A new pizza place in Vienna has opened its doors and now offers customers a variety of Italian fare for delivery.

PizzaRoni opened in the former Keiko Charcoal Chicken spot (235 Maple Ave E.) and is currently delivering orders, according to its website. The pizza place joins a list of more than a 100 local restaurants offering delivery or curbside pick-up to stay open during the coronavirus pandemic.

The restaurant is also locally owned by a resident who moved to Vienna with his wife and previously opened a pizza shop in New York, according to the Vienna VA Foodies Facebook page.

On the menu, customers can find also find subs, appetizers, salads, entrees like pasta, gyros and wings, according to the website.

The hours of operation are  Monday-Thursday from 10 a.m. until 11 p.m., Friday-Saturday from 10 a.m. until midnight and Sundays from 11 a.m. until 9:30 p.m.

People who want to make an order can call 703-319-0002, the website said.

Photo via Vienna VA Foodies/Facebook

Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust plans to host a virtual town hall tomorrow (Tuesday) to discuss the revised budget proposal for Fairfax County.

Fairfax County staff revisited the proposed budget for fiscal year 2021 and made changes to address the economic uncertainty and upheaval caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Now, Foust is set to talk to Fairfax County Chief Financial Officer Joe Mondoro about the budget, and answer people’s questions, according to his recent newsletter to constituents.

The town hall is set to start at 7 p.m. tomorrow and will last until 8:30 p.m.

People can can submit questions by calling 703-324-1114, post them in a comment under the Facebook Live event or email them in advance to [email protected] and include “Dranesville District Budget Town Hall” in the subject line.

The town hall will also be shown on Channel 16 and be streamed online.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Fairfax County is reaching the 2,000 mark.

According to state health data released this morning, there are now 1,925 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Fairfax County. The county hit a little over 1,000 cases just eight days ago.

For the last three days, the growth rate of cases has hovered between 6%-10%.

The number of cases between Sunday and today (Monday) jumped by roughly 6%, adding a total of 116 new cases. Between Saturday and Sunday, that jump was about 11%.

In recent days, the state has released more data on hospitalizations, deaths and outbreaks. So far, there at 8,990 cases of COVID-19 statewide and 300 people have died, including at least 30 Fairfax County residents.

The deadliest of statewide outbreaks have occurred at long term care facilities. According to state data, 915 cases have been linked to outbreaks in these facilities, leading to 77 deaths.

So far, the week of April 5 resulted in the most number of new cases (2,268). The cumulative count of cases continues to increase daily at generally faster rates than the last month.

Data via Virginia Department of Health

How Much PPP Funding Went to Virginia Businesses? — “D.C., Maryland and Virginia businesses collectively received about 5% of the total loan dollars greenlit by the Small Business Administration through its wildly sought-after Paycheck Protection Program, which ran out of funds in fewer than two weeks after it debuted… Virginia businesses received 40,371 loans totaling $8.72 billion.” [Washington Business Journal]

McLean Man Shares Dyslexia in New Book — “Michael Balzano’s life has been a classic American rags-to-riches tale – even though he’s had to battle dyslexia every step of the way. His recently published book, “Dyslexic: My Journey,” covers that often misdiagnosed reading disability and the problems it causes, but also has a broader mission.” [Inside NoVa]

Local Real Estate Agents Adapt — “Those who are actively looking tend to be serious buyers and who are employed and have an optimistic attitude that the virus will be under control soon. For others, wanting to sell or buy, there may be too much uncertainty now. Heather Embrey of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Premier said she had experienced potential sellers changing their minds to wait out the pandemic.” [Falls Church News-Press]

FCPS Meals for Kids — “The school system’s Office of Food and Nutrition Services as of April 14 had provided more than 357,000 meals, including breakfasts and lunches, at 61 areas locations, said schools spokesman Lucy Caldwell.” [Inside NoVa]

How Local Students Work Interning Virtually — “As Virginia schools remain closed due to the state’s COVID-19 social distancing mandates, BASIS Independent McLean (BIM) 12th graders are undertaking senior internships virtually, adapting to the video and audio tools that allow professional experience training to continue as part of BASIS Independent McLean’s final senior project.” [Patch]

Nightlife is zilch in Tysons at the moment due to the pandemic. After a brief hiatus, the “Tysons After Dark” series is back to highlight different online activities from local organizations that keep people busy once the sun goes down. 

McLean Community Center is closed, so the McLean Project for the Arts is shifting its art classes from in-person to online.

MCC announced the Zoom classes in its recent newsletter. Now, people can register for the classes, which include watercolor, painting, drawing and more.

Some classes are in the afternoons, while others are in the evening. The classes are on a set schedule with predetermined time slots on different days. Prices vary from class to class.

Here are some of the upcoming ones:

• Portrait and Figure Painting
• Drawing in Landscape
• Drawing and Painting Studio
• Vibrant Flower Paintings in Oil

MPA is also offering a new class on experimental portraiture with former MPA faculty and staff member Arthur Kwon Lee, who is currently in New York City, the newsletter said.

More about the class:

The history of art cannot be told without witnessing portraiture painting in its myriad of forms. This class explores different approaches to creating the human gaze. Through the lens of art history exercises and alternative mark making approaches, artists will discover new ways to excavate the world of portraiture with excitement. Our class will emulate multiple modalities of portraiture from the De Koonings, the cubists and beyond.

The class is on Tuesdays from 7:30-9:30 p.m., starting April 21.

People who are staying at home with small kids can keep them entertained with Abrakadoodle classes.

People who are interested or have questions can contact Briana Clorey at [email protected].

Unemployment claims due to the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic continue to pour in.

Nearly 14,500 Fairfax County residents filed unemployment claims on the week of April 11, according to the latest unemployment data.

Overall, the number of statewide claims between March 21 and April 11 — 410,762 — is only 67,000 fewer than the average of all initial claims filed during the last three economic recessions, according to the Virginia Employment Commission. More than 121,000 Northern Virginia residents have filed claims since business closures began.

The latest claims figure, however, represents a decrease of 42,750 statewide claims and 6,848 countywide claims from the previous week, according to data from the commission.

The commission noted that the overall 29 percent decrease in the number of claims suggests that most people filed unemployment claims during the week of April 4.

Here’s more from the commission:

Initial claims measure emerging unemployment and the recent increase in initial claims in the Commonwealth is clearly attributable to impacts from the COVID-19 virus. The accommodation and food service industries have comprised the majority of these initial claims. Because of their prevalence in those and other affected industries like retail and health care, younger workers and female workers have been disproportionally impacted. The number of initial claims filed during the week ending April 11, 2020 was 45.6 times higher than the comparable 2019 week-an increase of 102,326 claims.

Despite a dip in the number of claims, the commission noted that claims still remain at historically high levels.

On the national level, the number of initial claims has totaled roughly 5.2 million, a decrease of 1.4 million from the previous week. During a comparable week in 2019, only 196,364 claims were filed countrywide.

Image via Virginia Employment Commission

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At a digital town hall yesterday, Del. Mark Keam (D-35th) discussed potential issues for delaying the fast-approaching Town of Vienna election.

Gov. Ralph Northam issued a statement several days ago asking the General Assembly to postpone the upcoming May 5 election to November so people can avoid all non-essential outings to ease the COVID-19 pandemic.

Northam suggested that local elections be moved to Nov. 3, but Vienna Mayor Laurie DiRocco issued a letter in response saying she would prefer June 23.

“The ability for local elections to get attention during the presidential-election cycle will be extremely challenging and expensive for candidates who usually have limited resources and budgets,” she wrote.

While Keam said he agrees the election should get pushed — and encourages all of his delegates to follow CDC guidelines and social distancing order — he also said that there are reasons elections usually occur during a certain time of year.

Given the uncertainty and confusion about the coronavirus pandemic, Keam said there is currently “absolutely no consensus” on when the elections should be held. 

The issue with holding the election on June 23, according to Keam, is that the federal elections are set to be held around that time as well — which is out of the control of smaller districts.

“You can’t have two different ballots being issued on the same day,” he said.  

If the election were to even be held a few days after June 23, like the 25 or 26 for example, this wouldn’t work either, Keam said, because the polling machines need to be locked up for 30 days in accordance with state law. This gives election staffers time to recount votes if necessary, clear the machines and inspect the machines to ensure “integrity in the voting process.”

Keam also brought up the recent Wisconsin elections, which were held earlier this month. Despite expert suggestions to stay home, many voters chose not to fill out absentee ballots and instead headed to the polls in person.

“We’ll know in about two weeks how many of those people went out to vote last Tuesday ended up with COVID. We hope very few, but there is a chance the epidemic might spike in Wisconson because the election was held against the wishes of some government officials,” Keam said. “We don’t want that happening in Virginia.”

Next Wednesday (April 22), the General Assembly will consider Northam’s request to move the local elections across Virginia to Nov. 3.

Image via Facebook Live

While most of the Vienna police’s recent cases have involved domestic disputes, the police department did receive a report about a theft.

In this week’s “Police Highlights,” a resident in the 600 block of Spring Street SE reported that someone tool the hockey net that the resident left near the curb in front of the house.

The theft occurred some time between 2-7 a.m. on Wednesday, April 15.

In a separate incident, the owner of the 7-Eleven (427 Maple Ave E.) said that one of the front glass doors was damage around 6 p.m. on Sunday, April 12.

Photo via Facebook

Thirty people have died from the novel coronavirus in Fairfax County, according to information the county released yesterday (Thursday).

All of the people who died from the illness were above the age of 50.

Fairfax County is currently leading Virginia in the number of coronavirus cases and outbreaks.

As of this morning, the Fairfax Health District had 1,478 cases — two of which are in the City of Fairfax, according to the Virginia Department of Health.

More data on the Fairfax Health District:

• 268 hospitalizations
• 7,657 tests
• 21 outbreaks — 19 at long term care facilities and one each at correction facility and healthcare setting

The Fairfax Health District includes Fairfax County, the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church and towns in the county.

Data via Virginia Department of Health