equestrian facilities on its McLean campus…Under the newly approved plan, Madeira will have 518,255 square feet of gross floor area, with up to 45 residential units and up to 12 accessory-dwelling units.” [Sun Gazette]
McLean HS Turf Field Replacement Starts Today — “Starting tomorrow (June 22nd), the turf field and track at our stadium will be closed until early August. This shut down is due to our turf field being replaced. We apologize for inconvenience.” [McLean High School]
Wolf Trap to Salute Front-Line Workers — “Wolf Trap is officially back open for in-person shows after a year of pandemic closures. So what better way to celebrate than a series of ‘Thank You Community Concerts,’ saluting frontline workers, education workers and health care workers?” [WTOP]
There were 14 new COVID-19 cases in the Fairfax Health District today (Monday), as reported by the Fairfax County Health Department.
Even a month ago, that total would’ve been on the low end for a single day, but in June, when daily case counts have been more likely to dip into negative numbers than to enter double digits, it’s an anomaly, representing the biggest influx of new cases since 22 came in on May 30.
After adding 25 new cases in the past week, including 11 cases just last Wednesday (June 16), Fairfax County is now averaging three cases over the past seven days, the highest weekly average since June 8, according to the Virginia Department of Health dashboard.
Three people died from the disease caused by the novel coronavirus in the past week, and six more people have been hospitalized, bringing the respective totals up to 1,137 deaths and 4,137 hospitalizations. There have been 78,038 total cases in the Fairfax Health District since March 2020.
Even so, it has now been three weeks since Virginia lifted all capacity limitations over Memorial Day weekend, which typically brings an uptick in travel and social gatherings, and at least in Fairfax, the COVID-19 surge that followed other holidays during the pandemic has not emerged, likely due to increased vaccinations.
As of today, 725,862 Fairfax Health District residents, including people from the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church, have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. That is 73.7% of adults and 61.3% of the district’s total population.
628,151 residents — 64.8% of adults and 53.1% of the population overall — are fully vaccinated, according to the county health department.
The Fairfax Health District is outpacing Virginia as a whole, which hit the 70% mark today for adults who have gotten at least one vaccine dose, making it the 16th state to meet the July 4 target set by President Joe Biden, Gov. Ralph Northam announced.
“Virginia has reached a significant milestone in the fight against COVID-19,” Northam said. “Thanks to the millions of Virginians who have rolled up their sleeves to get vaccinated, the virus is in retreat, our economy is growing, and we are closer to putting this pandemic behind us.”
According to VDH, 4.9 million people — 57.8% of the overall population — have received at least one dose, and 4.2 million Virginians are fully vaccinated, which is 60.3% of adults and 49.3% of the state’s population.
With the demand for vaccinations slowing, Virginia has started to close its mass vaccine sites in favor of more mobile, targeted clinics. This will be the last week of operations for the community vaccination center at Tysons Corner Center, as it is scheduled to close on Saturday (June 26).
Until then, the site is accepting walk-ins from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. today, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday.
Individuals 12 and older can register for an appointment there or at other Fairfax County clinics through the Vaccine Administration Management System. Other providers can be located through Vaccines.gov.
Top photo via CDC on Unsplash
Teen Arrested after Police Chase on I-495 — Virginia State Police arrested an 18-year-old from Portsmouth on multiple charges, including abduction and possession of a concealed weapon without a permit, after he reportedly led a state trooper on a chase in a stolen car on Friday (June 18). The trooper attempted to pull over a Honda Civic going 80 mph in a 55 mile-per-hour zone on Interstate 495, leading to a chase that ended when the Honda rear-ended a trailer on Lee Chapel Road. [WTOP]
Work Begins Today on McLean Field Conversion — “Work is scheduled to begin Monday to convert the existing soccer field at Holladay Field Park in McLean to synthetic turf. Crews will also install stormwater and drainage features and other site improvements. It’s expected to be completed in October.” [Fairfax County Park Authority/Twitter]
The Langley School Breaks Ground on New Facility — “On June 18, The Langley School officially broke ground for a state-of-the-art new building on its 9.2-acre campus…Called the Crossroads Building, the facility is scheduled to open in fall 2022 and will house the preschool, junior kindergarten, kindergarten, fifth grade, and after-school programs, along with a library/media center and a multipurpose space.” [The Langley School/Patch]
Vienna Completes New Public Art Project — “Come on out to the latest project by the Vienna Public Arts Commission and get your picture taken with butterfly wings! The display, painted by Madison graduate Myles Temple, is by the batting cages at Caffi Field.” [Town of Vienna/Facebook]
Comedian Puts on Father’s Day Show for Jammin’ Java — “Vienna native Allan Sidley likes to make a room laugh. Despite his stage fright, Sidley got into stand-up comedy seven years ago, and has been bringing laughter to people’s lives ever since. Sidley likes to look at life with the perspective of laughing makes things better.” [Fairfax County Times]
The weekend is almost here. Before you starting reading up on Fairfax County’s history or head to bed for some much-needed sleep, let’s revisit recent news from the Tysons area that you might’ve missed.
These were the most-read stories on Tysons Reporter this week:
- BREAKING: Shooting in Vienna under police investigation
- A guide to free outdoor concerts around Tysons this summer
- Man dies after shooting in Vienna; police investigation ongoing
- New law will change the rules of the road for drivers and bicyclists starting July 1
- As developer plans to fix West Falls Church Metro area, pressure builds on county to fix nearby traffic issues
Ideas for stories we should cover can be sent to [email protected] or submitted as an anonymous tip. Photos of scenes from around the community are welcome too, with credit always given to the photographer.
You can find previous rundowns of top stories on the site.
Updated at 2:40 p.m. — The electronic device discovered outside of CIA’s Langley headquarters, leading to a two-hour closure of Route 123, turned out to be innocuous, a CIA spokesperson says.
“The investigation identified the small electronic device by our front gate to be a remote for a dog training collar with no security implications,” CIA spokesperson Nicole de Haay told Tysons Reporter in a statement. “Our front gate is all clear, and the matter is resolved.”
Updated at 1:30 p.m. — Route 123 has reopened in front of the CIA in McLean, the Fairfax County Police Department says.
The road was closed for roughly two hours while the intelligence agency investigated “a small electronic device” found outside its headquarters with support from local police.
“In coordination with our law enforcement partners, we’re investigating a small electronic device found outside the secure perimeter of CIA Headquarters near our front gate,” CIA spokesperson Nicole de Haay said in a statement. “Consistent with our standard protocols, we’re taking the appropriate security precautions, which include closing the front gate to CIA Headquarters.”
De Haay said the CIA will update its statement as more details about the situation become known.
Earlier: Route 123 is currently closed to traffic around the CIA headquarters in McLean.
The Fairfax County Police Department said just after 11:20 a.m. that Dolley Madison Boulevard has been shut down between Georgetown Pike and Savile Lane “for law enforcement activity in the area.”
A traffic alert from Fairfax County says drivers should “expect delays for an undetermined amount of time.”
Just last month, Route 123 was closed in the CIA headquarters area in response to a security incident where an individual reportedly attempted to drive through the gates and was stopped by armed guards.
That incident concluded when an FBI agent who responded to the scene shot the man, who later died from his injuries and has never been publicly identified.
The CIA directed follow-up inquiries about the incident to the FBI, which said it was conducting an internal review of the incident in accordance with its policies for shootings involving agents.
The FBI told Tysons Reporter on May 20 that it had no further information or comment beyond its public statement, reprinted below, announcing the individual’s death.
The subject involved in the shooting incident outside CIA Headquarters at approximately 6 p.m. on Monday, May 3, 2021, died from his injuries after being transported to the hospital. The FBI reviews every shooting incident involving an FBI special agent. The review will carefully examine the circumstances of the shooting and collect all relevant evidence from the scene. As the review remains ongoing, we cannot provide any additional details at this time.
TRAFFIC ALERT: Route 123 in McLean is closed between Georgetown Pike and Savile Lane for law enforcement activity in the area. Please use an alternate route. #FCPD pic.twitter.com/gs3T8UkV3Y
— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) June 18, 2021
Police Investigate Offensive KKK Flyers — Bigotry-filled flyers aimed at the Fairfax County School Board were found earlier this week in the Springfield and Sully Districts, apparently distributed by the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. School board members and local leaders, including Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay and the president of the county’s NAACP chapter, denounced the flyers, which are under investigation by county police and the FBI. [Patch]
County Government Observes Juneteenth — Fairfax County government offices are closed today in recognition of Juneteenth, which falls on Saturday (June 19). Fairfax County Public Library branches are closed, as is the McLean Community Center, but many park facilities are open, and the county’s trash collection services will proceed as normal. [Fairfax County Government]
Athletic Training Facility Opens in Falls Church — Capital City Sports Academy will hold a grand opening ceremony from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow (Saturday) for its new, 4,500 square-foot sports training facility at 3431 Carlin Springs Road. Attendees can meet the owners and coaching staff, take a tour of the facility, and win two months of free classes. [Capital City Sports Academy/Instagram]
Volunteers Clean Up Vienna Park — “As Vienna Little League prepares to host Virginia’s Little League Major Baseball State Tournament in July, George C. Yeonas Park is getting a facelift with the help of two dozen sweaty and hard-working volunteers. On Thursday, around 25 volunteers who work for Dominion Energy showed up at Yeonas Park to tackle projects to improve the fields and other facilities.” [Patch]
Great Falls and North West Street Sidewalks Extended — “After much effort by @fairfaxcounty and @FallsChurchGov staff, and local residents, today we celebrated completion of the NW Street and GF Street sidewalk extensions. It was a beautiful day and I am so glad we were able to gather together in person!” [Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust/Twitter]
A former Oakton High School student will get another day in court after a three-judge panel ordered a new trial in her lawsuit against the Fairfax County School Board over school officials’ handling of a sexual assault report in 2017.
In an opinion released yesterday (Wednesday), Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Judges James Wynn Jr. and Stephanie Thacker reversed a judgment rendered by a jury in 2019 and sent the case back to the U.S. District Court for a new trial, stating that the lower court incorrectly defined the legal standard to determine whether officials knew about the reported assault.
“We hold that a school’s receipt of a report that can objectively be taken to allege sexual harassment is sufficient to establish actual notice or knowledge under Title IX — regardless of whether school officials subjectively understood the report to allege sexual harassment or whether they believed the alleged harassment actually occurred,” Wynn wrote in the majority opinion.
A third judge on the panel, Judge Paul Niemeyer, wrote a dissenting opinion that Fairfax County Public Schools is not liable under Title IX — the federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education — because its conduct was not so indifferent that it caused or amounted to discrimination.
Identified in court documents as Jane Doe, the plaintiff argued in a complaint filed against the school board in 2018 that FCPS administrators and employees did not meaningfully and appropriately respond to her report that a fellow student sexually assaulted her during a school band trip.
A junior at the time, Doe said she “struggled academically, emotionally, and physically” as a result of the experience, alleging that school officials suggested she might be disciplined for the incident and did not inform her parents about her report or the result of the subsequent investigation, according to Public Justice, the nonprofit representing her.
A jury in Alexandria determined in August 2019 that Doe had been assaulted and that the experience affected her education, but they found that the school board could not be held liable because it didn’t have “actual knowledge” of the assault, a term some jury members later said they found confusing.
That confusion became the basis for Doe’s appeal of the ruling, which came before the appeals court for oral arguments in January.
“I’m so grateful that the Fourth Circuit is sending my case back for a new trial, and recognized that Fairfax’s legal arguments would lead to ‘absurd results’ for student survivors like me,” Doe said in a statement provided by Public Justice. “It means a lot to me that the appeals court’s strong opinion will protect other survivors. Every student deserves to feel safe in school.”
An FCPS spokesperson said yesterday that the school system “respects the court’s decision” and was in the process of reviewing the opinions.
Public Justice attorney Alexandra Brodsky, who delivered the plaintiff’s arguments before the Fourth Circuit, said in a statement that the appeals court’s ruling makes clear “ignorance is no defense to violating students’ rights.”
“FCPS’s behavior — dismissing a student’s report of sexual assault out of hand — is too common among school districts across the country,” Brodsky said. “The Fourth Circuit’s ruling in Jane Doe’s case should serve as a warning that all schools must train staff to recognize and address sexual harassment.”
The developer that owns a cluster of retail and office properties on the corner of Church Street and Lawyers Road in Vienna wants to turn them into a single building with retail and apartments.
The Vienna Town Council heard a proposal from Bognet Construction and architectural firm MGMA during its conference session on Monday (June 14) that would redevelop 139-145 Church Street into a three-story mixed-use building with a basement.
Owned by Bognet Construction President and CEO Jim Bognet, the two parcels under consideration consist of 26,993 square feet, or 0.62 acres, of land, and each parcel is currently occupied by a two-story commercial building.
Under Bognet’s proposal, the existing buildings would be replaced by a 35-foot-tall building with 18 apartment units and six ground-floor commercial tenants.
The 39,969 gross square footage includes 9,448 square feet per residential floor, 9,378 square feet for ground-floor retail, an 804 square-foot rooftop area, and a 10,891 square-foot basement with retail, according to plans that the developer and architect presented to the town council.
Bognet says he purchased the properties approximately three years ago with the goal of studying the site for redevelopment.
“We’re looking at making it mixed-use, because it’s our understanding that there’s a demand in Vienna for different types of residential use,” Bognet told Tysons Reporter. “…We seem to have a large amount of single-family homes and townhouses coming to the market, but I felt there was a need for some apartment living, new apartments, so we’re going to try and fit that in with the Church Street Vision.”
The Church Street Vision is a zoning ordinance that the Vienna Town Council adopted in July 1999 to “enhance the appearance and economic vitality of businesses in the historic Church Street commercial corridor,” according to a town staff presentation.
The ordinance encourages property owners in the town’s C-1B Pedestrian Commercial Zone to mimic a late 19th-century, small-town architectural style in exchange for more square footage, parking requirement reductions, and a faster review process.
So far, Vienna has approved four projects under the Church Street Vision: 101 Church Street NW (home to Sushi Yoshi and Vienna Pet Spaw), 111-113 Church Street NW (Bazin’s and Blend 111), 114 Church Street NW (Red Galanga), and most recently in 2014, a building with ground-floor retail and second-floor apartments at 120 Church Street NW, whose tenants include Bard’s Alley and Rita’s.
Bognet says his team is currently working with the town to determine the appropriate amount of parking that should be provided by the new building and develop the design so that it fits the street’s overall aesthetic.
The conceptual plan proposes a total of 72 parking spaces, with 38 spaces on ground level and 34 spaces above that. The garage would be located behind the building, backing up against a 15-foot alley owned by the town.
Bognet says that, while the lot will be occupied by a single building, it will be “broken up every 20 to 25 feet” to look like different buildings from the street. Read More
Construction Closes I-66 West Overnight — Starting last night (Wednesday), all lanes of I-66 West approaching I-495 in the Dunn Loring area will be closed from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. every night through Saturday (June 19). The closures are necessary for overhead bridge work on the interchange as part of the Transform 66 Outside the Beltway project. [VDOT]
Rally in Support of Public Schools Tonight — The Fairfax County Democratic Committee is organizing a rally in support of Fairfax County Public Schools ahead of the school board’s meeting at Luther Jackson Middle School. The school board has faced criticism from some for making political statements and closing schools last year due to COVID-19, including a recall campaign led by a parents’ group that identifies as bipartisan but has received substantial funding from Republican donors. [Fairfax Democrats/Twitter]
Rick Springfield Fans Once Shut Down Tysons Corner — “June 17 is the 40th anniversary of the day Rick Springfield shut down Tysons Corner. Larry Houck was there. ‘Talk about having a front-row seat,’ said Houck, who worked at the Variety Records in Tysons Corner Center, where Springfield was scheduled to meet fans.” [The Washington Post]
McLean Startup Raises $60 Million — The McLean-based kidney care startup Somatus Inc. has secured $60.12 million in new funding, bringing the company’s total funding to $165 million over its five years of existence. The funds come from an equity offering that had its first sale on June 1 and will be used to support the company’s continued expansion as it now serves more than 150,000 patients in the U.S. [Washington Business Journal]
Maryland Beltway Project in Jeopardy — The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ Transportation Planning Board voted yesterday to remove Maryland’s Capital Beltway toll lanes plan from a list of long-term transportation projects, jeopardizing its ability to secure federally required environmental approval. The project will also replace and expand the American Legion Bridge and is considered a necessary supplement to Virginia’s 495 NEXT project in McLean. [The Washington Post]
Wolf Trap Goes Full Capacity Starting in August — Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts will return to full capacity in August for the second half of its summer season. Unveiled yesterday (Tuesday), the lineup for August and September includes Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Indigo Girls, and Renée Fleming with the National Symphony Orchestra. [Patch]
Justice Department Will Assist in Bijan Ghaisar Case — The Justice Department will allow FBI agents to cooperate in the prosecution of two Park Police officers charged with manslaughter for shooting and killing McLean resident Bijan Ghaisar in 2017. The move reverses a decision made during the Trump administration and could help the Fairfax County prosecutors on the case. [The Washington Post]
Longtime McLean Hardware Store Owner Dies — McLean Hardware owner Glenn Kirby Wiggs died on June 5 at Medstar Washington Hospital Center at 71 years of age. He had operated the store for almost 40 years after purchasing it in 1984, and he continued visiting twice a week from his home in Frederick, Maryland, even as his health declined. [Patch]
Merrifield Student Advances in Spelling Bee — Akshita Balaji of Merrifield is one of 30 students to advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee’s semifinal round after she spelled two words correctly and gave an accurate definition for a third word during yesterday’s quarter-finals. Broadcast on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. on June 27, the semifinals will determine the 10 to 12 spellers who will go to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., for the finals on July 8. [Inside NoVA]
1st Stage Celebration Sold Out — Tickets for 1st Stage’s first in-person event since February 2020 have sold out. The theater company’s June 27 outdoor concert reading of “A New Brain” at The Boro will still be available for other viewers to watch via an online livestream. [1st Stage/Twitter]
