New Police Chief to Speak at Public Input Session — Community members will get their first chance to talk to new Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis at 7 p.m. on Thursday (May 6). Local civil rights groups have criticized Davis’s past record and a hiring process they say lacked transparency and public involvement, prompting the county board to issue a statement last night reaffirming its support for Davis. [Supervisor Rodney Lusk/Twitter]
COVID-19 Vaccine Could Soon Be Approved for Teens — “During a news briefing Friday, Virginia’s state vaccination coordinator Dr. Danny Avula said the CDC believes it is likely there will be an approved vaccine for ages 12 and up between mid-May to late May. Pfizer could be the first to get approval for ages 12 and up, followed by Moderna few weeks later, Avula said.” [Patch]
Cicadas Officially Emerge in Tysons — Brood X’s emergence began Monday night (May 3), when “more than 40 cicadas were spotted hanging off of branches just west of Tysons,” a periodical cicada expert told ABC7. The first cicada in the D.C. area appeared near Towson, Maryland, on April 19. [ABC7 News-WJLA]
Vienna Bans Plastic Bags for Yard Waste — The Vienna Town Council voted unanimously last week to eliminate the use of plastic bags for yard waste collection, following the lead of Fairfax County, which started enforcing its ban on April 19. Residents should instead utilize reusable containers or paper bags designed to hold leaves, grass clippings, and other yard waste. [Sun Gazette/Inside NoVA]
Vienna Contractor to Take on Private Health Care Providers — “Eight-year-old Vienna IT company Nolij Consulting has helped develop an electronic health records system for the Pentagon that serves 41,000 active users — and now it’s looking to take that expertise to the private sector.” [Washington Business Journal]
Updated at 4:10 p.m. — The National Weather Service has now upgraded Fairfax County to a Severe Thunderstorm Warning, advising people to move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building.
In effect until 4:45 p.m., the warning was issued at 4:01 p.m. after a severe thunderstorm was spotted near Middleburg. The storm was reportedly moving east at 30 miles per hour.
Here is the full alert:
The National Weather Service in Sterling Virginia has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for…
Southeastern Loudoun County in northern Virginia…
Northwestern Fairfax County in northern Virginia…
Northeastern Fauquier County in northern Virginia…
Northwestern Prince William County in northern Virginia…* Until 445 PM EDT.
* At 400 PM EDT, a severe thunderstorm was located near Middleburg, or 8 miles west of Brambleton, moving east at 30 mph.
HAZARD…60 mph wind gusts.
SOURCE…Radar indicated.
IMPACT…Damaging winds will cause some trees and large branches to fall. This could injure those outdoors, as well as damage homes and vehicles. Roadways may become blocked by downed trees. Localized power outages are possible. Unsecured light objects may become projectiles.
* Locations impacted include…
Reston, South Riding, Herndon, Vienna, Broadlands, Lowes Island, Brambleton, Dulles International Airport, Ashburn, Oakton, Sterling, Chantilly, Wolf Trap, Great Falls, Countryside, Middleburg, Arcola, Belmont, Aldie and Sterling Park.
Earlier: Fairfax County is currently under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch, with scattered showers anticipated throughout the D.C. area this afternoon.
The alert will be in effect until 8 p.m. The National Weather Service says that a thunderstorm could potentially hit after 5 p.m.
“Some storms could be severe, with large hail and damaging winds,” the NWS forecast for Tysons says.
With a 60% chance of precipitation, between a tenth and a quarter of an inch of rain could fall this afternoon, and another quarter to half inch could come in the evening.
[5/4/21 at 2:35 PM]
⚠️Fairfax County is currently under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch ⛈️ until 8 PM
🚨Know your alerts: Watch (be prepared) vs. Warning (take action)
🏫Identify your safe place: inside, interior, no windows#VaWx #ReadyFairfax #BePrepared pic.twitter.com/ADS53eMd5E— Ready Fairfax (@ReadyFairfax) May 4, 2021
Map via National Weather Service
A man who was shot during a reported security incident outside the CIA’s headquarters in McLean yesterday (Monday) has now died from his injuries, the FBI says.
The man, who has not been publicly identified, allegedly attempted to enter the Langley compound yesterday afternoon before being stopped by security officers. Fairfax County police responded to the incident, primarily to control traffic as Route 123 was closed in both directions between Kirby Road and Georgetown Pike.
In a statement, the FBI Washington Field Office says that its National Capital Response Squad, which is deployed to potential terrorism events in D.C. and Northern Virginia, also responded to “a report of a suspicious vehicle” outside CIA Headquarters.
The FBI later reported that one of its agents shot the driver at approximately 6 p.m. after he “emerged from his vehicle with a weapon.” The man was wounded and transported to a local hospital.
The FBI announced at 12:37 p.m. today that the man had died from his injuries.
“The FBI reviews every shooting incident involving an FBI special agent,” the bureau said. “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.”
"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.”
— FBI Washington Field (@FBIWFO) May 4, 2021
Image via Google Maps
Respected McLean artist Emilie Brzezinski has gifted her work to the McLean Project of the Arts, which has been trusted with shaping “the next chapter” of her artistic legacy, the nonprofit said on Friday (April 30).
The gift was publicly announced a day earlier at MPA’s ArtSprings! Virtual Benefit, a fundraiser that featured live music, a silent auction, and an appearance by Czech Republic Ambassador to the United States Hynek Kmoníček.
“The entire MPA community is honored to receive this spectacular gift from Emilie Brzezinski and thrilled to work with the Brzezinski family in celebrating her vision of art in nature,” MPA Executive Director Lori Carbonneau said.
Known for creating large wood sculptures carved with an ax and chain saw, Brzezinski was born in Geneva, Switzerland, and grew up in California, but she lived and worked in McLean for much of her career, building her own studio in the house she shared with her late husband and former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski.
After Brzezinski relocated to Florida, the Fairfax County Park Authority acquired the 5.45-acre Spring Hill property in November. The agency has not determined a use for the land yet, but it is currently being preserved as open space and could potentially be turned into a community park, according to MPA.
Brzezinski’s connection to the McLean Project for the Arts goes back to the 1980s, when MPA Curator and Exhibitions Director Nancy Sausser first displayed her work.
Her family says that longstanding relationship and their respect for MPA’s role in supporting the local arts community made it a natural custodian for her work.
“My family and I are thrilled that MPA has accepted our gift of mom’s many and magnificent sculptures,” Ian Brzezinski, Emilie’s son and an MPA board member, said. “We are excited to continue and strengthen this relationship by giving MPA the lead in celebrating mom’s incredible body of work.”
Here is more on Brzezinski’s career from MPA’s news release:
Born in 1932 in Geneva, Switzerland, Emilie Brzezinski immigrated to the United States with her parents and grew up in California. She graduated from Wellesley College with a degree in Art History in 1953. Brzezinski began her art career in the 1970s working with a variety of media, including resins, latex, and wood fiber. Her expressive themes always related to nature. Eventually, she shifted focus to creating monumental wood sculpture, using a chain saw and ax to carve towering forms that breathed new life into felled trunks.
Over the past two decades, Brzezinski has had many gallery and museum installations in the U.S. and abroad. Her work is in the permanent collection of the Corcoran Museum and the Kreeger Museum, both in Washington, D.C., and has been shown at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the Katzen Arts Center in Washington, D.C., and the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts. Her art can also be seen at sculpture parks across North America, including the Grounds for Sculpture in New Jersey, the Royal Botanical Garden in Hamilton, Ontario, the Stone Quarry Hill Art Park in New York and the Socrates Sculpture Park in New York. MPA Curator and Exhibitions Director, Nancy Sausser, first showed Brzezinski’s work in the 1980’s.
Many of Brzezinski’s works are in the Czech Republic, the country of her family’s origin. There, “Prague Titans” gazes upon the Vltava River, and a more restrained installation, “Broken Blocks,” can be seen in the National Gallery in Prague.
Photo courtesy McLean Project for the Arts
FBI Agent Fired Weapon During CIA Security Incident — “Law enforcement sources tell ABC News that at least one FBI agent opened fire on a suspect outside CIA headquarters in McLean, Virginia Monday. The suspect has been transported to a local hospital. His condition is unknown.” [ABC7 News-WJLA]
Vienna Holds Town Council Election — Today is Election Day in the Town of Vienna. Residents can vote in person from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Vienna Community Center. Four candidates are on the ballot seeking to fill three town council seats. [Town of Vienna/Twitter]
Dranesville Supervisor Surprised by New Police Chief’s History — Supervisor John W. Foust says he was not aware of new Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis’s involvement in two past use-of-force incidents before they were reported by NBC4. He calls the alleged misconduct “very disturbing” and says it should’ve been disclosed to the board. [The Connection]
Region Urges COVID-19 Vaccinations with Media Campaign — Northern Virginia’s health districts, including the Fairfax Health District, launched a new media campaign on Friday “to encourage everyone in the region to get vaccinated. The campaign encourages broad vaccination across the region while also focusing on various audiences who remain vaccine hesitant.” [Fairfax County Health Department]
Local Residents Lobby for Leaf Blower Ban — A new citizens group called Quiet Clean NOVA is calling on Virginia lawmakers to prohibit the use of gas-powered leaf blowers, critiquing the noise and air pollution they produce. Del. Kaye Kory, whose district includes southern Falls Church into Annandale, says she will introduce legislation this fall that encourages the use of quieter electric and battery-powered blowers. [ABC7 News-WJLA]
Updated at 8:15 p.m. — Dolley Madison Boulevard has now been reopened, Fairfax County police say.
Earlier: Route 123 is currently closed in both directions between Georgetown Pike and Kirby Road in McLean.
The Fairfax County Police Department says the closure is due to “police activity” in the area.
The area includes the CIA headquarters at Langley. NBC News reported earlier this afternoon that an intruder attempted to drive into the facility and was stopped by armed guards at the gates.
According to NBC News, shots were fired during the encounter, but it is unknown whether anyone has been injured.
Fairfax County police spokesperson Sgt. Hudson Bull confirmed to Tysons Reporter that the department “is assisting with traffic control for a police incident at CIA Headquarters.”
A CIA spokesperson said that the agency is “addressing a security situation” just outside the perimeter by the main gate of its headquarters.
“Our compound remains secured, and our Security Protective Officers working the incident are the only Agency personnel directly involved,” the spokesperson said.
TRAFFIC ALERT: Dolley Madison Blvd is closed in both directions between Kirby Rd and Georgetown Pike for police activity in the area. Please use an alternate route. #FCPD pic.twitter.com/LQXu7Ue5G6
— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) May 3, 2021
May is only three days old, but the month is already looking good for Fairfax County on the pandemic front.
The Fairfax Health District, which also includes the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church, reported 53 new COVID-19 cases today (Monday) — the fewest since just 33 cases came in on Oct. 7. That brings the county’s seven-day average down to 82.4 new cases, which is the lowest since the weekly average stood at exactly 82 cases on Oct. 21.
However, where the Oct. 21 number was merely a brief dip in what would escalate into the area’s winter surge, this new low for 2021 is part of a decline in new cases that has lasted since April 13, when Fairfax County recorded 231 new cases and averaged 194.4 cases over the past week.
In fact, since dipping from 105.9 cases on April 28 to 98.9 cases on April 29, the county’s weekly average has stayed below 100 cases for almost a full week.
The Fairfax Health District has reported a total of 76,968 cases, 4,022 hospitalizations, and 1,101 deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The downward trend in COVID-19 cases comes as Fairfax County nears a key milestone in its vaccination campaign: almost half of the county’s residents have now received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
According to the Virginia Department of Health dashboard, which does not include some federally administered doses, 550,553 Fairfax County residents — 48% of the county’s total population — have gotten at least one dose. That is a higher rate than the state as a whole, which has delivered at least one dose to 3.8 million people, or 45.1% of its population.
At the same time, Fairfax County remains a tick behind Virginia overall when it comes to residents being fully vaccinated. 31.3% of the county’s population — or 359,677 residents — is now fully vaccinated, compared to 32% of the state.
Whether Fairfax County can reach that 50% mark for first-dose vaccinations this week remains to be seen.
After finally obtaining enough doses last week to vaccinate everyone who wants the vaccine, the county health department received fewer supplies from Virginia in its most recent shipments. 43,480 first and second doses came in during the week of April 26 to May 2, compared to 67,590 doses for the preceding week of April 19-25.
While Virginia lifted its pause on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on April 23, the Fairfax County Health Department had not yet ordered any additional batches of the one-shot vaccine as of April 30, because the county still had a small supply that it was using for its homebound and long-term care programs, according to FCHD spokesperson Tina Dale.
“We would place orders for J&J vaccine when community providers we redistribute to require more vaccine and to replenish our stock as needed,” Dale said.
FCHD Assistant Public Health Emergency Management Coordinator Colin Brody told Tysons Reporter that the J&J vaccine has been reintroduced in the county primarily through local pharmacies, which get their supplies directly from the federal government through the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program.
The county says it is aware that some people may be reluctant to get the J&J vaccine after its use was temporarily suspended due to reports of a few recipients developing a rare disorder involving blood clots.
“However the data reviewed by scientists at CDC and FDA indicated that J&J is a safe vaccine to use,” Brody said in an emailed statement. “We continue to receive inquiries from residents about where they can go to receive the J&J vaccine, especially because it is a single-dose option that provides immunity within 2 weeks of the first and only dose, as compared to 5 to 6 weeks with Moderna and Pfizer.”
Images via CDC on Unsplash, Virginia Department of Health
The cicadas are about to take over the world, or at least much of the East Coast, including Fairfax County.
After biding their time for the past 17 years, Brood X could start emerging in full force as soon as today (Monday), according to the first-ever cicada forecast by The Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang.
From animals digging for a snack to holes in the earth made by cicada nymphs burrowing up from their underground lairs, signs of the insects’ impending arrival have become more plentiful in recent weeks. In fact, a few bugs have already been spotted, summoned out of their exoskeletons early by the rapidly warming weather.
https://twitter.com/dcstormchaser/status/1377946587641606147
The prospect of millions of winged insects crawling out of the ground might convince some people to stay inside until July, but as Fairfax County Park Authority naturalist and education and outreach manager Tammy Schwab told Tysons Reporter in March, cicadas are harmless — even edible.
In addition, while some annual cicadas pop up every year, the once-every-other-decade appearances of the periodical variety are natural phenomena unique to the U.S., a product of the creatures’ unusually long life cycles.
Fairfax County has been doing its part to turn anxiety over Brood X into excitement, inviting community members to a game of Cicada Stroll Bingo and highlighting the environmental benefits of cicadas.
How are you planning to greet Brood X? Are you ready to embrace the swarm, or does the idea of stepping outside in the next two months fill you with dread?
Photo courtesy Fairfax County Park Authority
Tysons IT Company to Add 162 Jobs with Expansion — Gov. Ralph Northam announced on Friday (April 30) that technology security company Ridgeline International, Inc. will invest $1.75 million and create 162 new jobs to expand operations at its headquarters in Tysons. Founded in 2015, Ridgeline started with five employees and now has more than 200 workers with an emphasis on hiring veterans. [Office of the Governor]
I-66 Construction to Close Gallows Road Lanes Overnight — “Gallows Road over I-66 will be reduced to a single travel lane in each direction nightly Monday, May 3, through Saturday, May 8, from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. The northbound side of Gallows Road will be closed with two-way traffic running on the southbound side.” [VDOT]
Vienna Farmers Market Returns — The Vienna Farmers Market came back this weekend and will be outside the Vienna Community Center from 8 a.m. to noon every Saturday until Oct. 30. It is one of dozens of farmers markets that have started opening around Fairfax County this spring. [Town of Vienna/Twitter]
Northern Virginia Could Reach Community Immunity This Summer — “A year to the day after Northern Virginia hit its peak number of hospitalizations for COVID-19, the University of Virginia predicted the region could reach community immunity from the virus by June or July…Based on current vaccine acceptance and vaccine update levels, the region could be the first in Virginia to achieve immunity among adults.” [Inside NoVA]
Removal of Asphalt W&OD Trail in Falls Church to Begin — Removal of the existing asphalt Washington and Old Dominion trail and preparation of the new trail’s subsurface is set to begin this week as part of the Dual Trails Project in the City of Falls Church. Sections of the trail will be inaccessible for about four weeks each during work to install new pavement. The project is expected to be completed by August. [Falls Church News-Press]
Updated at 6:05 p.m. — High winds have led to a surge in 9-1-1 and non-emergency public safety calls in Fairfax County.
The county is urging people to call 9-1-1 only if there is an emergency.
Due to the existing high winds, call volumes to 9-1-1 and the non-emergency public safety lines are extremely high. This is resulting in higher wait times. Please only call 9-1-1 for life threatening emergencies. pic.twitter.com/3oNhZIktzI
— Fairfax County Government 🇺🇸 (@fairfaxcounty) April 30, 2021
At least 76 traffic incidents have also been reported due to the ongoing weather, including events at the Route 50 and Prosperity Avenue intersection, according to Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik.
Earlier: More than 2,000 people in Tysons have lost power due to strong wind gusts that have pummeled Northern Virginia this afternoon (Friday).
According to Dominion Energy’s outage map, one of the biggest outages in the Tysons area is north of the Dulles Toll Road to the Potomac River, where 1,073 customers are currently without power. A crew has been dispatched to the area, but the cause of this outage is pending investigation.
An additional 1,084 people along Route 7 between I-495 and Spring Hill Road have also lost power. The outage has already been attributed to the wind storm, and a Dominion crew is awaiting assignment.
Two separate outages in the area around Wolf Trap National Park have collectively affected 1,195 customers.
Among those affected by the Route 7 outage is the Tysons District Taco (1500 Cornerside Blvd), which announced at 5:34 p.m. that it has closed until further notice after losing power.
Store Update: Our Tysons location has lost power and is closed until further notice. Stay safe out there, amigos!
— District Taco (@districttaco) April 30, 2021
Dominion Energy estimates that power could be restored throughout the area any time between 7 p.m. and midnight.
The National Weather Service issued a Wind Advisory that took effect at noon and was later upgraded to a High Wind Warning, which will remain in effect until 2 a.m. tomorrow (Saturday). Even though no rain or thunder was anticipated, the agency issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning at 4:38 p.m., saying that wind gusts could reach up to 60 miles per hour.
“Damaging winds will cause some trees and large branches to fall,” the NWS said. “This could injure those outdoors, as well as damage homes and vehicles. Roadways may become blocked by downed trees. Localized power outages are possible. Unsecured light objects may become projectiles.”
The Severe Thunderstorm Warning expired at 5:15 p.m., but local residents could be dealing with the storm’s impact well into this evening.
Due to high winds several trees and power lines are down all over Fairfax County// Please be careful when driving and expect delays pic.twitter.com/p0yXUKFBF7
— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) April 30, 2021
Image via Dominion Energy
