Starbucks Workers Vote Down Union — “A streak of unionizing at Starbucks has been broken, with workers at a store in Springfield, Virginia, voting against the union.” [NPR, Twitter]
Last Day for Donations — The donation drive to help Ukrainians that the Northern Virginia Regional Commission organized is coming to an end today. Donations can be dropped off in locations in Fairfax County, Alexandria, Arlington and other locations. [Twitter]
Homes are Hot in Dunn Loring — “The Dunn Loring area was the hottest in the Sun Gazette’s Fairfax County coverage area in terms of home-buyer interest over the past month, according to new data.” [Sun Gazette]
Clean Up a Tysons Roadway — “The Great Falls Group @SierraClub will pick up litter & debris on 1.32 miles of Jones Branch Dr, Tysons Corner. Come out to meet & mingle with other Club members, & help clean up a roadway! Litter bags will be provided.” Pickup is on Saturday, 4/23, 9 a.m.-11 a.m. [Twitter]
County Wants Input on Connector Changes — “Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) will hold a virtual community input meeting, Wednesday, April 20, 2022 at 7 p.m on Fairfax Connector proposed service changes for October 2022. The public is encouraged to give feedback on the proposed changes via an online survey (survey begins Wednesday, April 20, 2022), email, mail and by phone through May 6, 2022.” [Fairfax County Government]
First County Poet Laureate Tenure Ends — “#FairfaxCounty, it’s been an honor to be your first poet laureate. I wrote this poem to mark the end of my tenure and delivered it at tonight’s Board meeting. Thanks for trusting me to serve, @artsfairfax !” [Twitter]
It’s Friday — Clear throughout the day. High of 67 and low of 47. Sunrise at 6:33 a.m. and sunset at 7:47 p.m. [Weather.gov]
A local effort to divert food from landfills, thanks to composting, is expanding.
Fairfax County is adding another farmers market, this one in Kingstowne, to its list of locations where people can drop off unused food for reuse.
People can drop off the food scraps during the farmers market hours, which for Kingstowne takes place 3 to 7 p.m. Fridays starting May 6.
The McLean Community Center wants to update its policies, and its counterpart in Reston has emerged as a possible model.
The MCC governing board has started exploring a possible revision of the memorandum of understanding that dictates its relationship with the Fairfax County government.
Many of the changes floated at the board’s March 23 meeting are straightforward tweaks, such as using gender-neutral pronouns, allowing more flexibility for virtual meetings, and updating the name of the tax district that funds the community center from “Small District 1” to “Small District 1A.”
After a year of readjusting to in-person learning, local students now have a new option for getting some additional academic support.
Starting today (Thursday), all Fairfax County Public Schools students have unlimited access to online, on-demand tutoring through Tutor.com, and thanks to an infusion of federal coronavirus relief funds, the services come at no cost to families.
FCPS announced in late March that the tutoring services would become available for the final months of this school year as well as the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 school years. Superintendent Scott Brabrand called the service “an academic booster shot” that would help students without further straining the school system’s teachers, ABC7 reported.
Perhaps lured by yesterday’s 80-degree temperatures, a truck hawking Malibu-themed Barbie swag will swing by Tysons Corner Center on Saturday (April 16), kicking off a four-stop tour through the D.C. area.
The Malibu Barbie Truck Tour will be parked in the mall’s Events Plaza (1961 Chain Bridge Road) from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., bringing an array of merchandise paying tribute to the oft-criticized yet still-popular plastic doll from Mattel.
Fairfax County Public Schools is winding down its COVID-19 testing services for students and staff.
The school system announced in a newsletter last night (Wednesday) that, next Friday (April 22), it will discontinue the optional weekly screening testing and diagnostic drive-thru testing sites introduced last year as part of its efforts to support in-person learning during the pandemic.
School Board to Appoint New Superintendent Tonight — “The Fairfax County School Board will be announcing the final candidate for the next Superintendent of Schools at tomorrow night’s School Board meeting. The Board will also vote on the candidate’s appointment.” [FCPS]
School Board Defends TJ Admissions Policy to Supreme Court — The Fairfax County School Board said in a filing to the U.S. Supreme Court that an appeals court was “entirely within its authority” to let the admissions policy for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology stay in place while legal proceedings continue. [WTOP]
Seven Corners Senior Housing Project Advances — “The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan April 12 that clears the way for an affordable housing project on the grounds of First Christian Church in Seven Corners. The project calls for a four-story 113-unit apartment building for seniors to be developed by Wesley Housing.” [Annandale Today]
Public Transportation Mask Mandate Extended — “The TSA’s mask mandate has been pushed back another 15 days. The mandate – on airplanes, buses, trains – is now set to expire May 3. The CDC ordered this two-week extension due to the rise in cases from BA.2.” [Fairfax Connector/Twitter]
Reston Association Lake Monitoring Begins — “RA’s Watershed team and Aquatic Environmental Consultants will be kicking off the 2022 lake monitoring season on Thursday, April 14. The lake’s monitoring data is used to track water quality over time, identify potential issues, & provide information for targeted lake treatments.” [RA/Twitter]
McLean’s Oldest Boy Scout Troop Names First Female Eagle Scout — “Rishika Singh, a member of Girls’ Troop 128, was the first girl from her troop to achieve the Eagle Scout rank. The Eagle Scout rank is the highest rank of Boy Scouts of America and requires a service project, merit badges and other requirements.” [Patch]
Capital Bikeshare Coming to Fairfax City — “Capital Bikeshare is coming to Fairfax City! The city has proposed locations for 13 bikeshare stations and is seeking public input through the end of April.” [City of Fairfax/Twitter]
Invasive Species Removal Planned in Vienna — “Volunteers are sought to help restore the natural habitat at Glyndon Park in Vienna at two upcoming invasive-species-removal efforts. Volunteer efforts are slated for Saturdays, April 16 and 30, from 9 to 11 a.m. at the park. Gloves, shovels and small hand tools will be provided.” [Sun Gazette]
It’s Thursday — Possible light rain in the evening. High of 73 and low of 57. Sunrise at 6:35 am and sunset at 7:46 pm. [Weather.gov]
Fairfax County Public Schools is finalizing a new policy that will bar discrimination based on immigration or citizenship status and prohibit staff from disclosing that information unless required by law or a court order.
Requested by the school board last May, the proposed Trust Policy aligns closely with limits on information sharing by county government employees that the Board of Supervisors adopted in January 2021, FCPS staff said at a school board work session yesterday (Tuesday).
When Centreville resident Jim Church received his property assessment, he saw a 14.5% increase, which he calculated would amount to $1,100.
Other residents shared similar concerns yesterday (Tuesday) at the first of three scheduled public hearings on Fairfax County’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2023, which starts July 1.
Several speakers called on the Board of Supervisors to reduce the property tax rate from its advertised rate of $1.14 per $100 of assessed property value. If the board keeps the rate the same, the average tax bill would increase by $666, according to a Fairfax County projection.
D.C.’s Blossom Kite Festival is over, but kite-flying enthusiasts in Fairfax County have a new opportunity to let loose closer to home.
The Boro in Tysons will have various kite-related activities and flying demonstrations for its inaugural “Kite Fest,” set for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 23.
The festivities will include live music from a DJ, super-sized board games, a free kite for the first 100 visitors, and stations where people can decorate kites to be entered into a contest for prizes.
