Temperatures could drop below freezing overnight in Fairfax County, continuing a cold streak that took hold earlier today (Wednesday).
The National Weather Service has issued a Freeze Warning that will take effect from 1 to 9 a.m. tomorrow (Thursday), stating that sub-freezing temperatures as low as 30 degrees Fahrenheit can be expected.
“Frost and freeze conditions will kill crops, other sensitive vegetation and possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing,” the NWS said.
Here’s more on what to do from the alert, which covers the D.C. area up past Hagerstown in Maryland:
Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold. To prevent freezing and possible bursting of outdoor water pipes they should be wrapped, drained, or allowed to drip slowly. Those that have in-ground sprinkler systems should drain them and cover above-ground pipes to protect them from freezing.
According to the NWS forecast, this week is expected to close out with temperatures rising to highs in the upper-60s during the day on Saturday and Sunday (Oct. 22-23). Nights will see lows ranging from 37 degrees Thursday to 45 degrees on Saturday.
[1:32 PM] The National Weather Service has issues a freeze warning in effect from 1 AM to 9AM EDT Thursday (10/20). Sub-freezing temperatures as low as 30 degrees are expected. pic.twitter.com/ORqZ8hbIIC
— Ready Fairfax (@ReadyFairfax) October 19, 2022
Tysons now has its first ChocoGelateria.
Venchi Fine Italian Chocolates officially opened its new chocolate and gelato shop at Tysons Corner Center around noon today (Wednesday), slightly behind the late summer opening anticipated when the store was first announced.
Located in the former Blue Nile showroom near Macy’s on the mall’s second floor, the store is open from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on all days except for Sundays, when it will operate from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
This is first U.S. location outside of the New York tri-state area for Venchi, an Italian chocolate manufacturer that has been in operation since 1878. The company has developed 350 chocolate recipies and 90 different flavors of gelato that it sells in 150 retail boutiques in 70 countries.
“Venchi is thrilled to be expanding beyond the New York Tri-State area to a community as dynamic and global as Fairfax County,” Venchi Chief Commercial Officer Mark Ellis said in a statement. “We are excited to be a part of the Tysons Corner community and share the flavors of the Italian Allegria (joy and happiness) with the world.”
Here’s what the Tysons store will offer, according to a press release:
Tysons Corner Center shoppers will be able to enjoy some of the world’s finest chocolate, Gelato, European coffee, hot chocolate, crepes, and more, designed to create everyday unforgettable moments of sharing and celebration. And just in time for the holidays, Venchi will also soon be selling its exciting Holiday Collection of chocolates — all manufactured in Italy — which is perfect for gift-giving.
The brand is noted for its incredible Gelato and its most popular flavors include (Cremino, Pistachio, Hazelnut, Chocoviar, and Mango). Tysons Corner Center shoppers can stop in to sample a few Gelato flavors before deciding to order their favorite — available in a cup or in Venchi’s own cone dipped in Suprema spread and Chocoviar granules. It is the ultimate treat!
Venchi’s ChocoGelateria at Tysons Corner will also be selling a variety of Pick and Mix individual chocolates, it’s new Italian Dessert Collection of chocolates, a variety of chocolate bars, Suprema Spread, hot chocolate, crepes made with the Suprema Spread, and more.
Venchi is the second European chocolate purveyor to make its way into Tysons Corner Center this year, coming on the heels of Läderach Chocolatier Suisse, which replaced Godiva in May.
A 30-year-old man from D.C. has been arrested for allegedly raping a woman at a hotel in Tysons West earlier this month, the Fairfax County Police Department announced today (Wednesday).
According to the department, community tips based on surveillance footage shared publicly on Monday (Oct. 17) led police to identify Patrick Craig Locke as the suspect in the assault, which occurred on Oct. 1 in the 8600 block of Westwood Center Drive.
Locke was arrested by Metro Transit Police at 4 p.m. yesterday (Tuesday) at the Metro Center station in D.C.
The FCPD says its detectives received “several tips” after reviewing surveillance footage from the hotel and releasing video captured at Metro stations that they believed the suspect had visited.
The department also reviewed body camera footage from police in Montgomery County, where Locke had been arrested in September on a theft charge, according to court records.
According to the District Court of Maryland, Locke is scheduled to appear in Montgomery District Circuit Court for a preliminary hearing on Monday (Oct. 24). He has been charged with misdemeanor theft of $100 to $1,500 for a Sept. 8 offense.
“Once identified, detectives obtained warrants for rape, burglary with the intent to commit rape, abduction with the intent to defile and brandishing,” the FCPD said in its blog post.
Locke allegedly entered a woman’s unlocked hotel room in the afternoon of Oct. 1 and sexually assaulted her, according to police. He later pointed a gun at “a man known to the victim” who learned about the assault and chased him, police said.
The FCPD says no firearm has been recovered so far.
Locke is currently in custody at D.C.’s Central Detention Facility but will be extradited to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center, police said.
Another local French bakery has closed its doors for good, leaving the Tysons area with dwindling options for macrons, cookies and other Parisian desserts.
Madeleine Proust shuttered on Oct. 1, only about a year after it first opened in Vienna’s Wolftrappe Shops at 448 Maple Ave East. The business didn’t provide an explanation for the closure but confirmed it would no longer be operating in any capacity after that date.
“We would like to thank all of our customers that we have done business with over the years. We could not have been as successful as it was without your loyalty. Thank you!” the bakery said in a message on its website.
FFXnow was unable to reach the owners for comment.
Madeleine Proust opened in October 2021 as the creation of couple Jesse and Scarlet Woo, according to Patch. As suggested by the name, its specialties included shell-shaped madeleines, Chiffon cakes and Sablé cookies.
The bakery also offered brilles, a madeleine covered in flavored chocolate developed by Scarlet Woo, a pastry chef, according to Northern Virginia Magazine, which dubbed the shop “a must-try for serious food lovers” in a review last December.
Madeleine Proust appears to have closed around the same time as Praline Bakery, the similarly French-inspired bakery from former White House pastry chefs that opted not to renew its lease at the Mosaic District in Merrifield.
Just a couple of doors down from Madeleine Proust, the fine dining restaurant Clarity has temporarily closed.
The restaurant announced on Oct. 3 that it would be closed until Nov. 2 as “our Chef Bryant is reimaginating the unique fine dining experience of Clarity.”
A Clarity employee told FFXnow that, in addition to hiring a new chef, the restaurant is training new servers and managers. The interior is also getting cleaned and refurbished with new lights, among other changes.
While the menu will be tweaked slightly, the restaurant has retained most of its kitchen staff, and the hours of operation will be unchanged once it reopens.
Dinner will return on Nov. 2 from 5-10:30 p.m., seven days a week, while lunch will restart on Nov. 8 from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Tuesdays through Fridays.
“The menu is going to be a little different, but in a good way,” the employee said. “…It’s going to be a good experience to enjoy with us for sure.”
Fairfax County is once again discussing how to discourage “panhandling” while also declining — at least for the moment — to make it illegal to engage with anyone in a county-owned road or median.
The subject was revived at last week’s board meeting by Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity after cropping up a number of times over the last several years.
Herrity’s board matter argued that people in the road or median asking for money not only “generates considerable public complaint,” but is a safety risk for both those individuals and motorists.
“Anyone who stands in the median of our busy intersections trying to engage with motorists puts themselves in danger and presents a dangerous distraction to motorists,” Herrity’s board matter said. “This applies to panhandlers, fundraisers, marketers, and anyone else in the medians.”
However, a recent study by the county somewhat disputes this assertion. At Herrity’s urging, the board directed staff in May to conduct a study into if there are “public safety risks” in relation to people being in roads asking for money.
Sent to the board in July, the study results concluded that staff was “unable to find a significant public safety risk related to or stemming from panhandling,” mostly because that data wasn’t being collected at that level of specificity.
“While panhandling appears dangerous and generates considerable public complaint, available FCPD data does not support a determination that panhandlers are more likely to be injured or killed than other pedestrians, or that locations where panhandlers are present have an increased risk of traffic accidents,” the study said.
Nonetheless, Herrity disagreed with the assessment by saying a study shouldn’t replace “commonsense.”
While this is a step in the right direction, my colleagues would not approve my related motion that would have directed our staff to have a draft panhandling ordinance prepared for discussion in a Public Safety Committee meeting and/or Closed session.
— Supervisor Pat Herrity (@PatHerrity) October 13, 2022
“With as many tragic pedestrian fatalities as we have had in this County, including one panhandler, I am frankly appalled that we have not done more to protect our residents on this issue. We should not need a study to determine what is commonsense,” Herrity wrote in the board matter.
At the board’s Oct. 11 meeting, Herrity proposed directing staff to “draft a curb-to-curb safety ordinance that would restrict anyone from engaging with motorists between the curbs of a road with the exception of recognized public safety entities,” including for the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department’s annual “Fill the Boot” campaign.
A similar ordinance has been in place in Loudoun County since 2013 but has since been tweaked.
The motion, however, did not receive a second and died before going to a vote.
Board Chairman Jeff McKay said he’s not opposed to continuing the discussion in a closed session but cautioned that courts have already ruled against the proposal’s legality.
“I don’t object to having that conversation, but I do think that conversation should happen before the staff goes about drafting an ordinance to the benefit of your colleagues who weren’t on the last board, knowing that the last board soundly rejected this,” McKay told Herrity.
Herrity had a bit more luck with a request for a public information campaign to let community members know there are better ways to help those in need other than physically handing out cash. It also looked to inform business owners of their rights in restricting the act on their property.
That motion passed without objection from any supervisors.
As noted by the county’s public information officer Tony Castrilli during the meeting, the county has put out materials in the past that discouraged “panhandling” and shared best practices to help folks who are in need.
As part of the passed motion, the Board directed staff to update those materials.
McKay advised residents to donate money to nonprofits and community organizations, as opposed to handing out cash to those standing in roads or on sidewalks.
“The best way to stop this is for residents to stop giving money to panhandlers. That’s a difficult task to accomplish,” McKay said. “If we are really going to make a dent in this…it’s for people to give money to legitimate organizations that can help deal with the homelessness problem in the county. The folks that are giving money are doing what they think is the right thing, but they are creating even larger challenges.”
Health Department Urges Flu Shots — “As the weather cools down and more time is spent indoors, the Fairfax County Health Department encourages everyone 6 months and older to get a flu vaccine this Fall, preferably by the end of October…If you are eligible for your COVID-19 booster, it is safe to get your flu shot at the same time as your booster.” [FCHD]
D.C. Man Indicted in Fatal I-495 Crash — A Fairfax County grand jury indicted D.C. Advisory Neighborhood Commission member Devon Lesesne yesterday (Tuesday) for involuntary manslaughter in the death of Katherine Aileen Reyes, 20, of Alabama. Lesesne was allegedly driving drunk when he crashed into Reyes, whose vehicle was disabled on I-495 near Telegraph Road on March 5. [WTOP]
Sheriff’s Office Offered Cruises in Contract With Telecom Company — The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office’s contract with Smart Communications, the Florida-based company that operates the Adult Detention Center’s video call and electronic messaging system, includes free annual cruises to the Caribbean for a “technology training summit.” The sheriff’s office said none of its employees have attended and it wouldn’t give members permission to go. [The Appeal]
Malfunctioning Fan Sparks Lorton House Fire — A problematic attic fan started a fire in the 7500 block of Billsam Court Saturday morning (Oct. 15), forcing three residents and their pets to evacuate the house. Fairfax County and Fort Belvoir firefighters “quickly” found and extinguished the fire, which caused no reported injuries, but the residents were displaced. Property damages totaled approximately $71,000. [FCFRD]
County Seeks to Diversify Board-Appointed Groups — The Chairman’s Task Force on Equity and Opportunity plans to conduct “demographic analysis” of existing county boards, authorities and commissions. Expected to finish in spring 2023, the study is intended to help broaden the pool of people available to serve on key advisory groups to the Board of Supervisors. [Sun Gazette]
What to Know About the County’s Running Bamboo Fines — “Avoid the fine, don’t let running bamboo grow beyond your property line. Starting Jan. 1, 2023, the new running bamboo ordinance goes into effect requiring property owners to maintain the invasive grass to their own property.” [Fairfax County Government]
Esports Teams Now Playing at Fairfax County Schools — “Students at South Lakes High School in Reston, Virginia now have the opportunity to compete in esports! FOX 5 photojournalist Eric Mills got a chance to take a look at the school’s new gaming sports program.” [FOX5]
Herndon Theater Puts New Spin on “Frankenstein” — “Audiences attending NextStop’s production of ‘Frankenstein’ should prepare themselves to be scared, according to Evan Hoffmann, the show’s director…The timing of NextStop’s chilling presentation of the classic Mary Shelley horror novel couldn’t be better. The play debuts Friday and runs through Nov. 13 at the company’s home stage in Herndon.” [Patch]
It’s Wednesday — Partly cloudy throughout the day. High of 54 and low of 36. Sunrise at 7:23 am and sunset at 6:26 pm. [Weather.gov]
The Mobil gas station by Tysons Corner Center was looking to make some changes before it got hit by a tornado this spring, but the damage resulting from that storm added a new sense of urgency to the project.
When it meets tomorrow (Wednesday), the Fairfax County Planning Commission is poised to approve a renovation of the station at 1953 Chain Bridge Road that would replace the existing vehicle service bays with a convenience store.
The car wash and repair bays haven’t operated since a tornado briefly touched down in Tysons on March 31, damaging the Mobil and adjacent Sunoco gas stations, Wire Gill LLP partner David Gill told the commission at a public hearing last week.
“We are very eager to move forward on this so we can begin repairs on the building,” said Gill, who is representing PMG in the land-use case.
The renovation of the eight-pump gas station, which has been running since 1973, would add a convenience store sales floor, a 350-square-foot cooler vault and a 240-square-foot employee work room. The 2,585-square-foot building’s façade would be replaced.
While no new exterior construction or additions to the building have been proposed, PMG has agreed to realign the existing sidewalk on Chain Bridge Road (Route 123) and widen it from 4 to 6 feet, including in front of the Sunoco station up to International Drive.
A private road that connects the two gas stations will be closed off “to reduce vehicle conflicts and the possibility of collisions,” leaving the site with two entrances off of Chain Bridge and a rear service road to International Drive, the staff report says.
Gill said the closure will also give the site some additional open space that will be filled with trees and other landscaping.
However, the landscaping along Chain Bridge will be located between the property and sidewalk, rather than by the street, a deviation from Tysons’ design guidelines that Gill said will allow more trees to be planted and prevent visibility issues for drivers.
“Overall, this is an incremental change that reflects larger trends with the fueling station industry, where convenience stores are replacing service stations,” Kevin McMahan with the Department of Planning and Development said. “In staff’s opinion, the upgrades to the building’s architecture and streetscape improvements along Chain Bridge Road will be positive improvements to the area.”
The planning commission stopped short of approving PMG’s special exception request last week, because a development condition that would require the property owner to install two electric vehicle charging stations was still being finalized.
Staff had initially pushed for Level 3 chargers to be required, but the condition has been revised to less-intensive Level 2 chargers. Gill said the site doesn’t have the space to accommodate the infrastructure needed for Level 3s.
Who will be responsible for installing and operating the chargers hasn’t been determined yet, but Gill said PMG has partnered with providers to install stations at other sites in the past.
“We’ve figured out, if worst comes to worst, we’re in that game ourselves now if we put in these chargers,” he said.
Providence District Commissioner Phil Niedzielski-Eichner observed that the growing acceptance and use of electric vehicles presents a potential opportunity for convenience stores and other businesses that could serve drivers waiting for their cars to charge up.
He said the commission will “need to look thoughtfully at what expectations we have for future developments,” suggesting that they push for Level 3 stations at sites along I-495, I-66 and other major highways.
“The matter of electric vehicle charging is going to continue to come before us, and I think we’re getting more and more insight into what that really means for the future of vehicle use in Fairfax County,” Niedzielski-Eichner said.
Fairfax County might get a little frosty overnight, in case the yellowing leaves outside weren’t a clear enough signal of autumn’s arrival.
The National Weather Service has issued a Frost Advisory for the D.C. area, warning that temperatures are expected to dip into the 30s, starting at 2 a.m. tomorrow (Wednesday).
…FROST ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 2 AM TO 9 AM EDT WEDNESDAY…
* WHAT…Temperatures around 33 to 36 degrees will result in frost formation.
* WHERE…Portions of central, northeast, northern and southern Maryland, The District of Columbia and northern Virginia.
* WHEN…From 2 AM to 9 AM EDT Wednesday.
* IMPACTS…Frost could kill sensitive outdoor vegetation if left uncovered.
“Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold,” the NWS says.
As of 1:30 p.m., the NWS forecast for the county indicates that tomorrow will be mostly sunny, but frost may reemerge between 4 and 8 a.m. on Thursday (Oct. 20), when the low temperature will be 33 degrees Fahrenheit.
The chill comes from a cold front that has traveled southeast across the U.S. from as far away as northern Russia and the Arctic, the Capital Weather Gang reported Friday (Oct. 13).
Photo via sydney Rae/Unsplash
A new report on COVID-19’s impact on policing found some dissatisfaction among officers with how the Fairfax County Police Department responded to the pandemic, along with a significant decrease in community engagement.
Made public earlier this month, the report looked into the pandemic’s impact on policing in Fairfax County. The study was a partnership between the police department and George Mason University’s Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy (GMU-CEBCP).
Sworn officers gave FCPD “relatively lower ratings” for its overall Covid response, highlighting a “perceived unfairness” and inconsistency in how the department dealt with leave policies, remote work, and adherence to mask-wearing, vaccinations, and social distancing.
Because of those concerns and a “negative reaction to broader local and national criminal justice issues,” more than a third of sworn officers who responded to surveys expressed interest in leaving the force after the first year of the pandemic, the report says.
“This sentiment was more pronounced in non-White or Hispanic officers and those more likely to experience work-related or personal stress during the initial months of the pandemic and one year later,” the report said.
There were also initial challenges in the department with obtaining personal protective equipment and a “lack of data, data sharing, and communication,” per the report.
“One additional challenge noted in the open-ended survey responses and some interviews was that there was no communication mechanism to reach every officer in the FCPD quickly,” the report said.
FCPD’s public affairs bureau told FFXnow by email that the “law enforcement profession has been facing retention and recruitment challenges for several years, but these challenges are not isolated to Fairfax County or the pandemic.”
Under a personnel emergency since August, the department noted that the county has made some effort to correct staffing issues in recent months, approving a one-time hazard pay bonus of $2,000 and “pandemic appreciation leave” for employees who couldn’t take leave during 2020.
In general, though, the report suggests low morale over the last several years had less to do with Covid than with fallout from George Floyd’s murder and the resulting nationwide protests in the summer of 2020.
“Although not confirmed by survey data, interviewees suggested that morale was impacted much more by Floyd’s murder and the ensuing protests against the police than by COVID,” it reads.
The study found some faults with how police have dealt with the public and handled “crime and disorder,” pointing to a reduction of “in-person community-policing activities” and a shift towards handling calls remotely.
While somewhat unavoidable, the report says some of the public “felt that service provided remotely was less effective,” and the department has been “slow” to return to the normal levels of community policing activity.
When asked about this, FCPD referenced a 2021 survey that was publicly released this past August that noted “most” of those who responded to the survey “were satisfied with the Fairfax County Police Department” and that more people think FCPD does a better job communicating than in 2015.
The report says county police struggled to adapt to a well-documented increase in mental health calls, particularly in the early stages of the pandemic. FCPD said it is working to address this challenge.
“With the support of the Sharon Bulova Center for Community Health, FCPD has expanded our co-responder program, which allows for clinicians to respond with officers to mental health calls for service,” the department told FFXnow.
The report noted that changes in people’s everyday routines early on in the pandemic altered “many longstanding calls for service and crime patterns.” The county saw a “significant decline” in service calls overall as well as specific types of calls, particularly traffic crashes and deaths.
Similar service call patterns and staffing challenges have been reported in other law enforcement agencies across the country, according to the report.
The report praised the department for “quickly” implementing strategies to keep officers safe from Covid, such as using the “existing infrastructure of a health safety unit to quickly implement infectious disease control.”
“Like all professions, law enforcement was not immune to the pandemic. We value the GMU study and the recommendations they provided,” the FCPD said.
The Town of Vienna could have a historical gold mine waiting to be found in old-timey toilets underneath the grounds of its Freeman Store and Museum (131 Church Street NE).
Historic Vienna Inc., the nonprofit that has operated the store since 1976, plans to fund an archaeological dig of the property after a survey identified several potential areas of interest, including two sites that might have the remains of either wells or outhouses.
“The gold in this property is probably in the privies and the well. Apparently, if you read about this stuff, [the past owners] would just at some point start throwing a lot of trash down as they changed over or moved on, and there’s often some really revealing stuff,” Historic Vienna President Anne Stuntz told the Vienna Town Council on Oct. 10.
The Freeman Store was built in 1859 by New Jersey merchants Abram and Susan Lydecker as a house and Vienna’s first general store. It benefitted from new railroad tracks at what is now the intersection of Church and Mill streets, according to Historic Vienna.
The building also served as a post office and was occupied by both Union and Confederate troops during the Civil War. After its last resident moved out in 1955, the store was sold to the town in 1969 and restored in 1976.
Historic Vienna has wanted to explore the site “for decades,” Stuntz said, but this year, the organization finally accrued the approximately $20,000 needed for a dig, thanks to the volunteers who sell books out of the store’s Used Book Cellar.
“We think [the dig] will materially increase our historical understanding, and we’d end up with more stories to tell about the Freeman Store and early Vienna history,” Stuntz said.
According to a letter to Town Manager Mercury Payton, the town previously approved a non-invasive ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey of the property on Nov. 1, 2021 that found 36 potential areas of interest, including four sites that have been singled out for excavation:
- The two possible wells or privies
- A side yard where there could’ve been a barn
- The immediate backyard, where there may be either a tree or a trash dump
The sites will each be about 4 square meters in size, but they could expand “if significant finds are uncovered,” the letter said.
If approved, the dig would be done by The Ottery Group over 10 business days between November and the end of March — ideally in early March, when the days will be longer and the ground warmer, Historic Vienna treasurer Leigh Kitcher said.
The organization said the excavations will avoid coinciding with major events, and the sites will be covered with tarps at night. Stuntz and Historic Vienna Vice President Nancy Moats have discussed even having people sleep over at the store.
“We certainly don’t want Civil War relic hunters trying to find goodies on our property,” Kitcher said. “So, there’s a balance between how much you promote this and showing little dug-up holes.”
After the dig, Ottery will restore the land and bag and document any artifacts. Historic Vienna will be responsible for their long-term storage, possibly with Fairfax County’s archaeology team.
Moats suggested the group could host a public archaeology day or a small exhibit at the Freeman Store “if the number of finds and their significance warrants it.”
“We’re all about education and informing the public in the Town of Vienna,” she said.
Since Historic Vienna leases the Freeman Store property from the town, the town council needs to amend the lease before the dig proceeds. That vote has been scheduled for Oct. 24, but the council was decidedly enthusiastic about the project.
Councilmembers Howard Springsteen and Nisha Patel speculated that the town use the excavation to plant a holiday tree on the property. Ed Somers advocated for keeping any findings in Vienna, though that may not be feasible for larger objects or ones that need a climate-controlled environment.
“I defer to [Historic Vienna], but I would like to keep whatever’s found in Vienna in Vienna somewhere so people can see it,” Somers said.
