(Updated at 11:45 a.m.) The Vienna Town Council is considering raising its fee for bad checks.
While the proposed change would increase the fee from its current $20 to an amount up to $50, the town is currently planning to charge a fee of $25, a spokesperson for the town told Tysons Reporter.
The town’s current fee is on the lower end in comparison to nearby jurisdictions, according to the Town of Vienna:
- Fairfax Water: $20
- Fairfax City: $25
- City of Alexandria: $35
- Loudoun County: $40
- Arlington and Fairfax counties, Falls Church, Herndon and Leesburg: $50
- Prince William County: $50 for the first offense and $75 for the second offense within two weeks
The town’s Director of Finance Marion Serfass told the councilmembers at a meeting last Monday (Aug. 19) that a public hearing will need to be held about the proposed change because it affects taxes.
A public hearing on the proposal is set for Monday, Sept. 16.
“We don’t have a lot of bad checks,” Serfass said.
Playa Bowls is now serving up acai bowls, poke, smoothies and juice in the Mosaic District.
The health food eatery opened Saturday, Aug. 17, according to a Facebook post. Playa Bowls occupies 2910 District Avenue, Suite 168 — the former space for Capital Teas.
The menu offers a variety of bowls, including ones with acai, coconut and oatmeal bases, along with smoothies, juices and poke bowls.
Playa Bowls has more than 65 locations around the U.S., according to its Facebook page. The Mosaic District spot is the first Virginia location for the franchise.
Photo via Playa Bowls/Facebook
(Updated at 11:45 a.m.) The Town of Vienna is mulling over three preliminary designs concepts for Patrick Henry Library’s upcoming renovation.
Opened in 1971, Patrick Henry Library (101 E. Maple Avenue) is set to be rebuilt as part of a $91 million bond referendum to upgrade Fairfax County’s aging libraries. The town is looking to partner with the county so that the town can have public parking spots at the new library site.
Grimm and Parker presented three design concepts that incorporate public parking to the councilmembers last Monday (Aug. 19)
The first design concept (Option A) would build a stand-alone, two-story building and have surface parking for 90 cars. The design has a modern design, according to the presentation:
The building orientation allows for a large expanse of glass to the north along Maple Avenue. This northern glass will provide ample natural light for the library users and provide views into the library from Maple Avenue. The rest of the building is clad in a variegated grey metal panel. The glass and metal cladding create a modern identity and gives the library a strong presence on the corner.
The last two concepts share the same idea of having a single-level library with an integrated parking garage, both with 125 spots for the library.
Option B1 would have 84 spaces for the town, while Option B2 would have 188 spaces for the town and require a height variance for the extra level of parking.
The last two options have a storefront-esque design. According to Grimm and Parker:
In this option the Maple Avenue facade is designed to resemble a traditional urban main street with glass display windows and canopies… The varied facade expressions help to reduce the scale of the building. A variegated metal cladding is used on the stair and elevator towers to distinguish them from the brick of the library and to draw attention to the public access to the parking garage. Canopies along Maple Avenue create an identity for the library and provide a human scale to the building.
The designs concepts are not set in stone and could change between now and when the county makes the final decision about the library design, a spokesperson for the town told Tysons Reporter.
Tysons Reporter wants to know what you about the design concepts.
Images via Town of Vienna
A body sculpting service plans to open in a building by Tysons Corner Center.
A building permit indicates that Elite Body Sculpture is moving into 1919 Gallows Road.
Elite Body Sculpture provides personalized body contouring — “No area is off limits; if you can pinch it, we can take it,” the website says.
Currently, Elite Body Sculpture lists locations in Beverly Hills, Sacramento, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Atlanta, New York City and Nashville.
Image via Google Maps
Fairfax County police are investigating a burglary at the Koons Tysons Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram dealership in Tysons.
The incident occurred around 9:30 p.m. on Thursday (Aug. 22) at 2050 Chain Bridge Road.
“A suspect broke into the business and stole cash,” police said.
Image via Google Maps
A Vienna family said they’ve been waiting months to get their money back from unwanted credit card charges by a local music school.
Family members, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to Tysons Reporter, said that Jeffrey Levin, the president of District Music Academy, gave their son music lessons for about four months this spring.
When the family told Levin about billing on their credit card statements, they said he blamed the incorrect amount on an invoice issue involving the billing companies, before offering to write a check to cover the overcharged amount, which the family declined to provide.
The family claims that they never got a check.
The family waited for a few weeks before reaching out to their credit card company to prevent future charges from District Music Academy. As of last week, the family told Tysons Reporter that they are waiting to hear back from their credit card company before considering taking the matter to small claims court.
District Music Academy offers private in-home lessons, after school programs, entertainment for retirement communities in the D.C. area and other services, according to its website.
The Breakdown
Two Reston residents had a similar experience with unwanted charges from District Music Academy and took Levin’s company to small claims court earlier this year.
Michele Chesser told Tysons Reporter that she noticed the company was double-billing her credit card for her daughter’s piano lessons, charging her at the beginning and end of the month. In total, according to court documents, District Music Academy overcharged her $1,260.
Chesser said she contacted her credit card company, which was able to credit her two out of the five months of double billing. She decided to try to recover the rest of the money in court.
The judge heard the case in May and ordered Levin to pay the full amount. But as of today (Aug. 26), Chesser said she hasn’t gotten the money back.
“I don’t think I’ll ever see my money again,” she said.
Another Reston resident, Anjia Nicolaidis, told Tysons Reporter that her daughter started ukulele and voice lessons once a month in February 2018 and the family scheduled lessons through August.
For a family with two full-time working parents, she said that District Music Academy seemed like a convenient solution, adding there are “not a lot of companies offering that in-home instruction in the immediate area.”
But by July of that year, Nicolaidis noticed double charges and “random charges.” When she reached out to Levin, “first there was some delay in getting him to acknowledge that our records and the teacher’s record were consistent,” she said.
“We asked for that reimbursement and gave him a number of opportunities to give it to us,” Nicolaidis told Tysons Reporter, adding that Levin at first offered to make up the amount with credits to future lessons. After she declined the offer, the discussion over repayment broke down.
According to court records, Nicolaidis emailed Levin back on Sept. 10, writing:
As of this morning, September 10, 2018 you have not refunded the money you owe us. It has been a week since we received your email indicating you would process the refund. We have been corresponding about this issue for nearly two months…
We feel victimized and are in contact with other families that have had the same experience with District Music Academy.
Levin responded via email the same day, saying, “We have resolved all issues with our credit card system, but the process to refund the money is taking longer than expected. If it is acceptable to you, I can mail you a check today for the money due so that you can receive the fund more quickly.”
Nicolaidis said Levin never sent the check and she hasn’t heard from him since.
With school now back in session for Fairfax County, the county’s public schools have several programs to help hungry students.
Nineteen Fairfax County public schools, including Graham Road Elementary School in Falls Church, will take part in the Community Eligibility Provision, which provides all of the students at those schools with free breakfasts and lunches daily.
At the other FCPS schools, household size and income will determine eligibility for the free or reduced meals program — approximately 38% of FCPS students qualify, according to FCPS.
Students from households that receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families may also be eligible. The program also caters to foster children and students who are homeless, migrant or runaway.
Households may apply for free or reduced-price meals at any time during the school year by filling out the applications, which will be distributed via mail and are also available at the principal’s office in each school.
FCPS will follow the Federal Income Eligibility Guidelines in the chart below:
Earlier this year, Jackson Middle School and Graham Road and Timber Lane elementary schools joined 39 Fairfax County public schools in participating in the At-Risk Afterschool Meals Program, a new after-school food program that provides free meals or snacks to any student.
Four Tysons-area elementary schools are joining 24 other ones in the county that have opened or plan to open a Real Food for Kids Salad Bar for the 2019-2020 school year.
The following schools plan to open the salad bars by:
- Sept. 18: Spring Hill (8201 Lewinsville Road)
- Feb. 12, 2020: Westbriar (1741 Pine Valley Drive)
- March 25, 2020: Haycock (6616 Haycock Road)
- May 20, 2020: Churchill Road (7100 Churchill Road)
FCPS wants to bring salad bars to all of its 141 elementary schools and has salad bars opening at about 30 schools per school year.
Second image via FCPS
A 28-year-old McLean man was killed in a crash involving multiple vehicles along I-66 near Centreville.
A series of chain-reaction crashes involving five sedans, one SUV, one pick-up truck and a tractor-trailer happened shortly before 11 a.m. on Saturday (Aug. 24) in the westbound lanes of I-66 east of exit 53 for Route 28, according to Virginia State Police.
More from Corinne Geller, a spokesperson for the Virginia State Police:
A 2007 BMW sedan was traveling west on I-66 when it struck the vehicle in front of it. The BMW then collided with a westbound tractor-trailer.
The tractor-trailer then collided with several vehicles, to include a Toyota Rav4, before overturning in the roadway. The Toyota Rav4 ran off the right side of I-66 and over the Jersey wall, at which point it caught fire.
McLean resident Joseph Castellano, who was the driver of the Toyota, died at the scene, Geller said.
His wife, who was a passenger in the car, was flown to a trauma center in D.C. and is still being treated for life-threatening injuries.
The driver of the BMW, 40-year-old Jonathyn Bland of Centerville, was transported to Reston Hospital for minor injuries, along with the driver of the tractor-trailer, 34-year-old Shahbaz Singh of Fairfax, for serious, but non-life threatening injuries, Geller said.
Police charged both Bland and Singh with reckless driving.
“The three other individuals transported to Reston Hospital — one had serious, but non-life threatening injuries and other two suffered minor injuries,” Geller said.
Fairfax County Fire and Fairfax County Police assisted state police at the scene, Geller said. The Virginia State Police is investigating the crash.
Photo via VDOT/Twitter
School Safety Matters — With school starting back up again, the Fairfax County Police Department has some safety tips regarding school buses, driving, pedestrians and bicycling. [Fairfax County Police]
Police Investigating McLean Crash — “Officers are investigating a crash at Old Dominion Drive and Valley Wood Road in McLean. Use caution and expect delays.” [Fairfax County Police/Twitter]
What’s It Like to Live in Tysons West? — “Tysons West is one of those small neighborhoods that is mainly made up of a few high-rise apartments, businesses and car dealerships… Today, [Westwood Village] is still a pocket of Tysons West that some residents call a hidden gem.” [The Washington Post]
Capital One Acquires Investment Bank — “Capital One Financial Corp. is officially getting into the mergers-and-acquisitions market, announcing Monday [Aug. 19] it will acquire Tysons-based investment bank KippsDeSanto & Co.” [Washington Business Journal]
Tysons: The Next Travel Destination — Forbes has an article explaining why Tysons is a “hidden travel gem.” [Forbes]
Park Authority Board Honors Falls Church High School — “Falls Church High School and Sully Historic Site volunteer Isabel Richardson have been named the Youth recipients of the Fairfax County Park Authority’s 2019 Elly Doyle Park Service Awards.” [Fairfax County]
There’s Something in the Water — “A Smithsonian researcher has just stumbled upon a major discovery in the swamps in and around D.C.: a new species of blood-sucking leeches with up to 59 teeth.” [Patch]
Vienna police arrested a 33-year-old resident in connection with several recent incidents of indecent exposure along the Washington and Old Dominion Trail.
After an investigation, police charged Enoc Isaac Vasquez with four counts of obscene sexual display — a charge similar to the Indecent Exposure statute, police said.
Police in a press release that the charges are connected to reports of a man exposing himself along the trail on Aug. 2 and then last week on Monday (Aug. 12), Tuesday (Aug. 13) and Thursday (Aug. 15).
Vasquez was transported to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center, where he was released on a $1,000 secured bond, police said.
More from the press release:
Patrol Officers received a tip from citizens which led CIS detectives to the 200 block of Park Terrace Court in Vienna.
Detectives began surveillance in the area and eventually identified a person of interest. After interviewing numerous witnesses and obtaining corroborating statements from the suspect, police detectives obtained arrest warrants to charge Vasquez…
The Vienna Police Department would like to acknowledge the citizens and witnesses who came forward to provide information about these cases and to thank residents for their patience during this investigation.
Anyone who has additional information can contact MPO Juan Vazquez at 703-255-7845 or [email protected].
Photo via Vienna Police Department
