Halloween is here and there are plenty of events around the Tysons area to get into the spooky spirit.

The Fairfax County Police Department will be handing out candy on The Plaza for Tysons Corner Center’s Malloween event from 3-5 p.m. tonight.

Also at the mall, Spirit Halloween is selling Halloween costumes and decorations until 9:30 p.m., while the American Scream Selfie Museum is offering attendees the chance to take pictures with various Halloween themed displays until Nov. 3.

Over in Merrifield, the Caboose Halloween Costume Contest will feature an extended happy hour at Caboose Commons (2918 Eskridge Road) as well as prizes for people with the best outfits from 3:30-9 p.m. tonight.

From pumpkin carving to costumes to eating lots of candy, let Tysons Reporter know what your spooky plans are.

Send photos of pets dressed in Halloween costumes to us for a story on Friday (Nov. 1) — tag or direct message us on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) or email us at [email protected].

For no particular reason, I made a Halloweeny, pun-filled version of the @wmata metro map.

Get on at Pentagram City, get off at Fear-in-gut West for spooooooky brunch. pic.twitter.com/Egmm6JvsHv

— Paul Hostetler 🌻 (@phostetlerart) October 7, 2019

Halloween poses an especially dangerous threat to pedestrians, as more people are out at night on the hunt for candy. 🍫 If your night involves alcohol, plan for a sober ride home. Remember: It’s never safe to drink and drive. #DesignateB4Ucelebrate #FCPD pic.twitter.com/K5dqbXu5N5

— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) October 29, 2019

Ashley Hopko contributed to this story.

The McLean District Station collected the second-highest amount of prescription drugs during the 18th Annual Drug Take Back Day.

The annual event aims to curb safety and public health issues from unused or expired drugs. The event took place on Saturday (Oct. 26).

“Unused or expired over-the-counter or prescription medicine left unsecured are susceptible to misuse and can contribute to overdoses and accidental poisonings,” according to the Fairfax County Police Department.

All of the Fairfax County police district stations participated, along with the Wegmans in Chantilly. In total, 1,246 pounds of unused and expired prescription drugs were collected, according to the police department.

“Since the implementation of the drug take back boxes in November 2017, we have collected 4,183 pounds of prescription drugs,” according to the police department. “This includes 3,448 pounds of prescription drugs collected to date in 2019. These amounts do not include the Drug Take Back Day collections.”

The West Springfield District Station filled 12 bags with 249 pounds of drugs, followed by the McLean District Station, which had six bags with 210 pounds of drugs.

People who want to dispose of unused medicine — excluding needles, liquids, illegal drugs, ointments and inhalers — can drop it off at take back boxes available year-round at the eight police stations.

Tysons’ first Whole Foods officially opened its doors today.

The 70,000-square-foot store in The Boro development by the Greensboro Metro station is the Mid-Atlantic flagship store for the Texas-based grocery chain.

People on social media captured the long line of people early this morning awaiting the store’s opening at 8 a.m.

For the first 200 people who showed up, Whole Foods promised to offer a savings card ranging from $5 to $100 along with a reusable canvas tote bag featuring the Tysons store, according to a press release.

And this isn’t the line for Nats tickets – this is the line to get into the grocery store. Wraps around the block. pic.twitter.com/fV6knaUTsB

— Adam Tuss (@AdamTuss) October 30, 2019

https://twitter.com/AdamTuss/status/1189573040730005507?s=20

Inside, customers can find self-serve machines that slice pineapples, squeeze fresh orange juice and offer wine and beer that shoppers can sip while shopping.

A fresh bakery, premade meal options and a bar with happy hour specials and on-site dining also are available.

A bevy of food and drink options include a food hall featuring Officina, Genji Izakaya, Curiosity Doughnuts and Rappahannock Oyster Co., along with self-serve hot and cold bars. There’s also an in-house bakery, butcher and seafood departments, a specialty foods section, an Allegro coffee and tea bar and a JRINK juice bar.

This location also features a bar called High Point — the largest bar in any Whole Foods, according to the store manager — on the second floor, along with a game room.

Editor’s Note — Tysons Reporter is running Q&As with the candidates running for the Dranesville and Providence District seats on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors this week. The stories have been lightly condensed and edited for clarity. 

Featured here is Ed Martin, who is running as a Republican against Democrat John Foust for the Dranesville District seat, which represents McLean, Great Falls, Herndon and portions of Vienna and Falls Church.

Ed Martin is a radio host, president of a conservative think tank and Great Falls resident. Now, he wants to become the Dranesville District Supervisor.

Originally from New Jersey, Martin has worked as a lawyer and headed up the Human Rights Office for the Archdiocese of St. Louis from 1998-2001, he told Tysons Reporter.

Fascinated by President Donald Trump’s tweets, Martin wanted to write a book about them and ended up teaming up with an artist to create three Trump coloring books featuring the president’s tweets.

He now runs Phyllis Schlafly Eagles, a conservative group named after the controversial social leader known for opposing the Equal Rights Amendment. Martin moved to Great Falls shortly after the 2016 election, he said.

Tysons Reporter met up with Martin to talk about how he would want to help seniors age in place and address capacity issues at public schools in the county if elected to the Board of Supervisors.

Tysons Reporter: What are your top three goals to help people age in place?

Ed Martin: My wife is a geriatrics physician so her specialty is seniors, so for 15 years I’ve been hearing from her the details of what they call the “grey tsunami” — it’s the number of people who are in the Baby Boomer generation that will age out.

One observation, broadly, is there is a growing — especially in government — distrust in what’s happening. More transparency in what is going on is more important than ever. The second thing, the taxes have gone up, up, up. I think the taxes are too high. I think we need to lower the cost of taxes.

The top one I would describe now is the cost of living here. It’s not just for seniors by the way. If you talk to the cops — and the cops endorsed me, one of the PBAs endorsed — those guys and gals are telling you they can’t live here. They can’t afford to live in Fairfax County. That’s a big one, I would say the taxes.

What’s the vision for development here? How do you put together the pieces that let people move? I think we have a wonderful community [in] Fairfax County, especially in Dranesville District, has some incredible strengths and volunteers and pockets of communities, churches and synagogues that want to do things — how do you build that together?

In Great Falls there’s a center that has come together to support seniors. That’s got to happen more. We need creative solutions. I think that’s going to include the possibility of ride-sharing so that more people can stay.

TR: How would you address affordable housing in the county?

Martin: The biggest thing I think helps with affordability is lowering taxes and the costs. That would be the number one thing. I would say the number one thing is to lower the cost of living here, whether that’s for a cop and his family or an individual. And that’s the best way I know how to do that is to cut taxes, lower cuts, cut regulatory costs and the schools are what draw people here.

They are willing to tolerate some of the high real estate prices because the schools are so good in the Dranesville District, so I think that’s the biggest concern people have now. How can I trust to move there if we’re having something that looks like boundary changes — what does that mean? Confidence in the school system is going to be really important.

TR: What do you think about developers setting aside units for workforce housing and contributing to the county’s housing fund?

Martin: I’m a little bit cynical of set-asides. I would like to see how well they work. I don’t believe they work as well as we’re told. They tend to be window dressing for everyone to feel good.

TR: More broadly — not just about McLean High School — how would you want to address capacity issues here in Fairfax County both before it’s an issue and once a school is over capacity?

Martin: The Board of Supervisors gives an extraordinary amount of money to the School Board. Which means we should have — I know it’s possible to have [because] I’ve talked to Tom Davis, the former congressman who was a Fairfax County Supervisors and I’ve talked to Pat Herrity about it — the Board of Supervisors can have a lot more influence than  currently is perceived on what the School Board does.

It’s how you spend money that makes a difference. So if you look at spending priorities and you say, “Why hasn’t McLean High School had whatever could be done to eliminate the many trailers?” — whether it means a building project, whether it means expanding the existing school — we should have been doing that instead of spending money on everything else.

Fairfax County is not broke. I think we’re misspending our money.

TR: Would you want to build a new school? Would you want to try to look at renovations or additions to existing schools?

Martin: I think the preference should be on the students who are in a school being able to stay in their school. If you have room for trailers, you have room for some buildings. Maybe it’s not one-for-one, but I think McLean [High School] could creatively expand their school.

TR: What do you think of the electric school bus idea?

Martin: I don’t know enough about the cost of it. I’m not against electric cars or electric buses if they work. I know sometimes the cost of something can be deceptively cheaper on the front end — it looks like it’s going to save you — I don’t think I know enough. I like the idea of electric cars. The good old fashioned buses work pretty well.

TR: Do you have any plans to encourage wind and solar power use among constituents and if so, how?

Martin: I think wind and solar [power are] fine. I would not be in favor of incentivizing with either taxes or anything like that. Dominion gets a bad rap for not succeeding in a variety of ways, but they have to be a partner going forward. I think that’s a different question.

Over time you need to find partnerships where things can be creatively done and I think Dominion could make some things more likely in terms of renewables. I think it’s fine to encourage people.

TR: What are your top three transit infrastructure priorities?

Martin: The number one is to get a grasp on what’s happening in Tysons because it’s impacting Dranesville.

I think the Leesburg Pike has to be addressed more significantly. If I could those two together, you hear people complain about the Georgetown Pike and some of it’s a windy road and will be forever, but some of it around the Great Falls Park is because in the summer the park is full up.

I think the third issue is what is the future going to be? I mean we have a problem that’s a wonderful blessing with these businesses moving in and the people moving in, but I don’t think we really understand the scope of the problem. I think we have to be creative. It might mean there’s more ride-sharing — I’m a sort of fan of watching the market disrupt through Uber and Lyft and all — but coming up with how to alleviate traffic congestion in the district.

Editor’s Note — Tysons Reporter is running Q&As with the candidates running for the Dranesville and Providence District seats on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors this week. The stories have been lightly condensed and edited for clarity. 

Featured here is Democrat John Foust, who is running against Republican Ed Martin for the Dranesville District seat, which represents McLean, Great Falls, Herndon and portions of Vienna and Falls Church.

John Foust is hoping that the upcoming election will land him another term representing people in McLean on the Board of Supervisors.

First elected to the board in 2007, Foust currently serves as the chairman of the county’s transportation and information technology committees, along with chairing the Fairfax County Economic Advisory Commission.

Originally from Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Foust has been living in Northern Virginia since 1981 and in McLean since 1987, according to his county bio. He’s worked in steel mills and practiced construction law in Northern Virginia.

During a recent candidate debate in McLean, Foust pointed to his experience on the county board — pointing to the expansion of Balls Hill Road at Georgetown Pike to address traffic and the widening of Leesburg Pike (Route 7).

Tysons Reporter met up with Foust in his office to ask about how he would tackle affordable housing and capacity issues at public schools and what his top infrastructure priorities are if he is re-elected for another four-year term.

Tysons Reporter: Do you any plans to encourage the use of wind and solar polar among constituents. If so, how?

John Foust: Definitely. We are particularly with solar we at the county level have 130 or so buildings that we are looking at putting solar on, but with the constituents we are going out to the community with the CECAP — a community-wide energy and climate action planning process — and part of that is going to be looking at the possibility of solar on residential and commercial buildings in Fairfax County.

TR: As people come into the area, what do you say are your top priorities to stay and age in place?

Foust: At the county level, we have a 50+ Committee that has developed a lot of programs and services to address the senior population and to help them stay in their homes. Locally, I have established three different groups — one in McLean, one in Great Falls and one in Herndon — to help seniors and people with disabilities stay in their homes and stay in the community.

Each one has taken is set up to be run by volunteers and community leaders, and each one has taken on a slightly different angle on how they are going to do that based on what they think the most immediate needs are in their particular community.

For example in Herndon, it’s almost exclusively designed around transportation and getting seniors rides to their doctors and to wherever they need to go. It’s the most common complaint we hear from seniors is that they don’t have transportation.

So then we have in Great Falls, which is a semi-rural community and people don’t see each other on a regular basis all of the time, they focus more on a social environment. In McLean, it has been very active. We’re focusing a lot on education and resources.

TR: Anything you haven’t done yet that you would want to do to help people age in place?

Foust: The most important thing we can do for some people is to get the economy going to the point where they have a strong economy that can provide tax relief. That’s a very expensive proposition but it’s also something that is contributing to the difficulties seniors have staying in their homes.

We — Fairfax County and all counties in Virginia — our primary funding source is property taxes and so there are programs available to provide relief to seniors but they are not very generous and they can’t be until we have other revenue sources to subsidize that relief.

TR: What about home-sharing?

Foust: We’ve talked about it on numerous occasions. There are obviously issues having strangers come into your home and being responsible for some of your care. So there are issues but there are nonprofits that I think take the issues on and make that happen. And it would be a very positive development if we had that. It would provide another choice.

TR: How do you want to approach affordable housing? What do you think the county can do to make sure there are enough units for young professionals coming in? 

Foust: The market pretty much delivers the housing we need for the people earning 120% or more of the AMI — the area median income. We use inclusionary zoning to try to create a significant inventory of what we would call workforce housing, which is in the 80-120% of AMI in and around the Metro stations. But then for 80% or 60% of AMI or lower, it’s a huge challenge and that’s the affordable housing market that we as a government have to be more involved in, whether it’s creating incentives or financial participation.

At the Board of Supervisors, we dedicate half of a penny a year — this is a new development — on the real estate tax, which is about $12 million, to support nonprofits and others who are trying to preserve the affordable housing that we do have. And then we added an additional penny, which is about $25 million a year — to support nonprofits and others who are trying to expand to the number of affordable housing units that we have in the county.

We, as a board, we have made a commitment to have delivered 5,000 units of affordable housing for people earning 60% or lower of the AMI over the next 15 years.

TR: Do you think the county needs to do more for affordable housing? Or is the track you’re on right now —

Foust: — No, the track we’re on right now isn’t — it’s a much better track, but it’s not going to lead to fully satisfying the demand. So that’s why we have other tools that we use. And we have Phase 1 of the Strategic Plan identified 25 different things that we could be doing. For example, big things like working with nonprofits [and] making government-owned land available.

TR: What are your top three transit infrastructure priorities?

Foust: Completing the Silver Line is absolutely critical. Creating and expanding a bus rapid transit network between activity centers in the county. And expanding the general bus service feeding the Metro stations on the Silver Line.

TR: Overall, how do you think the county can better approach capacity issues at the public schools?

Foust: You have to look at adjacent school districts and see if there are dramatic capacity differences and if so, whether there is are adjacents that can be made with community support to utilize the capacity at schools that are underutilized and relieve the pressure on schools that are over capacity.

You also have the Capital Improvement [Program], which require significant funding. So we made significant increases in capital improvements for schools currently at $180 million a year under bonding authority. In all probability, that number should be higher and we need to continue to look at that and try to get more projects done.

And generally, other outside funding via bonding in other areas to deliver more annual funding streams to focus on capital improvements and renovating the schools and increasing capacity.

TR: I’m assuming it’s different trying to address it before it becomes an issue than have to go back and try to fix it.

Foust: Yeah. We just have to bite some bullets and build some new schools. Eventually, we have built very few new schools in the county in the past decade and [the] population continues to grow.

My sense is that the School Board feels that buying the land is not the best bang for the buck because they already have schools with the land and it makes more sense to expand those schools. And from an operating standpoint — budgetary —  it makes more sense to renovate and expand the schools you have rather than to build new schools.

But that gets you so far and at some point, you’re going to need to get some new schools. The one in Tysons is very high on my priority for the elementary school, especially. They have the land proffered to us, given to us by a developer. And it just needs to be incorporated into the school’s CIP and built.

Work on the Archer Hotel is now underway as part of the Scotts Run project in Tysons East.

Cityline Partners’ mixed-use development also includes several apartments and office buildings and retail space, along with the completed 425-unit apartment complex called The Haden and the 14-story office building Mitre 4.

Construction company Hensel Phelps and Lodgeworks, the developer of the Archer Hotel collection, held a groundbreaking ceremony earlier today (Wednesday) for the hotel.

The hotel plans to accommodate 178 guests and will feature a rooftop terrace, event space, fitness studio and a bar and restaurant operated by chef Charlie Palmer.

The hotel is designed by LK Architecture — the same firm behind the Tysons Walmart and Hyatt House in Merrifield.

“The dynamic Scotts Run development is destined to be a new walkable urban village and will attract a wonderful cross-section of guests,” according to Hensel Phelps’ website.

The preliminary opening timeline for the hotel’s opening is summer 2021, according to Hensel Phelps.

In an ongoing effort to address flooding issues in the city, the Falls Church City Council approved a stormwater task force earlier this week.

The task force will work with city staff to update the list of priority projects for stormwater improvements in the Watershed Management Plan — sanitary backflows are not in the task force’s scope of work, according to the resolution.

More from the resolution:

What is envisioned with this task force is a rigorous, yet transparent set of criteria that will be used to grade projects. The mindset of the members of the task force must be to help the City as a whole grapple with the problems of flooding. The end result should be a ranking of projects in order of the most cost effective stormwater improvements that will protect the most people.

The task force will report to the City Council, City Manager Wyatt Shields said at the meeting on City Council meeting on Monday (Oct. 28).

Staff recommends that the task force consists of up to seven members, saying in the resolution that a larger size might make scheduling and attending meetings more difficult.

“There could be a liaison but we were not envisioning a city councilmember [on the task force],” Shields said.

Mayer David Tarter suggested that the task force include at-large members to prevent “regionalism” on the taskforce.

“I suspect that having people from each of the districts is probably a good idea,” Mayor David Tarter said. “If someone’s not represented, then they may feel like their interests aren’t being represented.”

The task force’s members are set to be determined before the end of the year.

“The idea is for the deadline for applications to be in mid-November so that we can get them to the Appointments Committee and then to City Council,” Shields said, adding that the goal is to get the appointments finalized by December.

The council voted 6-0 to approve the task force on Monday.

The task force is expected to end on July 1, unless extended by the City Council.

“There will be open meetings. Hopefully, a lot of the public will come to them so they can see the decision-making process,” Shields said.

Fairfax County police received reports of nearly two dozen airbags stolen from cars in a residential area in the Old Courthouse neighborhood.

“Upwards of 22 airbags” were taken from vehicles — mainly Honda Civics and Accords, Sgt. Greg Bedor, a police spokesperson, told Tysons Reporter.

The incident occurred between 10:30 p.m. on Sunday (Oct. 27) and 5 a.m. on Monday (Oct. 28) in the 2100 block of Tannin Place, Bedor said. The area is mostly apartment buildings, including The Reserve at Tysons Corner, and condos.

Bedor said that the vehicles had smashed windows or were unlocked.

Police are “looking for security footage,” Bedor said.

Image via Google Maps

(Updated 11/20/19) People have some casual food and drink newcomers near the Spring Hill Metro station.

Jersey Mike’s and B.GOOD both have signs in their windows in Tysons West Phase III — a redevelopment that added new retail buildings across from Walmart — saying that they are hiring.

The development recently welcomed a Dunkin’ Donuts (1495 Cornerside Blvd, Suite 1C) and Smoothie King.

B.GOOD, a Boston-based eatery that offers a variety of grain bowls, salads, burgers, milkshakes and smoothies, also has a sign saying it’s opening this fall.

Next to the new Smoothie King, construction is currently underway on the new spot for the sandwich chain.

Do you live or work in Vienna, McLean, Falls Church, Tysons or Merrifield?

Have a cute pet that will be wearing a Halloween costume?

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