Locals can learn about human trafficking prevention in McLean next week — just days after Fairfax County police busted an alleged sex trafficking ring in the Mosaic District.
Police arrested two Falls Church residents and charged them with felony sex trafficking in connection with a sex trafficking operation run out of the Avalon Mosaic after police raided one of the units, Fox 5 reported yesterday.
“Police did not say whether they identified any sex trafficking victims,” the story said.
Juemin Luo, 35, bonded out of jail, while Feng Ni, 32, is being held without bond, according to Fox 5.
At a meeting next Thursday (Oct. 10), the Citizens Advisory Committee for the McLean Police District Station will focus on ways to identify and prevent human trafficking.
Police told Tysons Reporter that the topics for the regularly scheduled Citizens Advisory Committee meetings are often determined a month in advance.
The meeting will take place at 7 p.m. at the McLean Governmental Center (1437 Balls Hill Road) and is open to the public.
Attendees will also be able to learn about resources for people who are victims of human trafficking.
Hat tip to Michael O’Connell
Shoppers can expect to find Sephora and Drybar in Mosaic District in the near future.
Several newcomers are planning to come to the mostly-empty building that also houses West Elm (2921 District Avenue), according to building permits.
Drybar, a national hair salon chain that specializes in blowouts, has a building permit for suite 110. Next door, a Connecticut-based eatery called The Granola Bar has a permit for suite 120.
Madison Reed, which sells hair color products, has a permit for suite 130. Beauty store Sephora plans to occupy suite 140.
Can’t wait for the stores to come to Merrifield? The nearest locations for Drybar and Sephora are at Tysons Corner Center.
The stores will join several other newcomers to Mosaic District. Here are the other stores and eateries Tysons Reporter previously discovered plan to come to Merrifield:
- U.K.-based health food chain LEON
- Neapolitan pizza chain Pupatella
- Urban Hot Pot
- French bistro Parc de Ville
- Japanese BBQ and soba noodle restaurant RyuKai
Tysons Reporter also recently spotted signs for Gyu Shige, a Korean BBQ chain that will soon share the same building as Pupatella.
Work has kicked off to replace a bridge connecting a McLean neighborhood to Lewinsville Park.
The former wooden bridge connected the Lewinsville Heights neighborhood to the park’s community garden.
Fairfax County Park Authority contractor Accubid Construction Services is replacing the old bridge with a new fiberglass one that will be longer by 30 feet and wider by 8 feet.
Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust told Tysons Reporter that the new bridge will be a “dramatic improvement in terms of accessibility.”
Construction began last week and is expected to finish up within two weeks, according to Fairfax County.
Until the new bridge is finished, a sign at the construction site encourages park visitors to find an alternative route like Nathanial Lane and Chain Bridge Road.
“Please respect the closure,” the sign says. “The bridge may be up and look ready for use, but the concrete will need time to set.”
The McLean Medical Building may soon become the future site of a Sunrise Senior Living Facility.
Sunrise identified a need for more assisted living facilities in McLean — an area known for being disproportionately elderly. This is Sunrise’s second attempt in recent years to bring a senior living facility to McLean.
The site currently at 1515 Chain Bridge Road is home to a medical office building from 1964 with substantial surface parking. (In the spring, a historical link was uncovered tying the building to the doctor behind the first polio vaccine.)
While the McLean Medical Building is not listed on any official historical register, county staff have requested that Sunrise have an architectural historian conduct a study.
The proposed facility would have 140 beds and 40 employees at peak times. Most of the parking would be underground. The proposal would also have a public garden and open space for private use by the residents.
The McLean Citizens Association decided to support Sunrise’s proposed facility in September.
“Rob [Jackson, the chair of the Planning and Zoning Committee,] mentioned that — some time ago — the MCA had opposed a Sunrise Senior Living facility proposed at the intersection of Westmoreland Street and Kirby Road for being incompatible with the neighborhood,” according to the notes for the MCA meeting.
In 2017, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors nixed Sunrise’s plans to open a 90-bed official facility at 1988 Kirby Road, with county officials saying at the time that the proposal would overwhelm the surrounding residential area and worsen traffic, Inside NoVa reported.
The new site seems favorable to county staff.
“The assisted living facility will serve as a transitional use between the residential development in the north and west and the commercial development to the east,” the staff report said.
The Fairfax County Planning Commission recommended approval of the senior living facility at the new spot in September.
A sign at the site indicates that the project goes to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Oct. 15
Image via Fairfax County
Two people have been taken to the hospital after a crash on Westmoreland Street in McLean this evening (Tuesday).
Police responded to the call around 5:15 p.m. for a head-on collision involving two vehicles on Westmoreland Street by Old Chesterbrook Road, spokesman Sgt. James Curry told Tysons Reporter.
Two people have non-life threatening injuries and have been taken the hospital, Curry said.
Westmoreland Street is temporarily shut down and tow trucks are in route, Curry said around 5:30 p.m.
Map via Google Maps
Tysons Reporter is back with its new monthly crime map showing where the incidents occurred in Fairfax County Police Department’s McLean District Station.
We went ahead and pulled together all of the incidents noted for the McLean District Station in FCPD crime recaps from Sept. 1-30, weeded out the ones that are not in the Tysons Reporter coverage area and plotted them in the interactive map above.
The McLean District Station covers crime in Merrifield, Dunn Loring, Falls Church, McLean, Tysons and Great Falls.
The map only includes information from FCPD and does not include reports to the police departments in the Town of Vienna or the City of Falls Church.
Use the icon in the top left corner of the map to toggle between the various types of crimes displayed.
Fairfax County’s weekday police recaps are not comprehensive lists of every incident and the addresses are approximate. FCPD also notes that information in the recaps “is generally based on initial reports made to the police department.”
Anyone with information about any of these crimes should call 703-691-2131 or 1-866-411-TIPS(8477).
The Vienna Town Council is looking to add new transportation options to make getting around town easier.
Michael Gallagher, the director of public works, presented information about microtransit service and potential grants to the Vienna Town Council last night (Monday).
Microtransit falls in the middle of private, individual transportation like taxis and mass public transit.
“It’s like Uber with shuttle buses,” Gallagher said, adding that it’s designed to be low-cost or fare-free.
People within a certain geographic area would be able to request rides through an app. Microtransit routes and schedules are flexible to try to match the demand for trips, he said.
“There’s really no data yet because it’s fairly new,” he said, noting that D.C. is one of the areas around the country exploring microtransit service.
Microtransit would cost between $200,000-$400,000 per year for the third party running the system, Gallagher estimated.
As for funding, Gallagher told the Town Council the upcoming application deadlines for the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG), Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) and Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT).
Councilmembers were supportive of pursuing the new option.
“If we can get a grant for a pilot program, I think that would be a great option for the town,” Councilmember Pasha Majdi said. “I think this should be considered without making major budget commitments.”
Councilmember Linda Colbert supported the idea for a trial period, adding that she is interested in seeing how many people would use microtransit compared to Uber or another ridesharing service.
Most of the debate was about how quickly the town staff would need to act in order to meet different grant deadlines.
Councilmember Douglas Noble argued the town should not seek funding immediately, saying that microtransit needs to be considered in the context of other transportation options. The council is set to hear about the multi-modal study from Kimley-Horn on Nov. 6.
Majdi noted that there may not be a lot of information about microtransit’s feasibility since it is a new technology.
Gallagher said that he is meeting with NVTC in about two weeks to discuss potential grants. The Town Council said that it will continue the discussion of microtransit service this year.
“Do you want to get a microtransit service that gives everyone a ride everywhere wherever they want to go 24/7 or do you want a shuttle that takes people back and forth to the Metro?” Majdi said. “Very, very different levels of service.”
(Updated at 4:30 p.m.) For this weekend only, fashion lovers can check out a pop-up shoe store outside Tysons Corner Center.
Tamara Mellon will stop by with their traveling shoe store from Thursday (Oct. 3) until Sunday (Oct. 6). The 24-foot vehicle will feature women’s shoes in different styles and sizes, a press release said.
“The concept is inspired by the success of the brand’s first brick-and-mortar location at Palisades Village in Los Angeles, which reimagines the luxury retail experience,” the press release said.
Tamara Mellon founded the shop after also co-founding Jimmy Choo in 1996. She wants to make fashion more accessible for women, according to a press release, adding that this pop-up will allow the brand to get to know its customers “face-to-face.”
Tysons is one of 12 stops the shop will make while traveling around the country.
“The TM Closet will replicate the shop’s concept displaying each shoe style in every size, creating Instagram-worthy shoe walls which customers interact with to try on and shop product at their leisure,” the press release said.
Photo via Tamara Mellon
The City of Falls Church is planning to replace Oak Street Bridge after it was damaged from flooding in July.
Located at South Oak Street, the bridge runs over Tripps Run. The proposed plans would replace the bridge — which was flagged as being in poor condition before the flooding — with a new steel span bridge that will connect people to Howard E. Herman Stream Valley Park.
“Although the surface of this bridge was damaged during the July 8 floods, this long-term project was already pending,” according to a press release from the city.
More from the city:
In 2012, Dewberry inspectors found the bridge to be in poor condition with a bridge rating of four out of 10. There is severe corrosion in the steel beam webs. Timber blocking was installed at locations where steel beam webs were severely corroded. Concrete deck has spalling and numerous hairline cracks with some exposed rebar.
The bridge has been on a yearly inspection cycle since 2012. The rating has not changed and there have been no major changes from the 2012 condition. Each annual inspection recommends replacing or repairing the steel beams and concrete deck immediately.
The project’s estimated cost is $2.6 million and is partially funded by Regional Surface Transportation Program funds, the press release said. City officials are looking for additional grant funding.
The city’s Planning Commission is scheduled to discuss the conceptual design for the replacement bridge with the consultants and design team from Kimley-Horn on Monday, Oct. 21, at 7:30 p.m.
City officials will discuss the project timeline at the meeting.
The city will allow public input on the project until Nov. 6.
Image via City of Falls Church
Taco Bamba is celebrating National Taco Day by challenging patrons to a contest raising money for Hurricane Dorian survivors.
This Friday (Oct. 4), each Taco Bamba location will host its second annual “Bambathon” competition to see which of the five locations in the D.C. and Northern Virginia areas will be able to sell the most tacos.
Anyone interested in participating can visit the two nearby Taco Bamba locations at Falls Church (2190 Pimmit Drive) and Vienna (164 W. Maple Avenue). Both locations are open from 8:30 a.m. until 10 p.m.
Each location that serves 1,500 or more tacos will donate $1,000 to World Central Kitchen’s mission in the Bahamas, according to a press release.
Wold Central Kitchen aims to ease the effect of poverty and hunger. They have served more than 250,000 meals to Hurricane Dorian survivers so far, according to the website. “Meals are being delivered to community centers, clinics, churches, and into local neighborhoods that have been isolated by the storm.”
Restaurant patrons can track the progress of each location on Taco Bamba’s Instagram.
Photo via Taco Bamba/Facebook
