Drivers can expect delays from a crash this morning at the intersection fo Tysons Blvd and Galleria Drive.
A tow truck is on its way and drivers can expect a brief right lane closure, Sgt. James Curry, a police spokesman, told Tysons Reporter.
Traffic was heavy on Tysons Blvd around 9:55 a.m., according to Google Maps.
Curry said that no injuries have been reported.
Map via Google Maps
As election season heats up, debates give voters a chance to hear from candidates and learn more about pressing issues that matter to them most.
Throughout October, there will be several public forums around the area hosted by community organizations.
Wednesday, Oct. 16: Providence District candidates
The Providence District Candidate Forum will take place from 7 -9 p.m. at the Providence District Community Center (3001 Vaden Drive). This is an opportunity to meet the candidates running for the Providence District School Board and Providence District Supervisor seats. This event is hosted by the League of Women Voters in the Fairfax Area.
Thursday, Oct. 17: Dranesville District candidates
The League of Women Voters-Fairfax Area will host a forum at the McLean Community Center (1234 Ingleside Avenue). Speakers will include those running for Dranesville District Supervisor, Dranesville District School Board Member and House District 34, which represents Great Falls, parts of McLean and the Wolf Trap area. It starts at 7 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 24: Falls Church City Council candidates
Attendees will be able to hear from the four candidates vying for three seats on the Falls Church City Council starting at 7 p.m. at the Falls Church American Legion Hall, Post 130 (400 N. Oak Street).
The candidates are: Phil Duncan, Letty Hardi and David Tarter — incumbents — and Stuart Whitaker. Former candidate Thomas Cash dropped out of the race in August.
Wednesday, Oct. 30: Dranesville District candidates
The McLean Citizens Association will hold a forum at the McLean Community Center with the candidates running for Dranesville District Supervisor, Dranesville District School Board Member and House District 34. The event starts at 7:30 p.m.
A Tysons-based entrepreneur struck a big deal with the founder of KIND Snacks on reality television last week.
Things were looking down financially for TahDah Foods before CEO John Sorial decided to appear on the season 11 premiere of “Shark Tank” on ABC — ultimately making a deal with Daniel Lubetzky, the CEO of KIND Snacks.
TahDah Foods began as a frozen falafel wrap line, which offers customers several flavor varieties. The products are naturally gluten-free since they are made with chickpeas. The company also donates 25% of profits to charity, aiming to help end hunger and inspire social change, according to the website.
The food has been in stores for some time — including Wegman’s, Whole Foods Market, Harris Teeter and MOM’s Organic Market. Recently, the company ran into a supply problem and was losing money because the product wasn’t being produced quickly enough.
Four people were doing the job of 12, he told the sharks. “I would stay up with the staff and was shoveling chickpeas myself.”
Sorial is the son of Egyptian parents, who fled to the U.S. because of political persecution. After working in chemical engineering, he decided to transition to a career he felt was more fulfilling.
“I took authentic foods from the motherland and gave them a fresh new taste and look,” he said, adding that the idea of helping his family and people around the world motivates him to succeed.
After some debate and competition with another shark, Sorial accepted a $500,000 deal in exchange for 25% of the business — not the original $300,000 in exchange for the 10% of the business, that he was seeking originally.
“Your story resonates a lot with me,” Lubetzky said, adding that he thought Sorial’s original goal wouldn’t be enough to get him out of the financial hole.
Photo via Facebook
A gas leak has closed the eastbound lanes of Leesburg Pike by The Boro in Tysons.
Fairfax County Fire and Rescue crews are on the scene of a gas leak in the 8400 block of Leesburg Pike that was caused by construction crews hitting a gas line, the fire department tweeted.
“Units shutting down eastbound Leesburg Pike (Rte. 7) and Gosnell Road,” the tweet said.
The eastbound lanes of Leesburg Pike have been shut down, according to Fairfax Alerts.
Map via Google Maps
One Fairfax County official is urging the county to take more responsibility for stormwater management regardless of its liability.
Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust represents McLean, Great Falls and Herndon on the Board of Supervisors. After major flash flooding in July, Foust saw severe storm damage throughout McLean — from two severely damaged roads to flooded yards and fields.
“This is the issue de jure out in the communities after July 8, at least in my neck of the woods,” Foust said. “This is what I hear about all the time.”
Randy Bartlett, the director of the county’s Department of Public Works and Environmental Services, gave a presentation to the Board of Supervisors about flood mitigation activities on Tuesday (Oct. 8).
Some of Bartlett’s proposed policy recommendations included using 100-year storm benchmarks when upsizing pipes, requiring new developments to capture a certain amount of rain and designating overland relief paths on plats.
“I think that these are good recommendations,” Chairman Sharon Bulova said, adding that the county needs to designs for the 100-year storm and consider upsizing at new developments.
Foust agreed with Bulova and said that Bartlett suggested “some good alternatives,” before pushing the county to do more.
Bartlett said that the county will install backflow valves that residents then need to maintain.
“I know we offer constituents options to make investments to limit the ability of our sewer systems to back up into their basements when our sewer systems get overflowed with stormwater,” Foust. “I think that should be our responsibility.”
Foust added that the county either needs to find a way to keep stormwater out of the sewer systems or — if it does — to at least make sure it doesn’t get into constituents’ basements.
Overland relief is causing dangerous situations, Foust said.
“We have to think about getting more of this water into a conveyance system that is not free-flowing in these neighborhoods,” he said.
Aside from the county’s efforts, Foust also said that more state funding is needed.
“We have neighborhoods being literally destroyed when it rains hard,” Foust said.
Photo via @SteveML9022/Twitter, graph via Fairfax County
Almost one year after it’s expected opening date, Archontiko just started serving up modern Greek dishes in McLean.
The restaurant opened about one week ago, an employee told Tysons Reporter.
Archontiko occupies the former spot of Evo Bistro, another Mediterranean restaurant, at 1313 Old Chain Bridge Road. The restaurant’s opening was delayed multiple times due to construction work and the inspections from Fairfax County.
Diners can find a crab burger, vegetarian entrees, pikilia (a plate of mixed appetizers) and sandwiches served over pita bread with lemon potatoes and salad on the lunch menu. Meanwhile, the dinner menu features seafood and lamb entrees, vegetarian entrees and salads — including Greek salad.
For dessert, there’s baklava, rice pudding with cinnamon, yogurt cake and more.
Executive Chef Markos Baladimas creates dishes inspired by traditional Greek cuisine, “which is combining the simplicity of the raw materials with the richness of their flavors,” according to the restaurant’s website.
The restaurant’s hours are 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 11 a.m.-9 p.m. on Sundays, the employee said.
Photo via Archontiko
Drivers who regularly take Towers Crescent Drive might want to budget in more time now that the road has two new stop signs near Ring Road and is undergoing road work.
Currently, the road is being repaved, Ellen Kamilakis, a spokesperson for the Virginia Department of Transportation, told Tysons Reporter.
Towers Crescent Drive will soon have a new traffic pattern.
“The final roadway configurations will have one lane in each direction with either left-turn lanes or two-way left turning lane in the middle,” Kamilakis said. “In addition, it will have a bike lane in each direction.”
In response to Tysons Reporter’s question about when the repaving will be finished, Kamilakis said, “It should be relatively soon as the asphalt plants don’t stay open year-round.”
Multi-way stop signs were installed on Sept. 25 at the intersection of Towers Crescent Drive and Ring Road, Kamilakis said.
With the combination of the stop signs and the work blocking a southbound lane, traffic slowed down on Towers Crescent Drive when Tysons Reporter visited yesterday morning.
Plans are no longer in the works for an assisted living facility in the Vienna area after facing criticism by the Planning Commission and residents.
The proposed 86-bed facility would provide accommodations for people with dementia or memory loss at 2347 Hunter Mill Road, adjacent to the United Methodist Church of the Good Shepherd.
The applicant, Orr-BSL Hunter Mill, LLC, wanted to build a two-story building with approximately 43,680 square feet of space, along with outdoor courtyards and a garden for the facility’s residents.
Fairfax County planners gave the proposal a favorable recommendation in the staff report, writing,”In staff’s opinion, the development has been thoughtfully designed to be compatible with adjacent residential uses and to preserve the property’s rural character.”
Many residents opposed the proposed project during a four-hour-long public hearing in July, arguing to the Planning Commission that the proposal does not meet the county’s comprehensive-plan requirements.
Some of the commissioners agreed — including John Carter, the commissioner who oversees the Hunter Mill District.
Carter and another commissioner brought up a long list of issues with the proposal and special needs of the site at the Sept. 12 meeting — like pointing out that emergency vehicles might have trouble traveling to and from the site, which has a two-lane scenic by-way policy.
Carter also said the proposed facility’s size would not fit in with surrounding buildings. “It’s a football field in length,” he said.
Carter deferred the proposal indefinitely — essentially killing it since he said that other developers are eying the site.
“This is only one case. I expect more cases on this site,” he said.
Dranesville District John Ulfelder added that the site is pending being listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.
While Ulfelder said that schools and churches would be appropriate on the site, he said that he was worried that a medical facility would “erode” the site’s history.
The application was withdrawn at the end of September.
Image via Fairfax County
Parents and disability rights groups are suing Fairfax County Public Schools for allegedly using seclusion and restraint improperly for students with disabilities, the Washington Post reported last night (Tuesday).
One of the parents suing, Jennifer Tidd, reportedly lives in Reston and her 12-year-old son attended Kilmer Center, a public special education school in the Vienna area that is run by Fairfax County.
“Tidd’s son was secluded on at least 745 occasions and excluded from class several hundred more times over seven years, according to court papers,” the Washington Post reported.
An investigation by WAMU earlier this year discovered hundreds of cases where FCPS students were restrained or put in seclusion multiple times — despite FCPS repeatedly telling the federal government otherwise.
The WAMU investigation highlighted stories from parents who alleged that improper seclusion and restraint happened at Armstrong Elementary in Reston and Eagle View Elementary in Fairfax.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, according to the Washington Post.
Tysons Galleria has welcomed a new restaurant focused on steak and fries.
“We are a new restaurant specializing in Steak Frites… We prep our ingredients daily in order to ensure only the highest quality food is served,” according to job postings on Snag for Butcher’s Cut.
The restaurant has line cook, cashier and server positions open and pays $15-$18 per hour.
Butcher’s Cut is one of 10 full-service restaurants at the mall, including Lebanese Taverna and the Cheesecake Factory.
