Falls Church’s Sunset Cinema is coming back for its 17th year with new safety measures due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

The annual event screens movies at Cherry Hill Park. This year, the movies will start at 7:45 on Fridays.

The event will be held in a socially distant format with spots marked across the lawn. Up to 20 households are permitted, and people must bring their own seats, blankets, snacks and masks, the city recently announced. 

The movie lineup is:

• Sept. 18: “Moana” 
• Sept. 25: “Onward” 
• Oct. 2: “Remember the Titans” 

People must pre-register for the free movies. Registration for city residents starts on Monday, Aug. 24, and on Monday, Aug. 31, for non-city residents. Households can only register for one Sunset Cinema event.

Space is available on a first-come, first-serve basis, according to the city. In the case of inclement weather, registrants will be notified of a movie make-up date.  

Image via the Falls Church website

Dogs in Falls Church will soon have a new daycare destination with the upcoming arrival of Dogtopia. 

The daycare, boarding and spa service for dogs plans to open soon at 108 W. Jefferson Street in Falls Church. The business has more than 90 locations across the U.S. and Canada, including one in Tysons near the Spring Hill Metro station.

The business initially planned to open earlier this summer, but pushed the opening due to construction and economic factors. Now, they hope to finish construction by the end of September and open in early October. 

Not only does the business work to care for dogs, but they also want to make an impact on the community.

“We have this awesome foundation that we work with and we do truly believe in always giving back to our community,” Cat Michael, the general manager of Dogtopia of Falls Church, said.

First, they are raising money to provide a service dog to local veterans. Second, they are looking to set up employment opportunities for adults with autism. Lastly, they want to raise funds to help the youth literacy programs across the country. 

They are currently pairing up with Settle Down Easy Brewing Co. in Falls Church every Thursday night of September to raise money toward their first goal of providing a service dog to local veterans.

“We are currently fundraising to hopefully train to place one dog by the time we open in a veteran’s home in the Falls Church community,” Dogtopia of Falls Church’s Owner Jim Hannesschlager said.

The upcoming location also wants to keep the community safe. To combat COVID-19, Dogtopia Falls Church installed an HVAC air filtering system. They plan to deep clean and sanitize every room with pet-friendly sanitizer to maintain cleanliness while keeping pets safe from harsh chemicals.

The location will also offer contactless pet drop-off and aim to eliminate possibilities of cross-contamination of pet belongings. 

Dogtopia is offering a Founders Program for two weeks leading up to the opening. People who sign up will receive two weeks of unlimited daycare prior to the grand opening, according to their website. This offer is available for the first 50 dogs registered.

Photos by Michelle Goldchain, image by Katie Runnerstrom

(Updated 8/20/2020) A much-needed bridge replacement is on pause while the City of Falls Church waits to hear if the Virginia Department of Transportation will award the project funding.

Oak Street Bridge, which crosses Tripps Run, is in poor condition. Yearly inspections since 2012 have found several safety concerns and an urgent need to repair or replace the bridge.

While the bridge was repaired last year to fix damage from severe flooding, Falls Church officials want to replace it to make it safer and a better fit for the community.

A staff update to the Falls Church City Council last Monday (Aug. 10) on projects in the Capital Improvements Program (CIP) shared that the bridge replacement is the only CIP project that has stopped during the pandemic.

The CIP update noted that the city was expecting to hear back in May or June about its application to VDOT’s State of Good Repair (SGR) program for the remaining $928,000. As of last Monday, the city hasn’t heard anything.

“The SGR program is one of the very few funding sources available for paving and bridges that requires no match,” staff said in the update, noting that infrastructure funding was already competitive before the pandemic.

In November, city staff said that construction could begin in early 2021. The CIP update last week noted that the project design is 90% complete, but the funding shortfall is holding the project up.

Previously, the city announced that the $2.6 million replacement received partial funding through Regional Surface Transportation Program funds.

Aside from the bridge, the majority of the city’s CIP projects have progressed during the pandemic, with 18 on schedule and 11 facing delays. Since the last CIP update in January, the city finished two projects — sanitary sewer infrastructure in West Falls Church and primary extension paving along East Broad Street and Hillwood Avenue.

The city also added two new projects to the CIP list after the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) granted the total funding. One project received $6.9 million to address transit access and multimodal connectivity in West Falls Church. The other project, which received $8.3 million, will tackle multimodal improvements in the downtown area.

The CIP update last week noted that receiving the full funding for both projects was “unexpected, but much needed.”

Update corrects name of NVTA

Image via City of Falls Church

After 28 years in the role, Falls Church Sheriff Stephen Bittle recently retired. Now, voters will choose his successor next year.

Bittle retired on Saturday (Aug. 15), the City of Falls Church announced today. Chief Deputy Sheriff Matt Cay will serve as the interim sheriff until the election in November 2021.

Bittle started working for the city’s police department in 1966 and then left to become the interim sheriff in 1992, according to the city. He was officially elected to the position in 1993. Bittle ran unopposed in the last five elections, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.

The Virginia House of Delegates lauded Bittle for 50 years of service in 2017.

Falls Church voters elect the sheriff every four years. The sheriff’s office provides court security and prisoner transportation and also works with the city’s police department to help with things like traffic control, special events and training exercises.

Photo via City of Falls Church

New Firm Helping Businesses With COVID-19 Rules — “The Tysons firm [Covidless Workplace Services], founded in June, aims to provide businesses with a set of recommendations and guidelines that not only help them comply with regulations but also implement best practices, said co-founder Dirar Hakeem.” [Washington Business Journal]

Koenigsegg Hypercar Will Be Sold in Tysons — “The manufacturer of one of the world’s most exclusive ‘hypercars’ has made it official and announced Tysons-based Exclusive Automotive Group as its only local dealer… The models will only be on site for special events, and even if you choose to acquire one, it’ll take one to two years to get it.” [Washington Business Journal]

Book Demand High — “Local libraries’ physical doors may be shut since the Covid-19 pandemic hit, but their virtual doors are seeing plenty of ‘foot traffic’ at all hours of the day in the City of Falls Church and surrounding areas.” [Falls Church News-Press]

Mask Campaign — “Four of Northern Virginia’s top health care organizations started a campaign Wednesday with a simple message about fighting the coronavirus pandemic: Wear a mask.” [Patch]

The police department in Falls Church says scammers are calling people, threatening them with arrests to get their money and personal information.

The city sent out an alert yesterday (Wednesday) about the scam after several residents reported callers said the residents had outstanding arrest warrants.

“The caller claims to be an officer with the City of Falls Church Police Department and demands immediate payment for an alleged fine,” the city’s announcement said. “Through threats and intimidation, the caller attempts to convince residents to purchase prepaid debit cards and provide the identification numbers which allows the scammers to obtain the money from the cards.”

A survey by Provision Living, which offers senior living, found that robocalls are becoming more common for seniors. COVID-19 scams and robocalls are reportedly on the rise around the country.

The alert said that people who get a call from someone claiming to be from the city’s police department should hang up and call the police non-emergency line at 703-241-5053 (TTY 711).

“The City of Falls Church Police Department is reminding citizens that agency representatives have never and will never call to solicit funds or collect fines,” the alert said.

Here’s advice from the police department on how to spot spam calls:

• be suspicious of unsolicited calls
• never use the phone number from the caller to verify their credibility
• never give money or personal information to the caller
• if a call makes you suspicious, hang up

Photo by Jonah Pettrich on Unsplash

Falls Church Officials Enact New Firearms Ordinance — “Culminating a grueling 5 hour, 15 minute virtual meeting Monday night, the Falls Church City Council voted unanimously, 6-0, to enact a ‘Firearms on City Property and Events’ ordinance that will go into effect Nov. 1.” [Falls Church News Press]

Women’s Suffrage Exhibit in Vienna — “The Freeman Store and Museum in Vienna is closed indefinitely because of the pandemic, but when it reopens, visitors to its ground-floor gallery can learn plenty about the women’s suffrage movement and how its victories benefited future generations of women.” [Inside NoVa]

Public Safety “Heroes” Visit Hospitalized Kids — “Patients at Inova Children’s Hospital in Fairfax received a superheroic visit Monday morning from a group of public safety heroes. Volunteers from the Fairfax County fire and police departments, as well as the Herndon Police Department, rappelled down the outside of the hospital building on Gallows Road and greeted patients through their hospital room windows.” [Patch]

ICYMI: FCPS Town Hall Tonight — “FCPS Superintendent Scott Brabrand will discuss the virtual return to school on Sep. 8 and address any questions. The event plans to run from 6-7 p.m.” [Tysons Reporter]

UPDATE – building fire in the 1000 block of Country Club Drive, NE in Vienna area: fire is out. No reported injuries at this time. Some units returning to service. #FCFRD pic.twitter.com/5kPfBdWHzr

— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) August 12, 2020

Photo by Michelle Goldchain

A local husband-wife duo will talk about racial bullying and the husband’s novel on classism and racism during a virtual event later this month.

Jeffrey Blount’s novel “The Emancipation of Evan Walls” shares the oppression Evan Walls faced as a Black child in the 1960s in a small town in Virginia. Blount, an Emmy award-winning TV director, published the book in June 2019.

Jeanne Meserve, a former anchor and correspondent for CNN and ABC News, will discuss racial bullying and the novel with her husband before taking questions from the online audience.

The Mary Riley Styles Public Library is hosting the online event as part of its “Community Conversations” about race and social justice.

The library shared the following description of the book:

It is June 1968. The Civil Rights movement is winding down after the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. Negroes in the town of Canaan, Virginia have been used to acting the same, thinking the same and sharing in the unadulterated hatred of a common enemy. Evan is ten years old and, in the jargon of the times, young, gifted and black. In the presence of his parents and a summer porch gathering of their friends, he makes a startling declaration. From that moment on, the central question of his life is born. Is he black enough?

The Zoom event is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 26. Prospective participants will need to email [email protected] for the Zoom link.

Photo via Jeffrey Blount, Author/Facebook 

The Metropolitan Washington Summer Restaurant Week returns next week, and more than a dozen restaurants in the Tysons area are participating in the event.

The event lets people buy lunch, brunch and dinner from restaurants at fixed prices. Some of the restaurants will cocktails or wine pairings for dine-in customers and special discounts.

New this year, Summer Restaurant Week is offering family-style to-go dinners (RW To Go) for either $35 per person or $55 per person.

Here are the local participating restaurants and what they are offering:

Tysons

• Ruth’s Chris Steak House: dinner
• Chima Steakhouse: dinner
• Coastal Flats: lunch and dinner
• Founding Farmers: lunch and dinner, RW To Go
• American Prime: lunch and dinner, RW To Go
• Agora Tysons: dinner, RW To Go
• Randy’s Prime Seafood and Steaks: lunch and dinner
• Lebanese Taverna: lunch and dinner, RW To Go
• Wildfire: lunch and dinner, RW To Go

Vienna

• Blend 111: brunch, lunch and dinner
• Caboose Brewing Company: lunch and dinner, RW To Go
• Maple Ave Restaurant: brunch and dinner, RW To Go

Falls Church and Merrifield:

• TRIO Grill: dinner
• Alta Strada: dinner, RW To Go
• 2941 Restaurant: dinner

McLean

• J. Gilbert’s Wood-Fired Steaks and Seafood: lunch and dinner

Summer Restaurant Week will run from Aug. 17-30.

Alpaca Party — “Earlier this summer, [Andrea] Diaz, who lives in Vienna, started a new business, My Pet Alpaca.” [DCist]

Lodging Revenue Nose Dives — Tysons-based Park Hotels “saw a 95.16% drop in revenue, from $434 million in 2019 to just $21 million in the most recent quarter. RevPAR for the second quarter was $14.47, down 95.1%. Occupancy for Park’s 18 consolidated hotels that remained open for the entire quarter was 20.8%. Today, 42 of Park’s hotels are operational, which accounts for 53% of its portfolio.” [Washington Business Journal]

Road Closure Alert — “The 100 block of N. West Street will be closed on Monday, August 10, from 10 a.m. to about 2 p.m. to allow for construction trailer movement at the Founder’s Row site.” [City of Falls Church]

Halloween Store Coming to Tysons — “Spirit Halloween stores recently announced plans to start opening its 1,400 U.S. locations in anticipation of Halloween 2020. The company typically occupies vacant storefronts leading up to Halloween season, and this year it will be at the former Performance Bike location at 8387 Leesburg Pike in Tysons.” [Patch]

COVID-19 Case Backlog — “An additional 2,015 coronavirus cases were reported statewide Friday, which the Virginia Department of Health attributed to a backlog of cases. The number reflects cases that should have been reported on Wednesday and Thursday, as well as Friday’s cases.” [Patch]

Local Author Releases New Novel — “If the Roman Empire never collapsed, would society be far more advanced than it is today? That’s the subject of a new history novel, “The Alternative History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,” enthusiast Martin Missaiel has been working on since 2012.” [Falls Church News-Press]

Hand Sanitizer Recell — “The Food and Drug Administration has recalled 75 brands of hand sanitizer that contain methanol, which can cause serious health complications.” [Patch]

Photo courtesy Hilde Kahn