Updated at 1:40 p.m. — Corrects description of MicroStrategy and lease renewal date.
MicroStrategy Inc. scored $1 million to expand in Tysons.
The Fairfax County’s Board of Supervisors approved grant funding from the Commonwealth at its meeting on Tuesday (May 21).
The funds will help the company with its tenant build-out of its facility (1850 Towers Crescent Plaza) in Tysons, which could lead to 300 new jobs at the facility, according to county documents.
Last March, MicroStrategy, which provides a data analytics platform, renewed its lease for its Tysons headquarters for $150 million, keeping the company based in Northern Virginia for another 13 years, the Washington Business Journal reported.
As part of the grant, Fairfax County must provide a local match, which will be in the form of accelerating construction on the Magarity Walkway project, a roadway improvement that is already planned and funded in the county budget. The road improvement was identified by coordinating with the Fairfax County Department of Transportation.
Fairfax County competed with another jurisdiction for the expansion of MicroStrategy’s headquarters, according to county documents.
Code Ninjas, a franchise aimed at teaching kids to code, recently arrived in downtown Falls Church.
A grand opening on Saturday (May 18) welcomed Code Ninjas into 510 S. Washington Street, Suite F.
Code Ninjas teaches kids ages 7-14 to code with a game-based curriculum, advancing from the white belt for beginners to the black belt — the most advanced status, according to its website.
Spanning more than three dozen states, Code Ninjas’ opening in Falls Church marks its 13th franchise location in Virginia.
The Falls Church location offers classes on Javascript, coding video games, creating websites, building Minecraft worlds and programming drones.
Candytopia is looking to bring its sugary art installations to Tysons.
Curated by Jackie Sorkin from TLC’s “Candy Queen,” the interactive art pop-up made with candy describes itself as an “outrageously interactive candy wonderland” with flying unicorn pigs and a marshmallow tsunami. The pop-ups usually last about four months.
Candytopia’s chief executive officer told the Washington Business Journal that the pop-up concept, which occupies between 14,000 and 25,000 square feet, is looking to open in the Tysons area in the next year.
Candytopia recently opened in Atlanta and Dallas and is “coming soon” to Houston. Tickets vary by location — regular admission for the Atlanta one costs $28, while the Dallas one is $30.
Previously, Candytopia has rolled into San Francisco, Minneapolis-St. Paul and New York City.
Photo via Facebook
The Vienna Town Council will tackle a proposed outdoor music and art festival during its work session tonight (May 20).
Movers and Shakers for Vienna Arts, a nonprofit organization that promotes and supports the arts, wants to hold a two-day festival, which would double as a fundraiser, with juried art vendors, live music, food and beer in 2020.
Unlike the Town of Vienna’s two current outdoor festivals with craft vendors — ViVa! Vienna! and Oktoberfest — the proposed one would require items sold by vendors to be handmade.
“Vendors that make their own products cannot compete with prices of goods sold by vendors that sell buy/sell or imported items,” according to town documents. “The overall quality of items sold at an art show with no regulations is not as high as a festival that requires only hand-made items.”
The document also said that high-quality artists selling handmade crafts may refuse to participate in events that also allow the sale of imported items.
The proposed Movers and Shakers Music and Art Festival returns tonight to the Town Council after its organizers made adjustments based on previous comments from the Town Council.
While town staff said in the documents that limited funding and resources are concerns, they noted that the festival “could generate visitors to Town and additional spending at local businesses.”
The festival has support from the Parks and Recreation director, according to the documents.
Virginia residents have until right before midnight tonight (May 20) to register to vote for the June 11 primaries.
A total of 49 Republican and 45 Democratic primaries spanning the Virginia House of Delegates, Virginia Senate and local offices will be held on June 11. For Tysons-area residents, upcoming retirements have several spots open on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.
The Hunter Mill District, which covers Vienna and Reston, and the Providence District, which covers Tysons and Merrifield, both have five Democrats vying for the seats. The primary will also determine which of the four Democrats in the race for the Board of Supervisors chair will face Republican Joe Galdo in the November election.
People eligible to vote can register or update their voter information in person before 5 p.m. at a local registration office — the one for Fairfax County is at 12000 Government Center Parkway, Suite 323 — or online until 11:59 p.m.
Are you registered to vote? Do you need to update your registration information? If you want to vote in the June 11 primaries, the deadline is Monday (5/20). Go to https://t.co/Z4PThNmbjG and be #ReadyToVote pic.twitter.com/alsgdfPuIE
— VA Dept of Elections (@vaELECT) May 17, 2019
Flickr pool photo by Mrs. Gemstone
Fairfax County is getting closer to developing a program for the police, fire and emergency response agencies to use unmanned aircraft.
The county’s Board of Supervisors is scheduled to consider tomorrow (Tuesday) approving the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) program, which proposes to incorporate drones into government operations with a particular focus on public safety.
“A UAS program would provide enhanced operational capability, safety, and situational awareness for first responders, other staff or volunteers, affiliated partners, and the community,” according to the draft agenda for the county board meeting.
The draft notes that unmanned aircraft are able to operate in possibly hazardous environments that could harm first responders.
Some examples of drone usage include:
- search and rescue
- damage assessment
- fire incident/scene management and investigations
- hazardous materials responses
- geospatial data acquisition
Drones would not be used to conduct unauthorized surveillance activities or to harass individuals, the draft says.
The proposal was first brought up last year and the Board of Supervisors directed staff to conduct community outreach on the proposal. After several task force meetings on the proposal and half of a dozen public meetings, the proposal is now seeking the Board of Supervisors’ approval.
If the program is approved, staff would apply for an FAA Certificate of Authority (COA) to comply with federal requirements and also create a steering committee for oversight of the program.
Fairfax County falls under the “No Drone Zone” that placed restrictions on flying unmanned aircraft after 9/11 and requires FAA authorization within a 15-mile radius from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
The fire and police departments and Office of Emergency Management would initially receive about six to eight unmanned aircraft — costing the agencies about $3,500 per drone, according to the draft.
Photo via Flickr/Joe Loong
Freddie Mac Expanding Tysons Footprint — “The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. has signed a full-building lease at 1550 Westbranch Drive, a six-story building Rubenstein Partners and Griffith Properties bought for $27.75 million in 2015, according to sources familiar with the deal.” [Washington Business Journal]
Hunter Mill Democrats Focus on Vienna — “Five candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for Hunter Mill District supervisor tried to differentiate themselves May 15 at a debate in Vienna… Several candidates said public officials should listen to residents’ concerns, a topic fresh on the minds of Vienna voters who on May 7 ousted a Town Council incumbent and voted in two development critics.” [Inside NoVa]
Vienna Crafter Makes Wigs for Cancer-Fighting Kids — Janet O’Grady, a crafter from Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Vienna, helps knit Disney-inspired wigs for The Magic Yarn Project, which is based in Alaska. Kids fighting cancer receive the wigs for free. [The Arlington Catholic Herald]
Firefighters Mow Man’s Lawn in Vienna — Firefighters and medics responded to a report of a man feeling ill while mowing the lawn. After the medics took him to a nearby hospital, the firefighters “saw mowing not done so they finished up so he would not have to worry about it upon return home.” [Fairfax Fire and Rescue/Twitter]
Langley Student’s STEM Project Lauded — “Hana Abouelenein, a sophomore at Langley High School, has been selected as the 2019 recipient of the AAUW McLean area branch’s STEM Excellence Award, presented to a female student or team from a high school in the McLean area with an outstanding project in the field of Engineering presented at the Fairfax County Regional Science Fair.” [Inside NoVa]
Pool Party Season Almost Here — With Memorial Day weekend coming up, Patch has a list of when pools in the McLean area are open during the day. [McLean Patch]
A mom told Vienna police that a man recorded her young son in the bathroom at Whole Foods (143 E. Maple Avenue).
The incident was reported last Thursday, May 9, around 4:55 p.m.
“A citizen reported that her 9-year-old son was in a stall in the men’s restroom when a man reached over the stall with his cell phone and began to record him,” the police report said.
The boy then left the bathroom and immediately told his mom what happened, according to the report.
Photo via Facebook
Poki DC will soon add another veg-friendly eatery option in Tysons Corner Center.
Inspired by Hawaiian cuisine, Poki DC offers build-your-own bowls and mochi at three locations in both D.C. and Maryland.
The website for the D.C.-based eatery says that it is “coming soon in 2019” to Tysons Corner Center. A recent building permit indicates that work is getting done on the new location.
The mall has another poke place — Pokéworks — on the first level next to the now-vacant Sweet Leaf spot.
In addition to Poki DC, the mall plans to welcome a new Falafel Inc. — a D.C. based restaurant that donates a percentage of its profits to support refugees — into Mixing Bowl’s former spot.
Photo via Facebook
Students from a high school in the Town of Vienna plan to walk 50 miles to Baltimore as part of a humanitarian fundraising effort.
Students from the James Madison High School will walk to help Team World Vision, a fundraising program for the humanitarian organization World Vision, provide clean water to communities in Africa.
The students and their supporters are set to start the trek tomorrow (Saturday) at 4 a.m. Google Maps estimates that the walk could take between 17-19 hours.
The group already hit its initial fundraising goal of $5,000 and now wants to see how much more money it can raise. Donations can be made to the team or to an individual.
Map via Google Maps
