(Updated 9/20/19) A new Burlington location plans to celebrate its grand opening today (Sept. 20) along Leesburg Pike in Tysons.

The store held a ribbon-cutting this morning, a press release said, adding that the first 500 customers today will receive a free tote bag.

Tomorrow (Saturday, Sept. 21) from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m., the store will host a family fun event featuring activities for kids, giveaways and a DJ, according to the press release.

Burlington offers customers lower-cost home goods and apparel options for men, women and children. The store will take up 42,900 square feet of empty space at Pike 7 Plaza (8355 Leesburg Pike).

The new store will be open from Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. until 11 p.m. and Sundays from 9 a.m. until 10 p.m.

With stores in 45 states and territories, including Puerto Rico, the chain has over 631 locations and counting, according to the Burlington website. The Tysons location is opening along with two dozen other locations throughout the country this month.

“This new location brings jobs to the community and provides a great shopping experience for the entire family,” Tom Kingsbury, the chief executive officer and chairman of Burlington Stores, said in a press release.

Tysons’ 1st Stage Theatre is back with a show exploring generational divides to launch its new season.

“Trying” explores the relationship between Judge Francis Biddle, the chief judge of the American Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, and his young Canadian assistant — the last in a long line of unsuccessful secretaries.

The play’s regional premiere is this Thursday (Sept. 19). The show runs until Oct. 20.

Performances for “Trying” are:

• Thursdays — 7:30 p.m.
• Fridays — 8 p.m.
• Saturdays — 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
• Sundays — 2 p.m.

General admission tickets are $42 or $39 for seniors. Students and military tickets are $15.

The drama is the first show for 1st Stage’s 12th season, which has five more shows, including “Airness” and “The Royale.”

First photo by Teresa Castracane, second photo via 1st Stage/Facebook

Vienna officials are taking another stab at outstanding details in the design plans for the Vienna Market project.

The project is set to replace the Marco Polo building and other surrounding properties with 44 townhouse condominiums, a 2,700-square-foot landscaped plaza and retail space at 245 W. Maple Avenue. Currently, the project is in the second phase, awaiting site plan revisions and building permit approval.

Vienna’s Board of Architectural Review (BAR) decried plans for the project as too boring during its meeting in May.

When the board made a motion at its August meeting to approve the development, it excluded some items for further review before approval.

Now, the project is coming back to BAR tomorrow night (Thursday). The board is set to review the project’s lighting plan, sidewalk landscape plan in front of the retail space and types of brick of some of the units and retail, according to town documents.

The meeting is set to start at 8 p.m. Thursday (Sept. 19).

Images via Town of Vienna

The Vienna Town Council is looking to implement a pilot program for dockless scooters and bicycles as a deadline nears for scooter regulation.

Legislation passed during the General Assembly session in January allows localities to regulate scooters and motorized skateboards, however, the localities have until Jan. 1, 2020 to take action to implement any regulations. After that date, the scooter companies can zoom around as they see fit.

Scooters, an increasingly popular alternative transportation option, are already around the area. Fairfax County and the City of Falls Church are also currently drafting up their own pilot programs for scooters.

At a work session last Monday (Sept. 9), the Vienna Town Council raised safety concerns while discussing a proposed pilot program by Public Works staff.

Councilmember Steve Potter said that he is worried that scooters going at 20 miles per hour could end up hurting pedestrians and urged the council to consider the fiscal impacts of the program, like impounding costs, late filing fees and recovery costs.

“I think we should have a schedule for public input surveys and public education efforts,” Potter said, adding that he wants representatives from the police department to also be involved in the decision making. “This is no small thing.”

Mayor Laurie DiRocco asked the Town Attorney to find out if the council can mandate helmet wearing for dockless scooter and bicycle riders.

Currently, the town is considering implementing a one-year-long pilot program instead of an ordinance before the January deadline. According to town documents, the program is based off the programs by Fairfax, Alexandria, Falls Church and Arlington County.

The proposed program would cap the maximum number of devices to 250 per company, allowing the company to increase the number up to 25 more e-scooters or e-bikes with “if they demonstrate at least three trips per device per day in the previous month.”

Each company would have to pay a one-time permit fee of $5,000 and a right-of-way use fee of $0.05 per trip.

While town staff suggested negotiating with Kimley-Horn, a consulting firm that focuses on transportation, planning and engineering, Councilmember Doug Noble balked at the idea of working with the firm because of its ties to private consulting. “They are not the only show in town,” Noble said.

Noble also urged the Town Council to look into investigations of scooters’ battery fires and inadvertent sudden stops.

Councilmember Pasha Majdi suggested that the Town Council implement “an extremely limited pilot program as a placeholder until a multi-modal plan with Kimely-Horn is created.”

Majdi adamantly said that he does not want to see motorized scooters on sidewalks — a sentiment he said scooter companies like Lyme and Bird share.

Getting data on how often the scooters go from Vienna to Tysons could give the Town Council insight into scooter demand in the area, Councilmember Nisha Patel said.

“I believe that will tell us a lot about how often these scooters will be used,” Patel said. “We are so close to Tysons and Tysons is the next major city in the area.”

In addition to the data, Patel said that parking hubs for scooters could help cut down on littered scooters around town. “It’s like dispositing your shopping cart in those metal racks,” Patel said.

Councilmember Howard Springsteen suggested forwarding the proposal to the Transportation Safety Commission — an idea that was supported by several councilmembers and the mayor.

The proposed pilot program is set to go before the Town Council on Dec. 9.

“We should get this done,” Springsteen said. “The clock is ticking.”

This year’s 16th annual “Sunset Cinema” series features three family-friendly flicks in the City of Falls Church.

The city’s Parks and Recreation Department will host weekly movies at Cherry Hill Park (223 Little Falls Street) beginning at 7:45 p.m.on Fridays.

This week’s pick is Disney’s “Lilo and Stitch” on this Friday (Sept. 20), followed by “Hocus Pocus” on Sept. 27 and finally “Back to the Future” on Oct. 4.

All movies are free and open to the public.

Drinks and popcorn will be available for purchase, and attendees are welcome to bring picnic blankets or lawn chairs for comfort.

In case of bad weather, the showing will be moved indoors to the nearby community center.

Image via the City of Falls Church

(Updated 9/19/19) A company in the City of Falls Church is rethinking cell phone service to eradicate dead zones across the globe.

Lynk is a new startup in the process of launching satellites that will allow cell phone users to send and receive SMS texts anywhere in the world within 55 degrees north or south of the equator.

Though they aren’t operational just yet, they want to show partners that their technology is beyond that of science fiction, said CEO and Co-founder Charles Miller.

By working with cell phone companies, Lynk will be able to provide secondary service from satellites when it isn’t available from normal towers, Miller said.

The idea for the startup came from Co-founder and Cheif Operating Officer Margo Deckard during her time in Africa easing the impact of Ebola through data and satellite information, Miller said.

Deckard noticed people had a hard time communicating with one another using technology because wi-fi and cell tower service were not available and wondered if satellites could be a solution.

When the team first proposed the project there were lots of naysayers, Miller said. But given his background as a senior adviser for NASA, he was confident in the capabilities of satellites and his team.

“Basically people thought it was impossible and assumed it couldn’t be done because it defied conventional wisdom,” Miller said.

Miller said getting funding was one of the largest roadblocks he faced, adding that the company needed investors to fund prototypes and test-runs. After three rounds of funding, the company finally received in June the $12 million they needed to begin test runs.

Lynk will launch all of their satellites via a rocket to the International Space Station (ISS) and then from ISS into space.

Now, the company has 33 partners, including call phone carrier companies Telefonica Argentina and Vodafone Hutchison Australia, who are monitoring Lynk’s growth.

The company recently decided to rebrand from Ubiquitilink Inc. for clarity and ease of name recognition. Miller said that it was hard to spell and it didn’t translate well into other languages.

Lots of investors have been suggesting they move their headquarters to Silicon Valley, but Miller said he considers Northern Virginia to be his home as well as a hotbed for innovation.

Looking forward to the future, Miller said the company will focus first on establishing reliable text messages before they establish bandwidth for phone calls or data streaming services. He said 3,000-5,000 text messages can be sent with the same bandwidth that it takes to support one five-minute phone call.

“We would rather service 3,000 to 5,000 people than lock up that one channel,” he said.

Once they manage to raise capital through private companies, they will expand to assist the Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Coast Guard, Miller said.

To meet their upcoming goals, Miller said they are looking to recruit one more investor by the end of the year.

The company is currently looking to hire eight different positions, including a vice president of business development and a telecommunications software engineer.

Image via Lynk.world

Commuters in Fairfax County may soon see new anti-panhandling signs at major intersections.

At a Fairfax County Public Safety Commission meeting today (Sept. 17), county officials discussed strategies to keep panhandling at bay while still helping community members in need.

Back in July, the board approved a board matter from Supervisors John Cook and Pat Herrity that would prohibit “curb to curb” interaction between drivers and pedestrians, and the board directed county staff to create a proposed ordinance for the board to consider at the meeting today.

The ordinance, though, wasn’t brought up. “I thought we were going to have a draft ordinance today,” Herrity said.

Popular ideas discussed included implementation of informational signs at intersections, conducting surveys among panhandlers to see what resources the county can provide them and the possibility of implementing future ordinances.

Representatives from the County Attorney’s Office and the Public Safety Office presented signage from other jurisdictions that addressed the issue by discouraging passers-by from giving panhandlers money. The signs included a hotline suggesting resources for those in need.

“I think we should go the signage route before we consider an ordinance,” Chairman Sharon Bulova said.

Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust agreed with Bulova’s statement. “We should try to avoid criminalizing behavior that is not having a serious impact,” he said.

Throughout the discussion, board members echoed concerns surrounding panhandling, saying that people hanging out near intersections are more likely to be hit by cars.

“I don’t care who it is or what they are trying to raise money for… [panhandling] is unsafe and I don’t like it,” Cook, who represents the Braddock District, said.

A few of the board members said they think putting up signs makes more sense than passing ordinances because if drivers stop handing out money, panhandlers won’t be making money anymore and will lose motivation.

“You’ve got to find out how to get these folks into a different environment and how to help them,” Cathy Hudgins, a board member representing Vienna and Reston said, adding that she thought the board is off to a good start toward a solution.  

As for where the signs would go, Providence District Supervisor  Linda Smyth said that the county will need to coordinate with the Virginia Department of Transportation.

Now, the motion to approve the suggestions will be voted on at the Board of Supervisors meeting next Tuesday (Sept. 24).

“Have at it — all of the above,” Smyth said about the anti-panhandling suggestions.

Images via Fairfax County

A new craft beer store is coming to Avenir Place by the Dunn Loring-Merrifield Metro station.

Black Dog Beer Shop is set to open this fall at 2672M Avenir Place, according to a liquor license application.

“The goal of Black Dog Beer Shop is to provide a craft beer store with a large variety of local craft beers,” according to the beer shop’s website.

People can expect to find local brews at the shop, including Port City Brewing, Aslin Beer Co. and Ornery Beer Company, along with taps for growler fill-ups.

Owner Tyler, who is a disabled Marine veteran, said on the website that he is opening the store because “I wanted a place to grab a beer with my dog.”

As for the dog behind the store’s name?

“Ash, the black dog in Black Dog Beer Shop, is currently 8 months and well over to 80 lbs… Some of his favorite chew toys include stainless steel, wood and iron. Don’t leave your beer unattended around him, he will definitely steal it!” the website says.

Vienna residents will have the opportunity to share their input on the Vienna Town Council possibly extending the moratorium on new development applications for Maple Avenue.

The Vienna Town Council requested Monday night (Sept. 16) that staff schedule a public hearing on Nov. 4 to discuss extending the suspension of the Maple Avenue Commercial (MAC) Zone from Nov. 15 to June 2020. The Planning Commission will also hold a public hearing.

The Town Council first put the moratorium in place last September to allow the town staff time to redesign the town’s guidelines. So far, the Vienna Town Council has approved four MAC projects and rejected one.

Councilmember Nisha Patel said that while she supports extending the moratorium, she would like to see the Town Council vote on new MAC guidelines before June. Mayor Laurie DiRocco said that town staff aims to have the plan go before the council by February.

The Mary Riley Styles Public Library in Falls Church is reporting $2 million in unforeseen expenses for its upcoming renovation project.

The city is working to revamp the history room and add 3,174 square feet, along with new features to the aging Mary Riley Styles Public Library (120 N. Virginia Avenue). Voters approved the estimated $8.3 million budget in fall 2016.

Currently, the total estimated budget for the project is $10.8 million and has a shortfall of $2.1 million, Project Manager Joel Timmins said.

“So far we have spent $1.3 million,” Timmins said.

At a Falls Church City Council meeting last night (Monday), representatives of the library project said that unexpected costs stemmed from streetscape design, LEED Silver certification, added security measures and other areas.

Mark Manetti from BKV Group said that the upgraded library will be about two points short of receiving LEED Silver certification and that the team might need to purchase off-site credits to reach the 50-point minimum.

“To spend that kind of money to buy off-site credits is kind of anathema. Are there things we could do here to achieve LEED Silver?” Councilmember Dan Sze said. “Is it more tinkling with the HVAC? Is it more insulation?”

“I would have a preference to on-site energy reductions, efficiencies, et cetera as opposed to buying off-site credits,” Mayor David Tarter said.

Timmins said that the city’s Planning Commission said that the project needs a streetscape and the arborist recommended irrigation, which added costs.

Manetti added that the team didn’t realize initially that the project would need a streetscape design.

City Manager Wyatt Shields said that the library’s board and staff were primarily focused on the library when determining the original budget estimates for the project.

“I should have raised my hand and said we need to expand this to do the full site and the streetscape,” Shields said.

Shields added that he should have escalated the consultant’s estimate in 2014.

“Working with a 2014 number is difficult and not realistic or practical,” Shields said.

“What we asked the voters to approve for this particular project for generally what we wanted to do both in terms of expanding square footage and all of the stuff that comes along with it — forget cost escalation, forget tariffs, forget all of that — it just never seemed to comport,” Councilmember Ross Litkenhous said.

Litkenhous said he is frustrated that the referendum for the voters was $8 million instead of a higher number.

“If the referendum had said $12 million or $14 million, it probably still would have passed,” he said. “At the end of the day, there is going to be a cost overrun and it’s going to be significant.”

The total cost should be determined within a few weeks, Timmins said. Construction is slated to start by February. The library is scheduled to reopen March 2021.

Councilmember Phil Duncan said that he’s “fairly satisfied with what we’re paying.”

“The more I talk — the more all of us talk — the more expensive it gets,” Duncan said.

Image via City of Falls Church