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New Sidewalk in McLean Suburb Connects Residents to Park

A new sidewalk was recently completed in a McLean suburb, connecting the newly renovated Dead Run Stream trail to the nearby residential communities.

The new five-foot wide sidewalk runs for 400 feet. The project also added new curbs, gutters, curb ramps and pavement modifications.

Part of the improvements included improving the area’s drainage system to meet requirements related to the local watershed and to support the installation of the nearby walkway.

In addition to pedestrian improvements, new signage and pavement markings were added to enhance vehicle and pedestrian safety. Dense overhanging limbs of nearby trees were trimmed down too to improve visibility at the intersection.

Sidewalk photo via Twitter. Map via Fairfax County Department of Transportation

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Merrifield Business Association Updates Website, Tries to Recruit Millennials

The Greater Merrifield Business Association is “shaking off its low-tech past and ramping up efforts to connect with members and promote the community,” the Sun Gazette reports.

Among its recent efforts are a new website, pictured above, and the recruitment of younger members.

More from the Sun Gazette:

The organization is making its board larger, trying to diversify and get younger, Thompson said…

“We had an older-age demographic in the organization,” he said. “Not very many young people. Nobody had e-mail, nobody had Twitter. We were so far behind with the times and we were suffering from it. There are so many things that we do well, but we need the Millennials with us in this organization.”

The organization’s mission is “to build a strong network of local businesses, support our local community, and increase the customer traffic to our businesses,” according to the GMBA website.

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TV Reporter Helps Driver Who Crashed in McLean During the Snow

A reporter with local CBS affiliate WUSA 9 was on assignment during yesterday’s snowfall when she came upon a single-vehicle crash on Great Falls Street in McLean.

A y0ung woman had lost control of her Jeep Patriot on the snow-covered road, spun, hit the curb and damaged a front wheel, disabling the vehicle. The reporter, Peggy Fox, helped the driver get help and also helped to direct traffic before police arrived.

The responding officer offered some advice to others driving in the snow: slow down.

That wasn’t the only story Fox filed yesterday. She also caught up with sledders at the popular sledding hill behind nearby Lemon Road Elementary School.

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FCPS Opening on Two Hour Delay Thursday

Fairfax County Public Schools will open two hours late Thursday, giving road crews and mother nature extra time to clear slippery and slushy roads.

FCPS made the announcement earlier this afternoon.

Today’s earlier snow has given way to sleet and rain, including some freezing rain. Around 4 inches of accumulation were reported in places like Vienna and Falls Church.

The earlier Winter Storm Warning has been cancelled and replaced with a Winter Weather Advisory. From the National Weather Service:

…WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM EST THIS
EVENING…
…WINTER STORM WARNING IS CANCELLED…

* WHAT…MIXED PRECIPITATION. ADDITIONAL SNOW AND SLEET ACCUMULATIONS OF LESS THAN ONE INCH THROUGH MID AFTERNOON, THEN ICE ACCUMULATIONS OF UP TO ONE TENTH OF AN INCH THROUGH 10 PM. ALL FREEZING RAIN IS EXPECTED TO TRANSITION TO RAIN BY 10 PM.

* WHERE…PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND NORTHERN VIRGINIA.

* WHEN…UNTIL 10 PM EST THIS EVENING.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS…PLAN ON SLIPPERY ROAD CONDITIONS. THE HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS WILL IMPACT THE EVENING COMMUTE.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW, SLEET OR FREEZING RAIN WILL CAUSE TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. EXPECT SLIPPERY ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES, AND USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING.

WHEN VENTURING OUTSIDE, WATCH YOUR FIRST FEW STEPS TAKEN ON STEPS, SIDEWALKS, AND DRIVEWAYS, WHICH COULD BE ICY AND SLIPPERY, INCREASING YOUR RISK OF A FALL AND INJURY.

Numerous crashes have been reported around Fairfax County today, including crashes involving overturned vehicles. Virginia State Police’s Fairfax Division reported 114 crashes and 111 disabled or stuck vehicles as of 3:45 p.m.

VDOT is still urging residents to stay inside and off the roads if at all possible today.

“Even as conditions improve, drivers are asked to remain cautious this evening as sleet and freezing rain continue through the region,” VDOT said. “Crews continue to plow and treat roads, but with mixed precipitation and temperatures close to freezing, roads may become slick.”

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Tysons Cybersecurity Startup Wins $3.5 Million in Funding

When hackers try to break into a website, they probe the site for vulnerabilities.

Mohamoud Jibrell, CEO of Tysons-based startup NormShield, says that’s where his company comes in. NormShield searches a company’s website and infrastructure for those same vulnerabilities, so it can shore up defenses later.

Yesterday, the company announced that it had secured $3.5 million in seed funding that will allow the company to expand the scope of it’s operation and begin targeting sales.

“The majority of that funding is going to give us ability to scale,” said Jibrell. “None of our competitors in the market can do what I did. But our reach is limited, we didn’t have the sales people and engineers. So one way this is going to help us is expand our reach and we can sell to more customers.”

While NormShield isn’t the only company testing vulnerabilities, it’s a pretty standard part of the industry, Jibrell said NormShield’s strength is in combatting access through vendors or suppliers.

When Target was hacked in 2013 in one of the largest data breaches to ever hit a retailer, it wasn’t through the main company’s infrastructure. Jibrell said the hackers targeted a tiny company that handled heating and air conditioning service for the store. The hackers were able to access Target through a connected network and steal access to millions of credit cards.

Jibrell said larger companies often use hundreds or thousands of suppliers for various jobs, and NormShield is able to relatively quickly scan those websites and report back which ones are most vulnerable.

“Capital One, for instance, has thousands of suppliers,” said Jibrell. “It doesn’t make sense to run scorecards for all suppliers. But if they have 50,000 suppliers, with us we can run that every night and can only alert Capital One when there are [serious problems].”

Currently, Jibrell said the company is able to run anywhere between 10,000 to 15,000 checks overnight. But as the company grows, he says there are larger clients with larger needs.

“We need to expand our reach and improve our name recognition,” said Jibrell. “But at the same time, as customers increase, we don’t want to create a bottleneck. Today, 15,000 scorecards overnight. Want to be able to do 150,000 overnight or a million a week. So far, we’ve been trying to be frugal and didn’t want to spend on infrastructure for that level of scale. That money will allow us to create that so as we get more customers, we have the capacity to support.”

Jibrell said the company currently works with around 50 clients, ranging from small non-profits to larger banking and technology companies. But Jibrell also said it’s been the founders who have been making most of the sales calls, so the company is going to start looking to hire a new sales team and begin to exhibit at tech conferences.

Most of the half-dozen new jobs will be split between the company’s Tysons and Boston locations. Jibrell said they will be looking specifically for accountants and salespeople.

For Jibrell, Tysons is home, so it’s important to keep the company rooted here. But the location also gives NormShield access to talent at several local technology incubators, like MACH 37.

“[This area] has that community so that’s a big advantage,” said Jibrell. “That comes with talent, a lot of cyber talent in this area. It’s easier for us to grow and hire more technical people here than we would in Silicon Valley or New York.”

Image via NormShield

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Curved Glass Office Tower in Tysons East Moves Towards Approval

For over a year, the One Tysons East project was one on a long list of plans in the works but without any firm timeline established.

But now, it seems the project is picking up steam. No staff report is available online yet, but the project is scheduled for a Planning Commission hearing on March 27 followed by a Board of Supervisors review on April 9.

The plans call for the addition of a towering glass office building to the corner lot at 1690 Old Meadow Road, featuring a distinctive curved glass design.

The project is planned to include 250,000 square feet of office space and 12,000 square feet of retail, part of the growing Tysons East network that includes the Scotts Run complex and the Capital One headquarters.

Image via Akridge

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Tysons Corner Center is Open, But Snow Closes Many Shops in the Area

It’s cold out and the snow is still piling up in the streets, but that hasn’t kept some stores from opening. Tysons currently has around three inches of snow on the ground.

Tysons Corner Center said in a tweet this morning that it would be open, though individual retailers within the store might be closed.

The security office at Tysons Galleria said that the mall is closed today as a result of the snow.

The Tower Club Tysons will be open with a limited menu until 2 p.m., with an anticipated opening and normal hours at 7 a.m. on Thursday.

While the emergency departments remain open, Inova’s physical therapy location in Tysons is closed today, as are several other Inova programs across the county. Ninotch massage and sports therapy also announced its Tysons location is closed today.

The lunch special event at TenPenh near Tysons Galleria is also postponed, though the restaurant remains open.

Vienna government facilities and community centers are closed today. Maple Avenue Restaurant in Vienna announced that it would also be closed today.

All library branches are closed today as is the Fairfax Animal Shelter, which advised locals to stay cuddled up at home with their pets.

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Traffic Light Across the Area As Many Enjoy a Snow Day

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(Updated at 9:30 a.m.) The Beltway and I-66 are mostly wet and drive-able as snow continues to fall, but it appears that the vast majority of drivers are heeding calls to stay off the rods today.

Only very light traffic could be seen on either highway as of 9 a.m., normally a time when both would be jammed with commuters.

It’s a similar story on Route 123 in Tysons and other local arteries, but with more snow in the road and fewer cars. Neighborhood roads and side streets are snow-covered but largely passable for those with the right tires and vehicles.

As of 8:45 a.m., Virginia State Police reported 11 crashes during the storm in its Fairfax Division.

VDOT is continuing to urge drivers to stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary today, with morning snow giving way to sleet and freezing rain in the afternoon, to be followed by plain rain which will make everything a slushy mess.

“Drivers are asked to avoid travel for safety today as a winter storm moves through the region with a range of precipitation,” VDOT said. “Pockets of heavier snow may limit visibility and stick to the pavement, and a mix of freezing rain may quickly make roads slick.”

The federal government is closed today. Fairfax County schools, government offices, courts and park authority facilities are closed. The Fairfax Connector is running on a Saturday schedule. City of Falls Church government and schools are also closed.

Two inches of snow had fallen on Tysons as of 8:30 a.m., according to the National Weather Service.

In addition to asking residents to stay off the roads during the storm, authorities are encouraging locals to take it easy while shoveling today’s wet snow. Per the fire department:

Your Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department encourages you to take safety precautions if you are going to shovel snow.

It is important to consider your physical limitations. Wear weather appropriate gear to keep you warm. Only shovel snow if you are physically able to do so. This snow is a wet and heavy type of snow. Remember to take it slow when shoveling snow!

Update at 1 p.m. — As the snow changes over to sleet and freezing rain, 3.5 inches of accumulation are being reported in Falls Church and 4.2 inches have been reported in Vienna, according to National Weather Service spotters.

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Vienna’s Maple Avenue Zoning Overhaul Includes More Restrictive Setback Requirements

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Criticism over massing and scale of new buildings has prompted the Town of Vienna to revisit its Maple Avenue Commercial (MAC) zoning requirements.

While the four-story height limit remains intact, new regulations will push buildings further away from the street.

Setbacks — or the required distance of a new development from the street — played a major role in discussions last year regarding the redevelopment of the Vienna Wolf Trap Hotel. Critics and a few members of the Town Council argued the size of the building overshadowed nearby developments and asked that the building be reduced in size and built further away from Maple Avenue.

The minimum distance from the front of the building to the curb was 20 feet on Maple Avenue, but the new amendments increase that set back to 28 feet. On side streets, the setback requirement is increased from 15 feet to 20 feet.

A maximum height of four stories or 54 feet was included in the original zoning regulations, but the new regulations include a note that all buildings “shall have the appearance of, at most, four stories when viewed from every cardinal direction.”

New proposals will also require applicants to include an analysis of the long-term fiscal benefits and costs to Vienna under the revisions the commission will examine. Projects will also be required to include how the development fits into the current school zone boundary map.

As part of an effort to ensure that the new developments boost local retail, the regulations include a requirement that new developments or redevelopments include ground floor commercial square footage equal to or greater than what currently exists, including commercial square footage currently occupied, vacant or previously demolished.

Density caps had been discussed for multi-family dwelling units, but a comment on the proposed amendments notes that the idea was eventually dismissed.

The new regulations also slightly increase the amount of transparency on the ground floor facade from 50 percent to 60 percent.

The building also includes extensive revisions impervious surfaces of new developments. MAC-zoned developments have an 80 percent maximum impervious surface, meaning surfaces that rainwater can’t pass through. The idea is to prevent runoff that can quickly flood Maple Avenue.

But the zoning regulations also offer incentives allowing an increase in the impervious surface if other requirements are met. This includes a 5 or 10 percent increase if the applicant constructs and maintains a vegetated roof system covering at least half, or 2,000 square feet, of continuous roof area.

The Planning Commission is scheduled to discuss the changes at a work session tomorrow (Wednesday) at 6:30 p.m.

A joint work session is scheduled for March 6, followed by community workshops later in March to discuss the proposed changes.

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UPDATED: School Cancelled Wednesday As Winter Storm Barrels Toward Area

(Updated at 4:35 p.m.) Fairfax County Public Schools will be closed tomorrow (Wednesday) due to a winter storm that’s just hours away from reaching the area.

A Winter Storm Warning has been issued ahead of the storm, which is expected to drop several inches of snow and some sleet and freezing rain on Fairfax County.

Despite VDOT pretreating local roadways, authorities are urging residents to stay off the roads — if at all possible — after the flakes start flying early Wednesday morning. Delays and cancellations are likely for schools, governments and flights Wednesday.

More from the National Weather Service:

…WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 1 AM TO 7 PM EST WEDNESDAY… * WHAT…HEAVY MIXED PRECIPITATION EXPECTED. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 3 TO 6 INCHES AND ICE ACCUMULATIONS OF UP TO ONE TENTH OF AN INCH EXPECTED. * WHERE…THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AND PORTIONS OF CENTRAL MARYLAND AND CENTRAL AND NORTHERN VIRGINIA. * WHEN…FROM 1 AM TO 7 PM EST WEDNESDAY. SNOW WILL OVERSPREAD THE AREA EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING AND MIX WITH AND CHANGE TO SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN DURING THE LATE MORNING AND EARLY AFTERNOON HOURS WEDNESDAY. PRECIPITATION WILL CHANGE TO PLAIN RAIN WEDNESDAY EVENING. THE HEAVIEST SNOW IS LIKELY WEDNESDAY MORNING. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS…TRAVEL COULD BE VERY DIFFICULT. THE HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS COULD IMPACT THE MORNING OR EVENING COMMUTE. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS… A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW, SLEET AND ICE WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY HAZARDOUS OR IMPOSSIBLE. WHEN VENTURING OUTSIDE, WATCH YOUR FIRST FEW STEPS TAKEN ON STEPS, SIDEWALKS, AND DRIVEWAYS, WHICH COULD BE ICY AND SLIPPERY, INCREASING YOUR RISK OF A FALL AND INJURY. &&

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