Kent Gardens Elementary School should finally get some substantial capacity relief, starting next school year.
The Fairfax County School Board approved tweaks to the boundaries of five elementary schools in McLean on Monday (Dec. 4) with the goal of alleviating crowded conditions at Kent Gardens (1717 Melbourne Drive), which was at 121% of its programming capacity, as of the 2022-2023 school year.
When it takes effect with the 2024-2025 school year, the approved plan will shift 190 students to Franklin Sherman Elementary School and 38 students to Haycock Elementary School, according to Fairfax County Public Schools. To avoid creating capacity issues at Franklin Sherman, 112 of its students have been reassigned to Chesterbrook Elementary School and another 40 to Churchill Road Elementary.
One of six scenarios suggested by FCPS staff, the adopted proposal also adjusted the boundaries for Advanced Academic Placement (AAP) centers at Churchill Road and Haycock.
In total, an estimated 380 elementary school students will be affected, but no impact is expected at the middle or high school levels.
“When boundary adjustments are necessary, it is vital that our school communities join us in the process,” School Board Chair and Dranesville representative Elaine Tholen said in a statement that thanked families, students and other community members who participated in the boundary study, which has been in the works since fall 2022.
“It is through a combination of your input and staff expertise that we are able to provide a solution that best meets the needs of our students,” she added.
Before the school board’s vote, Tholen acknowledged that the changes will have a “significant” impact on Franklin Sherman, but the “realities of the geography” made the chosen scenario the best option.
“It was hard to move students from the eastern side of the attendance area to Chesterbrook, since most of those students are walkers,” she explained. “Transportation [staff] specifically requested we not move any walkers due to the shortage of bus drivers.”
While community members generally recognized the boundary adjustment as necessary at a Nov. 30 public hearing, some raised concerns about moving students out of a familiar environment where they’ve established friends and separating siblings.
One speaker observed that Stoneleigh and Hallcrest Heights, the biggest multi-family and townhouse communities currently served by Kent Gardens, are being reassigned to Franklin Sherman.
“It is imperative to consider the long-term implications of these zoning changes,” Muthu Venkitasubramaniam said. “The diversity within Kent Gardens enhances the education experience, preparing students for a global life. Maintaining these zones within the Kent Gardens boundary is not just a matter of logistics. It’s about upholding a commitment to inclusion and educational excellence.”
When asked about townhouses getting drawn out of the Kent Gardens boundaries, Tholen said FCPS considered “many issues…in the development of all of the scenarios,” including transportation, the number of students in different neighborhoods and capacity for future development.
“With socioeconomic differences between housing types being relatively minimal across McLean, housing type did not present itself as a key issue in our considerations,” she told FFXnow.
In response to community feedback, the school board adopted a phasing plan that will give rising second graders and older students the option of staying at their current school or switching to their newly assigned one. Only rising kindergarteners and first graders will be initially affected.
Several school board members noted that the approach to phasing is especially accommodating. Megan McLaughlin, who represents Braddock District, said letting rising second graders stay at their currently assigned school after a boundary adjustment is “highly unique” based on her 12 years on the board.
“I do worry about precedent,” she said. “We are a very large school division, and every time we do grandfathering in a way that just keeps going further and further down, that just comes at an operational impact.”
Mason District Representative Ricardy Anderson suggested that FCPS reevaluate its process for pursuing boundary adjustments so they’re more led by staff than school board members. She expressed dismay at the anticipated timeline for capacity relief at Glasgow Middle School in Lincolnia, which is in the midst of an initial boundary scoping study.
“I just think we have an opportunity in front of us as we get a new board so we don’t begin in the same place with people jockeying,” Anderson said to Superintendent Michelle Reid. “…We just need some neutrality or objectivity around that process.”
The Fairfax County School Board will vote next week on $847,000 in funding for security cameras at nine elementary schools.
That project is among those that could be funded as part of Fairfax County Public Schools’ midyear budget review, which Chief Financial Officer Leigh Burden presented to the board on Monday (Dec. 4).
FCPS has also proposed allocating $100,000 to cover costs associated with renaming Woodson High School after Carter G. Woodson. The change from former FCPS superintendent W.T. Woodson was approved on Nov. 9 and will take effect with the 2024-2025 school year.
“Historically, renaming costs have typically been about $300,000, but many items at Woodson just say ‘Woodson,’ so those items will not have to be replaced,” Burden said.
The board-authorized funding for security cameras would supplement money the county has received from two Virginia Department of Education grants to fund security cameras at eight elementary schools.
“Prioritization is determined by the building age, the number of existing cameras, the number of incidents at a school location as well as access to uninterrupted power,” Burden said in her presentation.
The elementary schools slated to receive funding through the mid-year budget review are Deer Park, Coates, Springfield Estates, Bull Run, Terra Centre, Greenbriar East, Freedom Hill, Bush Hill and Graham Road.
Another eight schools — Pine Spring, Great Falls, Fort Hunt, Sunrise Valley, Newington Forest, Rose Hill, Forest Edge and Glen Forest — will get cameras through the VDOE grants, which had different criteria for each application, according to an FCPS spokesperson.
When selecting the schools, FCPS considered factors such as the number of students eligible for free and reduced meals, the number of incidents at a given school, when the school was built, the availability of uninterrupted power and how many other schools in each region already had security cameras, the spokesperson told FFXnow.
Superintendent Michelle Reid told the school board in May that about half of the elementary schools in FCPS had exterior video cameras, along with all high schools. Installations at all middle schools were expected to finish this year, and she hoped to expand the program to all elementary schools in the “near future.”
Overall, FCPS has just over $6.1 million in additional funding to allocate in its mid-year budget review, most of which comes from higher-than-anticipated sales tax revenue identified after the end of fiscal year 2023, according to Burden. About $1 million comes from federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act grants, which support the school operating fund, she said.
The mid-year budget review also includes $88,000 to support restorative justice interventions and $80,000 for improvements to power sources used for Advanced Placement digital testing at select high schools. About $3.1 million would be held for fiscal year 2025, which starts on July 1, 2024.
“We generally like to try to keep the beginning balance around the same level as it is in the previous year because otherwise, if it’s less than that, then that just increases the local request to the county,” Burden said.
Braddock District Representative Megan McLaughlin asked about funding for school maintenance and repairs. She suggested Reid confer with Janice Szymanski, chief of facilities services and capital programs, and her team about addressing some “backlog maintenance issues” ahead of the board’s vote on Dec. 14.
“We just keep telling our communities, in particular our athletic boosters that work hard, tirelessly, year after year to bring money to the table, and then to get told, ‘We’re sorry we promised you that repair project, but there’s no money dedicated to it,’” McLaughlin said. “I think we’re losing faith and support and confidence from our families when we make promises and then we don’t deliver.”
Washington Post Workers Walk Out in Bid for Union Contract — “Unionized journalists and other staff at The Washington Post in D.C. and around the world are set to strike for 24 hours starting Thursday…In a letter to readers, the Guild asked subscribers to not ‘engage with any Washington Post content’ during the span of the strike.” [WTOP]
Virginia Requires Teamwork for Local Water Supply Plans — “Virginia’s State Water Control Board amended regulations last week that will require local governments in the same river basin to work together in crafting plans for water supply and use. Previously, the state allowed local governments to choose whether they wanted to submit such plans independently or work with other localities in a regional approach.” [Virginia Mercury]
Legal Action Possible Over Buildings Damaged by Fire — “The owners of the buildings destroyed by a fire on Columbia Pike in Annandale have failed to respond to the Fairfax County Department of Code Compliance, so the matter is being referred to the commonwealth’s attorney’s office. The fire, on March 12, 2023, affected four businesses.” [Annandale Today]
McLean Community Supports Working Student — The McLean High School community has rallied with donations for a student who “has been working 40 hours a week, while in school, to support his family.” Nearly evicted last week, the student’s family also recently escaped domestic violence, and his mom and brother are dealing with health issues. [NBC4]
Local Residents Compete on “Squid Game” Reality Show — “Virginia native Shelby Hoefling was one of the 456 contestants competing to win $4.56 million, the largest single cash prize in game-show history. Unfortunately, she was eliminated in Episode 3, so now she’s rooting for her fellow Virginian, Mai Whelan, a 55-year-old immigration adjudicator from Vietnam who lives in Fairfax County.” [WTOP]
Some Reston Tennis Courts to Close — “Starting Friday, December 8 at noon, the clay tennis courts at Glade and North Hills will be closed for the season. The courts will reopen in Spring 2024. The hard courts remain open year-round.” [Reston Association/Twitter]
County Library Exceeds 3 Million Digital Checkouts — “The Fairfax County library system on Nov. 29 reached a milestone of more than 3 million digital loans for the year to date. This is the first time the library system has exceeded the threshold since introducing OverDrive, the library system’s online-digital-catalog provider, in 2006, county officials said.” [Gazette Leader]
Fort Belvoir Turns Out for Christmas Tree Lighting — “Fort Belvoir kicked off the Christmas season with the installation’s annual tree-lighting and Winterfest celebration Saturday. Hundreds of families celebrated the start of the season with bounce houses, laser tag, face painting, a candy cannon shoot, train rides, a gingerbread house contest, snowball fights and more.” [Inside NoVA]
It’s Thursday — Expect a partly sunny day with highs reaching around 45 degrees, accompanied by a southwest wind at 5 to 9 mph. As for Thursday night, it will be mostly clear with lows around 33 degrees. The southwest wind will be around 5 mph, calming down in the evening. [Weather.gov]
A Falls Church man has been arrested in connection to a sexual assault at the Quarry Inn Motel (7179 Lee Highway) in September.
Erick Vladamir Chacon Martinez, 23, was taken into custody yesterday (Tuesday) after detectives obtained warrants charging him with raping a woman at the West Falls Church motel on Sept. 16, the Fairfax County Police Department announced today.
As previously reported, police say that Chacon Martinez arranged to meet the victim in a motel room at 6:40 p.m.
“When she opened the door, the suspect displayed a knife and threatened the victim,” the FCPD said. “The suspect then sexually assaulted her. The victim was able to escape the room and call 911.”
Surveillance video allegedly depicting the suspect was shared with the public, suggesting that he was a man in his 20s, police said in September.
According to the FCPD, detectives were able to identify the phone number used to arrange the meeting at the motel, leading them to Chacon Martinez.
“Additional investigation, including open-source data leads from Social Media accounts and additional camera footage, further linked Chacon Martinez as the suspect,” the police department said in its news release.
Chacon Martinez has been charged with rape, abduction with intent to defile and forcible sodomy. He is currently being held without bond at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.
The Fairfax County General District Court doesn’t list any previous cases involving Cacon Martinez.
Image via Google Maps
The best path forward for saving Lake Accotink might to let it shrink, a Fairfax County task force has proposed.
Created by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in May, the 30-person group was charged with exploring alternatives to fully dredging the sediment that has accumulated in the man-made body of water or converting it to a wetland, as recommended earlier this year by county staff.
In a final report delivered to the board yesterday (Tuesday), the Task Force on the Future of Lake Accotink suggested that 20 to 40 acres of the lake could be preserved with “a program of regular maintenance dredging,” which would allow kayaking and other water recreation to continue at the popular Springfield park.
The remainder of the lake could be turned into “some combination of a managed wetland and a grassland,” the task force proposed. Originally 110 acres in size, Lake Accotink has already been reduced to 49 acres, thanks to sediment build-up from the area’s development, the report says, citing Fairfax County Park Authority project manager and senior planner Adam Wynn.
“There is no doubt that preserving a smaller lake meets significant community and social goals,” a task force subcommittee charged with analyzing alternatives to a full dredging wrote in the report. “Even a small lake would allow the maintenance of the current marina area, a community gathering place for picnics, birthday parties, and many others who enjoy the calming effects of a lake environment. And, importantly, a small lake would still preserve the beauty that so many find in a lake for generations to come.”
Frequented by over 250,000 visitors a year, Lake Accotink Park (7500 Accotink Park Road) is one of the park authority’s top attractions. It features miles of trails, a carousel, a mini golf course, a picnic area, bicycle rentals and a recently updated playground in addition to a marina, where visitors can rent canoes, kayaks and paddle boats.
However, sediment carried into the lake by Accotink Creek needs to be periodically dredged, a process undertaken in 1985 and 2008. The Board of Supervisors approved a plan in 2019 to conduct an initial $30.5 million dredging operation, followed by annual maintenance dredges that would cost an estimated $2 million per year.
But the Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services (DPWES) and its consultant, Arcadis, reported in February that 43% more sediment would need to be removed than initially estimated, and the costs of both the initial dredgings had skyrocketed to roughly $95 million.
The first 20 years of the annual dredging program would require an additional $300 million in funding, according to the February report, which was based on data collected since 2021.
As a result, DPWES staff recommended letting the lake fill up and revisiting the park’s master plan to determine how it might be maintained in the future as a “wetland and/or floodplain forest complex” — a proposal that alarmed community members.
“It was a difficult recommendation for the community to hear, and it was met with anger, with frustration, with disappointment,” said former Board of Supervisors chair Sharon Bulova, who was appointed chair of the task force when the board voted to establish it on May 23.
Bulova was joined on the task force by former Braddock District supervisor John Cook, Del. Vivian Watts (D-39), residents, and representatives of civic associations, nonprofits and other community groups. Assisted by county staff and a new consulting team from WSP-LimnoTech, the task force held 30 meetings in all, nine as a full group and 21 in subcommittees.
In addition to evaluating options for the lake’s future, the task force made a case for its value as a natural and community resource, a step some felt was “conspiciously missing” from the DPWES analysis. The staff recommendation was evaluated by another subcommittee, which noted that the initial report didn’t include details about how the new cost estimates were determined.
According to the new report, the task force explored three options for downsizing Lake Accotink:
- A roughly 41-acre lake extending from the marina to the “big island” at the northern end of the lake. It would cost an estimated $34 million to dredge the approximately 9 million cubic feet of sediment required to maintain a depth of 8 feet.
- A 22-acre lake that would require a dredge of about 3.9 million cubic feet, costing an estimated $24 million
- A 33-acre lake with a grassland built on sediment dredged from the lake and deposited in its footprint
The grassland option would restore a habitat that was abundant in Northern Virginia prior to European settlements and farming, and it could “combine with the existing wetland and an open water feature of increased depth to create the most beneficial environment,” the report says.
The “alternatives” subcommittee notes that county staff had proposed creating an “offline” lake separate from the main Accotink Creek channel, but the group decided that was “not a viable option as it does not serve the greater purposes of the lake.” WSP-LimnoTech had said an offline lake would be susceptible to algae blooms, which regularly plague Reston’s lakes.
Bulova described working on the task force as a rewarding experience, where everyone showed up willing to collaborate.
“Never underestimate the value of community engagement,” she told the Board of Supervisors yesterday. “Even if it’s a difficult subject matter, people are willing and want to participate and want to have a seat at the table.”
Braddock District Supervisor James Walkinshaw, who represents the Lake Accotink area, stressed that the task force’s findings are not intended to be a decisive recommendation for what the county should do.
“But they’ve given us some very valuable insight into ways we can improve the process moving forward,” Walkinshaw said, calling the uncertainty about Lake Accotink’s future “one of the most challenging issues I think we’ve faced in a long time.”
The board agreed to discuss the report in more detail at its environmental committee meeting next week on Tuesday, Dec. 12.
(Updated at 2:05 p.m.) Tysons Galleria has lost another dining option.
Jiwa Singapura, which sought to blend Singaporean street food with a “high-end” setting, closed its doors on Monday, Dec. 4 after less than 10 months of operations.
The closure was first reported by Eater DC and announced on Instagram yesterday (Tuesday) by chef Pepe Moncayo, who also runs the Spanish-Japanese fusion restaurant Cranes in D.C.
“With a heavy heart, we are sad to share that Jiwa Singapura will be closing in its current location at Tysons Corner,” Moncayo said. “…But we are looking forward to bringing the Singaporean food and culture to another location in the future. We are incredibly grateful to our guests and especially our talented, wonderful team who supported us throughout this journey. Thank you all and hope to see you soon.”
A spokesperson for Brookfield Properties, which owns Tysons Galleria, said the restaurant didn’t gain the traction in the community that the mall had hoped.
“Unfortunately, the concept did not resonate with our community. This happens sometimes in our industry,” Lindsay Kahn, Brookfield Properties director of public relations for retail, said.
Jiwa Singapura opened on Feb. 15 on the mall’s third floor as part of a new wing that replaced Macy’s, which closed in January 2019.
Purportedly the first Singaporean fine-dining establishment in the D.C. area, Jiwa Singapura drew approving reviews from critics at the Washington Post and Northern Virginia Magazine. In his spring 2023 dining guide, The Post’s Tom Sietsema highlighted the restaurant’s luxurious setting and food.
The menu featured items like Hainanese chicken rice and chili crab, taking inspiration from the family recipes of Moncayo’s wife, Aishah Moncayo, a native of Singapore.
Designed by the architectural firm //3877, the 10,000-square-foot restaurant could seat 170 people in its main dining room, along with a 10-seat bar, a “semi-private” dining room and an outdoor terrace with 80 seats.
When Jiwa Singapura opened, Moncayo told FFXnow that he felt Tysons “would be the perfect place to open this new and exciting concept” because it “has an urban presence with a small community feel.”
Moncayo was also developing a Spanish restaurant called Santi at Capital One Center, but he confirmed in August that those plans had been put on hold, citing the current economic climate and rising construction material costs.
Jiwa Singapura’s departure follows the loss of Tysons Galleria’s food hall operator, Urbanspace, earlier this year. Andy’s Pizza and Empanadas De Mendoza were joined in the third-floor hall last month by Shotted, a coffee shop that has gained a strong following at nearby Tysons Corner Center.
Justice HS Student Dies From Drug Overdose — “Officials notified the community of the fatal overdose involving a Justice High School student on Tuesday afternoon…FCPS Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid provided resources for parents and families on substance abuse,” stating that “we all play a role in reducing the stigma associated with substance use disorders, while also focusing on substance misuse.” [WJLA]
Vienna Town Council Opposes Idea of Casino — “Faced with rumblings that some state legislators again might try to authorize a gambling casino in Fairfax County, Vienna Town Council members on Dec. 4 formally signaled their opposition to that prospect…Council member Nisha Patel…successfully moved to have the casino-opposition statement placed within the 19-item legislative agenda’s Top 5 priorities.” [Gazette Leader]
South Lakes Student Among Area Basketball Players to Watch — “[Jordan] Scott is widely viewed as the best Northern Virginia public school prospect in at least the past decade, and schools are falling over themselves trying to recruit the 6-7 junior. Behind Scott’s three-level scoring and intrepid defense, the Seahawks will eye an accomplishment even Grant Hill couldn’t muster — the first state championship in program history.” [Washington Post]
Nonprofit Housing Provider Opens New HQ in Lorton — “Good Shepherd Housing (GSH), a nonprofit focused on reducing homelessness, held a ribbon cutting and reception at its new Lorton-based headquarters Dec. 5.” It’s the first time that the nonprofit has moved from its previous base on Richmond Highway “in over 20 years,” interim executive director Candice Bennett said. [On the MoVe]
Reston Robotics Team Wins National Competition — “Daeadelus, the robotics team from Reston’s Ideaventions Academy, won First Place Overall in the Bell Advanced Vertical Robotics competition in Dallas, Texas on Saturday.” The team will now be one of seven participants in an exhibition match at the global XPONENTIAL 2024 conference and exhibition in San Diego. [Patch]
County Animal Shelter to Waive Adoption Fees — “Fairfax County Animal Shelter wants all shelter pets to find loving homes for the holidays, so it’s partnering with BISSELL Pet Foundation for the ‘Empty the Shelters – Holiday Hope’ adoption event. Thanks to the foundation’s generous support, the shelter will offer fee-waived adoptions for cats and dogs from Friday through Sunday, Dec. 8 through 10.” [Fairfax County Animal Shelter]
Tysons Corner Center Owner Obtains New Loan on Mall — “Tysons Corner Center owner The Macerich Co. (NYSE: MAC) has closed a massive refinancing of the region’s largest, most valuable shopping center just weeks before a prior loan was scheduled to mature…The new CMBS loan has fixed 6.6% interest-only payments throughout the loan term, the company said, and matures on Dec. 6, 2028.” [Washington Business Journal]
Bailey’s Crossroads Choir Seeks New Members — “Like many choral groups in the area, NoVA Lights Chorale suffered during the Covid pandemic and is now seeking new members to rebuild to pre-pandemic levels. NoVA Lights Chorale is an amateur chorus that accepts anyone who wants to sing. There are no auditions and no charge to join.” [Annandale Today]
It’s Wednesday — There’s a 40% chance of precipitation, with scattered rain and snow showers in the morning, transitioning to rain showers between 11am and 4pm. Expect mostly cloudy skies and a high near 44. At night, enjoy mostly clear conditions with a low around 29. [Weather.gov]
Santa Claus has already taken up temporary residence at Tysons Corner Center, but that won’t stop him from dropping by a couple of other spots around Tysons this week.
Coming up first, a particularly debonair St. Nick will host an evening of cocktails, cinema and charity on Friday (Dec. 8) at CMX Cinebistro in Tysons Galleria (2001 International Drive).
The character of Fashion Santa was created in 2014 by runway model Paul Mason, whose career has included work with designers like Gianni Versace, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana and Armani — brands that can all be found at Tysons Galleria, either through their own stores or department stores like Neiman Marcus.
Mason says the character emerged during a somber period in his life when he stopped shaving out of grief over his mother’s death. Realizing that his beard made him resemble Santa, he decided to use the look for a good cause.
“The Fashion Santa character has had a really positive reception,” he told FFXnow by email. “It’s just a lighthearted new approach to jolly old Saint Nick. Fashion Santa brings awareness to different charitable initiatives and causes instead of making toys. It’s a new take on holiday giving.”
Fashion Santa previously visited the mall last year for a holiday reception that included a sneak peek of the restaurant Jiwa Singapura, which opened this past February. Attendees were encouraged to donate to the Capital Area Food Bank.
This year’s event will consist of a meet-and-greet at CMX Cinebistro’s bar from 7-9 p.m. and a “special” 7:45 p.m. screening of the Disney movie “Wish.”
Meet-and-greet attendees will get a complimentary photo with Fashion Santa and sip “festive” cocktails, according to the event page. Admission is free, but reservations are required, and the mall is encouraging $10 donations to the Make-A-Wish Foundation’s Mid-Atlantic chapter, the event’s charity partner.
Access to the “Wish” screening comes with a $25 donation, which also includes a Santa photo and a “goody bag.” Last month, Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic, a nonprofit that supports kids with critical illnesses, organized a preview of the animated film for local families at AMC Theatres in Tysons Corner Center.
Tysons Galleria Senior General Manager Rich Dinning says the mall is “always honored” to work with Fashion Santa “in support of important causes.”
“This year, Fashion Santa’s appearance at CMX CineBistro…promises to be a festive evening,” Dinning said in a statement. “Tysons Galleria has had an ongoing partnership with Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic and we are thrilled to close out the year with this fundraiser.”
Santa’s Workshop Holiday Extravaganza at The Boro
Santa is also scheduled to appear at The Boro (8350 Broad Street) this Saturday, Dec. 9 for photos, crafts, music and other free festivities.
“At Santa’s Workshop at The Boro, guests of all ages will be invited to enjoy a fun filled morning of holiday kids crafts, a DJ dance party, specialty hot chocolate bar with lots of fun fixings from Bluestone Lane, a holiday themed bounce house, and calligrapher on site to customize ornaments,” the event page says.
Santa will be available in his workshop at Boro Park from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The overall event will start at 11 a.m. and end at 2 p.m.
If the event gets rained or snowed out, it will be rescheduled for Dec. 16.
“If there is no need for an alternative date, there will be a Santa Pop-Up on December 16 in Boro Park as another chance for guests to come see Santa,” The Boro said.
Santa is also continuing to take photos at Tysons Corner Center through Christmas Eve on Dec. 24.
(Updated at 4:40 p.m.) After almost four years of dreaming, planning and building, the team behind Ometeo is ready to introduce its spin on Tex-Mex cuisine to Tysons.
The new restaurant will open to the public for the first time at 1640 Capital One Drive tomorrow (Wednesday), Long Shot Hospitality Partner Jeremy Carman confirmed to FFXnow.
Ometeo recently announced through Eater DC that it would open this week but hadn’t landed on an exact date yet. At least initially, it will be open at 4-10 p.m. on Sunday through Thursday and 4-11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, according to a public relations representative.
Ometeo will be the first ground-level dining option to arrive at Capital One Center since the pub City Works closed in 2020. Capital One’s headquarters campus is also home to the Japanese restaurant Wren in The Watermark Hotel and Starr Hill Biergarten, which will expand with a new, street-level brewpub next year.
(Correction: This story previously said Starr Hill is relocating to the new space. The existing biergarten in The Perch will still operate after the brewpub opens.)
“With the corporate density of Tysons and how much activity and…opportunity there is there, combined with the fact that there are a lot of residents in McLean and Great Falls that can access that campus pretty easily without even kind of venturing all the way into Tysons, we thought the location was really strong,” Carman said.
Carman says the partners at Long Shot Hospitality, the D.C.-based restaurant group behind The Salt Line and Dauphine’s, wanted to create a Tex-Mex concept that combines the comforts of a chain restaurant with a more “elevated” and “chef-driven” approach.
“We thought that it might be something that the area needed, and it was definitely something that we were passionate and excited about exploring,” Carman said. “So, that was several years ago, almost three or four years ago when we started talking about that…I think that we’re all really glad that we set out to execute it, and we’re pretty excited with how it turned out.”
For the chef who could propel their vision into a reality, the partners turned to El Paso, Texas, native Gabe Erales, who became the first Mexican American winner of the cooking competition TV show “Top Chef” in 2021.
In addition to already being acquainted with Erales on a social basis, the team felt he could bring “a lot of authenticity and a lot of knowledge to the concept” as someone who has built his career on exploring regional Mexican cuisine, Carman says.
Erales’s “Top Chef” victory was overshadowed by an Austin American-Statesman story that alleged he’d been fired from an Austin restaurant for “repeated violations of the company’s ethics policy as it relates to harassment of women,” including cutting a female employee’s hours after they’d ended a sexual relationship.
In that story and a subsequent public apology, Erales said he had a “consensual” relationship with an employee who was affected by “poor decisions” he made as a manager, but he denies that his actions reached the level of sexual harassment, as labeled by news reports.
“I’ve grown from it,” Erales told FFXnow. “I’ve taken a lot of steps in the last few years to just become a better leader, a better business owner and a better chef ever since.” Read More
A flurry of snow days will be on the table for Fairfax County Public Schools this winter, though it remains to be seen how much the weather will oblige.
FCPS has built 11 snow days into its 2023-2024 calendar, and it will fully close on all of them if needed, ending a recent practice of shifting to virtual learning after five snow days.
“This adjustment aims to maximize in-person learning and to ensure equitable access to instruction and student services for all students,” FCPS said yesterday (Monday) in a press release.
Like other school districts across the country, FCPS experimented with remote and hybrid learning during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the initial rollout was hampered by technology issues, and many students and staff reported experiencing mental health struggles.
Though in-person classes fully resumed in August 2021, FCPS is still grappling with the fallout of the pandemic’s disruptions, from learning losses and a spike in chronic absenteeism to a federal mandate to compensate special education students denied the services they needed during virtual learning.
FCPS revised its snow-day policy starting in the 2021-2022 school year so that virtual learning would kick in after five days of cancellations due to inclement weather. All five days got used up that year, but the D.C. area saw almost no snow last winter, rendering the policy unnecessary.
This winter is expected to be a different story. The Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang is predicting that the region will get the most snow in five years, a forecast echoed by local TV weather teams.
Still, a break from school shouldn’t mean a break from learning, according to FCPS.
Superintendent Michelle Reid is soliciting suggestions for ways to keep students engaged during snow days and over winter break at [email protected]. FCPS says any submitted ideas will be shared on its website as “a valuable resource for students and families.”
More from FCPS:
On snow days, students will still have access to educational resources. They can utilize Tutor.com, complete supplemental learning opportunities recommended by their teachers, and tune in to educational programming available virtually and on public access television channels:
- Elementary school instruction: Red Apple 21
- Middle school instruction: Channel 25
- High school instruction: Channel 99
Dr. Reid expressed enthusiasm for continued learning opportunities outside traditional classroom settings during snow days. Whether exploring the physics of sledding down a hill or experimenting with ratios to create the perfect mug of hot chocolate with whipped cream, students are encouraged to embrace the diverse learning spaces that abound during inclement weather.
