Recent arrest data released by the Fairfax County Police Department shows more evidence of disproportionate policing in the county.
The data indicate that Black individuals made up roughly 39 percent of all arrests last year. Black residents account for 9.7 percent of the total population.
FCPD officers arrested 34,330 people in 2019, 57 percent of which were white. White residents make up roughly 61 percent of the total population.
But more information recently provided on the residence of offenders sheds additional light on racial disparities.
Most arrests of Black individuals — nearly 55 percent — were of people outside Fairfax County. But even Black residents who live in the county were arrested at higher rates (29 percent) relative to their population makeup in the county. In Virginia, Black individuals account for nearly 20 percent of the population.
The Fairfax NAACP says the latest data provide further evidence of disproportionate policing of Blacks in Fairfax County.
“We have significant concerns regarding how the data are being collected and released to the public. But what we know for now is that after “use of force” and other policies have been revised and training has purportedly been improved, the data FCPD has released consistently reveal significant problems with disproportionate policing of people of color. Not only is this unacceptable, but it further demonstrates the urgency of the Fairfax County NAACP’s demand that all relevant data concerning FCPD officers’ interactions with citizens – which was promised in 2015 and is long overdue – must be released,” said Luke Levasseur, the chapter’s criminal justice chair.
Most arrests (66 percent) of white people were of county residents. Traffic stop data, on the other hand, show minimal disparities.
The police department released its data following calls for police reform and nationwide protests over the deaths of Black men and women at the hands of law enforcement. FCPD says it is offering more information in an effort to maintain its commitment of transparency. The department held a community town hall about policing issues with Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn.
Nearly 70 percent of all traffic citations were given to white people, while 18 percent were given to Black individuals. A detailed breakdown of traffic stop data is available online.
Last month, FCPD released additional data on use of force incidents. Black residents were involved in 46 percent of all use-of-force incidents, even though they make up less than 10 percent of the county’s total population.
Researchers at University of Texas at San Antonio are studying the department’s culture after a study released in 2017 found that roughly 40 percent of all use-of-force incidents involve a Black individual.
Levasseur says the county needs to do more to improve its policing.
“Fairfax County residents deserve policing that does not disproportionality harm Black people, and we believe that the only way that can be achieved is complete transparency with respect to how the county’s different communities are being policed.”
Earlier this week, the Vienna Town Council approved having Calfee Zoning lead the team that will update the town’s commercial district zoning.
The consulting firm will work with urban design specialists YARD & Company, transportation firm Nelson Nygaard, and land use attorneys from Venable LLP.
Town staff said the committee that evaluated proposals from four teams unanimously concluded Calfee Zoning was the best candidate, highlighting the firm’s work with communities of 10,000-50,000 people near metropolitan areas.
“It should be noted that the Calfee-led team was the only team to include a firm specializing in transportation planning and parking standards,” according to town documents, adding that the town officials wanted a firm with national knowledge of urban design and use planning.
In June, the Town Council repealed its controversial Maple Avenue Commercial (MAC) zone after years of struggling to refresh its zoning code.
“The Town’s last significant zoning code changes occurred more than 50 years ago in 1969; a significant portion of the current zoning code includes regulations that date back to the 1956 zoning ordinance,” according to town documents.
Calfee’s proposal to the town spotlighted how it zoning methodology will fit the town’s vision for its commercial areas:
Development Pattern Districting (DPD) mixes elements of character-based, form-based and Euclidean zoning, as appropriate, is flexible and adaptable, and much more responsive to context, character and sense of place than other zoning approaches. This means that the Town will have all the tools to ensure that the zoning method is specifically tailored to the Town’s various corridors, districts, and nodes. While our team encourages and will work with the Town on an approach that works best for Vienna, the DPD methodology demonstrates that our team thinks creatively and innovatively about land use methods.
City planner and lawyer Sean Suder, who founded Calfee, will serve as the project lead, according to the proposal.
The town will pay Calfee Zoning $223,900 — just under the town’s plans to spend $250,000. Calfee estimates that the work will take 16 months, according to the proposal.
GreatGatherings has now closed all of its stores, including the Mosaic District location.
In early 2020, the store moved to 2905 District Ave, the former home of Neiman Marcus, from a different location in the Mosaic District.
The home goods store’s website says that the business, American Heritage Billiards, closed on June 25 after the coronavirus pandemic prompted the retail stores to close.
KeyBank confirmed the site’s messages to Tysons Reporter, sharing a complaint against the business that claims American Heritage Billiards “ceased its business operations and abandoned its personal property… on or about June 25.”
The bank is trying to seek relief through the court filing.
“The closure by American Heritage Billiards and GreatGatherings is truly an unfortunate situation for everyone involved,” Laura Mimura, a spokesperson for the bank, told Tysons Reporter.
Mimura added that the bank is not able to address issues with American Heritage Billiards’ pending orders, deliveries and outstanding invoices.
Vienna Welcomes New Elected Officials — “The new Town Council members, elected during a year with a bumper crop of candidates but virtually no door-to-door campaigning, already are working well together, [new mayor Linda] Colbert said.” [Inside NoVa]
Citizens Group Calls for More Police Accountability — “The Fairfax County Police Department implemented multiple measures following a series of controversial incidents in recent years, but the McLean Citizens Association’s board of directors wants the department to do even more to make officers accountable.” [Inside NoVa]
New Names — “Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam wants school districts across the state to change school names that honor Confederate leaders, writing Monday in a letter to school board leaders that those names ‘reflect our broken and racist past.'” [Patch]
Call to Defund SROs — “Fairfax County NAACP and State Del. Kaye Kory (D) sent a letter to Gov. Ralph Northam Tuesday asking him to reallocate state funding away from supporting police officers in schools and putting it toward more school counselors.” [Patch]
Local Companies Land “Inno on Fire” List — Both McLean-based Somatus, which focuses on kidney care, and Tysons-based RunSafe Security made DC Inno’s list of the companies, organizations, people and initiatives focused on innovation. [DC Inno]
Traveling Partners Ensemble is hosting an online festival of classic plays next week.
Located in Tysons Corner Center, the theater troupe works with kids and teens in the D.C. area. The festival will be streamed via Youtube with performances running from 3 p.m. until closing words at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, July 17.
“Ariadne’s Thread,” the first performance, will begin at 3:15 p.m. and is approximately 25 minutes long, according to a press release from the company. The piece recreates the Greek myth Theseus and Minotaur and involves all things gods, goddesses, epics and more. The company commissioned the play from Judy White, their playwright-in-residence, in 2013.
“The Imaginary Invalid” will begin at 4 p.m. and is approximately 40 minutes long. This piece picks on hypocrisy within the medical profession and was written by French playwright Moliere.
Finally, “The Tempest” will begin at 5 p.m. and is approximately an hour long. The company will bring to light Shakespeare’s tale about wild human nature while stranded on an island, and how characters how are very different come together to eventually achieve peace.
Tickets can be purchased for $10 each.
In addition to the festival, the theater group is hosting two summer programs — one for fourth- to eighth-grade students and another for pre-college students — online.
People interested in joining the summer programming can participate in the next set of auditions via Zoom on July 11, according to the press release.
Photo via Traveling Players Ensemble/Facebook
Poki DC is now open with Hawaiian-inspired, veg-friendly options in The Boro in Tysons.
Diners can order food from the eatery via DoorDash, Grubhub and ChowNow. The menu features poke bowls; egg waffles; and Gong Cha milk tea, yogurt and coffee.
Poki DC opened in Tysons Corner Center last spring, but the mall and Poki DC’s websites no longer list the Tysons Corner Center location.
The Boro location (1632 Boro Place) opened last week and is open from noon-8 p.m. daily, according to an employee.
Photo via The Boro/Facebook
Vienna officials shared the plan for addressing racial inequities in the town, especially involving policing, following a petition for officials to reexamine its project for a new police station.
The petition, which was started by 23 James Madison High School alumni, urges town officials to halt work on the new station until there are more community conversations and a commission report on racial justice and policing in the town. Currently, the petition has more than 1,500 signatures.
Mayor Linda Colbert read a statement shortly after the Town Council meeting began last night, saying that the town agrees with the “underlying spirit” of the petition but plans to continue work on the $17 million project.
“While we believe that a conversation on racial injustice must go forward, we do not believe it would serve the ultimate goal of racial equality to delay the process of building a new police station,” Colbert said.
Colbert said that delaying the police station project would jeopardize the safety and security of residents, listing the problems of the current station from too small locker rooms for female officers and lack of storage for evidence.
“The current building is unsafe,” Colbert said as a slideshow showed photos of the facility. “The current building is not community friendly because there is not a private lobby or a space in which a resident can file a complaint and there is no community room to hold interactions with town residents.”
Colbert added the current “substandard” police station could detract the town’s ability to hire the best police candidates and said that the town has already borrowed funds at a low interest rate for the project, which will be paid for with meals taxes.
Colbert also pointed to the classes the police department provides, including ones on self-defense and crime prevention, and Vienna’s high rankings as one of the safest localities in Virginia.
“We are proud of the Vienna Police Department,” Colbert said. “We have a dedicated and committed group of officers who protect our citizens every day. They are community-minded and have a very positive reputation among residents.”
Colbert outlined steps the town plans to take, including an already-completed review by the police chief of the department’s use of policies, two upcoming events with Town Manager Mercury Payton, and mailings about the police department’s use of force policies, which ban chokeholds.
Colbert added that she signed the Obama Foundation’s Commit to Action — also known as the mayor’s pledge — to review use of force policies, engage diverse input in the review, report the findings and reform the policies.
Reva Joshi, one of the locals behind the effort to reevaluate the police station, thanked the Town Council last night for the response, but said it does not address the petition’s calls for a report of the use of force policies from a commission made up of diverse community members.
“I don’t think I need to point out here that [the police chief] will be extremely biased towards his own department,” Joshi said.
Joshi said that the petition is not against upgrading the police station — instead, it questions the “unnecessary” additions like a new shooting range and community spaces that add to the $17 million price tag.
Joshi said that she disagrees with calls to continue the police station because of the planning that has already happened. “Also, it seems that the only criticism of our group’s efforts is that we are just a bunch of young people who are frustrated and just want to see something happen,” she said.
As of today, South Block is now open to the public in the Town of Vienna.
The juice and smoothie bar has outdoor patio seating, along with indoor seating at half capacity, at 207 E. Maple Avenue, according to a spokesperson. South Block was previously located at Jammin Java.
The menu includes cold-pressed juice, toast and salad, smoothies and bowls, along with smoothie bowl kits that don’t require a blender, the spokesperson said.
Customers can place orders for pick-up and delivery via the South Block and Uber Eats.
Leading up to this week, South Block held a soft opening last week.
Photo via South Block/Facebook
As the state relaxes public health guidelines, Fairfax County public libraries will soon be open to the public.
Beginning Monday, July 13, patrons can take advantage of express services that focus on “grab-and-go style” activities. Patrons can browse shelves, use computers and pick up holds.
But even though the state entered phase three of Gov. Ralph Northam’s reopening plan, restrictions will be in place. All daily visits will be limited to 30 minutes.
During the first week of express services, library staff will explain the new model and make sure capacity limits are maintained. Disposable masks will also be offered to library patrons.
Here’s more on other modifications:
- Each branch will have a capacity limit to allow social distancing to take place
- Virtual programs will continue
- Meeting rooms will be unavailable
- Furniture will be removed from the public floor
- No donated materials will be accepted
- No print daily newspapers or in-house laptops will be offered
- No in-person programming will take place
- Plexiglass shields will be installed at customer service desks
- Every other PC will be disabled
Curbside services will continue for patrons who are not yet comfortable using library facilities. The service is offered daily except Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Express services will be open on Monday and Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and from Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Image via Fairfax County
Superintendent Scott Brabrand said during a town hall last night that he plans to ask the Fairfax County School Board this week to delay the start of the school year to after Labor Day.
Brabrand kicked off the town hall by saying that families will now have until Wednesday, July 15, instead of Friday, July 10, to pick whether they prefer four days of synchronous online learning or two days of in-person learning with asynchronous online learning.
Brabrand said that he wants to extend the start date to Tuesday, Sept. 8, to give principals more time to prepare, because the survey deadline is getting extended. The pushed back start date this fall would not lengthen the school year, Brabrand said, adding that he wants teachers and staff to return at the normally scheduled times to get a head start on planning and reaching out to families.
During the town hall, audience members called and emailed in questions asking about what the two learning options will look like, COVID-19 safety measures and what to do about childcare. Here’s what the superintendent said.
Safety Measures for Students and Staff
Brabrand said that more health and safety protocols, including recess and playground equipment, are expected to get released later this week. Currently, he knows students and staff will be asked to wear face coverings in schools.
The schools will not check every child’s temperature, but will check if a kid shows up without a mask, he said, adding that parents will be expected to complete a form daily about whether or not their kids have COVID-19 symptoms.
Students who show COVID-19 symptoms in class will be sent to the clinic and then possibly have to wait in an isolation room before their parents come to pick them up, he said. For COVID-19 cases, schools would decide on a case by case basis what to do after the contract tracing investigation, he said.
Brabrand urged families are struggling to decide between the two options to see how their kids respond to wearing masks for six hours.
What School Will Look Like
Brabrand stressed that FCPS will remain flexible if the pandemic dramatically worsens or improves, but he said that he wants to curb parents going back and forth on in-person vs. online learning during the school year.
“We’ve never had to create two separate school systems before, ever,” Brabrand said.
While he wants parents to stick to their choice for the entire school year, he said that the schools will consider emergency situations on a case by cases and school by school basis.
Depending on how many families select in-person vs. online learning, Brabrand said that additional in-person days might be offered. Even if FCPS increases in-person learning, teachers would have Mondays reserved for planning and additional time to work with students who are struggling.
“We know that for families who want in-person, they want as much in person as possible,” Brabrand said.
Brabrand said that capacity is the key reason FCPS won’t offer five days of in-person learning.
The schedules for the two days of in-person learning would work alphabetically by last name so that families with kids in multiple grades would go to school on the same days, Sloan Presidio, the assistant superintendent for instructional services, said last night.
Currently, the school system is trying to figure out to maximize learning space for students. Brabrand said that he’s working with principals to consider temporary learning space outside. The weather, though, could pose obstacles, he added. School cafeterias are also places that might turn into classrooms this fall, Brabrand said.
As for online learning, families can expect FCPS teachers to use Blackboard Collaborate Ultra and Google Classroom for video conferencing, Brabrand said, adding that FCPS has plans to use a new platform called Schoology.
Childcare Concerns
Several callers raised concerns about childcare when deciding which learning option to pick, saying that their childcare centers don’t have plans yet for the fall and that they don’t know how the synchronous online learning would work if both parents work during the day.
Presidio said that FCPS is planning to have several hours of learning for kindergarten students in the morning, but that families should check with their schools’ principals to find out what the schedules would look like.
While FCPS is working with the county and private childcare providers, Brabrand said that childcare challenges are outside the scope of what the school system can accomplish in a few months.
“I know childcare remains one of the critical issues,” Brabrand said, adding he would like to see faith communities offer more support.
Brabrand said that people can expect future town halls — including Spanish language, Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) and Special Education PTA ones — and more information on health and safety guidelines.
Image via Fairfax County Public Schools
