Get ready to paint the town — literally.
Celebrate Fairfax, the nonprofit best known for organizing the annual Celebrate Fairfax! Festival, will unveil a new public mural tomorrow (Saturday) for the PARC at Tysons.
Painted by Northern Virginia resident and artist Rodrigo Pradel, the colorful artwork can already be seen covering the squat building at 8508 Leesburg Pike that previously housed a Container Store.
While many Fairfax County homeowners are bracing for jumps in their real estate tax assessments, the overall property tax burden on commercial and industrial property owners is projected to drop.
With the market upended by the pandemic, telecommuting, and other factors, the county’s property tax revenue for commercial and industrial properties will decrease by $8 million for fiscal year 2023, which starts July 1.
Meanwhile, the residential property tax base will increase by $155 million after a surge in housing demand fueled rising assessments. Bills are expected to increase even with the Board of Supervisors planning to reduce the tax rate when it adopts a new budget on Tuesday (May 10).
Inova’s new cancer screening and prevention center in Merrifield is the first facility of its kind in the D.C. area, the nonprofit health care system says.
Inova marked the official opening of the Saville Cancer Screening and Prevention Center with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday (May 4).
First announced in late 2020, the center occupies 24,000 square feet of space in the Inova Schar Cancer Institute at 8081 Innovation Park Drive, according to a news release. Inova says the facility is rare for enabling patients to get prevention, screening, and treatment services in the same place.
Fairfax County’s ongoing Covid surge reached new heights this week.
The county is now seeing a “medium” level of COVID-19 in the community. This is the first time that the county’s classification has changed since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention adopted its current metrics for measuring the disease’s spread in February.
The National Weather Service has issued a Flood Watch for Fairfax County and the rest of the D.C. area.
The alert is set to take effect at 5 p.m. today (Friday) and last until 2 a.m. tomorrow (Saturday), though current forecasts indicate that rain is likely to continue throughout the weekend.
“Widespread rainfall totals of 1-3 inches are expected through tonight,” the NWS said. “This may lead to localized instances of flooding.”
Oath Keepers Member at Capitol Attack Pleads Guilty — “On Jan. 5, 2021…[William Todd Wilson] drove to a hotel in Tysons Corner in Virginia with an AR-15-style rifle, a 9mm pistol, about 200 rounds of ammunition, body armor, pepper spray and a large walking stick ‘intended for use as a weapon,’ according to court records filed Wednesday.” [The Washington Post]
FCPD Seeks Help Finding Eyeglass Thieves — Fairfax County police are investigating a “smash-and-grab” larceny that occurred at My Eye Dr (6307 Richmond Highway) in Belle Haven on April 19. The suspects allegedly stole over $20,000 of eyeglass frames. Similar thefts have been reported across the D.C. area in recent months, including at a store in McLean. [FCPD]
Reston Startup Raises $9M — “Hubble Technology Inc., an early-stage cybersecurity startup based in Reston, has raised a $9 million seed round to grow its business…Hubble said in an announcement the new funding will be used to grow its D.C.-area engineering team to scale the business and meet increasing demand.” [Washington Business Journal]
Track Work to Disrupt Metro’s Orange Line Service — “During the weekends of May 7-8 and 15-16, Orange Line service will end at Stadium-Armory. The free shuttle buses offered on the Orange Line will replicate the service customers can expect to see this summer during weekdays.” [WMATA]
Fairfax Man Found Guilty After Allegedly Driving 103 MPH — “A Loudoun County jury on Wednesday returned a finding of guilt against a Fairfax man for reckless driving, a class 1 misdemeanor, by speed and recommended the maximum fine allowed under law of $2,500, according to a May 4 release from the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney.” [Loudoun Times-Mirror]
Military Veteran and Spouse Job Fair Coming — “The Veteran and Military Spouse Career Fair will be held in person from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on May 11 at the National Museum of the United States Army…A virtual career fair will be held from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on May 12 through online meeting portal Brazen. The event is free to attend.” [Patch]
Plan for Housing Voucher Program Released — The Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority has released its draft fiscal year 2023 Moving to Work Plan, which outlines how the county will administer its housing choice vouchers and other affordable housing programs. The plan is now open for written comments, and there will be a public hearing on May 19. [Housing and Community Development]
It’s Friday — Rain throughout the day. High of 64 and low of 56. Sunrise at 6:06 am and sunset at 8:07 pm. [Weather.gov]
Fairfax County will kick off early voting for the June 21 Democratic primary tomorrow (Friday), but with only one race on the ballot, turnout will likely be muted.
Incumbent Don Beyer faces political newcomer Victoria Virasingh in the 8th Congressional District. It will be the county’s first primary under new district maps drawn and approved by the Virginia Supreme Court last December.
The new 8th district covers eastern Fairfax County from McLean to Mason Neck, including Falls Church, Bailey’s Crossroads, Annandale, Rose Hill, and much of the Mount Vernon magisterial district. It also represents Arlington County and the City of Alexandria.
A new chicken spot is opening soon for Merrifield’s Pan Am Shopping Center.
Chicka Loca plans to open at the shopping center in mid-May at 3089 Nutley Street.
Owner Pedram Kanzi says his restaurant will offer 25 percent off all menu items for the first two weeks of opening.
“I’m thrilled to share a piece of my culture with the Fairfax community,” Kanzi said. “It feels surreal to be opening my very first restaurant — a dream that has been years in the making.”
Later this afternoon (Thursday), Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay will descend by rope down a 14-story hotel in Arlington County.
McKay is among over 70 volunteers and VIPs participating in a charity rappeling event at the Hilton (2399 Richmond Highway) in Crystal City to raise money for New Hope Housing, a Northern Virginia nonprofit that provides assistance for people experiencing homelessness.
The event will unfold over two days, with elected officials and other VIPs rappeling down starting at 4 p.m. today. Arlington County Board member Matt de Ferranti has also been confirmed as a participant.
A family business that operated for over half a century has sold its Fairfax County car wash locations.
Embassy Autowash sold its five car washes to Flagship Carwash, the latter announced on Monday (May 2).
One is located at 10874 Fairfax Blvd. in Fairfax, and two are in Fairfax County: 6814 Old Dominion Drive in McLean and 6217 Rolling Road in West Springfield.
Over the coming months, the locations will be upgraded and updated under the Flagship brand, the company said in a news release.
