“Beltway Accord” Still a Mystery — More than two years after Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and then-Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced plans to rebuild the American Legion Bridge, an actual, documented agreement remains elusive. Conflict over Maryland’s Capital Beltway toll lanes project has been a source of anxiety in McLean, where officials broke ground on the I-495 widening last month. [Maryland Matters]
Advocacy Groups Meet Incoming FCPS Superintendent — “On Friday, April 15, representatives of several advocacy groups met with Dr. [Michelle] Reid, as well as Fairfax County School Board Chair Stella Pekarsky and Vice Chair Rachna Sizemore Heizer, to discuss their concerns about the superintendent selection process.” [FCPS]
Registration Opens for Kids’ Summer Program — “The Fairfax County Park Authority is accepting registrations for Rec-PAC this summer at 30 elementary school locations across Fairfax County. Rec-PAC is an affordable, structured, six-week summer program for children in grades one through six featuring a different theme each week.” [FCPA]
New Concourse Planned at Dulles Airport — “A new 14-gate concourse at Dulles International Airport could open as soon as 2026 under plans outlined Wednesday…The $674.7 million project…would be the most significant upgrade to the airport in more than a decade. The planned 400,000-square-foot building would replace the single-story structure that handles regional and commuter flights at Dulles.” [The Washington Post]
Reston Station Adds Wealth Management Firm — Comstock announced on Tuesday (April 19) that the office and private investment firm Cresset Manager has signed a lease agreement for 11,500 square feet on the ninth floor of 1900 Reston Metro Plaza. The company is expected to relocate its D.C. area office, currently in Reston Town Center, to the new space in the third quarter of 2022. [Comstock]
Annandale Baseball Diamonds Renamed — “On Saturday, April 16, 2022, the Fairfax County Park Authority joined the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and the Annandale-North Springfield Little League (ANSLL) to rename the Pine Ridge Park baseball facilities to the Kehrer Baseball Complex…The change was made to honor two longtime ANSLL volunteers Darryl and Dawn Kehrer.” [FCPA]
Design Update Coming on Richmond Highway Bus Service — The Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) will host three in-person meetings this spring on Richmond Highway BRT. The first one is scheduled for April 28 at Bryant High School and will provide updates on the design and intersection improvements at North Kings Highway and Shields Avenue. [FCDOT]
It’s Thursday — Mostly cloudy throughout the day. High of 66 and low of 44. Sunrise at 6:25 am and sunset at 7:53 pm. [Weather.gov]
The next few months will be busy ones for Vienna’s local, independent bookshop.
First, there are Independent Bookstore Day celebrations to prepare for on April 30. Then, in July, Bards Alley will mark its fifth anniversary since opening its doors at 110 Church Street NW in 2017.
After nearly five years, owner Jen Morrow still gets a kick out of seeing how the community has embraced Bards by lining up for new releases, forming book clubs that meet at the store, or just hearing a parent read to their child.
Houston is the place to be this week for the robotics community, and several Fairfax County students scored exclusive invitations.
Fairfax County Public Schools has three teams in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) World Championships, which kicked off today (Wednesday) at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas.
The annual event caps off months of work and competitions for high school students around the world who have designed, programmed and built industrial-sized robots that face off in sports-like games.
The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office has 71 vacancies. There are over 200 vacancies at the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board.
Staff vacancies continue to be a challenge at county agencies across the board, administrators and employee leaders told the Board of Supervisors at budget hearings last week.
“Staffing shortages particularly impact vulnerable populations and lead to increased waiting times for services,” CSB Member-at-Large Anne Whipple said at a hearing on Thursday (April 14).
Construction work has moved above ground on a pair of buildings that will bring 300 new apartments for older residents to Tysons.
Vertical construction began earlier this month on The Mather at 7929 Westpark Drive, the senior living provider Mather announced in a news release yesterday (Tuesday).
The milestone comes almost two years after work on the 4-acre site began with the demolition of an existing office building in May 2020.
It’s been a turbulent couple of years for air travel.
For more than a year, face masks have been a required accessory for flyers due to COVID-19. That ended Monday (April 18) when a federal court ruled against the Biden administration’s mask mandate for public transportation.
The country’s major airlines all dropped their mask requirements even before the federal government confirmed it would not enforce the mandate or appeal the judge’s ruling — a decision that has inspired cheers, anger, and perhaps some relief for flight crews after months of hostile confrontations with passengers.
Two Hospitalized in West Springfield Crash — “Yesterday at 4:09 PM, units responded to three-car crash on Old Keene Mill Rd at Hillside Rd. #FCFRD used “jaws of life” to free 2 persons from one car. Both transported to hospital w/serious, non-life threatening, injuries. 1 person from another car transported w/minor injuries.” [FCFRD/Twitter]
Virginia Hits 14-Year High in Crash Fatalities — “In 2021, 968 people died in crashes on Virginia roads. That’s up 14.3% from 2020, when there were 847 crash fatalities. And it’s the highest number of annual deaths since 2007, which saw 1,026 fatalities.” [WTOP]
Merrifield Cancer Screening Center to Open Next Month — “The Inova Saville Cancer Screening and Prevention Center will be the first of its kind in Northern Virginia. It’s designed to be a one-stop shop to not only detect the disease but prevent it. Anyone can make an appointment, and referrals are not needed.” [NBC4]
Reston Association Unveils Pool Schedule — “Summer is coming soon & so are the pools! We’re excited to announce the schedules for Seasons 1, 2, and 3, of our pool facilities! You can also find scheduled RSTA swim meets, and our Memorial Day hours at reston.org/aquatics!” [RA/Twitter]
Vienna Artist Reacts to War in Homeland — “The war in Ukraine hits hard for Vienna Arts Society member Viktoriya Maslova, who was born and grew up in that Eastern European nation…Speaking at the Vienna Art Center on April 13, Maslova described how Russian forces had invaded her homeland from three sides in what she said was an effort to displace Ukraine’s government.” [Sun Gazette]
Fire Department Encourages Fitness with Chantilly Center — “The Wellfit center offers strength training and physical therapy for Fairfax County’s finest and is part of an all-encompassing strategy FCFRD has undertaken that is unique in the country. Alongside these services, the department provides dietary guidance and behavioral counseling…to ensure firefighters are in the best shape possible to perform their arduous tasks.” [Fairfax Times]
Big Trucks to Motor into Herndon — “Families with children who love big trucks take notice. The Town of Herndon’s Department of Public Works will be putting the town’s large vehicles and heavy equipment on display during ‘Big Truck Days’ in May.” [Patch]
It’s Wednesday — Clear throughout the day. High of 60 and low of 37. Sunrise at 6:26 am and sunset at 7:52 pm. [Weather.gov]
While Fairfax County regularly makes headlines for its diversion initiatives and other criminal justice reform efforts, an imbalance in funding for prosecutors and defense attorneys remains unaddressed, the local public defender’s office says.
Lezzet’s first week in Vienna went down as smoothly as a bite of buttery rice pilaf.
The Centreville-based Mediterranean restaurant has gotten a warm welcome at the Cedar Park Shopping Center (262 Cedar Lane), where its second location opened on April 10, General Manager Burcin Can says.
“[The opening] was overdue, so they were excited that we are in this community, especially in Vienna and especially inside this shopping center,” Can said. “…Right now, we are getting very good feedback from the community and Vienna residents. It’s going well so far.”
Fairfax County’s work release program remains shut down due to the pandemic, keeping one option for inmates off of the table for a little over two years.
Due to concerns about the transmission of COVID-19, the county’s sheriff’s office says its is unclear when and if the program will resume. The program first shut down in March 2020.
