Tysons’ 1st Stage Theatre is starting a series for virtual meet and greets with the staff and performers, along with a peek at the creative process.
The theater announced the new series yesterday (Monday). Called “Community Conversations,” the series kicks off on Saturday, May 9.
Since the coronavirus pandemic prompted show cancellations, the theater has taken to social media to share videos of short performances.
The line-up for the series includes:
- May 9: Meet the Staff
- May 16: Artistic Directors in Conversation
- May 23: Performers in Quarantine
- May 30: How 1st Stage Develops New Work
- June 6: The Life of a Solo Artist
- June 13: Cultural Tysons
All of the conversations will take place at 2 p.m. EST on Zoom and will be posted on social media afterwards for people who couldn’t attend live, according to the theater.
People interested in joining, can register online for each conversation.
Budget Public Hearings Start Today — The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors starts its public hearings on the proposed fiscal year 2021 budget today. [Fairfax County]
How Vienna Candidates Campaign in COVID-19 Crisis — “Candidates told the Sun Gazette they miss door-to-door campaigning, but are reaching out to voters through social media. The election’s date, which had remained a moving target until late last week, complicated matters further, they said.” [Inside NoVa]
Gov. Northam Says Child Vaccines Declining — “Due to COVID-19, the state is starting to see a decline in immunizations, Northam said, as parents decide not to take their children to the pediatrician for their vaccines.” [Inside NoVa]
Virginia Scores Poorly for Social Distancing — “Virginia has scored a D- while the City of Falls Church has received an overall social distancing grade of C+ based on community activity using metrics comparing current mobility data to that before the Covid-19 outbreak. The assessments come from data company Unacast.” [Falls Church News-Press]
APRIL 27: COVID-19 Update for Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Personnel. Information is up-to-date as of 5 p.m. on Sunday, April 26. More: https://t.co/J5tdoSU2g4 #FCFRD #FFXCOVID pic.twitter.com/JMBpJ7r4OJ
— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) April 27, 2020
Drivers and pedestrians who traverse the Cedar Lane Bridge over I-66 between Vienna and Merrifield will soon have to use a detour.
The bridge is set to close around May 15 for demolition and construction on a new bridge, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT).
“The bridge will be rebuilt to accommodate the widening of I-66 and will include a shared-use path and wider sidewalk,” VDOT said in an email update.
More from VDOT:
Closing the bridge for this planned six-month period will reduce the duration and impacts of construction activities on travelers and surrounding neighborhoods. Other options were considered, including partial closure approaches that would have taken more than two years to complete. The full bridge closure also maximizes construction activity over Metrorail tracks during the planned Metro Orange Line shutdown between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day.
The bridge will be closed for roughly six months. People who normally use the bridge will have marked detours to use Gallows Road to cross the interstate, according VDOT.
The bridge work is a part of VDOT’s multi-year Transform 66 project. The new bridge is expected to open in late November of this year, followed by the I-66 Express Lanes in December 2022, according to the project’s webpage.
Image via Virginia Department of Transportation
(Updated 5/11/2020) The Town of Vienna’s upcoming election is now set to take place on May 19.
Gov. Ralph Northam announced Friday (April 24) a two-week delay for local elections, including Vienna’s.
Because of the altered date, absentee ballot applications are now due May 12, according to a tweet from town officials. Fairfax County officials are strongly urging absentee voting to reduce the risk of spreading the coronavirus.
Due to #coronavirus, the Virginia Dept of Elections "strongly encourages" absentee voting in the May elections. Use reason "2A My illness or disability." Absentee vote by mail: https://t.co/xRsj4c4jP7#COVID19 #socialdistancing #FlattenTheCurve #VoteAbsentee #Vote @vaELECT pic.twitter.com/kDfRDDlRQU
— Fairfax County Votes (@fairfaxvotes) March 18, 2020
Three councilmembers are vying for Mayor Laurie DiRocco’s seat, while seven candidates running for council seats.
Due to the coronavirus, in-person debates were canceled and replaced with virtual debates — one for the mayoral candidates and the other for councilmember candidates — hosted by the North East Vienna Citizens Association and Vienna Business Association.
Tysons Reporter offered the candidates the opportunity to respond to a Q&A with topics ranging from climate change to height limitations for commercial development along Maple Avenue.
Here are the published Q&As, listed in alphabetical order by first name, that have been published so far:
Mayoral candidate Q&As:
Councilmember candidate Q&As:
Inside NoVa also published several candidate profiles.
Photo by Element5 Digital/Unsplash
Metro is gearing up for work this summer that will close all of the Orange and Silver line stations west of Ballston.
Last week, Metro announced it is expanding its work from just platform reconstruction at several Orange Line stations to include connection of the upcoming Silver Line Phase II stations, which run from Reston to Ashburn.
Low Metro ridership and severely reduced highway traffic due to Virginia’s stay-at-home order prompted the additional work, Metro officials said.
Starting Saturday, May 23, nine stations will be closed through the fall. Free express and local shuttle buses, along with Fairfax Connector routes, will help connect riders traveling around Northern Virginia.
Let Tysons Reporter know if the expanded summer work will impact you.
Over the weekend, Fairfax County unveiled a new COVID-19 dashboard, providing more insight into geographic and racial data on the virus.
In addition to previously available data on total case numbers, deaths, age distributions and hospitalizations, the new dashboard now offers data on:
- cases by locality
- case rates by combined zip codes grouped by the first three digits
- cases by racial and ethnic groups
- trajectory of cases to show increases or decreases
- epidemic curve “shows the number of new cases that occur by week of onset”
“All data are subject to change, and this information should not be used to determine your individual level of risk or to self-diagnose,” according to the database.
Tysons, McLean and Vienna are a part of one zip code group, which also includes Wolf Trap, Oakton and Springfield, that has 618 reported cases — 252.4 cases per 100,000 people, according to the database.
While the county’s population is roughly 50% White, 16% Hispanic, 20% Asian and 10% Black, coronavirus patients are almost 50% Hispanic and roughly 26% White, 10% Black and 14% Asian.
The database includes this disclaimer with its racial ethnic group data:
Race and ethnicity data are not routinely reported by laboratories to the health department making collection of these data difficult. Caution should be used when interpreting these results. Rates by race and ethnic group also may reflect differences in seeking medical care and testing between groups.
As of today (Monday), Fairfax County has 3,002 cases and 100 deaths, according to the Virginia Department of Health. The cities of Fairfax and Falls Church both have just over two dozen cases and two deaths.
The Fairfax Health District, which includes the county and its towns and cities, continues to lead the state in the number of cases and deaths.
Of the 199 outbreaks in Virginia, 34 are in the Fairfax Health District with 31 at long term care facilities and one each at a healthcare setting, correctional facility and educational setting.
Statewide, there are at least 13,535 cases, 2,066 hospitalizations and 458 deaths. More than 80,000 people have been tested for the virus.
Image via Fairfax County
Nominations Open for Volunteers at County Parks — “The Fairfax County Park Authority is seeking nominations for a number of awards it bestows each year on those who volunteer in county parks.” [Inside NoVa]
Northam Outlines Plan for Reopening — “Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam today [Friday] said that the earliest the state can begin its reopening plan is May 8… The blueprint includes a phased approach grounded in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and has specific goals to contain the spread of the virus through increased testing, personal protective equipment and supplies and medical capacity, a statement said.” [Falls Church News-Press]
Big Donation to Local Group — “The Arlington-based Catholic Charities St. Lucy Food Project received a donation of 35,500 pounds of food from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, delivered on a tractor trailer from Salt Lake City, Utah.” [Falls Church News-Press]
Road Work in Tysons — “Motorists traveling along soundbound Route 123 will see continued daily lane closures as crews perform installation of underdrain in preparation of the Old Meadow Road realignment with Capital One Tower Drive. Lane closures are planned for Monday, April 27, through Friday, May 1, and are needed to permit the relocation of various utilities.” [Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project]
We are so proud our project, @TheBoroTysons, was honored with the Best in Industry, Project of the Year @CREBAdc award! https://t.co/nYbXZGsaxA 🏆 #TheBoroTysons
— The Meridian Group (@MeridianDC) April 24, 2020
The annual Viva! Vienna! festival won’t take place during Memorial Day weekend.
“While our event will not take place, our contests are still open!,” according to the event’s website. “Students, please continue to submit your entries here on our website.”
People can expect the festival to return in 2021.
Viva! Vienna! is now part of a growing list of canceled events, including Taste of Vienna, Falls Church’s Memorial Day Festival and Parade and McLean Day.
Photo via Facebook
People reported 10 vehicular crimes in Vienna throughout the week, according to police.
Four grand larcenies, four petit larcenies and two tampering incidents involving vehicles were reported between April 17-24, according to police reports.
Vehicular Issues on Elm Street
The 100 block of Elm Street SW, which is near the police station, had the most reported incidents.
One resident claimed that gift cards and sunglasses were stolen from their vehicle some time between April 17-18.
In a separate incident, a person said that their two unlocked vehicles were rummaged through early in the morning on Saturday (April 18) and that paper prescriptions were missing from one of them.
In a third report, a person said an unknown person had “rummaged through” the vehicle and had taken U.S. money some time between April 17-18.
Other Car Crimes
At School of Rock (111 Center Street S.), an employee said that he “saw his vehicle was moving in the rear parking lot” around 4:30 a.m. on Saturday (April 18), police said.
“The employee ran out to the lot and confronted a man who was in his vehicle,” police said. “The man got out of the vehicle and fled on foot southbound on Center Street.”
Here are the rest of the recent vehicle crimes:
- vehicle stolen from 1100 block of Lakewood Drive SW
- vehicle stolen from 700 block of Hillcrest Drive SW
- vehicle “rummaged through” in 100 block of Hickory Circle SW
- gift cards stolen from vehicle in 900 block of Moorefield Hill Grove SW
- U.S. currency stolen from vehicle in 200 block of Elm Street SW
- U.S. currency stolen from vehicle in 200 block of Tapawingo Road SE
Photo via Facebook
Fairfax County has seen a recent jump in COVID-19 deaths as the number of cases continues to rise in the county and statewide.
As of today (Friday), Fairfax County had 85 deaths due to the respiratory illness, according to the Virginia Department of Health. The cities of Fairfax and Falls Church have both reported two deaths.
In total, there are 89 deaths in the Fairfax Health District, which includes the county and its towns and cities, — up from 80 deaths reported yesterday (Thursday).
Yesterday, Fairfax County reported the first coronavirus case claiming the life of someone under the age of 50. Most of the people who died from the illness in the Fairfax Health District were above the age of 65.
More data on the Fairfax Health District:
- 2,584 cases
- 460 hospitalizations
- 10,887 tests
- 26 outbreaks: 24 at long term care facilities and one each at a correctional facility and healthcare setting
Statewide, there are 11,594 confirmed cases and 410 deaths, according to the Virginia Department of Health. The state has had 176 outbreaks with half at long term care facilities.
Data via Virginia Department of Health
