This is a sponsored column by attorneys John Berry and Kimberly Berry of Berry & Berry, PLLC, an employment and labor law firm located in Northern Virginia that specializes in federal employee, security clearance, retirement and private sector employee matters.
By John V. Berry, Esq.
We represent security clearance holders and applicants so every few years, we look back on the trends of what security concerns most often lead to the loss (or potential loss) of a security clearance. This year we thought we would do the same. Overall, not much has changed.
2018 Grounds for Loss of Security Clearance
There are 13 security concerns that can lead to the loss of a security clearance, which is listed in Security Executive Agent Directive 4 (SEAD 4). These concerns range from foreign influence to financial issues and numerous other issues in between. A review of publicly available security clearance cases was conducted by Marko Hakamaa of ClearanceJobs.com, which provided the breakdown of issues that resulted in initial security clearance denials.
Financial Issues Remain the Number 1 Concern
From the report, it is fairly clear that the number 1 issue of concern for security clearance holders remains Financial Considerations under Guideline F. While this Guideline can cover many areas related to financial responsibility, we see that it most often comes up in the context of a credit report which shows major unresolved debts or when an individual’s tax payments or filings are not timely.
Often for major debts the government is concerned that this could leave an individual subject to potential coercion. For issues related to taxes, the issue is the non-compliance of the individual with tax laws.
General Misconduct Comes in Second
The second most significant security concern from this report shows that Guideline E, Personal Conduct is the next most common clearance issue. Guideline E is a general security concern which can practically cover any type of bad conduct. Most typically, however, it often comes up in the context of illegal drug use, an arrest, a record of bad employment or lying on security clearance forms.
Foreign Influence is Ranked Third
The third most common basis for losing a security clearance was foreign influence, under Guideline B. This issue most commonly comes up when an individual with a security clearance (or who is seeking one) has relatives or property in another country.
The major concern of the government is that an individual may have relatives in another country that work for that government or who could be used as pawns to gather information from the clearance holder or applicant. The United States also treats clearance holders and seekers whose relatives are from allied countries (e.g., the United Kingdom, France, etc.) much better than those from less cooperative countries, like China or Russia.
The rest of the 2018 breakdown of security concerns is included in this report. We represent individuals with these types of security clearance appeals and there are often mitigating factors which can result in a favorable adjudication of these types of security clearance issues. The key is to involve counsel experienced in this area of law as soon as possible.
Conclusion
If you are in need of security clearance advice or representation, please contact our office at 703-668-0070 or through our contact page to schedule a consultation. Please also visit and like us on Facebook or Twitter.
5G is coming to Tysons — sooner or later — but its local rollout is not without challenges.
The next generation of wireless internet technology, which will arrive in Tysons in the next few years, means more than faster Netflix. It means infrastructure, laying the groundwork for innovation and entrepreneurship. It means bringing technology like self-driving cars a step closer to reality.
It also means regulation: it means Fairfax County negotiating with property owners, telecom providers, and the federal government. Tysons is built on a legacy of leadership in network technology, and the path forward relies on wise implementation of wireless technology. The future of “Internet Alley” hangs in the balance.
Mobile internet has changed a lot since 2G technology came along in 1991. Every additional G (for ‘generation’) follows the same trend: speed increases while range drops. Long-gone are the days of a single cellular tower providing a signal for the entire city. Today’s 4G technology relies on a network of smaller nodes, often located on top of buildings, that each cover a neighborhood. Tomorrow’s 5G nodes, with speeds up to twenty times faster, will probably have a range between 250 and 2000 feet. Fortunately, these will be “small cells”: maybe as large as a thirty-foot tower or as small as a backpack attached to a streetlight that’s already there.
5G’s higher speeds will be critical for Tysons moving forward. With much of the area’s historical success and present industry built on network technology, internet connection is as important here as was coal to the cities of the Industrial Revolution.
The new technology will be particularly important for self-driving cars, often called autonomous vehicles or AVs. Full automation will require that an AV is always connected to the internet, at reliably high speeds, so it can communicate with other AVs on the road. Only then will the full potential of the technology be unleashed. Tysons is heavily reliant on cars for transportation and Fairfax is “trying to become a capital of driverless cars,” so it is clear that AVs and 5G will play a transformative role for ‘America’s Next Great City.’ 5G will also be important for “Internet of Things” technologies like cashier-free retail and augmented reality.
Tysons faces unique and formidable challenges in implementing 5G. These challenges arise from the combination of 5G’s limited range with Tysons’ unusual physical and legal environments.
Where should 5G small cells be located? The first half of the question is physical. In traditional cities like Washington, we can attach them to existing streetlights on every block where they’ll cover traffic on the streets as well as people using mobile devices on the sidewalk or in parks, shops, and cafes. But Tysons doesn’t really have blocks. Here, a cell at the side of the road might not be strong enough to reach all the way through the parking lot to the building behind it. Here, the 495-123 interchange is almost 1,000 feet wide — it alone might need several cells.
Although Tysons is working hard to be more pedestrian-friendly, most people walking in the area are still inside buildings. Because 5G signal can’t easily penetrate walls, that means that our malls, parking garages, and big-box stores might only get reception if the cells are actually indoors with the shoppers.
Solving those technical issues will be difficult enough, but on the legal side of things the problems really get thorny.
Many of Tysons’ streets, along with its enormous buildings and parking garages, are privately-owned. This means it will be difficult for Fairfax County to coordinate a unified system that covers the entire area. The wide variety of private landowners will each bring their own desires to the table, but for the 5G network to be really useful it will have to be unified. To imagine what an inconsistent network might mean, think about an autonomous vehicle that drives itself off the highway ramp only to abruptly switch back to manual control when it enters a private street. To imagine a consistent one, think about placing an HD video call from your seat on the Metro and the connection not missing a beat as you disembark and walk to your favorite shop inside the mall.
To make the situation even stickier, Fairfax will be handling all of these negotiations with one hand tied behind its back. The FCC recently released a set of regulations dictating that local governments will only have 90 days to approve or deny small-cell installation applications, restricting environmental approval processes, and limiting the fees that can be charged to a service provider. 90 days is the blink of an eye for regulators, meaning that Fairfax will have to have a well-made plan ready before the first installation applications appear.
5G is coming quick. It could arrive as soon as next year, though probably not soon enough that you should upgrade your phone yet. However, if we hurry to bring 5G to Tysons, we might ignore the complexity of the issue and get the rollout wrong.
Early-adoption 5G might provide an advantage in the short term that turns into a long-term obstacle when the system is too established to change. We might be better off if we take our time and avoid other communities’ mistakes. Internet connectivity is important here, but it’s more important to get it right than to get it fast.
D. Taylor Reich is a freelance journalist who writes about urbanism and development. They are a Fulbright scholar, a 2017 Magna Cum Laude graduate of Brown University and a proud alum of Arlington Public Schools.
Every week the Eli Residential Group scours our network for off-market and pre-market homes to give home buyers and investors access to properties they can’t find anywhere else online. If you are interested in a property you see here or have specific needs you cannot find on the market, please reach out to us at [email protected] to talk to a real person, not an automated response system.
If you are a homeowner, investor, builder or agent who would like your off-market or pre-market property featured for a half million local readers on PoPville, ARLnow or Tysons Reporter, please email us at [email protected].
Tysons-Area Four-Bedroom Townhouse
Sawtooth Oak Court
Vienna, Virginia 22182
Description: Over 2,600 sq. ft. with 4 bedrooms, 3 full baths and 2 half baths, 2-car garage and fenced in backyard. Built in 2000 and located in a quiet HOA community. Walking distance to Dunn Loring Metro, downtown Tysons and multiple parks. Photos available upon request.
Price: Upper $800s
To view all of our off-market or pre-market properties, visit the off-market section of our website. We add new properties every week.
The Eli Residential Group is a real estate team with RLAH Real Estate, (703) 390-9460, operating in Virginia, Washington, D.C. and Maryland. Contact the team directly at [email protected].
Welcome to Luxury For Less, a weekly column highlighting the best deals in luxury real estate. Written by Brandy Schantz of TTR Sotheby’s International Realty, Luxury For Less offers tips and tricks navigating the competitive real estate market and securing the home of your dreams. To learn more, visit ttrsir.com.
Happy New Year and welcome to 2019! The real estate market in 2018 was particularly difficult due to low inventory and high demand for housing. 2019 isn’t looking to slow down any time soon in respect to demand so think about getting your house on the market!
The Tyson’s Corner area has seen a lot of growth over the past ten years and prices are rising quickly. The real story of Tyson’s Corner real estate is the new construction detached homes popping up everywhere.
McLean saw the most dramatic rise in the average price of a new build from 2017. The average price of a new build dramatically climbed from $1.95M in 2017 to $2.1M in 2018 according to MLS data.
Vienna and Falls Church are rapidly ticking upward as well with the average price of a new build in Vienna surging from $1.57M to $1.77M and Falls Church from $1.26M to $1.37M. With land prices on the rise, homes will likely keep getting larger and more expensive.
The area also saw the emergence of luxury condos. Monarch in Tyson’s has 1 bedrooms starting at $629k and go up to $3.396M for a 3 bedroom and den. Verse is in the highly anticipated The Boro neighborhood and have units ranging in price from $500k to just over $1.2M.
The suburban areas around Tyson’s Corner are even getting in the luxury condo market with The Signet in Mclean and Glyndon Falls Condominiums in Vienna.
The luxury market in Tyson’s Corner show no signs of slowing down or falling in price. If you’re looking in the luxury market, despite the rising prices, there are still opportunities to buy in this market for less. Check out the listings below to see some of the luxury for less properties this week.
- 8253 George Washington Ct Vienna (Reduced $149,000)
- 1450 Emerson Ave #314 McLean (Reduced $36,000)
- 720 Potomac Knolls McLean (Reduced $100,000)
- 1786 Clovermeadow Dr Vienna (Reduced $10,000)
- 510 Walker St SW Vienna (Reduced $65,000)
- 3103 Manor Road Falls Church (Reduced $150,000)
- 7540 Burnside Ct Falls Church (Reduced $200,000)
The properties listed are a small selection of properties available in the Tyson’s Corner area. For a full list of properties listed on MLS and private exclusives, please contact Brandy Schantz.
Laura Schwartz is a licensed Realtor in VA, D.C. and MD with McEnearney Associates in McLean. Reach the office at 703-790-9090.
If you’re thinking of moving to the Vienna area, or maybe you’ve recently relocated, you might not know the ins and outs of the town. It’s easy to fall back on big chains when you don’t know where to start, so please use this guide to get to know the town of Vienna.
Actually, let’s start with defining that there exists a subsection of the Town of Vienna — any address that has a SE, SW, NW, NE at the end of the street is part of the Town of Vienna AND Fairfax County. Any other Vienna address is part of Fairfax County only.
The homes that fall under the Town of Vienna have their own Government, including a town mayor, code, trash, police department, water service and they pay an extra Town of Vienna real estate tax on top of their Fairfax County taxes to fund the Town.
Perks of living within the town: early registration for Town of Vienna camps and events, and trash service (including the popular leaf vacuum collection). You don’t need to live specifically within the Town limits to use the Community Center, attend events, or sign up for classes (town residents just get priority sign up).
Now that we’ve defined the difference, let’s get to the good stuff. Vienna has a small town feel, despite the growing traffic concerns and larger developments on the horizon. Knowing where to go and what to do will help you enjoy what the town has to offer:
Events and Classes
Make sure you pencil into your calendar the annual events put on: Halloween Parade, Viva Vienna, Kids Adventure Race, 4th of July fireworks and so many more.
You can sign up for classes (both kids and adults) through the Town of Vienna website. You can browse by age, type of class, etc.
Sign up for the Partakes Online emails from the Park Authority of Fairfax County. They’ll notify you of events (Celebrate Fairfax, 4th of July Parade, etc) along with camps and class sign ups.
Browse the Jammin Java calendar for concerts (adults and kids)
There are also local businesses that offer camps, classes, events etc depending on your interests.
Kids & Parenting
Looking for new “mom friends,” resources to find a nanny or babysitter, doctors, etc. Join Vienna Moms.
Sign your kids up for sports, keeping in mind registration starts early! Vienna Youth (basketball, cheerleading, football, lacrosse, rugby, track, volleyball and wrestling), baseball, soccer, softball,
Find indoor play spaces to takes your kids
When the weather gets warmer, you can explore the playgrounds all over Vienna. Top favorites are Meadow Lane Park (also known as the toy graveyard), Glyndon Park, Peterson Lane Park and Northside Park (bring carrots to leave for the deer — a favorite activity my kids loved).
Join a pool: Vienna Woods Swim & Tennis, Vienna Aquatic Club, Dunn Loring Swim Club, Cardinal Hill Swim & Racquet Club or Westwood Country Club.
Take a bike ride or walk/run on the W&OD Trail.
Sign up for OurKids.com, which is a weekly email roundup to find out about local events
This regularly-scheduled sponsored Q&A column is written by Val Sotillo, Northern Virginia-based Realtor and Falls Church resident. Please submit your questions to her via email for response in future columns. Enjoy!
Question: I am saving to buy a house in 2019. How can I be best prepared to qualify for a mortgage loan?
Answer: If home buying is on your to-do list in 2019, you need to be pre-approved for a loan before you can start viewing houses. A home is likely the biggest investment you’ll make in your lifetime, so you need to get a handle of your finances and take some steps to make sure you are in the best state financially to make the purchase.
The biggest and hardest part of the home buying process is saving for a down payment and other expenses such as closing costs, inspections, insurance and any immediate repairs you are responsible for. A common misconception keeping people from pursuing their dream of homeownership is the myth that you need to put down the traditional 20%.
Options may vary starting at just 3% depending on what type of loan you are planning to use. Additionally, closing costs can run anywhere between 2.5-5% of the total cost of the home.
Also, your credit score plays an important role in qualifying for a mortgage. Change your spending habits and boost your score.
If you check your credit report early, you’ll have ample time to correct any issues. You don’t want to have to address a bunch of mistakes on your credit report while actively looking for a home and trying to get approved for a mortgage loan. You can dispute an error by contacting the credit bureau directly
LET’S ASK A LENDER
For better guidance, I asked Chuck MacAnanny with Embrace Home Loans to give buyers some tips to be prepared and help secure the best mortgage options. Here’s his advice:
1. Avoid opening new accounts and making major purchases. Opening new credit cards, buying a car or increasing credit card balances can have a significant impact on your credit score and affect your qualifying debt ratios. So hold off on that new car and keep your debts as low as possible.
2. Know your credit score. The credit score mortgage companies use to make a credit decision determines which loan programs and what interest rate you will qualify for. Understanding what your score is and how you can possibly improve your score can help to save you a significant amount of money.
Avoid using free credit score services offered from credit card companies and other vendors like Credit Karma. These will not be the same scores that a mortgage company will use as they are derived using a different risk module.
Also good to know is the difference between a “soft” and “hard” credit pull. A few mortgage lenders now have technology that can do a “soft” pull with no impact on your score by using just the last 4 of your social security number. This is a great benefit in the early house hunting stages, so ask your lender if this is something they offer. A “hard” pull can negatively affect your score, so you will want to avoid giving your full social security number out to limit the amount of hard credit pulls you have done to protect your credit score.
3. Gather necessary financial documents. Add strength to your pre-approval by making sure you are prepared to provide your financial documents if requested. Sellers and their agents often ask if income and asset documents were verified as part of the pre-approval process.
Having your tax returns, bank statements, most recent pay stubs and other pertinent income and assent documents readily available to share is helpful.
Every week the Eli Residential Group scours our network for off-market and pre-market homes to give home buyers and investors access to properties they can’t find anywhere else online. If you are interested in a property you see here or have specific needs you cannot find on the market, please reach out to us at [email protected] to talk to a real person, not an automated response system.
If you are a homeowner, investor, builder or agent who would like your off-market or pre-market property featured for a half million local readers on PoPville, ARLnow or Tysons Reporter, please email us at [email protected].
Below is one of our favorite off-market properties from 2018.
Newer Townhouse in Mosaic District
2900 Block Penny Lane
Fairfax, VA 22031
Description: 4 BR/3.5 BA four-level 1,600 sq. ft. townhouse with beautiful finishes in Mosaic District. Built in 2014 and includes large rooftop deck, garage parking, open floor plan and ample guest parking. Situated on quiet street and surrounded by open space for tons of natural light. Available 2019.
Price: Upper $700’s
To view all of our off-market or pre-market properties, visit the off-market section of our website. We add new properties every week.
The Eli Residential Group is a real estate team with RLAH Real Estate, (703) 390-9460, operating in Virginia, Washington D.C., and Maryland. Contact the team directly at [email protected].
Laura Schwartz is a licensed Realtor in VA, D.C. and MD with McEnearney Associates in McLean. Reach the office at 703-790-9090.
I asked the Vienna Moms group for an idea they’d like me to explore. No surprise at holiday time, I was tasked with finding opportunities for volunteering, especially kid-friendly options.
While there are no shortage of deserving and worthwhile causes, I did focus on events that welcome kids. There are many, many great organizations that’ll help match you with a cause you find worthwhile. I’ve included links to those below if none from my list fit your needs.
Power Pack Program (P3) — Food for Others and BritePaths
Did you know that there are many kids in our area will have little to nothing to eat over the weekend? The Power Pack allows elementary aged students to bring home a pack of food to eat.
The pack contains 2 items for breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus 2 snacks and 2 drinks. You can help by creating these using ZipLock bags at home or by organizing a larger group drive (the preschool my kids go to have done this and it was a huge success).
You can donate the bags to their Merrifield warehouse Monday through Friday from 2-5 p.m. (call 703-207-9173 first to confirm a delivery time). You can also download their food drive kit here.
Capital Area Food Bank
Sign up for a 3 hour time slot to help sort and pack donations. Ages 12 to 17 are welcome to volunteer with an adult.
They have a location in Downtown D.C. or Lorton, both with volunteer opportunities. They also have a marketplace opportunity (outdoor). Search their opportunity calendar to find what fits your time.
The Nature Conservancy
Not a Holiday related opportunity, but a good one for the family to remember. The Fairfax County Watershed Cleanup helps keep trash and debris out of waterways that feed the Chesapeake Bay.
There are many locations, registration opens March 1 and the events occur in April starting at 9 a.m.
The Scott’s Run Nature Preserve spring cleaning in McLean is April 13. A full list and details can be found here.
Fairfax County Animal Shelter
To volunteer here, you must be 18 years old and able to lift 20 pounds. If you’d like to help with dogs, cats and other small animals, sign up for volunteer opportunities when they need help. Those opportunities can be found by checking their Facebook page for announcements.
If you’re looking for other opportunities, try one of these websites:
Wishing you a very Happy Holiday season!
This is a sponsored column by attorneys John Berry and Kimberly Berry of Berry & Berry, PLLC, an employment and labor law firm located in Northern Virginia that specializes in federal employee, security clearance, retirement and private sector employee matters.
By John V. Berry, Esq.
More common types of federal agency “adverse actions” (more serious discipline) include removal, demotion, reduction in grade or suspensions of greater than 14 days. Some types of “disciplinary actions” (lessor discipline) include letters of warning, letters of reprimand, oral or written counseling or suspensions of less than 15 days.
Federal Employee Rights in Disciplinary Cases
If a federal employee is issued a proposed disciplinary action, the proposal will normally include a description of the alleged misconduct and the type of charge against the employee (e.g., insubordination, theft, conduct unbecoming, lack of performance, etc.).
Federal employees in adverse action matters (suspensions of 15 days and above, and demotion matters) and in some disciplinary actions (suspensions of any length (usually 14 days and below)) have the following rights: (1) right to an attorney; (2) right to respond to the proposal in writing or orally, and (3) the right to review all of the materials relied upon in the issuance of the Proposal.
We recommend that employees involved in proposed disciplinary or adverse action always request from the agency all of the materials that it is relying upon to propose discipline. Sometimes disciplinary actions will not be drafted properly and reviewing the materials relied upon can help in responding to the discipline.
Present Both a Written and Oral Response
We also usually recommend, in most cases, that a federal employee present both a written response and an oral response to the deciding official (the decision maker on the disciplinary action) in a proposed disciplinary or adverse action.
The oral response portion of a federal employee’s response can be extremely important and usually follows the submission of the written response.
Typically, when we assist federal employees in this regard, we obtain a full statement of facts from the federal employee involved and prepare a full written rebuttal to the allegations. We also contact the deciding official in the personnel action and request an appointment for the oral response.
In these types of cases, we respond to both the merits of the alleged conduct and argue for mitigation under the Douglas Factors. Douglas Factors typically are mitigating reasons as to why a particular disciplinary penalty should be reduced (i.e., based on years of successful performance, no prior disciplinary actions, lack of clarity about the rules at issue and other reasons why a disciplinary penalty should not be so harsh).
Conclusion
If you are in need of assistance in the federal employee discipline process please contact our office at (703) 668-0070 or through our contact page to schedule a consultation. Please also visit and like us on Facebook or Twitter.
This regularly-scheduled sponsored Q&A column is written by Val Sotillo, Northern Virginia-based Realtor and Falls Church resident. Please submit your questions to her via email for response in future columns. Enjoy!
On this Christmas Eve, I want to take just a quick moment to wish you a happy, safe and memorable holiday season.
I hope this season ends on a joyful note and continues into a positive and prosperous New Year for you and your family. Thank you for visiting this column and for submitting your questions. I am excited to be back in the New Year, bringing you more creative, informative and exciting posts!
Above are some of my favorite Christmas light displays. How did your neighborhood do?
I would love to see what other homes around Tysons did so feel free to send me photos of the best lights in your neighborhood to [email protected].
Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you all from the team at Eli Residential! Cheers to a cold season as you cozy up in the comfort of your warm home.
If you would like to discuss your Real Estate plans for 2019, or you’d like a question answered in my weekly column, please send an email to [email protected]. I hope to hear from you soon!
Val Sotillo is a licensed Realtor in Virginia, Washington D.C., and Maryland with Real Living At Home, 2420 Wilson Blvd #101 Arlington, VA 22201, 703-390-9460.
