(Updated at 8:35 p.m.) The Towers Crescent office building in Tysons has been evacuated in response to a reported fire.
Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department units were dispatched to 8000 Towers Crescent Drive around 7:26 p.m. for the high-rise fire, according to scanner traffic on Open MHz.
Crews are currently evacuating the commercial building and investigating smoke on the ninth floor, the FCFRD tweeted at 7:46 p.m. The smoke was reported by the building’s security team, and an odor was confirmed by firefighters on the scene, per the scanner.
The cause has yet to be determined, but on the scanner, firefighters described the odor as “electrical” in nature.
“No firefighter injuries have been reported,” the department said. As of 8:15 p.m., there have been no reported civilian injuries either, a spokesperson told FFXnow.
The 17-story, Class A office building is topped by the 22,000-square-foot Towers Club, where a party with about 60 people had to be evacuated.
“They’re ready to leave,” a firefighter said on the scanner at 8:12 p.m.
It’s unclear how many people overall needed to be evacuated.
Units are on scene of a reported fire in a high-rise building in the 8000 blk of Towers Crescent Dr in the Tysons area. Crews are currently investigating smoke from the 9th floor. The building is being evacuated. No firefighter injuries have been reported. pic.twitter.com/ASlosEXVW1
— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) February 1, 2024
Legislation banning Virginia’s public colleges and universities from providing special treatment in admissions decisions to students related to alumni and donors is on track to head to Gov. Glenn Youngkin later this session.
On Tuesday, the Virginia House joined the Senate in passing the proposal on a unanimous vote. Both bills, which are identical, must now pass in the opposite chambers before they are sent to the governor for his approval.
Youngkin spokesman Christian Martinez has signaled the governor is likely to sign the measures.
“The governor will review any legislation that comes to his desk, but believes admission to Virginia’s universities and colleges should be based on merit,” he said.
The proposed ban comes after the U.S. Supreme Court ended affirmative action at higher education institutions nationwide in June. Since the court’s ruling that race-conscious admissions policies at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina were unconstitutional, schools in the commonwealth have begun changing their admissions policies.
A study by think tank Education Reform Now found “most beneficiaries of legacy preferences are white.” It also identified Virginia as one of five states where a majority of public colleges and universities offer admissions advantages to the children of alumni.
“All that House Bill 48 says is that in considering admissions to college and our public universities here in the commonwealth of Virginia, whether your parents went there or whether your parents are donors to the institution will play no role in deciding who is accepted to the college,” said Del. Dan Helmer, D-Fairfax, who is carrying the House bill, during a subcommittee meeting earlier this month.
Both Democrats and Republicans have supported the change.
“I think it’s absolutely discriminatory to grant special privileges to people based on what their parents did, what they gave, where they went to college,” said Del. Thomas Garrett, R-Goochland, at the same meeting.
Garrett said he’s supporting the proposal to “address discrimination and create a level playing field for all Virginians.”
Last week, the Senate version of the bill, patroned by Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Richmond, also passed with unanimous support.
Education Reform Now says more than 100 colleges and universities have ended legacy admissions since 2015, but 787 still used the practice as of 2020.
Photo via MD Duran on Unsplash. This article was reported and written by the Virginia Mercury, and has been reprinted under a Creative Commons license.
Duck Donuts is wading into the Town of Vienna.
A spokesperson for the North Carolina-based donut chain confirmed it will open a new franchise at 256 Maple Avenue East, filling a space vacated by T-Mobile. The shop will join Smoothie King, MetroEyes and Sweet Leaf Cafe in the retail building.
“We are in the early stages of permitting to begin moving forward with construction, and unfortunately, at this time, do not have an expected opening timeframe to share,” the Duck Donuts spokesperson told FFXnow.
The company says it’s “excited to continue” expanding into Virginia with the Vienna location, which is owned by first-time franchisee Matthew Yiengst. This will be the first new Duck Donuts since a Springfield shop opened at Old Keene Mill Shopping Center in October 2022.
Shops can also be found in Herndon and Fairfax City.
Deriving its name from its original location of Duck, North Carolina, Duck Donuts was founded in 2007 by Russ DiGilio, who saw a lack of donut options in the Outer Banks while vacationing there with his family. Since then, the business has grown to more than 100 locations, including ones in Egypt, Qatar and Thailand.
The menu offers both prepared and made-to-order donuts that can be customized with various coatings and toppings. Shops also sell breakfast sandwiches, ice cream and coffee.
Fairfax County is changing lanes on some of its long-term transportation plans, veering away from a few road-widening projects in favor of ones that involve transit or pedestrian and bicycle upgrades.
As authorized by the Board of Supervisors on Dec. 5, county staff submitted a list of projects for the region-wide Visualize 2050 transportation plan that no longer includes widenings of Route 29 in the Merrifield area, New Braddock Road, Stringfellow Road and Magarity Road in Pimmit Hills.
A project to extend New Guinea Road in Fairfax Station to Route 123 (Ox Road) was also dropped from the county’s submission to the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB), which is currently reviewing projects from Virginia, Maryland, D.C. and Metro for the long-range plan.
At the same time, the county added some projects, including Orange and Yellow Line Metrorail extensions and the Route 7 bus rapid transit (BRT) system, that it hopes will pave the way for a less car-centric future.
“I think this is a balanced approach,” said Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn, then the chair of the board’s transportation committee and now its vice chair. “We end up with some additional projects going into the proposed plan, including some very important transit projects, and I note we also are showing five road projects coming out of the plan that I think are clear are no longer appropriate for the long-term plan.”
As a planning organization for the D.C. region, the TPB is required by the federal government to produce a regional transportation plan every four years, most recently finalizing Visualize 2045 on June 15, 2022. But work on the next update started early so new goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions can be incorporated.
In another change, jurisidictions are also required to resubmit all of their projects instead of carrying them over from one plan to the next like before.
According to the Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT), decisions about which projects to resubmit, add and take out were based on staff evaluation, conversations with the supervisors and public comments gathered by the TPB and the county, which held two public meetings in September.
It “was a good decision” to remove the New Braddock and Stringfellow road widenings in Centreville, Sully District Supervisor Kathy Smith said. New Braddock Road would’ve been widened and extended from Route 28 to Route 29 opposite Stone Road, while Stringfellow Road was slated to be expanded to four lanes between Route 50 and Fairfax County Parkway.
Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik said she worked with staff to ensure there “would not be any negative consequences” as a result of the removal of the Route 29 project in her district.
The county had planned to widen Route 29 from four to six travel lanes between the Fairfax City limit and the Capital Beltway (I-495) in Merrifield, but staff are now reevaluating that stretch of road “to better reflect completed segments and focus on active transportation facilities,” FCDOT says.
Construction is still underway to widen Route 29 from four to six lanes in the Centreville area.
“Since those changes may not be deemed regionally significant by the TPB, a decision was made to not submit this project for the Visualize 2050 Update,” an FCDOT spokesperson said.
The Magarity Road widening would’ve added two lanes to the roadway between Route 7 (Leesburg Pike) and Great Falls Street in McLean.
While some widenings were dropped, the county hasn’t entirely moved away from road projects. On top of the previously mentioned transit projects, the newly submitted proposals include:
- A southside extension of the I-495 toll lanes, though the board has emphasized a need to include transit in the project
- The addition of 11 miles of new I-95 Express Lanes from the Franconia-Springfield Parkway to Opitz Blvd in Prince William County, allowing drivers to travel in the off-peak direction
- The initial phase of the Seven Corners Ring Road, which will curve around the problematic interchange from the west side of Route 50 to the east side of Route 7
- The Cleveland Ramp from the Dulles Toll Road to Scotts Run Crossing/Route 123 in Tysons
The Town of Herndon also requested that the county submit an extension of Fairbrook Drive from Herndon Parkway to Spring Street and multimodal improvements on Sterling Road from Elden Street to Rock Hill Road.
“I think this is another good step, [a] balanced approach forward in making sure that we’re moving people safely and appropriately through our roads,” Palchik said.
The TPB says it will release an analysis of how all the Visualize 2050 projects align with the region’s air quality goals on March 1, opening up a month-long public comment period. The board is aiming to complete the plan in June 2025.
Teacher recruitment, school safety and controlling class sizes have been designated as top priorities for funding by the newly sworn-in Fairfax County School Board.
However, the county’s expected financial constraints may make it challenging for the board’s entire wish list to get funded in the upcoming budget cycle, which will start July 1.
Last week, the school board approved a resolution to serve as a guide for Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid as she crafts the school system’s proposed fiscal year 2025 budget.
The resolution highlights improving teacher compensation, particularly for special education and Title 1 schools, as a key priority. Board members also stressed the importance of increasing access to universal breakfast and lunch programs, reducing school meal debt, expanding preschool options, lowering class sizes, and providing additional funding for mental health and academic support.
While some of those priorities are broad in scope, Mason District School Board Representative Ricardy Anderson noted the board has been discussing these issues with the superintendent and her staff in both public and private meetings for months.
“This is not a surprise,” she said. “They have been part of these conversations, and they understand what the board finds important.”
Aside from Anderson, Braddock District Representative Rachna Sizemore Heizer, and Hunter Mill District Representative Melanie Meren, who supported the resolution, most school board members are newcomers who were not part of the initial discussions on the board’s budget priorities last year.
Despite that, Anderson noted that the new members — all elected in November with Democratic endorsements — have shown strong support for many of the same issues as the previous board, which was similarly all Democratic.
“There was a lot of overlap with what the former board found important and with what the new board finds important,” she said.
Still, there is the hurdle of getting the county on board.
Fairfax County staff told the school board and the Board of Supervisors at a joint meeting last November to prepare for a tough budget year, forecasting a $284.5 million shortfall mainly due to a “flat real estate market,” according to the county website.
At a Nov. 14 school board work session, FCPS Chief Financial Officer Leigh Burden predicted a $202.6 million gap in the revenue needed to fund a 6% salary increase for all FCPS employees, address rising student service demands, and cover inflationary costs.
FCPS has a total operating budget for the current fiscal year of $3.5 billion — a $221.7 million increase from the previous cycle.
The superintendent is set to present her budget proposal to the school board next Tuesday, Feb. 6. How her office will address the revenue gap and incorporate the school board’s priorities into the proposal remains unclear.
However, Anderson said she doesn’t anticipate the school board’s entire wish list will be fulfilled.
“They’re big ticket items, and there’s only so much you can do in any given year,” she said.
This summer, Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts will see the returns of John Legend and the Out & About Festival, along with some brand-new faces.
The Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, the nonprofit that supports and programs the park, announced an initial lineup for the Filene Center’s summer season yesterday (Tuesday) that features both pop and classical shows.
Tickets for all the confirmed shows will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Feb. 16, though Wolf Trap members who donate $80 or more to the foundation can access presales right now.
In addition to a variety of concerts, Wolf Trap will introduce an expanded concessions building this summer with improved accessibility, including an elevator that will provide a stairs-free connection between the park’s upper and lower levels for the first time. The Meadow Commons project has been under construction since September and is expected to be finished this spring.
“[The Meadow Commons is] the embodiment of our community’s commitment and support to enhance the visitor experience through elevated concessions, improved accessibility, and more,” Wolf Trap Foundation President and CEO Arvind Manocha said. “With this upgrade, we’re dedicated to ensuring that all visitors can savor the magic of a performance at Wolf Trap.”
The Filene Center, the park’s 7,000-seat amphitheater, typically kicks off summer in late May around Memorial Day, but this year, the first performance on the schedule so far is the opera “Seven Deadly Sins” on Saturday, June 1. Kurt Weill’s “sung ballet” will be performed by up-and-coming orchestral musicians and opera singers in a collaboration between the National Orchestral Institute + Festival and Wolf Trap Opera.
The popular music slate starts on June 2 with The Beach Boys, led by original band member Mike Love. They will be followed on June 4-6 by John Legend, who visited last year and will sing songs like “All of Me” and Oscar winner “Glory” with the Wolf Trap Orchestra this year.
Other pop highlights will include:
- June 8: soul singers Patti LaBelle and Gladys Knight
- June 9: rock/blues guitarist Gary Clark Jr.
- June 18-19: Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant and country singer Alison Krauss, whose June 18 show is a makeup for one that got postponed last year
- June 20: alt-rock band Wilco
- June 22: Out & About Festival, a showcase of LGBTQ artists that launched with Brandi Carlile in 2023. This year’s edition is headlined by Alabama Shakes lead singer Brittany Howard.
- June 29: Broadway in the Park with Arlington’s Signature Theatre
- July 20: author Neil Gaiman will take the audience “on a literary journey”
- Aug. 1: Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me
- Aug. 10: Kidz Bop Live
- Aug. 17-18: Boyz II Men
- Aug. 25: rockers Indigo Girls and Melissa Etheridge
- Sept. 11: country singer Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
- Sept. 12, 14 and 15: James Taylor & His All Star Band
- Sept. 13: actors Kristen Chenoweth and Alan Cumming, singing Broadway hits
On the classical side, Wolf Trap Opera will stage productions of Mozart’s “Così fan tutte” (June 21, 23, 29 and 27), Puccini’s “La bohème” (July 19) and the Pulitzer-Prize-winning “Silent Night” by Kevin Puts (Aug. 9, 11, 15 and 17). The Mozart opera will be in The Barns at Wolf Trap, while the others will be at the Filene Center.
The National Symphony Orchestra is also set to perform live scores for screenings of the original “Star Wars” (July 13) and “Ghostbusters” (July 26).
The orchestra will also celebrate the 200th anniversary of Beethoven’s “Ninth Symphony” on July 12 by conductor Ruth Reinhardt and Wolf Trap Opera artists. The program will include Samuel Taylor-Coleridge’s “Violin Concerto” performed by violinist Njioma Grevious.
Wolf Trap’s 2024 Kay Shouse Great Performance, which is designated annually to honor the park’s founder, will be an evening with the Washington Ballet on Sept. 5.
The full schedule can be found on Wolf Trap’s website.
Vehicle Crashes into Centreville House — A driver crashed into a house in the 14900 block of Carlbern Drive yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon. One trapped person was extricated and taken to a hospital, but no injuries were reported. Fairfax County police are investigating. [FCPD/Twitter]
Man Sentenced for Killing Co-Worker at Target — “A Fairfax County man was sentenced to 100 years in prison Tuesday for fatally stabbing a Target co-worker in a parking lot at the store in the Baileys Crossroads area. Bazen Berhe, 25, pleaded guilty in October to first-degree murder in the April 17, 2021, killing of Hernan Leiva, 58, in what Berhe described to a judge as a fit of rage.” [Washington Post]
Suspect to Serve Three Years for Fatal Springfield Shooting — “Carlton Campbell was found guilty of murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony following a trial in 2022…At sentencing Tuesday, Judge Robert Smith sentenced Campbell to three years active incarceration” for the firearms charge but suspended a 10-year sentence for the murder charge. [WUSA9]
Redevelopment Option Approved for Merrifield Pet Hospital — “The form it eventually will take has yet to be determined, but a commercial parcel in Merrifield now is cleared for upgrades or redevelopment. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Jan. 23 unanimously approved a rezoning request by Maesboy LLC featuring three possible development scenarios for its 2.6-acre property at 8500 Arlington Blvd.” [Gazette Leader]
Tex-Mex Restaurant Opens in Hybla Valley — “El Fresco Tex-Mex Grill opened its fourth Northern Virginia location in the Hybla Valley section of Alexandria this month. Sahil Mehta, franchise owner, said the new restaurant began its soft launch Jan. 19 and is wrapping up some minor work before holding a grand opening event later this winter.” [On the MoVe]
County Jail Showcases Recovery Program to Legislators — “Inside the jail walls of the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center, a group of inmates in a recovery program are connected by an all-too-familiar struggle — addiction…A group of congressional lawmakers toured the detention center Tuesday to learn more about the Striving to Achieve Recover Program (STAR) that’s changing inmates’ lives.” [NBC4]
Huntington Welcomes New Yoga Studio — “Soma Yoga Healing Center, a new yoga studio at 2560 Huntington Avenue just south of Hunting Creek, held its grand opening this weekend. The yoga studio offers a mix of private classes, group classes and workshops…The studio also helps run monthly cat yoga at the Mount Purrnon Cat Cafe.” [ALXnow]
McLean Students to Deliver Speeches in Ford’s Theatre — Fourth-grade students at Haycock Elementary School “have been busy preparing for the 2024 Abraham Lincoln Oratory Residency and Festival at Ford’s Theatre next month. The annual program is offered to D.C.-area schools every year…Each of the six fourth grade classes at Haycock will perform a famous American speech.” [WTOP]
It’s Wednesday — Expect scattered sprinkles and flurries before 8am, transitioning to scattered sprinkles between 8am and 2pm. The day will be mostly cloudy with a high near 46 degrees. The cloudiness will persist into Wednesday night, bringing a low temperature of around 35 degrees and light, variable winds. [Weather.gov]
(Updated at 3:45 p.m.) An entertainment complex that brings puzzle and video game-like challenges to life is taking over the former Old Navy at Tysons Corner Center.
Next year, Level99 will open a 40,000-square-foot playground and restaurant on the mall’s second floor adjacent to Barnes & Noble, the company jointly announced today (Tuesday) with Tysons Corner Center owner Macerich.
Old Navy was relocated to the other end of the mall near Bloomingdale’s. Its previous space — the one that will be permanently occupied by Level99 — is currently filled by the temporary Hot Wheels Champion Experience.
Originally opened in Natick, Massachusetts, in 2021, Level99 describes itself as a “first-of-its-kind destination for live-action, challenge-based entertainment, craft beverages and farm-to-table dining designed for grown-ups.”
Visitors can work together to complete various physical and mental games in “challenge rooms,” or they can compete in duels. The Tysons location will have 40 rooms that can collectively accommodate up to 600 players, along with a 300-seat taproom and scratch kitchen.
The challenges vary from room to room, from obstacle courses to a life-sized version of “Rock Band” and “ninja training” for a battle against a samurai, according to Level99.
“Level99 offers mental, physical, communication and skill challenges in an open-world format for guests to discover and explore,” said Level99 CEO Matt DuPlessie, a former Disney engineer and owner of the production company, Box Fort, that designed Level99. “…We look forward to welcoming residents and visitors from the D.C. area to discover all that Level99 has to offer.”
The original Level99 drew over 400,000 guests in 2023 and recently expanded with 10 new rooms, according to Patch. The company also launched a second location in Providence, Rhode Island, last week.
Operated by Night Shift Brewing Kitchen & Tap, a Boston-based brewery, the restaurants serve beer hall-style food, including pizza, wagyu burgers and fries. Drinks include craft beer and cocktails. Level99 wasn’t immediately available to confirm whether the Tysons venue will have the same operator and menu.
Following the December opening of the toy store/entertainment experience Camp, the addition of Level99 continues Tysons Corner Center’s push into the realm of interactive retail.
A market study released last summer by the Tysons Community Alliance suggested the area needs more entertainment options — such as the virtual reality gaming venue Sandbox VR, which opened on Dec. 22 in The Boro — to meet demand as its population grows.
“Level99 created an impressive, innovative way for adults to have a memorable experience at its first space in the Boston area, and we know our active, sophisticated Tysons Corner guests will enjoy exploring all that Level99 has to offer,” Eric Bunyan, Macerich’s senior vice president of leasing for the east region, said. “It’s a great complement to our existing tenant base.”
Level99 is scheduled to launch in Tysons in 2025. More immediately, Tysons Corner Center is expected to open the clothing stores Khaadi and Mango this year after adding Rothy’s just last week.
The former Sheraton Tysons Hotel is officially getting turned into permanent housing.
With no objections and minimal discussion, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a plan last Tuesday (Jan. 23) to convert the vacant hotel at 8661 Leesburg Pike in Tysons West into 544 residential units.
The units are expected to be small studios, but because the developer is repurposing an existing building instead of constructing a new one, they will provide a “naturally occurring” affordable housing option for Tysons, according to Walsh Colucci land use attorney Robert Brant, who represented JBG Tysons Hotel at the public hearing.
“All of the infrastructure and existing conditions will be preserved, resulting in a product type that is naturally more affordable than market-rate products,” Brant said.
In addition to the hotel conversion, Tysons West developer JBG Smith sought to reduce a mixed-use building planned nearby on Leesburg Pike from 400 to 265 housing units. Dubbed “Building C” in the overall Tysons West development plan, the mostly residential building will also include 5,000 square feet of retail space.
Shrinking that building’s footprint allows the developer to preserve an existing, underground parking garage on the site and created more room for open space, according to the rezoning application.
About 3.05 acres of park space will be provided, including a 1.1-acre publicly accessible urban park, an off-site acquisition for an athletic field and improvements to Old Courthouse Spring Branch Stream Valley Park. There will also be 40,000 square feet of private amenities in the courtyards of the former hotel and the new Building C.
Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn said it will be “good” to have a different type of market-rate affordable housing in the area, but the review process for the application wasn’t without challenges.
Specifically, the decision to reuse the hotel, rather than demolishing it and building something new, necessitated some negotiations over the dedication of land to allow a future Boone Blvd ramp from the Dulles Access Road, according to a staff report. The developer agreed to put aside $250,000 in escrow to cover the cost of relocating the hotel building’s loading facilities.
“It did take a little while to get everything worked out so that we know we can have a Boone Blvd connection here when we need it,” Alcorn said. “That is a big deal for this part of Tysons.”
Alcorn was also underwhelmed by the developer’s commitments for electric vehicle charging infrastructure. At least 2% of parking spaces will be provided with EV charging connections, and another 3% of spaces will be outfitted with electric service for possible future installations.
Since this project is a conversion, the supervisor admitted it would be unrealistic to expect a more extensive commitment, but he suggested the county should demand more in the future
“I think, as a board, we’re going to have to push more, particularly with new construction, to have higher levels of EV-ready commitments to meet our EV goals that we have in CECAP and otherwise,” Alcorn said.
Accepted by the board in September 2021, the Community-Wide Energy and Climate Action Plan included a recommendation that all new buildings come with EV chargers or be “EV-ready.” The plan calls for at least 15% of light-duty vehicles registered in the county to be hybrid or electric vehicles by 2030.
Fairfax County Population Continues to Fall — “The population declines that are doing the most to reshape the state are out of Fairfax County and many of the cities in Hampton Roads — and those population declines are driven by people moving out, not a declining birth rate…These figures for Fairfax County should be the brightest of red flags: Northern Virginia is the state’s economic engine.” [Cardinal News]
Bigger Mason District Police Station Approved — “The Fairfax County Planning Commission on Jan. 24 approved a project to renovate and expand the Mason Police Station. The police station shares a building with the Mason Government Center at 6507 Columbia Pike…A 4,567-square-foot addition to the police station will increase the size of the building to 34,596 square feet.” [Annandale Today]
Annandale Singer’s Tune for Son Takes Off Online — “They would goof around to that line frequently over the next few months, often while Janice drove. The words eventually became the basis for the latest — and possibly last — song from the D.C.-area alt-pop singer: At 31, Janice is in hospice with an aggressive form of cancer.” [Washington Post]
Man Arrested After Fight at Fairfax 7-Eleven — “Officers responded to the 7-Eleven located at 10955 Fairfax Blvd. for the report of a fight in progress. Police determined that during an argument between two acquaintances the suspect struck the victim in the face with a rock, causing several abrasions. The victim was taken to Fairfax Hospital to be treated for non-life threatening injuries.” [Patch]
FCPD Launches New Class of Recruits — “Last week, Deputy Chief Eli Cory welcomed 33 new recruits at the Fairfax County Criminal Justice Academy, marking the start of their 25-week basic training and the initiation of their careers in law enforcement. FCPD has implemented a comprehensive revamp of our recruitment and retention initiatives.” [FCPD]
Woman Charged for Sending Kids into Extreme Cold — “A Vienna police officer on Jan. 20 at 8:46 p.m. observed two juveniles walking alone in the shopping-center parking lot in the 200 block of Cedar Lane, S.E., while wearing light clothing in frigid temperatures.” The children said they’d been sent to the grocery store by their mother, who was charged with child abuse and neglect. [Gazette Leader]
Business Owner Sought for Herndon Diversity Committee — “The Town of Herndon is seeking an energetic, results-oriented business owner to serve an unexpired term on the Herndon Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee (HDEIC), an advisory group that advocates for priority consideration of diversity, equity and inclusion in the development of town policies and programs.” [Town of Herndon]
GMU Reaches Five Years of Food Delivery Robots — “Mason Dining and Starship Technologies, the world’s leading provider of autonomous delivery services, are celebrating five years of autonomous robot deliveries at George Mason University.” Since launching in 2019, the fleet has grown from 25 to 60 robots, making 458,846 deliveries with Steak ‘n Shake’s Original Double ‘N Fries ranking as the most popular item. [GMU]
It’s Tuesday — Expect partly sunny skies with a high near 44, accompanied by light and variable wind. On Tuesday night, there’s potential for rain and snow between 1am and 4am, followed by a possibility of rain after 4am. Night will be cloudy with a low around 36 and a 30% chance of precipitation [Weather.gov]
