The Super Bowl is this Sunday (Feb. 2) and a local non-profit is sharing drunk driving prevention tips ahead of game day.

Based in Falls Church, the Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) is urging people to wear seatbelts, designate a sober driver and consider using ride-sharing services or public transit.

“Even if you have every confidence in your own ability to not drive impaired, that confidence doesn’t extend to the next driver,” WRAP’s President Kurt Gregory Erickson said in a press release.

For hosts, WRAP encourages bars to stop serving alcohol at least one hour before the game ends, to serve food with alcohol and to never serve a person who is drunk.

Other tips include using a non-carbonated base in alcoholic punches so that the body absorbs the alcohol faster and offering non-alcoholic beverages.

“Motorists in Greater Washington who suspect that they are sharing a roadway with an impaired driver should report such by safely dialing 911 in the District of Columbia or Maryland and #77 in Virginia,” Erickson said.

Photo by Dave Adamson on Unsplash

Fairfax County police say a Special Weapons and Tactics Team officer shot a suspect “brandishing an assault-style weapon” last night in Falls Church.

The incident happened around 10 p.m. on Tuesday (Jan. 28) in a house in the 7600 block of Lee Landing Drive.

Police said the SWAT officers were serving a narcotics search warrant and related arrest warrants when the armed suspect confronted them in the house.

“A SWAT officer discharged his weapon striking the man,” according to the press release from the police department. “Officers immediately rendered medical aid to the man who then was transported to a hospital where he was treated and released.”

The Major Crimes Bureau is conducting a criminal investigation into the use of force and Chief Edwin Roessler Jr. has directed the Internal Affairs Bureau to conduct an administrative investigation, along with an independent review by the Police Auditor, according to the press release.

“The name of the officer will be released by Chief Roessler within 10 days,” the press release said.

More from FCPD:

David Vo, 24, of Falls Church, was charged with felony distribution of marijuana and felony failure to appear. Vo is being held without bond at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center. Additional charges will be forthcoming.

The involved officer is a 16-year veteran of the Fairfax County Police Department and is assigned to the Special Operations Division. As per department policy, the officer has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the criminal and administrative investigation…

All information provided in this release is based on preliminary investigative findings and may be subject to revision as the investigation progresses.

We are on scene of an officer involved shooting in the 7600 block of Lee Landing Drive. The suspect has been transported to a local hospital with injuries that are not life threatening and the officer was not injured. Updates to follow. pic.twitter.com/GnwSaXbxGG

— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) January 29, 2020

Map via Google Maps

Vienna Town Councilmember Pasha Majdi announced that he is joining the race for the mayor’s seat in the spring election.

Majdi was first elected to the council in 2014 after serving on the Town Business Liaison Committee, according to his town bio.

So far, Majdi is competing against councilmembers Linda Colbert and Howard Springsteen, who announced their campaigns at the first Town Council meeting of the year.

“I’m running for mayor because Vienna is my hometown and I want to keep it a small town,” Majdi said in a statement. “Vienna should be an independent, green oasis that is a sharp contrast to Tysons, not a housing district for Tysons.”

More from the statement:

 My vision for the next 10 years is to protect residential neighborhoods and streets to keep Vienna the best place to raise a family in Northern Virginia, apply smart growth principles for Maple Avenue that control and mitigate traffic, and build a Town square around Church Street and the W&OD trail.

The terms for both Majdi and Colbert expire in June this year, while Springsteen’s term expires in June 2021.

Laurie DiRocco, who has been the town’s mayor since 2014, announced in December that she will not seek re-election.

The Vienna election is May 5.

Image courtesy Pasha Majdi

Concerns about a proposed boundary change impacting high school students in McLean dominated the public hearing last night on the Capital Improvement Program for Fairfax County Public Schools.

The draft CIP says that McLean High School is currently at 118% capacity, with projections showing the population increasing to 122% capacity in the 2024-2025 school year.

“For years, we have cobbled together a bandaid patchwork of solutions that were never meant to be permanent,” Kimberly Adams, from the Fairfax Education Association, told the school board about the trailers at McLean High School.

Adams said that the school board needs to ask for more funding to pay for additional improvements that will add more school space.

One idea that county officials are pursuing would shift students from McLean High School to nearby Langley High School, which has a current capacity of 83%.

Meetings in the fall solicited community input on the proposed boundary change that could impact the schools for this upcoming 2020-2021 school year.

More than a dozen parents, students and locals urged the school board to renovate McLean High School, add a modular brick-and-mortar addition, add IB classes at Langley High School or allow McLean families the option to enroll their kids at Langley High School.

Two McLean high school students, who spoke together, said that they don’t support the boundary change and would prefer to see a modular instead.

Jennifer Colman, a McLean High School parent, told the school board that the CIP has “good options” for the school, but that the boundary change is not one of them.

“Take the boundary change off the table,” Colman said.

And if a boundary change does happen, several parents, like John Callanan, urged that the change happens for the lower grades, like with students in elementary school, rather than at the high school level and that the boundary change not split up families.

“If we must consider boundary changes do it from elementary to middle to high school,” Callanan said. “Do not begin at the end.”

All of the testimony wasn’t about McLean High School overcrowding — several students urged for support of solar polar legislation and building schools that are equipped with solar and geothermal systems so that they can be net-zero energy.

Some parents urged for the school board to address overcrowding at Shrevewood and Kent Garden elementary schools. Other people said that the schools need to have more support for twice-exceptional autistic students.

Image via FCPS/YouTube

The Vienna Town Council voted last night (Monday) to back plans to turn a previously approved mixed-use development along Maple Avenue into a Sunrise Senior Living Facility.

Sunrise is looking to open an 85-unit assisted living facility at 380 Maple Avenue — the site of an approved redevelopment for multi-family condos. The facility would have 950 square feet of restaurant and cafe space, structured parking and public art.

The Vienna Town Council killed plans last year for a Sunrise facility farther up Maple Avenue. Dennis Rice, the owner and developer at 380 Maple Avenue, has said that having the assisted living facility on his site could address neighbors’ concerns about the condos.

“I think this might be a win-win for the town and the residents,” Councilmember Howard Springsteen said last night.

Residents who testified at the public hearing mostly agreed that the new plans are a better fit for the neighborhood, with one calling it a “better building.”

However, most of the 10 people who testified did have some sort of concern, like worries about light pollution from the proposed acorn lights, size and pedestrian safety along Wade Hampton Drive SW and Glen Avenue SW.

“I support this project even though it remains too big,” resident C. John Pott said.

“We hope to pretend the building isn’t even there and those lights will destroy our illusions,” one resident said about the lights.

Several councilmembers said they are open to residents’ pleas to close — or place cut-thru signs at — Wade Hampton Drive or look into adding sidewalks along Glen Avenue and Wade Hampton Drive.

“If this project goes forward, it would be nice to put sidewalks on Glen [Avenue] and try to close Wade Hampton [Drive],” Springsteen said. “We can close Wade Hampton [Drive] very quickly at very little cost.”

Most of the people who testified praised Sunrise for having representatives listen to neighbors’ feedback on the proposal.

The Vienna Town Council approved Sunrise’s amended proffers and modification requests after the hearing.

Here are the latest stories about the Tysons area that the Tysons Reporter team has been reading:

McLean Estate Breaks Real Estate Records — “The 3.2-acre McLean estate that belonged to Jim Kimsey, the late co-founder of AOL, sold for $45 million on Friday… The sale price is significantly less than the $62.95 million the Chain Bridge Road home initially listed for in 2018, but it still marks the most expensive home sale ever for the region.” [Washington Business Journal]

Vision for Tysons — “Fairfax County is 10 years into transforming the Tysons area from a suburban office park to a multi-use area with park space. The county’s vision was to coincide with the Tysons Metro station, which opened in 2014.” [Local DMV]

Fitness Franchise Fundraises For Fires — “F45 Training Tysons, which opened at The Boro mixed-use development, is part of a fitness franchise based in Australia. Hillcrest Health, LLC, which operated the Tysons location along with the F45 Training Ashburn location, matched donations to raise a total of $1,810 for the franchise’s massive GoFundMe campaign.” [Patch]

Kids’ Entertainer Pleads Guilty to Child Porn Charges — “Steven Rossi, who used the stage name Mr. Knick Knack, was arrested last spring after officials found he had illegal images of children… For more than a decade, Rossi played songs for children at birthday parties and at Reston Town Center, Tysons Corner and Market Common in Clarendon. [NBC4]

The Mysterious Case of the Dying Oaks — “With native oak trees appearing unseasonably ill and eventually dying off, speculation that a disease spreading throughout the region could be infiltrating Falls Church abounded. But despite a troubling eye test from residents, local experts have yet to reach the same conclusion.” [Falls Church News-Press]

Sneak Peek: New year and new stores for Tysons Corner Center — the mall has had some recent closures, but it’s filling up vacant spaces with newcomers. Later this morning, we’ll have more details for you.

Have a great Tuesday and look out for Morning Notes again on Friday.

Memorial Day is more than four months away, but the City of Falls Church wants people to start thinking about their floats for the annual parade.

The city’s 39th annual Memorial Day Parade (Monday, May 25) will have a Community Float Challenge — the winner will get a party hosted by the Recreation and Parks Department.

More from the city:

Who can participate: Floats can be made with neighbors down the street or in your apartment/condo complex, your family, or just a group of friends. This year, we’re opening the challenge up to community groups, such as school clubs, church groups, book clubs, knitting circles, or your favorite Falls Church Meetup group!

What should the float be about: Memorial Day is about remembering our nation’s fallen heroes. Create a float that shows your patriotism. Floats don’t have to be elaborate: they can be simple, with materials you already have.

The parade is set to start at 2 p.m. and will travel down Park Ave between West and Little Falls streets.

The deadline for float applications is Friday, March 27. People should send their applications to Scarlett Williams at [email protected].

The Tysons area is projected to have more than 50,000 new residents in 25 years.

Released in December, Fairfax County’s demographics report highlights current and past estimates, along with projections for future population growth.

Fairfax County is projected to have roughly 1.4 million residents by 2045 — about 240,000 more residents than in 2019.

Broken down by district, the data in the report that is mentioned below came from the U.S. Bureau of the Census and the Fairfax County Department of Management and Budget, according to the report.

The Providence District encompasses Tysons, Merrifield, Oakton and the area between the eastern border of the Town of Vienna and the western border of the City of Falls Church.

Providence District’s population is expected to spike the most of the county’s nine districts in 25 years, with roughly 57,000 more residents expected in 2045 than in 2019.

Meanwhile, the Hunter Mill District, which includes the Town of Vienna and Reston, is projected to welcome 56,000 new residents. (Stats for the Town of Vienna expect the population to increase by 191 residents.)

Other districts, like Sully, Mount Vernon and Mason, are projected to have an increase of roughly 20,000 residents, while the Braddock and Springfield districts are expected to see less than 10,000 new residents.

While the Tysons area is expected to have the biggest population increase, a Fairfax County press release noted that the data in the report shows that population growth overall is slowing down.

“While our population continues to increase, it’s at a slower rate than before, mirroring national trends as there are fewer births and more deaths nationwide,” the press release said. “Since the 2010 Census, Fairfax County’s population grew at 6.4% compared to Virginia’s 8% growth rate.”

Image (1) via Fairfax County, chart data via Fairfax County

Updated at 10:55 a.m. — The fire department tweeted that the fire was out by 10:53 a.m. “No reported injuries at this time,” the tweet said. 

Earlier: Firefighters are working to extinguish a fire that broke out in a house just north of Wolf Trap this morning (Monday).

Fairfax County Fire and Rescue tweeted about the fire in the 9400 block of Shouse Drive shortly after 10:30 a.m.

“Smoke showing from [the] front,” the tweet said. “Crews working to extinguish [the] fire.”

UPDATE from house fire in 9400 block of Shouse Drive: fire is out. No reported injuries at this time. Majority of units returning to service. #FCFRD #FairfaxCounty https://t.co/St5b4S5Qqd

— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) January 27, 2020

Map via Google Maps

Fairfax County wants to give commuters another way to access the McLean Metro station in Tysons.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is set to vote on a funding application that seeks to add a new entrance to the Metro stop.

The county is looking for $1 million to add a new entrance on the north side of the station to make it easier for pedestrians coming from Scotts Crossing Road and the Capital One campus.

“The increase in the number of residential dwelling units in the area presents an opportunity to capture commuters that would otherwise drive single-occupancy vehicles on the Dulles Connector Road and 1-66 Inside the Beltway in efforts to reach Arlington and downtown D.C,” according to county documents.

Ridership at the McLean Metro station has continued to rise, according to stats from the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC).

Compared to the four stations in Tysons, the McLean station saw the largest spike in ridership from April-June, rising 25% over the last year, followed by the Greensboro Metro station at 18%.

Ridership at the McLean station has now gone up dramatically for 3 quarters in a row: first by 18.6%, then 20.6% and now 25%.
Kudos to @CapitalOne & @MITREcorp #sustainability #transit #TOD #greencommute

— Tysons Partnership (@tysonspartners) September 26, 2019

The Metro entrance proposal is one of three project submissions to NVTC that the board is set to consider endorsing tomorrow (Tuesday) for the Fiscal Year 2021-2022 I-66 Inside the Beltway Commuter Choice Program.

The two other proposed projects include:

• $8.6 million for a new bus route from Reston to Arlington and bicycle and pedestrian improvements around Reston
• $500,000 for fare buy down on Express Route 599, since the current $7.50 express fare is higher than the $4.25 fare on other Fairfax Connector express bus routes

In total, Fairfax County is requesting roughly 10 million from NVTC. County staff recommends that the McLean Metro station project be the top priority, according to county documents.

Map via Google Maps