Local students wanted to tackle a service project that would use disposable items, so they decided to make mats from plastic bags for veterans who are homeless.
Students in Sheryl Jones’ class at Kilmer Middle School (8100 Wolftrap Road) made the mats from donated plastic grocery bags, according to a press release from Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS).
“The students really took [the idea] and then ran with it,” Jones, an 8th-grade science teacher, said in an FCPS video. “They watched YouTube videos to learn how to do it and then they created their own assembly line and system.”
The students said in the video that the insulated and waterproof mats are easy for veterans who are homeless to transport.
Each mat, which was roughly 6 feet by 3.5. feet, required about 700-800 bags and six to eight hours to weave. The students split up the duties, directing some to cut off the handles, while others wove the mats.
“Some of the Kilmer students even took the mats home to continue working on them,” according to the press release.
The students gave the mats to Homeless Hope, a nonprofit that provides clothing and supplies to people who are homeless in D.C., the press release said.
Work is gearing up on a new office tower that is part of the redevelopment of the sites once home to Tysons Biergarten and Clyde’s in Tysons.
Named Tysons Central, the new office tower is coming to 8332 Leesburg Pike — the former spot of Clyde’s — next to the Greensboro Metro station in the Tysons Central 7 neighborhood.
The building, which plans to have a private roof terrace and parking garage, is a part of a development that was approved in 2014.
More from Foulger-Pratt:
Tysons Central is the first step in the massive redevelopment of Tysons, made possible by the Metro’s Silver Line extension. This signature office tower will reside adjacent to approximately 1,100 residential units, 200 hotel rooms, and 135,000 sf retail at full build out.
Right next door you’ll find The Boro — a 4.2 million sf development featuring a variety of shopping, dining and entertainment options, including a Whole Foods and Showplace Icon multiplex.
Developer Foulger-Pratt is ready to start construction to get the project done by early 2021, the Washington Business Journal reported.
Meetings to solicit community input on a proposed boundary change for two high schools in McLean seemed to raise more questions than they answered.
Roughly 200 parents, stakeholders and politicians, including Providence District Supervisor-elect Dalia Palchik and several incoming Fairfax County School Board members, attended the meetings at Langley High School on Monday (Dec. 2) and McLean High School last night (Wednesday).
McLean High School, which was designed for a capacity of 1,993 students, currently has 2,350 students. Meanwhile, newly renovated Langley High School has 1,972 students and could have up to 2,370, according to the presentation from FCPS staff.
The proposed boundary change would move some students from McLean High School (1633 Davidson Road) to Langley High School (6520 Georgetown Pike) to address the overcrowding issue.
There are 18 trailers at McLean High School right now, Jane Strauss, the Dranesville District representative on the school board, said at the Monday night meeting.
“It would be unfair to not consider a boundary change,” Strauss said, adding that Fairfax County does not want to move juniors and seniors from the schools. “You want to keep large cohorts of kids together.”
Tysons-area companies made up nearly half of Fairfax County’s list this year of top workplaces for commuters.
Fairfax County’s Board of Supervisors recognized 17 companies on Tuesday (Dec. 3) who have taken steps to become more commuter-friendly.
The eight companies in the Tysons area include:
- Anderson Cooper Group Architects (McLean)
- Appian (McLean)
- Avineon, Inc. (McLean)
- Envision (Vienna)
- KETTLER (McLean)
- Inova Health System Fairfax Hospital (Falls Church)
- MCR, LLC (McLean)
- Trowbridge & Trowbridge (McLean)
Three companies in Reston, three in Herndon, two in Fairfax and one in Alexandria also made the “Best Workplaces for Commuters” list.
Fairfax County offers a program through the Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) provides employers with information about ridesharing and other transportation alternatives for workers, according to a press release.
“We are excited to celebrate the first 100 Fairfax County employers leading the nation in providing high-level commuter benefit programs to their employees,” Marcus Moore, FCDOT’s lead employer outreach specialist with the Fairfax County Department of Transportation, said in a press release. “Employers offering commuting alternatives receive value through enhanced recruitment and retention of staff, decreased parking expenses as well the ability to limit employee absenteeism. It’s a win-win for the employers, the employees and Fairfax County.”
The annual “Best Workplaces for Commuters” lists stems from the county’s partnership with a membership program managed by the Center for Urban Transportation Research at the University of South Florida “to recognize employers who have excelled in implementing green commuter programs, including ride-sharing, transit benefits, biking and walking, teleworking, alternate work schedules and other strategies,” according to the county.
Photo via KETTLER/Facebook
Updated at 3:30 p.m. — Routes 630, 640 and 650 will also not operate a full Sunday service today, the county announced this afternoon.
Fairfax Connector is continuing to cut its bus service today (Thursday) due to worker strikes, impacting commuters in the Tysons area.
The strike today came after negotiations for a contract extension didn’t pan out, along with a strike at a Metro garage in Lorton. Strikes are taking place until 5 p.m. today in Herndon, Newington and Fairfax.
In an announcement yesterday (Wednesday), Fairfax County said that Fairfax Connector routes will operate on a Sunday service today.
This morning (Thursday), the county said that five routes that were set to operate on a Sunday schedule won’t run today, including routes 423 and 721 in the Tysons area, and that several routes — 505, 983, 981, RIBS 2 and RIBS 4 — will not operate full Sunday service today.
That leaves Fairfax Connector with about one-third of its bus routes still in service today.
More from the county’s transportation department:
The contract between Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1764, the union representing the bus drivers and mechanics, and Transdev, Fairfax County’s contracted bus operator, expired on Nov. 30, 2019.
As a result of the job action, Transdev does not expect all drivers represented by ATU Local 1764 to report for work on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2019, and bus service will be operated by a limited number of available personnel. The decision was made to operate a Sunday schedule instead of a weekday schedule because that is believed to be the maximum level of reliable bus service that can be provided under the current circumstances.
Fairfax County officials are urging commuters to find other forms of transportation today.
People can contact Fairfax Connector customer service at 703-339-7200 for updates on service impacts, sign up for text or email alerts and follow Fairfax Connector on Twitter and Facebook.
⚠️Fairfax Connector bus service will operate Sunday schedule today due to a job action by Fairfax Connector drivers and mechanics. Please visit:https://t.co/ztkygOkVhq to learn which routes will and will not be operating today and disregard weekday buses shown in BusTracker.
— Fairfax Connector (@ffxconnector) December 5, 2019
Tysons Partnership will receive up to $1 million from Fairfax County to help rebrand Tysons and rethink the group’s business model.
Tysons Partnership is working with Gensler to rebrand the area to encourage economic growth and is also looking to establish a “sustainable business and funding model” for the nonprofit association.
Currently, the members of Tysons Partnership pay dues, Sol Glasner, the nonprofit’s president, told the board in September.
The Board of Supervisors approved the funding, which comes from Economic Opportunity Reserve, on Tuesday (Dec. 3).
The funding could get allocated toward placemaking events, branding efforts, sponsorship and media outreach Joe LaHait, the debt manager for the Department of Management and Budget, told the county board in September.
Tysons Partnership aims to have the rebranding study done by the end of the year, which it will share with Fairfax County, according to county documents.
As part of the approval of the funding, the county requires that the recommendations from the final report do not overlap with the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority and that Tysons Partnership consider funding options as part of a new business model that provide long term sustainability, according to the county.
More from the county:
EOR funding will result in an equal match from the Tysons Partnership, who are fundraising their allocation from their membership. The county will request from the Tysons Partnership at the end of each financial quarter a summary of their fundraising amounts.
The county will then provide an equivalent EOR allocation to the Tysons Partnership. This process will continue following successive quarterly reviews up to a maximum county contribution of $1,000,000.
Several Fairfax County supervisors, including Providence District Supervisor Linda Smyth, have said that the funding could help revitalize Tysons with a more “sophisticated” branding approach. In the past, branding efforts have included water tank decals and streetlight banners, Smyth said.
A new eatery plans to come to Tysons Galleria’s Taste of Urbanspace.
Hei Hei Tiger, a self-described “Cantonese eatery focused on Chinese barbecue,” is coming to the food hall, according to the eatery’s Instagram.
Washingtonian reported that diners can expect weekend dim sum brunch, a 20-seat cocktail bar, boba teas and a customizable barbecue menu from the team behind Tiger Fork in D.C.
Justin Schuble, the blogger behind DC Food Porn, claimed on Instagram that the eatery is opening “in the next few weeks.”
Hei Hei Tiger will be the latest dining option to join Tysons Galleria — sandwich pop-up LaoWich from the team behind Sen Khao and Butcher’s Cut, which is focused on steak and fries, opened earlier this year in the mall.
Photo via Hei Hei Tiger/Instagram
Fairfax County police say that the 60-year-old man who was struck by a vehicle in Tysons on Monday night has died.
Police said in an update today (Wednesday) that D.C. resident Abraham Feldman was crossing Old Courthouse Road at the intersection of Lord Fairfax Road around 7:19 p.m. when he was struck by a 2001 Chevrolet Tahoe traveling eastbound on Old Courthouse Road through the intersection.
Police said Feldman “was in the vicinity of the crosswalk” when the crash occurred. He was hospitalized with serious injuries and died earlier today, police said.
“The driver remained at the scene and is cooperating with detectives,” police said. “Preliminarily, alcohol does not appear to be a factor for the driver or the pedestrian. Detectives have not yet determined if speed was a factor for the driver.”
Police are asking that anyone with information contact the Crash Reconstruction Unit at 703-280-0543.
Image via Google Maps
Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney-elect Steve Descano has revealed his first two planned appointments.
Descano announced last Wednesday (Nov. 27) that he intends to have Terry Adams, a private defense attorney in Arlington, take on the role of Chief Deputy, lauding his 14 years working on criminal and civil cases in Virginia.
“A clear and well-respected leader, Terry is a proven litigator with years of trial experience in Northern Virginia,” Descano said in the press release. “In addition, he would bring a well-rounded background and unique perspective to the position that will prove vital in helping to transform and lead this office forward.”
Previously, Adams worked in the Arlington County Sheriff’s Office and was on active duty in the Marine Corps for eight years, according to the press release.
Descano also announced that he plans to promote Senior Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Jessica Greis Edwardson to Deputy.
Greis Edwardson started working in the office of the commonwealth’s attorney in Fairfax County in 2009, where she was the first dedicated domestic violence prosecutor, according to the press release.
More from the press release:
She currently represents the Commonwealth in the prosecution of all violations of criminal law, specializing in homicides, sex crimes against children and adults, child pornography and exploitation cases, and domestic violence.
Ms. Greis Edwardson has been co-chair of the Fairfax County Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team since 2009, and serves on the County’s Domestic Violence Prevention Policy & Coordinating Council. She has trained judges, attorneys, law enforcement, advocates, and community service providers on criminal and civil legal issues in her areas of specialization.
Prior to joining the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, Ms. Greis Edwardson spent three years at Legal Services of Northern Virginia and two years at Potomac Legal Aid Society, representing domestic violence victims in all aspects of domestic relations litigation, and supervising and training staff attorneys. Ms. Greis Edwardson also spent two years at a private law firm.
“I am extremely proud to announce Jessica Greis Edwardson, Esq. as my choice for Deputy in the Office of Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney. I respect and thank Ms. Greis Edwardson for her service to this community and her eagerness to continue to do so. Her experience, specifically in this courthouse with the toughest cases, makes Ms. Greis Edwardson a clear choice for leadership. As we establish an appropriate path forward for this office’s growth, structure, and policies, I know Jessica will be essential,” said Mr. Descano.
Both Adams and Greis Edwardson are immediately named to the Descano Transition Team. Mr. Adams will be leading the division of the Transition Team that is primarily focused on office personnel and structure. Ms. Greis Edwardson will serve within that division.
Additional announcements regarding Office leadership are forthcoming.
Fairfax County officials say that a newly approved parking rate for the county’s largest malls would not adversely affect Tysons malls.
Yesterday (Tuesday), the Board of Supervisors approved the zoning ordinance amendment that will allow lower parking rates at the four largest malls in the county — the two in Tysons, Fair Oaks Mall and Springfield Town Center.
The proposal was based on a review of the parking rates and demand at large regional malls by consulting firm Nelson/Nygaard.
The county’s planners stressed that the focus of the zoning amendment was meant to help Fair Oaks Mall, yet it sparked concern about whether it would create parking problems at Tysons Corner Center and also about the lack of data for the Tysons malls.
Nelson/Nygaard study’s evaluated parking data for Fair Oaks Mall and the Springfield Town Center, but the study did not evaluate the two malls in Tysons.
“It really has no bearing on Tysons,” Providence District Supervisor Linda Smyth said yesterday, noting that Tysons Corner Center is a part of the Planned Tysons Corner Urban District’s (PTC) parking rates, which allows for lower parking rates. Tysons Galleria is not a part of the PTC District, but could opt-in.
“There has been concern raised in the community that it would [cause issues in Tysons], but I agree with Supervisor Smyth that the real impact is in Springfield and Fair Oaks, where we need to reduce the parking requirements,” Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust said.
The change now lets shopping centers with 800,000 square feet of gross floor area or more to have a parking rate of 2.5 instead of four spaces per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area.
In addition to the zoning change, the county board also approved directing staff to prioritize review of the parking rates in phase two of the zoning ordinance modernization effort.
