Students in Fairfax County public schools will get two more weeks of summer vacation.
The Fairfax County School Board approved the superintendent’s proposal to wait to start school after Labor Day.
The school board voted yesterday (Thursday) to push the return date for students from Tuesday, Aug. 25, to Tuesday, Sept. 8, according to a press release from Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS).
The two-week delay will give staff more time to prepare for online and hybrid learning — especially since the deadline was extended for parents to pick which learning option they want.
Parents have until Wednesday, July 15, to indicate whether they want their kids to take classes fully online or a combination of in-person and online learning for the entire upcoming school year.
In a newsletter today, Melanie Meren, who represents the Hunter Mill District on the school board, said that she was originally not in favor of the pushed start date, but changed her mind.
“I reconsidered after I learned that school principals and directors of student services expressed concerns about the time that they will need to turn around the enrollment data from parents and build the master schedules associated with the two options,” Meren said in the newsletter.
Now, Meren said that the new plan will help support “the quality of the learning experience.”
The school board’s vote only affects students’ return — staff will still follow the original schedule, allowing additional days to prepare. Meren noted that staff will receive professional development opportunities, like socio-emotional supports, along with training for the new curriculum and technology during the two weeks before school starts.
In response to queries about why online learning can’t start in August, Meren said that having the two school systems on different schedules “is not feasible.”
Photo via Element5 Digital/Unsplash
Plans for a proposed commercial building in Falls Church may soon move forward.
Fairfax One LLC wants to add a 12,000-square-foot building at 130 E. Fairfax Street — the current location of parking for the nearby Protestant Episcopal Church. The project, which is called Southgate II, proposes to house Scramble, a kids’ play gym that is currently located in Alexandria.
The developer told the city’s Planning Commission earlier this year that churchgoers would still be able to park there, along with space at an adjacent property.
While some of the Planning Commissioners had concerns about the location of the kids’ center and the project’s “suburban, strip mall feel,” some argued that child care is needed in that part of the city and that the building is an improvement from the site’s current conditions.
On Monday, the Falls Church City Council is set to move along the rezoning process for the site. Currently, the site plan for the project is on hold until the rezoning application is finalized, according to city documents.
Map via Google Maps
Wawa plans to open its first store in the Town of Vienna next Thursday (July 16).
The store at 465 Maple Avenue W. used to house a Coldwell Banker branch. Now, the building has been retrofitted — the first time ever for Wawa, according to a press release.
To commemorate the opening, a ribbon cutting will happen with social distancing outside the store on the morning of its opening. Wawa is encouraging people to watch a celebratory video and take part in an online contest for limited-edition Vienna Wawa t-shirts.
The store will open at 8 a.m. on Thursday, according to the press release.
Roughly 40 employees will work at the 6,290-square-foot store, which will offer Tesla charging stations. People who don’t want to venture outside for hoagies can get food and drinks delivered from the store via DoorDash and Uber Eats.
The press release detailed Wawa’s COVID-19 measures to reduce the risk of spreading the virus:
Wawa made several key changes to ensure it has the safest, most convenient store environment. The changes include launch of The Wawa Clean Force, a dedicated and trained sanitizing swat team working at each store every day with one job: keeping Wawa stores clean, sanitized and safe. Additional protections and policies include masks and gloves for all associates; clear plastic safety guards at check out and food-service counters; even more frequent hand washing standards; and wellness temperature checks for associates before each shift. For customers, social distancing with friendly visual markers and more hand-sanitizer stations have been added in common areas.
Wawa also plans to launch an initiative that will donate $1,000 from the Vienna store’s first week of sales to the Capital Area Food Bank and donate $1,000 each and hoagies to charities picked by Vienna’s police and fire departments and Fairfax County Fire and Rescue, the press release said.
Additionally, people will be able to make donations to support military personnel and their families until Sunday, July 19, at any Wawa store, the press release said.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is looking to alter its rules for adult day care centers after providers complained about previous zoning changes.
The board will vote on Tuesday to authorize public hearings — one for the Planning Commission on Sept. 16 and one with the county board on Oct. 6.
The newly proposed changes would make adult day care centers a by-right use in industrial areas and allow the Health Care Advisory Board to review proposed centers. The county also wants to reevaluate the requirement for outdoor recreation space at the centers.
Back in 2018, county officials greenlighted zoning changes that adult day care center providers now say have made it difficult to find appropriate locations in the county, according to county documents.
More from the county documents:
Of particular concern is the requirement for special exception approval in the industrial districts and the requirement to provide outdoor recreation space. This use, similar to child care centers, private schools and places of worship, was previously allowed by-right when located in an office or industrial park and where vehicle access is provided via the internal circulation system of the park. Adult day care providers indicated that the special exception requirement puts them at a disadvantage when trying to lease space, particularly industrial flex space, as other uses with similar land use impacts are allowed by-right, like child care centers, private schools, and places of worship.
The new proposal under consideration stemmed from county officials earlier this year asking staff to review the regulations.
The hearings will seek feedback from community members on the proposed amendments.
As two drive-in movie fundraisers gather donations for Second Story, the local nonprofit is reevaluating how to seek support as the coronavirus pandemic continues.
Based in the Merrifield area, Second Story helps kids, teens and young adults seeking food, shelter and emergency support.
Tysons Reporter caught up with Jade Leedham, Second Story’s vice president of development, to hear how the drive-in movie fundraisers happened, what fundraising looks like now and how their clients’ needs have changed during the pandemic.
Drive-in Movies
Leedham said that both Tysons Corner Center and Capital One Center, which have been long-time supporters of Second Story, reached out about the drive-in movies.
Tysons Corner Center starts its series tonight (Friday) with movies on the second weekend of each month through September, while Capital One kicks off its four-week-long drive-in movies series tomorrow (Saturday). Both events are asking moviegoers to donate $25 to Second Story.
“It just kind of happened coincidentally at the same time from two of our main supporters here in Tysons,” she said.
Because Second Story is not co-planning the drive-in movies series, Leedham said it’s hard to predict what the donations might add up to.
“We don’t have any expectations, but we’ve seen some donations coming in,” she said. “For Capital One, I believe we passed $1,000 and there’s still a long time to go… I imagine it’s going to be a pretty sizable donation at the end.”
Leedham said that the donations will go toward supporting young people’s needs for food, safety items, toiletries and other essential items.
New Needs
Over the last few months, Leedham said she’s seen clients’ needs change. The nonprofit has had to significantly increase funds for rent support for participants in the program for homeless youth.
“That’s one big area that we’ve seen a hit,” Leedham said, noting that unemployment is impacting people’s ability to pay their rents.
Second Story has also shifted its asks for community support to gift cards and donations after seeing a decline in volunteers helping with things like food pick-up and drop-off and bringing in donations.
Leedham speculates that some corporate sponsors may now be seeing a loss in revenue or challenges with remote work, which could impact their contributions to Second Story.
“At the beginning, maybe they had enough to be able to do what they were able to do, but now they’ve got to start focusing on how to how to maintain their own businesses, which makes complete sense,” she said.
Even with fewer volunteers showing up in-person lately, Leedham says she’s still seeing a variety of support, from people starting online fundraisers to memorial donation drives.
“We had a teacher contact us recently because their colleague teacher passed away. They are doing a memorial donation drive because that teacher who passed away cared a lot about young people and especially homeless young people,” she said.
Some people were even able to donate personal protective equipment even when it was largely out of stock.
“I don’t know how they did it, but people were going out and looking for all of these essential items and bringing them to us. And so without that help, I don’t know how we would have been able to provide those things to our clients,” she said.
Sustaining Support
As Virginia rolls back COVID-19 restrictions and the start of the new school year approaches, Leedham said there are new, pressing concerns for people to grapple with.
“I just feel like the demand is just so high that it may be hard to keep up with the demand in terms of donating food,” she said.
To make sure people don’t forget about Second Story’s efforts, the nonprofit has increased its online marketing campaign and created a task force that alerts members of the organization’s immediate needs. Second Story’s podcast and newsletter also share how people’s support makes a big difference.
“We are trying to look for opportunities and help people to come up with fundraising ideas, while of course also relying on others to pitch ideas to us and just supporting them however we can with our materials and our branding and our videos and our messaging, so that they can represent Second Story in their own unique creative ways,” she said.
Second Story is also working toward a three-year fundraising goal that began last fiscal year. “As we go into the second half of the year here in 2020, we are doing our best and staying cautiously optimistic that we will have a great holiday season to sustain all of the things that we’re doing, but we can’t lose sight of the fact that COVID will have long term effects on everyone,” she said.
How People Can Help
Second Story is encouraging donors — if they have the capacity — to commit to the Beacon of Hope Society’s commitment to at least $1,000 per year for five years, Leedham said.
Leedham also hopes that people donating smaller amounts will be able to increase their contributions on a consistent basis.
There’s even a free way to help the nonprofit — by voting for Second Story on Apple Federal Credit Union’s list of four charities, Leedham said. The votes will determine how much each charity will receive from a pot of funding up to $100,000.
Falls Church Development Moving Forward — “With the Falls Church City Council’s first in-depth public look at the detailed special exception site plan for the 9.77-acre mega-West End development project Monday night, an undertone arising from the Covid-19 pandemic’s ‘unbelievable headwinds’ suddenly facing it in these extraordinary times was in the background for the three-hour discussion.” [Falls Church News-Press]
List of Local PPP Loan Recipients — Patch has lists of local businesses in Vienna, McLean and Tysons that received loans of $150,000 or more. [McLean Patch, Vienna Patch]
Local Leaders Respond to DeVos’s Criticism — “U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos had some criticism for Fairfax County Schools’ virtual learning during the pandemic and reopening plan for the fall. Leaders from the school system, the largest in Virginia, responded in defense of the plan providing only virtual learning or a mix with two days of in-person learning.” [Patch]
Pandemic’s Impact on Local Dentist — “As coronavirus restrictions in response to the pandemic ramped up in mid-March, dentists like Dr. Nicole Van closed their offices for all but emergencies. Since reopening, the dentist’s office experience looks different from pre-pandemic times.” [Patch]
Photo courtesy Hilde Kahn
(Updated 7/13/2020) Madison Reed will start selling hair color products and open its Color Bar this weekend in the Mosaic District.
Madison Reed will open at 2921 District Avenue, Suite 130 on Saturday, July 11. Customers will be able to book color service and free color consultations, buy products and participate in the Unlimited Roots Membership.
Because of the pandemic, clients will be spaced every other chair and appointments will be staggered to allow for cleanings, Mary O’Connell, a company spokesperson, told Tysons Reporter. People will have to book appointments in advance — and will get “texted in” to their appointments when they show up — but can walk in for retail purchases, she said.
Additionally, the new stores will have new HVAC systems to help with air quality control, and clients can expect masks, gloves, social distancing and temperature checks.
“We couldn’t have a party as much as we would love to have a party,” O’Connell said.
The pandemic did not significantly delay the Mosaic location’s opening, which was set for early June, she said. In addition to the Mosaic District location, Madison Reed is also opening locations in Reston Town Center and Rockville on Saturday.
Clients can expect reduced hours from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday at the Mosaic District.
While many businesses have struggled during the pandemic, O’Connell said that Madison Reed saw sales increase 1,300% — “just a huge number” — due to customers purchasing kits to color their hair at home. At one point, boxes of color kits were selling every five seconds, she said.
Because of the boom, Madison Reed did not furlough any employees and instead had them help with the orders, she said.
“Hair color matters to women,” O’Connell said, adding that the company attributes the sales to brand loyalty and “looking at yourself on Zoom.”
Photo via Mosaic District/Facebook
After receiving thousands of applications, Fairfax County officials want to add funds to its grant program to support more small businesses and nonprofits facing financial turmoil from the pandemic.
On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors will consider spending $20 million to expand Fairfax RISE, according to the draft agenda for the meeting.
The county board originally made the grant program in May with $25 million from funds through the CARES Act. Businesses can receive the following amounts based on the number of employees:
- 1-10: $10,000
- 11-25: $15,000
- 26-49: $20,000
The county is especially trying to help women-owned, minority-owned and veteran-owned businesses stay in business during the pandemic.
Of the 6,280 applications the county received in June, 6,038 qualified for funding, meaning the county would need more than $60 million to support all of them, according to the county.
“As the Grant Program was oversubscribed, a random selection was used to determine the order of processing for all applicants,” according to county documents.
The county invited 2,183 applicants — 36% of the total qualified applicants — to submit documentation and start the certification process. The county documents say that some businesses that qualified during the first review phase may become disqualified in the second review phase if they don’t meet the documentation requirements or don’t respond.
Now, county officials hope that expanding the program will fund approximately 65%-80% of the June applicants by adding $20 million from the county, along with the $1 million provided from the Town of Vienna.
Currently, the county is not accepting new submissions from businesses.
(Updated 11:30 a.m.) The McLean Project for the Arts is among the recipients of $50,000 grants from the National Endowment for the Arts CARES Act to help with the financial fallout from the pandemic.
Thirteen other arts organizations in Virginia were awarded the funding, according to a press release from the arts organization.
“This grant provides critical support as we continue to adapt our visual arts programming and carry out our mission during and beyond this COVID-19 pandemic,” Lori Carbonneau, MPA’s executive director, said in the press release.
MPA shared with Tysons Reporter how the grant will be used:
The funding will help us have the resources to reimagine our programming in this new environment. For example, this coming Wednesday, July 15, we will open our first online juried exhibition, SHIFT. We’ve also been actively expanding our MPA ArtReach programming, distributing these weekly art activities to ArtReach community partners, who, in many cases, are struggling with the digital divide of lacking easy access to technology and wifi. Finally, the grant will help us continue to provide our online art classes and art camps, and will support our upcoming (virtual!) MPAartfest coming this October.
The NEA said it received more than 3,100 eligible applications and ultimately awarded the grants totaling $44.5 million to 855 organizations across the U.S. Only arts organizations that had previously received NEA funds were eligible.
“To review the applications, the agency used more than 200 application readers and panelists to review and score each application using the published review criteria,” according to the NEA.
The grants will support staff salaries, fees for artists or contractors and facilities costs, the press release said, noting that arts and culture sector employs more than 5 million people.
Photo by Ian Williams on Unsplash
A new survey wants to find out how people feel about heading to offices, retailers and entertainment venues during the coronavirus pandemic.
Tysons Partnership created the survey to inform Tysons-area businesses and community organizers as Gov. Ralph Northam rolls back COVID-19 restrictions.
Currently, Virginia is in Phase Three, which means that non-essential retail, parks, restaurants and places of worship can fully open. Some restrictions and guidelines are still in effect — teleworking is strongly encouraged, gatherings are limited to 250 and places like fitness centers and entertainment venues can open with limited capacity.
“I’ve been extraordinarily impressed by how Tysons-based employers pivoted from conventional office work environments to virtual workspaces,” Sol Glasner, Tysons Partnership’s president and CEO, told Tysons Reporter.
Now, the survey will help businesses decide what to do about reopening.
“It’s intended to get at people’s perception and give us some flavor of what they are thinking and [their] level of comfort,” Glasner said.
One part of the survey asks respondents to say when they would feel comfortable in various scenarios, like picking up food, shopping at indoor and outdoor malls and flying on a plane.
The survey, which is currently available online, takes five minutes to complete. Glasner said that Tysons Partnership is looking to end the survey next week and hopefully have results available to share in late July.
