ArtsFairfax has awarded grant funding to 40 nonprofit organizations in Fairfax County, the arts agency recently announced.

This year, ArtsFairfax received requests for over $937,000 in funding and allocated a total of $441,900.

The Operating Support Grant program is designed to assist local, nonprofit arts organizations with funding to support their basic operational needs.

In recognition of the challenges that the arts community has faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, ArtsFairfax says it increased the minimum grant amount to $1,000 and waived a requirement that recipients match the funds they receive.

ArtsFairfax President and CEO Linda S. Sullivan says the program was also modified to place more emphasis on equity and how organizations are considering issues of diversity, access, and inclusion in their operations, programs, and services.

“The past year has created an unprecedented hardship for arts organizations and artists,” Sullivan said. “The Operating Support Grant provides arts organizations with critically needed funding for basic operations — funding that helps keeps the doors open — as they develop artistic programming for audiences return.”

The Tysons, Vienna, McLean, and Falls Church organizations that received grants are:

• 1st Stage
• BalletNova Center for Dance
• Creative Cauldron
• McLean Project for the Arts (MPA)
• New Dominion Chorale
• Providence Players of Fairfax
• The Choralis Foundation
• The McLean Symphony
• The Vienna Jammers Percussion Ensemble, Inc.
• Traveling Players Ensemble, Inc.
• Vienna Arts Society
• Vienna Choral Society
• Vienna-Falls Chorus of Sweet Adelines
• Vienna Community Band

“Fairfax County residents benefit from a dynamic and diverse arts sector,” Sullivan said. “To sustain and grow our cultural capital over the long-term requires a consistent source of public and private funds. ArtsFairfax’s Operating Support Grants are a direct investment in our community ensuring that the arts remain centerpieces and economic engines in our community.”

Photo via Traveling Players Ensemble/Facebook

Updated at 12:30 p.m. on 8/25/2021 — The Virginia Department of Transportation announced today that the traffic shift on eastbound Route 7 between Lewinsville Road and Jarrett Valley Drive has been rescheduled for Sept. 1.

Earlier: The Wolf Trap area of eastbound Route 7 will look a little different to drivers starting tomorrow (Wednesday), the Virginia Department of Transportation says.

With work continuing on the project to widen Leesburg Pike between Tysons and Reston, traffic between Lewinsville Road and Jarrett Valley Drive north of the Dulles Toll Road will shift a lane to the south, away from the median.

While all residences, businesses, and public facilities will remain accessible, the lane shift will come with some traffic changes on the side streets off of Route 7, according to the VDOT news release:

• The service road between Laurel Hill Road and McLean Bible Church (east exit) will be temporarily closed until late 2021.
• Laurel Hill Road will reopen to traffic at eastbound Route 7.
• Drivers on westbound Route 7 to Laurel Hill Road and Glenridge Court will U-turn at the Lewinsville Road traffic signal and use eastbound Route 7 to Laurel Hill Road.
• Drivers on Laurel Hill Road and Glenridge Court to westbound Route 7 will follow eastbound Route 7 to Tyco Road, then U-turn to westbound Route 7. This traffic pattern will be in effect until late 2021.

“Please use caution and be alert to work zone signs, potential flagger or police direction, and watch for traffic shifts,” VDOT said. “Slow-moving vehicles and equipment may be entering or exiting the road.”

Construction on the Route 7 widening project has been ongoing for more than two years now, as crews work to expand almost seven miles of roadway from four to six lanes. The project is also adding a shared-use path in each direction and making some intersection improvements.

While the project isn’t expected to be finished until July 2024, some progress has been made in the corridor in recent months, including the completion of noise barrier panel installations between Utterback Store Road and Great Passage Boulevard in Great Falls.

According to the August construction update from VDOT, work in the Vienna area from Jarrett Valley to Faulkner Drive has primarily involved storm sewer installations and the relocation of water main distribution facilities between Lewinsville and Towlston Road.

In July, workers also “began grading and placement of cement-treated aggregate, curb stone, and asphalt along westbound Route 7 between Beulah Road/Springvale Road and Towlston Road.”

D.H. Scarborough, a supporter of Vienna businesses and community leader, was the first person to show up to events and last one to leave.

That’s how friends remember the 85-year-old accountant who co-founded the Vienna Business Association and became known for helping organize the town’s annual Halloween parade.

Scarborough, whose full name is Donna Helen Macdonald-Scarborough, died of pancreatic cancer on Aug. 15 at her Manassas home.

“She was very, very well-rounded in wanting to do everything for everybody,” said Kathy Georgen, who co-founded the Vienna-based accounting firm Georgen Scarborough Associates with Scarborough in 2008.

Scarborough would always put the customer first, just like when she was raising her four sons on her own, Georgen says, even if that meant driving to older people’s homes or other places to serve her clients’ needs.

In addition to serving as the first VBA board chair and president of the Town Halloween Parade Committee, Scarborough was involved in the Town of Vienna Historical Association, the chamber of commerce, and various town commissions, among other contributions “to her beloved town,” her obituary says.

She had also been named Lady Fairfax and won awards for business owner and business person of the year.

In her community roles, Scarborough loved serving kids and often helped behind the scenes.

For the Halloween parade, though, she accepted the honor of grand marshal — a title usually bestowed on one person each year — and “had the pleasure of riding down Maple Avenue in the parade with her granddaughters,” according to the Vienna Business Association, which announced her death in an Aug. 19 tribute.

“For some reason, she and the Halloween parade clicked. D.H. was always synonymous with the Vienna Halloween Parade,” Georgen said.

Scarborough served in several iterations of Vienna’s business group, preached the importance of face-to-face connections, and kept a smile on her face.

Vienna Business Association Executive Director Peggy James recalls Scarborough as a nurturing mentor and friend who made pulling off events that sometimes went as long as 15 hours more manageable.

“She understood that…the most important thing you can do is show up for others,” James said, noting that Scarborough was a regular at ribbon-cutting and grand opening events.

Scarborough also collected money for the Town of Vienna’s annual Oktoberfest, and when teased that she needed protection or security, she would adamantly reassure others, “I don’t need a security guard.”

“She loved being around people and being part of the team who had brought joy to all those attending,” friend Mike Davis wrote. “D.H. was a wonderful, caring person and she will be missed in Vienna for a very long time to come.”

She retired in 2018 and was later diagnosed with cancer, but Georgen notes her former business partner was still able to return to her accounting practice when needed, and the firm will continue to bear her name.

A memorial service for Scarborough will be held at 1 p.m. on Friday (Aug. 27) at the Vienna Presbyterian Church, according to her obituary. It will be followed by a Celebration of Life at the American Legion post in Vienna.

Starr Hill Biergarten Opens — Starr Hill Brewery opened its new Tysons beer garden at 11 a.m. on Saturday (Aug. 21) with live music, craft beer, and more. The 5,000 square-foot venue is part of Capital One Center’s The Perch skypark, which will celebrate its grand opening with a three-day music festival in mid-September. [Starr Hill/Instagram]

See FCPS Photos from First Day of School — “Today was a great day to be in Fairfax County Public Schools! Almost 180,000 students returned to our buildings this morning, excited and ready to learn. Enjoy some highlights from #FirstDayFairfax and #FCPSReturningStrong on social media, or visit our website for more photos.” [FCPS]

Construction Firm Adds Vienna Office — Skanska USA has signed a five-year lease for a 3,129 square-foot office at 8521 Leesburg Pike in Vienna to expand its civil practice in the mid-Atlantic region. Executive Vice President Michael Viggiano says “the rapidly changing Tysons region has been an area of investment” for the construction company “for many years,” pointing to its involvement in projects like The Heming at Scotts Run and The Boro. [Commercial Observer]

Visit Fairfax Leader Details Pandemic’s Impact on Hospitality — “The COVID-19 pandemic still is wreaking havoc upon the region’s hospitality industry and full recovery may be a good distance off, the president and CEO of Visit Fairfax told Greater McLean Chamber of Commerce members Aug. 19…Biggar predicted it would be at least mid-2022 — and perhaps sometime in 2023 — before business travel recovered.” [Sun Gazette]

Falls Church Community Center Closed — “FYI: the Community Center is closed this week (Aug. 23 – Aug. 29) for their annual deep clean. It’s good timing, since the building has an eau de sweaty camper essence right now.” [City of Falls Church/Twitter]

Fairfax County Public Schools will soon add another 10 electric school buses to its fleet, thanks to a new $2.65 million state grant.

19 school districts, including FCPS, will collectively receive more than $10 million in the latest round of allocations from Virginia’s Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust — enough to replace 83 diesel school buses with electric and propane-fueled vehicles, Gov. Ralph Northam announced last Wednesday (Aug. 19).

“Virginia’s investments in electrifying the school bus fleets is an important and critical part of our comprehensive approach to reducing pollution,” Virginia Department of Environmental Quality Director David Paylor said in the news release. “Collectively, the replacement of these school buses is calculated to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 10,000 tons per year, and will save one million gallons of diesel fuel, equivalent to removing 2,000 cars from the road.”

Administered by Department of Environmental Quality, the Volkswagen trust comes from Virginia’s $93.6 million share of the $2.7 billion settlement that the automobile manufacturer agreed to in 2016 after violating the Clean Air Act by cheating vehicle emissions tests.

Virginia announced the first round of funding from the trust on May 7, awarding over $9.4 million to help local governments purchase electric vehicles for their fleets. Fairfax County got more than $4 million for shuttle buses, waste and recycling trucks, and a truck for its public library system.

FCPS currently has eight electric buses that were placed in service this past May. The first bus arrived in January as part of a pilot program developed by Dominion Energy, which rolled out 50 buses across the state with plans to replace all diesel school buses with electric ones by 2030.

However, the future of Fairfax County’s transition to electric school buses has become a little hazier after the Virginia House of Delegates rejected an expansion of Dominion’s program that would’ve added 1,000 more electric school buses, a sign of legislators’ growing wariness of the utility company’s influence.

During its spring special session, the General Assembly voted to create an Electric Vehicle Grant Fund to help with the costs of adding electric school buses. Northam signed the bill into law, but the program has no funding yet.

Dominion confirmed that the newly awarded DEQ grants are unrelated to its program, which covered the difference in cost of an electric bus versus a diesel one as well as the cost and installation of charging stations.

“Children deserve clean transportation to school and we’re excited to see Virginia moving that way,” Dominion spokesperson Peggy Fox said. “The goal with our innovative program was to accelerate the adoption of electric school buses, so we’re thrilled to see more of these clean-running buses with zero emissions rolling out across Virginia.”

The utility says it is still offering to install charging stations for school districts for free in exchange for the ability to return stored energy back into the electric grid when the buses are idle and the chance to buy the bus batteries after the vehicles pass their life span.

“We will be involved if schools systems chose so,” Fox said in an email.

FCPS says its transportation department “continues to evaluate” its existing electric buses and work with vendor Thomas Built Buses to make adjustments.

While shifting to electric buses is expected to reduce operational and maintenance costs in the long run, the district’s transition is currently limited by the availability of funding and charging infrastructure, which affects where the buses can be assigned.

“As more funding opportunities become available, as the technology is refined for school division needs, and as charging infrastructure becomes readily available, FCPS plans to transition its fleet of 1,625 buses to electric,” FCPS spokesperson Julie Moult said by email.

The 10 new buses funded by the DEQ grant are scheduled to arrive in March 2022.

“Operation and maintenance of the electric buses are being monitored and evaluated for efficiency of operation and cost savings,” Moult said.

The U.S. has its first officially approved COVID-19 vaccine.

The Food and Drug Administration announced this morning (Monday) that it has approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for individuals 16 and older based on updated data from clinical trials that showed the vaccine is 91% effective at preventing the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

That is lower than the 95% effectiveness rate reported on Dec. 11, when the Pfizer vaccine became the first innoculation authorized for emergency use in the country, but the FDA says the vaccine meets its standards for safety, quality, and effectiveness, including against hospitalization or death due to a COVID-19 infection.

“While millions of people have already safely received COVID-19 vaccines, we recognize that for some, the FDA approval of a vaccine may now instill additional confidence to get vaccinated,” Acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock said in a statement. “Today’s milestone puts us one step closer to altering the course of this pandemic in the U.S.”

The Pfizer vaccine also remains authorized for use by adolescents between 12 and 15 years of age. Moderna started the process to get full approval of its vaccine, which is currently authorized for adults 18 and older, on June 1, and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is still available for adults after a brief pause this spring.

The full approval allows Pfizer to advertise its vaccine and continue selling it after the federal public health emergency for the pandemic ends, but local and state officials hope it will also convince more people to get vaccinated, as COVID-19 cases continue to climb due to the highly infectious Delta variant.

“Today’s news is yet another reaffirmation that vaccines are safe and effective,” Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said in a statement. “Though all three COVID vaccines are approved for emergency use, the FDA’s official approval of Pfizer’s vaccine is good news for our community. We have been distributing Pfizer since day one and have plenty on hand for those who would like one. Anyone who is not vaccinated, or who was waiting for this FDA action, should go get vaccinated to protect themselves and their loved ones against COVID-19.”

Today's formal approval of the @pfizer vaccine is another important step in the fight against #COVID19. Today is a great day to get vaccinated to protect yourself and others. https://t.co/p8vdPPBCO3

— Governor Ralph Northam (@VAGovernor73) August 23, 2021

Good news! A step forward in getting more people vaccinated. #HunterMill #EndThePandemic https://t.co/xqouWMmdcV

— Supervisor Walter Alcorn (@WalterAlcornFFX) August 23, 2021

According to Virginia Department of Health data, Fairfax County reported 206 new COVID-19 cases on Friday (Aug. 20), the first time its single-day caseload surpassed 200 since April 13. With another 336 cases coming in over the weekend and 124 cases added today, including from the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church, the Fairfax Health District has seen a total of 82,600 cases since the start of the pandemic.

4,227 people in the district have been hospitalized, and 1,156 people have died from the virus.

The county is now averaging 178.9 cases per day over the past seven days, a tick down from 182.9 cases yesterday (Sunday), which was the highest weekly average since April 14.

With more than 80 cases per 100,000 people reported in the last week and a testing positivity rate of 4.4% as of the week ending on Aug. 14, the county’s community transmission level remains substantial. Read More

The Weekly Planner is a roundup of interesting events coming up over the next week in the Tysons area.

We’ve searched the web for events of note in Tysons, Vienna, Merrifield, McLean, and Falls Church. Know of any we’ve missed? Tell us!

Tuesday (Aug. 24)

• Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue and Michael Franti & Spearhead at Wolf Trap — 7 p.m. at Filene Center (1551 Trap Road) — A funky jazz vibe is coming to Wolf Trap with Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, while rapper/musician Michael Franti & Spearhead bring the high energy. Tickets start at $42, and the gates open at 5:30 p.m.

Wednesday (Aug. 25)

• Tysons Summer Soiree — 6-8:30 p.m. at Tysons Plaza (1420 Spring Hill Road) — The Tysons Regional Chamber of Commerce invites both members and non-members to its annual summer soiree, which celebrates local businesses and nonprofits making a difference in the community. There will be food, drinks, entertainment, an auction, and an AirStream tasting bar from Lost Whiskey. Tickets cost $40 for chamber members and $55 for non-members.

Thursday (Aug. 26)

• The Princess Bride in Concert at Wolf Trap — 8 p.m. at Filene Center (1551 Trap Road) — The Academy Award-nominated movie “The Princess Bride” will screen at Wolf Trap with the National Symphony Orchestra playing the score. Wolf Trap says “missing this cinematic concert experience would be inconceivable!” Tickets start at $42, and gates will open at 6:30 p.m.
• Summer Live Music Series: Rock Creek Revival — 5:30-8 p.m. on the Upper Promenade near Boro Park (8350 Broad St.) — This week’s live music performance at The Boro features the band Rock Creek Revival. RSVP for more information.
• Films in the Park: Step Up — 7:30-9:30 p.m. at Strawberry Park (2910 District Ave.) — The Mosaic District’s movie series continues with “Step Up.” The film is rated PG-13 and will run for one hour and 44 minutes. Grab your picnic blanket and join your neighbors at Strawberry Park for a movie night!
• Crafty Happy Hour — 5 – 6 p.m. at The Plaza at Tysons Corner Center — AR Workshop Alexandria and Barrel & Bushel are teaming up to host a happy hour and craft activity. AR Workshop will be there showing guests how to paint eco-friendly reusable tote bags or coaster sets. The crafts are complimentary for the first 50 guests to register, so sign up early to get your free craft!

Friday (Aug 27)

• Star Wars: A New Hope in Concert at Wolf Trap — 8 p.m. at Filene Center (1551 Trap Road) — Episode four of the Star Wars Series, A New Hope, is ready for the Wolf Trap audience with the National Symphony Orchestra playing the score to the movie. Tickets start at $40 and gates open at 6:30 p.m.
• Charmed Life — 8-9 p.m. at Boro Park (8350 Broad Street) — This autobiographical story written and performed by Lori Brown Mirabal is the next show in 1st Stage Theater’s Logan Festival of Solo Performance. It pays homage to famous opera singers, specifically Black women. Buy tickets online ahead of time to guarantee your seat.

Saturday (Aug 28)

• Brandi Carlile at Wolf Trap — 8 p.m. at Filene Center (1551 Trap Road) — Six-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile comes to Wolf Trap. Carlile will perform with Amythyst Kiah, who fuses folk, blues and rock music in her latest album “Wary + Strange.” Tickets start at $47, and gates open at 6:30 p.m.
• Over the Edge — 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at The Hyatt Regency (7901 Tysons One Place) — The Hyatt Regency teams up with the company Over the Edge to host an urban rappelling fundraiser that will benefit Helping Haitian Angels, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting orphaned and abandoned children in Haiti. Nearly 50 participants have already signed up to rappel down 14 stories of the hotel. No prior experience is required to register.
• VietFest— 10 a.m.-10 p.m. in Bloomingdale’s Parking Lot (1961 Chain Bridge Road) — Enjoy Vietnamese culture, music, food, and activities at the annual VietFest. There is food, fun, and entertainment for all on Saturday and Sunday (11 a.m.-8 p.m.) Check the website for more details on the event.

Photo via Steve Klamkin/Facebook

(Updated at 9:30 a.m. on 8/24/2021) The Perch is ready for its close-up.

Capital One Center will formally introduce its 2.5-acre urban park in the sky with a three-day family friendly music festival next month that will serve as a grand opening event.

Perchfest, which will run from Sept. 17-19, will feature local bands, activities, games, a sneak peek at The Watermark Hotel, and a new beer release from Starr Hill Biergarten, which officially opened to the public on Saturday (Aug. 21).

The free event is limited to guests, who must register online to reserve a ticket. Located at 1803 Capital One Drive in Tysons, the event runs from 4-10 p.m. on Sept. 17 (Friday), noon to 11 p.m. on Sept. 18 (Saturday), and 12-5 p.m. on Sept. 19 (Sunday).

The festival will benefit Northern Virginia and D.C. chapters of Best Buddies, an international nonprofit that works to improve the lives of people with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Organizers are encouraging people to donate directly to the organization through its website.

“Capital One Center is excited to present Perchfest, the first of many diverse and dynamic events planned for ‘The Perch,’ a rooftop experience like no other,” Capital One Center managing director Jonathan Griffith said in a news release.

Construction work is continuing for the mixed-use development by the Capital Beltway in Tysons, but The Perch is complete. It sits atop Capital One Hall and features a Sky Bark dog park, an 18-hole mini golf course, a sculpture garden, an amphitheater, and more.

“To mark the occasion and celebrate the grand opening of the newest community gathering place, Starr Hill Biergarten will release a bespoke beer, Perchfest Session IPA,” a news release said. “The distinctly versatile brew features a refreshing citrus hop combined with grapefruit zest.”

The biergarten is currently open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Monday through Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Thursday, 11 a.m. to midnight on Friday, 10 a.m. to midnight on Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday.

Kids-centric offerings will include face painting, superheroes, and games. My Gym Vienna/Tysons will also facilitate a children’s music and movement program throughout Sept. 18 (Saturday) on the half-hour from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.

The boutique nail salon and spa Nothing in Between, the newest business to open at Capital One Center, will offer complimentary chair massages for guests from 4-7 p.m. on Sept. 17.

When fully built out, Capital One Center will encompass 6 million square feet of development. The Watermark is scheduled to open on Sept. 21, followed by Capital One Hall — a new performing arts venue — on Oct. 2.

NOVA Welcomes Afghan Refugees with Beds and Donations — Several hundred refugees and Special Immigrant Visa recipients arrived at Northern Virginia Community College’s Annandale campus on Saturday (Aug. 21) after being evacuated from Afghanistan in the wake of the Taliban’s takeover. The Fairfax County Office of Emergency Management set up more than 500 cots, while volunteers provided food, water, and donated clothes and other supplies. [The Washington Post]

Person of Interest ID’d in Burke Double Homicide — “Police in Fairfax County, Virginia, have identified a person of interest who they say lived at the Burke home where two female victims were found dead on Friday. It is being treated as a double homicide by detectives. Authorities said in a news release that Bradley Lister, 33, is currently unaccounted for.” [WTOP]

Lewinsville Adult Day Health Care Reopens Today — “Adult Day Health Care teams are reviewing health and safety protocols as our centers plan their reopening (on Monday in Lewinsville, and Sept. 7 for other locations). We are looking forward to welcoming back our participants to our program!” [Fairfax County Health Department/Twitter]

Inova Hosts Back-to-School Health Clinic — “Visited the @InovaHealth back to school clinic in Falls Church this am- they were expecting 350 but had over 1000 patients show up for physicals & school immunizations & to enroll in expanded Medicaid – spent most of my time handing out water and snacks to kids in line” [Del. Marcus Simon/Twitter]

(Updated at 4:05 p.m.) A Fairfax County Circuit Court judge dismissed a case today (Friday) that sought to recall Dranesville District School Board Representative Elaine Tholen.

Tholen’s legal team had argued against letting the case continue in court, which came after a parents’ group called Open FCPS Coalition collected and submitted over 5,000 signatures to protest school closures during the pandemic.

“Citizens who disagree with elected officials’ policy choices should vote for someone else in the next election, not ask courts to yank them from office,” Tholen’s legal team previously argued in seeking to dismiss the case.

The group, which has received funding in part from a former Republican gubernatorial candidate and a nonprofit committed to with center-right policy advocacy, voiced opposition to how the school board handled the closures. A petition submitted to court argued that keeping schools closed hurt children with disabilities the most.

The legal team for Tholen, who represents Dranesville District, argued in part that the lawsuit contained “no allegations that comes close to showing that Tholen acted with ‘wilful,’ ‘evil’ or ‘corrupt’ intent.”

“We are very pleased that the Court dismissed this case and saw it for what it was – an attempt by a small number of people to substitute their judgment for that of the full elected School Board,” a Fairfax County School Board spokesperson said in a statement. “We look forward to a full, five-day schedule of in-person classes starting next week.”

Democrats weighed in on the matter Friday.

“Republican operatives are leading these so-called ‘bi-partisan’ groups seeking to overturn the democratic election of our officials,” Fairfax County Democratic Committee Chair Bryan Graham said in a statement Friday afternoon. “The pandemic has caused a difficult situation for all of us, and our school board has done a tremendous job balancing the need to keep our community safe while serving the education needs of our students” and more.

Statement from FCDC Chair @BryanGrahamVA on the Failed Attempt to Overturn the 2019 Election of Elaine Tholen

⬇️READ NOW⬇️ pic.twitter.com/JceVbl6Eq5

— Fairfax Democrats (@FairfaxDems) August 20, 2021

Del. Marcus Simon, a Democrat whose office covers part of Tysons, called the dismissal a signal that recall efforts are a waste of time and resources. He said on Twitter that the “statute is being misused to frivolously harass elected officials by a small minority” of constituents.

Open FCPS Coalition had also been collecting signatures to recall two other school board members, Member-at-Large Abrar Omeish and Springfield District Representative Laura Jane Cohen. The group previously said those members were chosen because those representatives gathered the least amount of votes, which lowered the amount of signatures needed to file recall efforts.

When it submitted the petition for Tholen on July 19, Open FCPS Coalition said only one school board member, Megan McLaughlin, advocated for reopening in a way that it felt was consistent and a priority.

The petition required that a special prosecutor to handle the case. Commonwealth’s Attorney James Hingeley of Albemarle County was appointed to that role on Aug. 10.

“[Hingeley] concluded that he could not prosecute the recall petition because it did not have a sufficient basis to move forward,” the school district said in a statement. “So, he moved to dismiss the petition and the judge granted the motion to dismiss.”

In a statement, Open FCPS derided Hingeley’s decision to request a dismissal as evidence of politics being put ahead of children’s well-being.

“It is a shame that the voices of thousands of parents have been silenced by a Commonwealth’s Attorney, who just like the School Board, is more interested in politics than the wellbeing of our kids,” Open FCPS Coalition founder Dee O’Neal said. “Hingeley chose special interests over parents and children who deserved representation.”

In a statement, Tholen called the legal case “an ordeal” but said she was glad she could now focus her attention on the students who will return for five days a week of in-person learning on Monday (Aug. 23).

“I am excited to say, we have over 180,000 students starting school next week. Those students need our full attention to keep them safe and to give them the best education possible,” she said. “They are still suffering in a pandemic, just like the rest of us. Please, let us put these divisive events behind us and work together to give our students the positive, undivided attention they deserve.”

Fairfax County Public Schools has implemented a universal masking rule and announced earlier today that staff will be required to be vaccinated by late October.