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.
A Tysons-based security firm has spent the past two months working to help people escape from war-torn Ukraine.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, Global Guardian has assisted in the evacuation of more than 7,500 people out of the country.
The firm began advising its clients to leave Ukraine as far back as December, according to Global Guardian Vice President of Marketing Shannon Scully.
Taxi drivers in Fairfax County will get some help at the pump.
The county’s Board of Supervisors approved a measure yesterday (Tuesday) to let taxicabs tack on a $1 fuel surcharge for each trip, following a staff recommendation and a private company’s request for twice that amount.
“The $1.00 per-trip emergency taxicab fuel surcharge will provide immediate relief to the taxicab drivers who are suffering an economic hardship from increased fuel costs,” county staff wrote in a memo.
Arrests in Fairfax and Arlington Counties Stir Debate over Bail Reform — “The man who was arrested on Sunday for robbery and carjacking after an inter-jurisdiction car chase on I-395 was awaiting trial in Fairfax County for stealing a car, court records show…Randall Mason, the president of the Arlington Coalition of Police, said Fairfax County’s release of the alleged carjacker put officers, the driver and the public at risk of injury.” [ARLnow]
Fairfax Real Estate Listing Goes Viral — “The $800,000 listing, a five-bedroom, 3.5-bath, single-family home, is only accepting all-cash offers despite needing multiple repairs and coming with roommates who aren’t paying rent and don’t have a lease. Oh, and potential buyers can’t see the lower level.” [Axios]
Herndon MS Students Enjoy Recess — Herndon Middle School students support the introduction of recess, calling it a “brain break.” Fairfax County middle schools started piloting recess periods this school year, and the school board is expected to make the practice permanent with a vote tomorrow (Thursday). [NBC4]
Reston Association Election Results Announced — The Reston Association Board of Directors announced the results of its latest election yesterday (Tuesday) at an Annual Members’ Meeting. The new directors are Glenn Small (At-Large), Irwin Flashman (Lake Anne/Tall Oaks District), and Laurie Dodd (North Point District). [RA]
Vienna Advances More Sidewalk Projects — “The Town of Vienna will move forward with engineering design of sidewalks on more streets as part of the Maud Robinson Trust…An estimated 3.3 miles of sidewalk can be added through the trust, according to the town.” [Patch]
Longtime Annandale Shoe Business for Sale — “Express Shoe Repair, at 7048 Columbia Pike, is for sale…Anna Koundakjian and her husband founded Express Shoe Repair in 1985, five years after they immigrated to the U.S. from an Armenian enclave in Lebanon. They are ready to retire, and Anna plans to start a new hobby — quilting.” [Annandale Today]
Vienna Little League to Celebrate Opening Day — “For the first time in a couple of years, Vienna Little League will hold an opening-day ceremony, scheduled for Saturday morning April 16 at 9 a.m. at the league’s Yeonas Park complex The ceremony has not been held the last couple of years at the regular time because of the pandemic.” [Sun Gazette]
TV Actor to Help Dedicate Reston Garden — Actor and environmental activist Ed Begley Jr. will visit Reston Community Center on May 4 to raise awareness about environmental sustainability. He will join officials at 5 p.m. for the dedication of a new pollinator garden by Hunters Woods Village Center before giving a talk on CenterStage at 8 p.m. [RCC]
It’s Wednesday — Mostly cloudy throughout the day. High of 78 and low of 59. Sunrise at 6:36 am and sunset at 7:45 pm. [Weather.gov]
As Fairfax County Public Schools nears an announcement of its next superintendent, students, faculty, and community groups have started to voice concerns about the transparency of the months-long process.
Organizers of the Pride Liberation Project, an FCPS student-led LGBTQIA+ advocacy organization, urged the school system to solicit more feedback from students, saying that the community outreach for the superintendent search was inadequate.
