As the National Park Service decides what to do with Claude Moore Colonial Farm property, locals question if their voices are really being heard.
Yesterday (Sept. 26), NPS presented options for future park development near McLean High School, which would divide the land into multi-use space.
The options featured different ideas that GW Parkway Superintendent Charles Cuvelier said were synthesized from community feedback at the first meeting. But a few attendees who spoke up during the public comment period last night said they felt like NPS ignored their feedback.
During the half-hour presentation, Cuvelier walked through three plans with the audience. All of the proposed plans included expanding hiking trail networks and expanded event space for gatherings.
The “Adventure + Exploration” plan suggested the creation of a camping area where visitors could hook up utility lines. The “Cultivation + Connection” plan emphasized the implementation of community gardens and farms with agricultural fields. Lastly, the “Rejuvenation + Renewal” idea proposed preserving ecological interest points as well as adding a pollinator meadow and a reforestation nursery.
At the first community feedback meeting in April, people were asked to place blue dots around things they would like to see incorporated into the new park design. From the feedback, it appeared that the most popular idea was the continuation of colonial farm activities.
McLean residents Dan Sperling and Rick Schneider told the superintendent last night that they thought the three proposals ignored previous feedback.
“It seems like you have come in with preconceived notions of what you want to do here,” Sperling said. “Not a lot of people knew about this [meeting] tonight. It was only by accident that I found out about it.”
These statements were met with applause from other community members gathered in the audience.
“I wish that you guys would seriously consider what we already have here and not seem like you’re chomping at the bit to do something else,” he said.
Cuvelier countered this statement, saying, “We wouldn’t do this if we didn’t want to hear from the public.”
Several parents and even a local school teacher in the area said that they want to keep the area as a colonial farm because it is the last place in the region that properly portrayed life from the era “free from apartment buildings and shopping malls.”
“The existing park here is unique to northern Virginia,” Schneider said.
Going forward, NPS is still looking for community input on the project. The examples from last night’s meeting were to put forth a few ideas and nothing is set, an NPS spokesperson said.
Additionally, NPS plans on renaming the park to South Turkey Run Park to better represent the connection to the surrounding area, Cuvelier said.
NPS has a soft timeline for a final proposal and is hoping to release it in spring 2020.
“I can’t give you an exact date, just a general timeframe given what we are trying to accomplish,” Cuvelier said.
Image via National Park Service
Metro ridership might be plummeting overall, but ridership in the Tysons area is continuing to increase.
All four stations in the Tysons area saw increased ridership in the spring of 2019 as compared to the year before, continuing an upward trend this year.
The Northern Virginia Transportation Commission’s new stats compared ridership in April, May and June of 2019 with the same period in 2018.
Ridership at the McLean Metro station by the new Capital One headquarters has continued to spike. Out of the four, the McLean station saw the largest increase in ridership during the three-month period, rising 25% over the last year.
On the other side of Tysons, the Greensboro Metro station spiked to 18%.
Meanwhile, ridership at the Spring Hill station increased 7% and Tysons Corner station increased 5%.
“Ridership at the McLean station has now gone up dramatically for three quarters in a row: first by 18.6%, then 20.6% and now 25%,” Tysons Partnership tweeted, thanking Capital One and The MITRE Corporation.
As for Greensboro, the partnership pointed to Meridian Group’s The Boro development.
“Ridership at the Greensboro station has now gone up dramatically for two quarters in a row: first by 18.4% and now by 18%,” Tysons Partnership tweeted.
Graph via Tysons Partnership/Twitter
The editor in chief of the Falls Church News-Press released a book earlier this month exploring a gay perspective on feminism.
Author Nick Benton released his book “Gay Men in the Feminist Revolution: Articles, Pamphlets and Reflections on My Gay Activist Days in San Francisco, 1969-1972” on Sept. 17 through Amazon. Benton told Tysons Reporter that he hopes it will educate people on the power of feminism in politics.
Though this isn’t his first book discussing perspectives from the LGBTQ+ community, Benton released his latest book for the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in 1969.
“This is my two cents in terms of what happened 50 years ago,” Benton said.
Benton began his career in the San Francisco Bay Area writing for different gay media outlets and spent several years as an LGBTQ activist before moving to D.C. to become a White House correspondent.
Later in his career, he decided to set up shop and start a newspaper in Falls Church to cover a local news gap.
Benton told Tysons Reporter that he thinks feminism will be important for switching up the political culture in 2020 and hopes his readers will walk away with a more comprehensive background through historical documentation.
Readers might be surprised about “the depth of the commitment to feminism by gay men,” he said, adding that people often think about the topic as “one-dimensional,” but in reality, the gay community is very thoughtful and supportive when it comes to feminism.
When asked how people in the City of Falls Church will react to the book, he referenced the former FCNP column “Anything But Straight” saying that LBGTQ perspectives were well received by readers and he expects the same for his book.
During the writing process, Benton said he struggled to find the time and energy to complete the book, adding that much of it is based on extensive research he did himself.
The “Stonewall 50” event, hosted at the Falls Church Episcopal Church back in June, inspired him to finally finish the book. The event attracted several dominant figures in the larger community who spoke about the importance of LGBTQ advocacy, Falls Church News-Press reported.
Going forward, he hopes new generations will learn from and engage with his book.
A luxury tower with condominiums in The Boro development is preparing to open.
The 25-story-tall tower known as Verse will feature 140 residences for sale.
Verse is slated to open later this fall, Meridian Group and KETTLER announced yesterday in a press release.
The building includes a private outdoor lounge and fitness spa. International firm Cecconi Simone designed the interiors.
People can choose between one-, two- and three-bedroom condos. One-bedrooms start at $500,000, two-bedrooms at $850,000 and three-bedrooms at $1.2 million.
Image via Verse
Haycock Elementary School’s new principal has been placed on administrative leave just a month after joining the Falls Church school.
Scott Bloom was placed on leave involving a personnel matter, Lucy Caldwell, a spokesperson for Fairfax County Public Schools, told Tysons Reporter.
“Personnel matters are confidential. Employees are on leave for a wide variety of reasons and those reasons vary with each employee. We cannont share personal information due to confidentiality/privacy regulations,” Caldwell said.
It is unknown how long he will be on leave, which started yesterday (Wednesday).
Bloom began his position as the principal at the elementary school (6616 Haycock Road) on Aug. 15 but was originally hired by FCPS in 2012 as the principal for Freedom Hill Elementary School, according to the Falls Church News-Press.
Bloom has over 12 years of experience as an educational administrator, Assistant Superintendent Fabio Zuluaga said in a previous press release.
Caldwell said families and staff received the following email this morning:
Good Morning Haycock Staff:
I am writing to inform you that Principal Scott Bloom is on leave. We are thrilled to announce the return of Mr. Augie Frattali to Haycock, who will now serve as our interim principal.
As many of you may know, Mr. Frattali is a retired principal with over 30 years of service to FCPS. Augie served as principal at Rachel Carson Middle School from 2003-2015. Under his leadership, Haycock was recognized as a School to Watch by the National Forum for Middle School Reform and received the Virginia Governor’s Award for Educational Excellence numerous times.
He has worked as a teacher and administrator both at the elementary and middle school levels. Augie was named FCPS 2010 Principal of the Year and was the recipient of the Washington Post Distinguished Educational Leadership Award.
We are confident that Augie will help us ensure the highest level of academic excellence for our students and that his presence will continue to support our wonderful learning environment for Haycock students, staff, and community.
Thank you for your continued support of Haycock Elementary School.
Photos via FCPS Region 2/Twitter and FCPS
Catherine Douglas Moran and Ashley Hopko contributed to this report.
A Muslim woman is suing a Merrifield-based company, claiming that she was denied employment because of her faith.
Shahin Indorewala said she applied for a job at Fast Trak Inc. (2735 Hartland Road, Suite) last fall. The interview process was going well, she said in announcing the federal suit this week, but things allegedly went south when discussing prayer breaks with the company’s CEO.
The lawsuit alleges that the company denied her request to shorten her 90-minute lunch break to take two short five-minute breaks for prayers as an observant Muslim. The lawsuit also alleges that the company’s CEO mocked her religious headscarf in front of the company’s staff and refused to hire her.
“I was shocked and there were other people around me. There were other employees, there were other interviewees there, and I just felt very humiliated,” Indorewala said yesterday.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) filed the discrimination lawsuit Tuesday (Sept. 24) in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Indorewala and her attorneys are seeking a jury trial.
CAIR Attorney Gadeir Abbas told Tysons Reporter that Fast Trak will have about a month to respond to the lawsuit.
“It’s an extremely strong case,” Abbas said, adding that he has seen increasing levels of anti-Muslim sentiments in recent years. “The workplace reflects society.”
Fast Trak CEO Ramses Gavilondo told the Associated Press that he didn’t hire Indorewala because she “wanted to preach her religion” and that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigated and found no wrongdoing. Fast Trak has so far not responded to Tysons Reporter’s requests for comment.
Photo via CAIR/Facebook
Oktoberfest is here and numerous places around Tysons are hosting celebrations.
In Germany, celebrations began last Saturday (Sept. 21) and will run through Sunday (Oct. 6), but local businesses in the Tysons area plan to host both traditional and unorthodox events through the end of the month.
Tysons Biergarten (8346 Leesburg Pike) planned activities to celebrate the merriment all month long. This Saturday (Sept. 28), the Biergarten is hosting its Dogtoberfest from 3-7 p.m. There will be dogs from local shelters available for adoption, and beer from Flying Dog Brewery will be on tap. Check their website for events happening throughout October.
They will wrap-up the celebration on Saturday (Oct. 19) with a final event featuring live music, games, face painting and five tasing samples. Tickets are $10 and this event runs from 3-7 p.m.
City Works Eatery and Pour House
This season, City Works (1640 N. Capital One Drive) is offering a specialized menu on top of their house German-style lagers, including a house-made herb spaetzle and a chicken schnitzel. These will be available until Sunday, Oct.6.
This location is hosting an event on Monday (Oct. 14) from noon to 6 p.m. to educate the community about the similarities between beer and wine.
Audacious Aleworks Brewery and Taproom (110 E. Fairfax Street) will host an Oktoberfest celebration on Friday (Sept. 27) from 4-9 p.m., Saturday (Sept. 28) from noon to 7 p.m. and Sunday (Sept. 29) from noon to 6 p.m.
Sweetwater Tavern Merrifield (3066 Gate House Plaza) is offering customers unlimited food and two drink tickets. All age groups are welcome and tickets start at $35 for adults and $12 for children. Those who purchase tickets in advance will be entered in a raffle to win $50.
For those who do not drink or would rather take part in other fall festivities, there are other options around town including festivals and volunteer opportunities.
This free fall festival on Saturday (Oct. 5) from 1-5 p.m. will feature family-friendly events including face painting, balloons, crafts and photobooths.
This festival gives attendees the opportunity to enjoy some fall weather while listening to live music, enjoying brews from Caboose Brewing Company in Strawberry Park and shop at the local farmers market and on-site craft fair. This event is free to attend and takes place from 11 a.m to 6 p.m. on Saturday (Sept. 28).
Also, the Vienna Business Association needs volunteers to work Vienna Oktoberfest 2019. There are a variety of time-slots and shifts available including ticketing attendants, clean-up, set-up and customer service associates.
Tysons Reporter’s first birthday is next week.
To celebrate, editor Catherine Douglas Moran and reporter Ashley Hopko will be working at a different coffee shop each day next week, so come by and say hello. (There will be free swag!)
Here’s where to find the editorial team from 9 a.m.-2 p.m.:
- Monday (Sept. 30): Star Nut Gourmet (1445 Laughlin Avenue)
- Tuesday (Oct. 1): Caffe Amouri (107 Church Street NE)
- Wednesday (Oct. 2): Mom and Pop (2909 District Avenue)
- Thursday (Oct. 3): Republik Coffee Bar (7915 Jones Branch Drive)
- Friday (Oct. 4): Rare Bird Coffee Roasters (230 W. Broad Street)
In addition to the newsroom pop-ups at local coffee shops, Tysons Reporter’s editorial and business teams are hosting a happy hour party at Tysons Biergarten next Thursday evening.
Can’t make it but still want to chat with us?
Shoot an email to [email protected] or submit an anonymous tip.
Squash players in the Tysons area now have a new place to practice at.
Play Squash Academy held a grand opening earlier this month for its spot at 8455-L Tyco Road.
The Tysons location is the third one for the squash academy, which offers programs for junior and adult players in McLean and Potomac, Md.
The new facility has three internationally sized courts. The academy programs include clinics, private lessons and match play.
Photo via Play Squash Academy/Facebook
A teddy bear-themed run and walk this weekend in Falls Church will raise funds for the Falls Church-McLean Children’s Center.
The seventh annual Teddy Bear 5K and 1K Walk and Run will begin in front of Lemon Road Elementary School (7230 Idylwood Road) on Sunday (Sept. 29). The race call time is at 9 a.m. for the 5k participants and 10 a.m. for the 1k participants.
Registration for 5K runners costs $35 and $20 for 1k participants. Proceeds from the event will go toward helping low-income families with the center tuition and maintain the children center’s affordability.
All age groups are welcome to attend but organizers ask that children under 12 are accompanied by an adult.
There will be prizes for participants, including a teddy bear for those who finish the course. Parents with strollers are encouraged to participate as well and will be placed in their own league.
