The movie world’s annual parade of fall festivals will make a pit stop in Fairfax County next week, with the launch of the Washington West Film Festival.
After celebrating its 10th anniversary virtually in 2020 due to COVID-19, the festival returned in person last year and is now preparing for its 11th season, which will bring a variety of films to Tysons and Reston from Oct. 13-17.
While it likely won’t generate the Oscar buzz of Toronto or the gossip of Venice, Washington West has a more unique mission. Founded in 2011, the festival was designed as a “laboratory” to promote both cinema and philanthropy, according to its website.
The festival says it donates all of its box office proceeds to nonprofits that assist “struggling communities.” Since 2019, the beneficiaries have been the Henry & William Evans Home For Children, Virginia’s Kids Belong, Blu_Print, and The Children’s Inn at the National Institutes of Health.
This year’s edition will kick off at 7 p.m. on Oct. 13 with an opening night screening of “Refuge” at Tysons’ Capital One Hall (7750 Capital One Tower Road).
The documentary follows a friendship between a Muslim heart doctor and an ex-Ku Klux Klan member in Clarkston, Georgia, “the most diverse square mile in America,” per the festival website. There will be a Q&A with the movie’s subjects as well as co-director and producer Din Blankenship.
The schedule for the four-day event includes feature-length and short films — both fictional and documentary — along with a virtual workshop on crowdfunding a movie and showcases for local filmmakers and George Mason University students.
Steven Spielberg’s classic “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” will get a 40th anniversary celebration on Oct. 15 at ShowPlace ICON in The Boro, which will host the majority of events. That day will also have a free, outdoor screening of “Hocus Pocus” at Reston Town Square Park.
The festival’s closing night film will be the HBO documentary “The Slow Hustle,” screening at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 17 at Reston Community Center’s CenterStage.
The full schedule and links to buy tickets can be found on the festival website.
Thinking about taking the next step in your career?
The Arlington-based Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University offers flexible part-time or full-time options for graduate certificate and master’s degree programs designed to teach applicable, real-world knowledge for in-demand careers.
Learn more at the upcoming virtual open house!
Master’s and Certificate Open House
Virtual Event
Wednesday, October 19
7-8 p.m. Eastern
During this online session, you will have the opportunity to hear from our Director of Graduate Admissions about the Schar School and applying to graduate and certificate programs, as well as from program faculty about our graduate programs. Prospective master’s and graduate certificate students who attend this event will be provided with an application fee waiver for the spring 2023 or fall 2023 graduate applications.
Master’s Degree Programs
Part-time, full-time, and online options available
- Biodefense, MS
- Global Commerce and Policy, MA
- International Security, MA
- Organization Development and Knowledge Management, MS
- Political Science, MA
- Public Administration, MPA
- Public Policy, MPP
To learn more about graduate programs at the Schar School, register for the open house or fill out our inquiry form.
The preceding sponsored post was also published on FFXnow.com
With opioids topping the list of causes of non-natural death in Fairfax County, local health officials have launched a new resource to give residents a better understanding of the situation.
A public-facing dashboard went live Monday (Oct. 3) with data about opioid overdoses and overdose deaths in the Fairfax Health District, which includes Fairfax County and the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church.
The Fairfax County Health Department worked with the county’s Opioid and Substance Use Task Force to put the dashboard together, according to the announcement.
“The goal of the dashboard is to ensure that Fairfax County residents understand the threat that opioid drugs pose in our community and recognize that overdoses and overdose deaths affect a wide range of ages, people of both sexes, and all racial and ethnic groups,” Dr. Benjamin Schwartz, the county’s director of epidemiology and population health, said in the release.
The dashboard provides information about overdoses broken down by age, race and ethnicity. It will be updated in the first week of every month, according to the announcement.
As of press time, the dashboard counted 205 non-fatal opioid overdoses from Jan. 1 through Sept. 30 in the Fairfax Health District. There were 237 non-fatal overdoses at this point in 2021.
The dashboard also noted that the first quarter of 2022 saw 20 fatal opioid overdoses, compared to 31 during the first quarter of 2021.
“We want the public to be aware of overdose trends, which reflect the impacts of social factors, the types and availability of drugs, and the effect of mitigation measures including law enforcement, treatment and harm reduction measures,” Schwartz said.
The data comes from two main places: A system managed by the state health department that keeps track of emergency room and urgent care visits for overdoses, and the Virginia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
Earlier this year, county medical officials worked to step up their response to the opioid epidemic after emergency care statistics showed an increase in overdoses, particularly cases involving teenagers.
The county provides services to assist people struggling with opioid use, including the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board Peer Outreach Response Team and the Fairfax Detoxification Center.
A cell tower by the Capital Beltway in McLean must be removed before the end of this year to make way for the road’s widening, leaving Fairfax County and state transportation leaders scrambling to prevent future service disruptions.
The 135-foot-tall monopole stands right next to I-495 at the Old Dominion Drive bridge, which will be replaced by a new two-lane bridge with a shared-use path as part of the Virginia Department of Transportation’s I-495 Northern Extension (495 NEXT) project.
VDOT determined that the tower needs to be relocated “well over a year ago,” but no progress has been made to identify a temporary or permanent new site, Megaprojects Director Susan Shaw told the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Friday (Sept. 30).
“The providers to date have said that there is no temporary location that’s acceptable to them,” she said. “…We’re all working very hard to try to resolve it, and I think we’ve tried to provide a lot of ideas for where they might find acceptable locations on VDOT right of way, but again, we’re not experts. It’s very specific technically in terms of what would work for them and maintaining the kind of service that they have.”
Construction on 495 NEXT is underway, but work hasn’t started yet on the Old Dominion bridge.
American Cell Towers, which owns the monopole, initially faced a Sept. 30 deadline for the removal, but that has been extended to Dec. 31. The tower has to be decommissioned in November so that the utilities can be taken off and the structure dismantled, according to Shaw.
In conversations with AT&T and T-Mobile, the providers that use the pole, VDOT was told that service along the Beltway won’t be affected, but service for the surrounding communities “would be degraded,” particularly during periods of peak demand, Shaw said.
AT&T confirmed that some of its customers “may experience intermittent wireless service disruptions near Old Dominion Drive and the Capital Beltway.”
“We, like other carriers, are being forced to remove our antennas so that they can widen the Beltway,” an AT&T spokesperson said. “We apologize for the inconvenience, and we are working with state and Fairfax County officials to identify an alternative site for our equipment. In the meantime, we have optimized other nearby sites to try and extend coverage until this is resolved.”
The provider added that people who experience disruptions can utilize its Wi-Fi Calling service instead.
While the availability of other cell carriers in the area suggests 911 calls won’t be affected, Shaw said the providers told VDOT they “couldn’t guarantee” that there would be no impact. American Towers didn’t immediately respond to FFXnow’s requests for comment.
The lack of clarity around how the tower’s removal will affect service “has been particularly frustrating,” Dranesville District Supervisior John Foust told FFXnow.
Foust says American Tower representatives reported this spring that they were looking for an alternative site, but his office didn’t learn about the initial Sept. 30 deadline until August. The county convinced VDOT to extend the deadline, and since then, VDOT officials, county staff, American Towers and the carriers have been meeting every two weeks to try to find a solution.
“It seems obvious that with advanced planning, this issue could have been resolved without impact to cell service,” Foust said. “It is not clear at this time that impacts can be avoided. My position is that any loss of cell service to residents and travelers on I-495 is unacceptable, particularly any impact to 911 service.”
Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn likened the situation to the outages that residents of Reston’s Lake Anne neighborhood experienced this summer, where “frankly, the carriers are not necessarily exhibiting any sense of urgency.”
She noted that the zoning process that the county requires for all new cell towers can take a long time, so even if a temporary replacement site is found, a new pole won’t be built before the existing one has to be taken down.
Shaw also said the county’s zoning staff “doesn’t believe this is an emergency, and it wouldn’t require any relaxation of that zoning,” prompting Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay to question how staff came to that conclusion.
Promising to “do everything I can to expedite” the zoning process, Foust suggested the issue is not a lack of urgency from staff — “Everybody recognizes this is an emergency,” he said — but rather, limitations on their ability to approve a temporary measure.
“The carrier has not even suggested a temporary location to date, so there’s no pending application of any kind,” County Attorney Elizabeth Teare said. “We don’t know where they want to put it. Until we have that, it’s hard to even think about how do we move forward.”
Foust says he will introduce a board matter on Tuesday (Oct. 11) directing the county to send a letter to VDOT and the carriers “asking them to describe their plan for ensuring that cell service will not be adversely impacted, and to describe what they are doing to mitigate impacts if they cannot be avoided.”
Photo via Google Maps
GMU Explores Possible Mixed-Use Development — George Mason University recently issued a request for proposals to study the feasibility of building up nearly 300 acres at its main Fairfax campus. The potential development could bring housing, “experiential learning space” and commercial uses, such as retail, office, a hotel or entertainment, to three university-owned properties. [Washington Business Journal]
Metro to Crack Down on Fare Evasion — “Metro is rolling out a multi-faceted plan to address a $40 million fare evasion problem. Beginning this month, Metro will start posting reminders on digital screens in stations, and Metro Transit Police officers will hand out fliers reminding riders to pay their fares. Metro will have more police out on the system and install cameras and monitors to deter gate-jumping.” [DCist]
In October, Fairfax County Police Officers Wear Pink — “We’re proudly supporting #BreastCancerAwareness Month @FairfaxCountyPD this October. To show our support, some of our officers will be wearing pink enameled police badges throughout the month.” [FCPD/Facebook]
New GMU Project Aims to Boost Bailey’s Crossroads — “George Mason University is spearheading a place-based initiative to bring together residents of Culmore and Bailey’s Crossroads and the organizations that serve them…The goals, Wilson said, are to ‘build community leaders, grow community engagement and ownership, and foster strategic collaboration toward positive community change.'” [Annandale Today]
Former Governor’s McLean Mansion Sold — “A mystery buyer of residential properties along McLean’s Gold Coast recently acquired land on Chain Bridge Road that was home to the mansion of former U.S. Sen. and Virginia Gov. Chuck Robb and his wife, Lynda Robb, until a late December fire left it in ruins. According to Fairfax County records, 600 CBR LLC paid $23 million for 612 and 618 Chain Bridge Road. That ranks as the largest residential sale of 2022 in Greater Washington thus far” [WBJ]
A Murdered Man Maybe Haunts Herndon — “Frances’s story was not the only one we have heard about legend of the ghost at Dead Man’s Hollow. Another long-time Herndon resident who grew up in Herndon recalled hearing about Dead Man’s Hollow, saying that it was located along Dranesville Road, between Wiehle Avenue and Hiddenbrook Drive.” [Patch]
Great Falls Celebrated With Ornament — “The Great Falls Citizens Association and The Arts of Great Falls have teamed up to offer signature ornaments…as a fund-raiser. The first ornament, in what organizers plan to be an annual series that highlights the community’s unique features, depicts ‘Great Falls of the Potomac,’ a watercolor painting by local artist Begoña Morton.” [Sun Gazette]
Wolf Trap National Park Gets New Leader — Ken Bigley has been named the new superintendent of Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, making permanent the title he has held on an acting basis since May 2021. The park has also added more performances for The Barns at Wolf Trap’s current season, with tickets going on sale at 10 a.m. this Friday (Oct. 7). [Patch]
It’s Wednesday — Possible drizzle in the morning. High of 61 and low of 51. Sunrise at 7:09 am and sunset at 6:46 pm. [Weather.gov]
CMX CinéBistro has now taken its Tysons Galleria premiere off the release calendar.
Initially set to launch in September, the dine-in movie theater later announced that its grand opening would be delayed to Oct. 14.
However, CMX Cinemas now says that timing won’t work either, and no new date has been established.
“They are facing supply chain issues that are delaying some of the finishing touches,” a public relations representative for the company said. “We are confident that the theatre will be ready to open in the coming weeks.”
Started in 2017 in Florida, CMX has 33 locations with 358 screens across the U.S., including traditional theaters and ones provide “grab-and-go” service, according to the company’s website.
The Tysons Galleria theater is 43,268 square feet in size with over 800 seats across eight screening rooms. It will double as a restaurant, providing full food and drink service to moviegoers with films that start after 8 p.m. limited to patrons 21 and older.
Dogs will be the ones dressing up for spooky season at The Boro this year.
The Tysons neighborhood will host a “Best in Show” dog costume contest on Saturday, Oct. 29 to celebrate Halloween.
Registration for the free event is now open and required for all participants in the dog show, which will be accompanied by a Bone Bar with pet treats. The booth previously made an appearance at the “Yappy Hour” Pride Month fundraiser in June.
Scheduled to run from 3-8:30 p.m., The Boro’s Halloween festivities will also offer trick-or-treating, an outdoor screening of the live-action “Scooby-Doo” at 6:30 p.m., and other activities for human attendees, per a media alert:
Don’t have a dog of your own? Guests are invited to watch Best in Show at The Boro and enjoy a live DJ, crafting stations, trick-or-treating, face painting and glitter tattoos. There will also be plenty of Instagrammable moments with light-up marquee letters spelling “BOO!” And once the sun goes down, everyone is invited to head to The Sandlot for Scooby-Doo (2002) under the stars.
Other happenings at The Boro this month include a free exercise boot camp this Saturday (Oct. 8), yoga on Oct. 12 and 19, Sandlot Cars and Coffee on Oct. 16, and an American Red Cross blood drive on Oct. 26.
For those more interested in retail updates at the development, Metropolitan Hospitality Group told FFXnow in August that it hoped to open El Bebe and Circa in October. MHG and The Boro didn’t immediately respond to a follow-up about whether the restaurants could still open this month.
Special Education Disparities Persist in FCPS — “Students with disabilities in Fairfax County Public Schools perform substantially lower than their peers on standardized tests and face significantly higher rates of extended suspensions and expulsions, according to a new report on the school division’s special education program.” [DCist]
Pedestrians Hit in Fair Lakes Parking Lot — “Three pedestrians were hit by a car at Fair Lakes Shopping Center in Fairfax, Virginia, on Sunday, according to Fairfax County police. First responders were called shortly after 4 p.m. to the BJ’s parking lot…One of the victims was taken to the hospital in critical condition, authorities said.” [NBC4]
County Sees Drop in Employment — “It may be a seasonable blip or the portent of something more significant, but 7,000 fewer Fairfax County residents were recorded as having jobs in August compared to a month before. As a result, the county’s jobless rate ticked up two-tenths of a percentage point” [Sun Gazette]
New “Social Wellness” Club Opens in Springfield — “There’s a brand-new luxury spa in an industrial area of Mason District. Balian Springs opens to the public tomorrow, Oct. 4, in a former office building at 6432 General Green Way, Alexandria. It’s not just a spa though; it’s a social wellness club, says Director of Operations Michael Yohman.” [Annandale Today]
McLean Fire Department Hits 100th Anniversary — “As McLean Volunteer Fire Department (MVFD) celebrates its centennial, this brief video shares the story of their 100 years of service to the community. It honors a culture of volunteerism that inspires all who work out of Station 1 in McLean.” [FCFRD]
Town Hall Tonight on Reston Arts Center Proposal — “Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn and Fairfax County staff members are hosting a town hall Tuesday night about the proposed 60,000-square-foot arts center being considered for Reston Town Center. The town hall will take place at 7 p.m., at the South Lakes High School auditorium” [Patch]
Circuit Court Plans Ceremony for New Judge — “Christie Ann Leary will be presented her official commission as a Fairfax County Circuit Court judge, on Friday, Oct. 7, at 4 p.m. at the Fairfax County Courthouse…Leary previously took her oath of office on March 1, 2022.” [Fairfax County Government]
New McLean Art Exhibit Showcases Art by Educators — The McLean Project for the Arts’ new exhibit “Continuum: Artists Teaching Artists” features artworks created by 18 local educators, including George Mason University and Northern Virginia Community College faculty. Opened Sept. 16 and running through Nov. 10, the show includes a variety of media, from paintings and paper sculptures to stop-motion video. [Sun Gazette/Inside NoVA]
It’s Tuesday — Rain throughout the day. High of 54 and low of 45. Sunrise at 7:09 am and sunset at 6:48 pm. [Weather.gov]
As early voting for the Congressional midterms continues, Democrats in Virginia’s 35th House District have a critical state race competing for their attention.
After longtime delegate Mark Keam resigned in early September, the Fairfax County Democratic Committee will hold a caucus on Saturday (Oct. 8) to select the its nominee for the vacated seat, which represents Tysons, Vienna, Dunn Loring and Oakton.
Competing for the nomination are Providence District School Board Representative Karl Frisch and Holly Seibold, founder and president of the nonprofit BRAWS.
Though the special election won’t be until Jan. 10, no Republicans have entered the race yet, and the district has gone blue in every election since 2003, suggesting that whoever wins this Saturday will be the new delegate.
The Democratic caucus will be unassembled, meaning voters can cast their ballot and leave. It will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at three different locations:
- The Kilmer Center cafeteria (8102 Wolftrap Road, Vienna)
- The Oakton Elementary School cafeteria (3000 Chain Bridge Road, Oakton)
- The Patrick Henry Library meeting room (101 Maple Avenue East, Vienna)
Early voting will also be available at the FCDC headquarters at 8500 Executive Park Avenue, Suite 402, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. tomorrow (Tuesday) and from 5-8 p.m. on Thursday (Oct. 6).
All voters must fill out a certification form and sign a statement saying they’re “a registered voter, a Democrat, and that they do not intend to support a candidate opposed to the Democratic nominee in the next ensuing election,” according to the caucus rules.
Whoever wins the special election will serve the remainder of Keam’s term, which concludes in January 2024.
The candidates: Karl Frisch
Elected to the Fairfax County School Board in 2019, Frisch previously worked as executive director of the consumer watchdog organization Allied Progress, a senior fellow for the nonprofit Media Matters for America, and a Democratic staffer on the House of Representatives’ Committee on Rules.
The first openly gay person on the county’s school board, Frisch’s tenure has included the approval of new protections for transgender and gender-expansive students — a regulation currently being threatened by the state — and the naming of Mosaic Elementary School, previously known as Mosby Woods.
Despite facing “bigoted and homophobic attacks” since being elected, Frisch says he remains committed to fighting for progressive causes, such as public education, LGBTQ equality, gun violence prevention, and reproductive rights and abortion access. If elected to the General Assembly, he says he would work with other lawmakers to “protect reproductive freedom in Virginia’s constitution.”
On a more local level, Frisch cites traffic safety as a concern, particularly in light of the crash that killed two Oakton High School students this summer.
“Fairfax County and Town of Vienna residents do not get enough tax dollars back from Richmond for road maintenance and traffic mitigation efforts,” he told FFXnow. “We need to fix funding formulas that disadvantage the Town of Vienna and Fairfax County and ensure the Virginia Department of Transportation is responsive to local concerns — whether pedestrian and driver safety along the Blake Lane corridor or traffic along Maple Avenue.”
The candidates: Holly Seibold
A Vienna resident since 2012, Seibold founded BRAWS in 2015 to help provide menstrual supplies and undergarments to those in need. Since then, the nonprofit has distributed over 4 million pads, tampons, bras and underwear to over 60,000 individuals, according to its website.
Seibold has also worked as a teacher in Fairfax County Public Schools and owned an education consulting firm, according to her campaign bio.
When announcing her campaign for delegate on Sept. 6, Seibold cited the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and the subsequent erosion of reproductive rights in many states as a key motivation.
With BRAWS, she says she gained “extensive experience” advocating for legislative changes related to menstrual equity, including Keam’s bill requiring schools to have tampons and pads available to all students at no cost and the elimination of Virginia’s sales tax on tampons.
If elected, Seibold says her priorities would include fully funding schools, addressing learning loss and ensuring students can learn free from gun violence, addressing climate change, protecting abortion rights, and expanding “economic resources to women and children in crisis.”
She also mentioned creating safer, more walkable communities as a priority, recalling a recent talk with residents of Blake Lane.
“One resident brought up a recent accident on the street and another resident remarked, ‘Which one?’” she said. “The safety of our families is of the utmost importance to me. We all deserve to live in safe, walkable, family-oriented communities without fear of getting hit by a car.”
Recent violent incidents around Vienna included a confrontation between a man and two others leaving his apartment and a battle between a local resident and an Amazon delivery truck.
The weekly Vienna Police Highlights offers a look at the calls for police around town, including notes on arrests and other incidents.
One of the more serious incidents this week involved a resident reportedly being assaulted in the 200 block of Cedar Lane on Thursday, Sept. 22, after confronting two men leaving his apartment.
“A resident reported parking his vehicle in the parking lot when he observed two men leaving his apartment,” the report said. “When he asked the men why they were in his apartment, they assaulted him and left the area in a vehicle.”
The wounds were treated on-site, and the report said it was later determined the two men leaving the apartment were acquaintances of a woman renting a room from the resident.
After obtaining a warrant charging assault and battery, a 23-year-old Vienna man was arrested and is being held on a $1,000 bond.
Another altercation occurred at 100 E Street SE when a resident attacked an Amazon delivery van.
According to the report, the incident took place on Sunday, Sept. 25, around 10 a.m:
An Amazon driver parked in a residential parking space in the townhouse complex to make a delivery. A resident of the complex became agitated with the driver and, as the driver was attempting to drive away, the resident kicked her vehicle causing damage to the door.
