The parents of 25-year-old Bijan Ghaisar, the McLean resident killed by U.S. Park Police in 2017, and Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano have voiced their dismay over Virginia’s decision to drop a criminal case against the officers.
At the behest of Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, the Commonwealth filed a motion on Friday (April 22) to drop the manslaughter charges against the officers. A federal appeals court officially dismissed the case yesterday (Monday).
During a recent sojourn to Utah, Ben and Heather Cichelli concocted a drink that changed their lives.
Now, the couple is bringing that drink — a blend of Diet Coke, coconut syrup, and fresh lime dubbed The Coco — and many others to the Town of Vienna, where they will open a new soda shop, Coco’s Sodas + Sweets.
“We are excited to bring a new beverage concept to NoVa as we open our first location in Vienna on Maple Avenue,” Ben Cichelli, the store’s owner, told FFXnow by email.
The Fairfax County Park Authority is seeking $650,000 to renovate the aging tennis courts at Lewinsville Park in McLean.
The proposed project will restore the surfacing and fencing at all six existing courts at the park, and one of the courts will be converted into four dedicated pickleball courts.
“The Park Authority Board, working closely with Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust, has endeavored to move this project forward quickly to address the growing interest in pickleball locally and countywide,” the FCPA said in a news release on Friday (April 22).
Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Department Capt. Kimberly Schoppa died today (Tuesday) from occupational cancer, Fire Chief John Butler and the department announced.
Schoppa was hired as a firefighter in 2004 for the department and served over 18 years. She was assigned to Fire Station 27 in West Springfield at the time of her death.
SCOTUS Lets TJ Admissions Policy Stay During Appeal — With three justices dissenting, the Supreme Court denied the Coalition for TJ’s request to block the new admissions policy for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. The denial will let Fairfax County Public Schools use the policy to evaluate the incoming Class of 2026, as the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond considers the case. FCPS says the appeals court has approved its request for “an expedited schedule to resolve the legal issues involved in the admissions process.” [SCOTUSblog/Twitter, FCPS]
No Injuries in Turnpike Shopping Center Crash — The driver of a sedan that crashed into an empty storefront next to Kokee Tea in the Fairfax City shopping center on Saturday (April 23) survived unharmed, city officials said yesterday (Monday). Damages to the building at 9668 Main Street are estimated to be between $20,000 and $30,000. [City of Fairfax Fire Department, Patch]
Police Partner With DNA Lab to Solve Tysons Murder — “The young woman’s skeletal remains were discovered in 2001, near a drainage ditch behind an apartment complex in what’s now known as Tysons, Virginia — and Fairfax County police still have far more questions than answers…The crowdfunded effort with Othram Inc. and DNASolves would pay for cutting-edge testing…which isn’t currently available through the state labs.” [WTOP]
Pollen Plagues D.C. Area — “Pollen counts are way up again. Today’s tree count of 1,405.75 grains per cubic meter is the second-highest of the year so far. The highest value was recorded March 7, when the count topped 2,300. Intense pollen seasons are becoming worse and longer in a warming world.” [Capital Weather Gang]
Herndon Man Wins Lottery After Buying 30 Tickets — “A Virginia man collected a total prize of $147,500 when he bought 30 identical tickets for a single lottery drawing. Benjamin Shuler of Herndon told Virginia Lottery officials he bought 30 tickets for the March 28 Pick 4 night drawing, all bearing the numbers 0-8-1-6.” [UPI]
Tysons Pedestrian Bridge Moves in Place — The Virginia Department of Transportation has photos of a truss for the new pedestrian/bicycle bridge being built over I-495 at Tysons Corner Center. The bridge was put in place over this past weekend and is scheduled to open later this year, though it’s unclear when work on a second phase that will extend a shared-use path to Route 123 can begin. [VDOT/Twitter]
County Archaeologists Start Newsletter — “The Fairfax County Archaeology and Collections Branch (ACB) is launching an e-newsletter. The ACB identifies, documents, and interprets the material culture of Fairfax County to promote shared stewardship of cultural resources, nurture a deeper understanding of the past, and inspire future generations.” [Fairfax County Park Authority]
It’s Tuesday — Possible light rain in the afternoon and evening. High of 64 and low of 54. Sunrise at 6:18 am and sunset at 7:58 pm. [Weather.gov]
When The Mather Tysons opens in 2024, the senior living facility might employ some workers of the artificial intelligence variety.
Rest assured, these robots won’t be capable of planning a HAL 9000-style takeover. Instead, they will perform simple, repetitive tasks, such as delivering food to tables and apartments and cleaning hallways.
“Our hope is that it helps us retain team members, that they’ll recognize that we’ve gone kind of the extra step to provide them a level of assistance they may not get elsewhere in similar roles,” Mather Director of Culinary Operations Thad Parton told FFXnow.
Additional raises are coming for Fairfax County government employees, specifically firefighters, police officers and other uniformed public safety workers.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors plans to allocate $6.1 million in the upcoming budget to give a step increase to certain public safety workers hired on or before June 30, 2021. The proposal is part of a mark-up package that will go before the board tomorrow (Tuesday).
Officially, Fairfax County’s COVID-19 community level remains low, but when the county last saw this many cases, Fairfax County Public Schools was still fighting to keep masks in place.
The Fairfax Health District, which also includes the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church, is now averaging 270 cases a day for the past week — the highest seven-day average since Feb. 13 (274 cases) — after adding more than 300 cases each on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (April 21-23).
Laura Schwartz is a licensed Realtor in VA, D.C. and MD with McEnearney Associates in Vienna. You can follow Laura on Instagram at @LauraSchwartzRealtor or her Facebook page. Laura can be reached at 703-283-6120 or [email protected]
Maybe you’ve seen them jamming at ViVA Vienna or on their awesome town Halloween Parade float and wondered who they were. Now is your chance to find out!
The Vienna Jammers is a Percussion Ensemble with more than 135 children ranging in age from 8-18 years old from the Northern Virginia area. Their ensemble members are devoted to sharing their passion for music with the community.
The Big Jam is their biggest event of the year! Each of their ensembles will be performing a variety of originals, cover songs, and traditional pieces from around the world, with music guaranteed to entertain audience members of all ages.
Come experience an evening of music with special guest, Grammy-award winning artist, Bakithi Kumalo, at Capital One Hall in Tysons Corner on Saturday, May 21 at 7 p.m. Tickets available at https://www.viennajammers.org/. Prices start at $15 per ticket.
I’m a sponsor of this event and am very much looking forward to celebrating this event IN PERSON this year!
Follow Vienna Jammers on Facebook!
The preceding sponsored post was also published on FFXnow.com
A Starbucks in Merrifield has unionized.
About a month after filing a petition for an election, workers at the cafe at 3046 Gate House Plaza voted 30-2 in support of forming a union on Friday (April 22), becoming the coffee company’s first store in Fairfax County to take that step.
“My first reaction was just happiness,” employee and organizer Claudia Sol said. “We’re all very proud of each other for what we were able to accomplish…It’s pretty amazing to see all the work that our store did to be able to unionize, and we’re looking forward to what’s to come.”
