The City of Falls Church is planning to replace Oak Street Bridge after it was damaged from flooding in July.
Located at South Oak Street, the bridge runs over Tripps Run. The proposed plans would replace the bridge — which was flagged as being in poor condition before the flooding — with a new steel span bridge that will connect people to Howard E. Herman Stream Valley Park.
“Although the surface of this bridge was damaged during the July 8 floods, this long-term project was already pending,” according to a press release from the city.
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In 2012, Dewberry inspectors found the bridge to be in poor condition with a bridge rating of four out of 10. There is severe corrosion in the steel beam webs. Timber blocking was installed at locations where steel beam webs were severely corroded. Concrete deck has spalling and numerous hairline cracks with some exposed rebar.
The bridge has been on a yearly inspection cycle since 2012. The rating has not changed and there have been no major changes from the 2012 condition. Each annual inspection recommends replacing or repairing the steel beams and concrete deck immediately.
The project’s estimated cost is $2.6 million and is partially funded by Regional Surface Transportation Program funds, the press release said. City officials are looking for additional grant funding.
The city’s Planning Commission is scheduled to discuss the conceptual design for the replacement bridge with the consultants and design team from Kimley-Horn on Monday, Oct. 21, at 7:30 p.m.
City officials will discuss the project timeline at the meeting.
The city will allow public input on the project until Nov. 6.
Image via City of Falls Church
Taco Bamba is celebrating National Taco Day by challenging patrons to a contest raising money for Hurricane Dorian survivors.
This Friday (Oct. 4), each Taco Bamba location will host its second annual “Bambathon” competition to see which of the five locations in the D.C. and Northern Virginia areas will be able to sell the most tacos.
Anyone interested in participating can visit the two nearby Taco Bamba locations at Falls Church (2190 Pimmit Drive) and Vienna (164 W. Maple Avenue). Both locations are open from 8:30 a.m. until 10 p.m.
Each location that serves 1,500 or more tacos will donate $1,000 to World Central Kitchen’s mission in the Bahamas, according to a press release.
Wold Central Kitchen aims to ease the effect of poverty and hunger. They have served more than 250,000 meals to Hurricane Dorian survivers so far, according to the website. “Meals are being delivered to community centers, clinics, churches, and into local neighborhoods that have been isolated by the storm.”
Restaurant patrons can track the progress of each location on Taco Bamba’s Instagram.
Photo via Taco Bamba/Facebook
Tysons may not have the liveliest nightlife at the moment, but that could soon change as more late-night restaurants and places to hang out open. “Tysons After Dark” will highlight a different spot every week.
Thursdays are for karaoke. Several restaurants around the Tysons area let people step up to the mic to sing popular songs.
TD Karaoke (2980 Gallows Road)
Locals can find a modern interior with karaoke and bar grill in Merrifield. Private rooms are available to book from $30-$180 per hour. TD Karaoke is open from 4 p.m.-2 .m. Monday-Thursday, 4 p.m.-4 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 1 p.m.-2 a.m. on Sundays.
Clare and Don’s Beach Shack (130 N. Washington Street)
The “beach shack” serves up Floridian food with vegan and vegetarian options in Falls Church. “Boardwalk Karaoke” takes place from 9:30 p.m.-1 a.m. on the first Saturday of each month (Oct. 5, Nov. 2 and Dec. 7) through the end of the year. Dogs are welcome.
Mark’s Pub (2190 Pimmit Drive, Suite E)
Formerly known as Art’s Tavern, the Falls Church area sports bar has karaoke every Saturday at 9:30 p.m.
Tysons Biergarten (8346 Leesburg Pike)
Every Thursday from 4:30-9 p.m., people can sing to old and new songs. There’s no cover charge. During the beer garden’s happy hour (3-9 p.m. on weekdays), people can order $5 beers.
Photo via Tysons Biergarten/Facebook
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.
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.
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.
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.
Locals want more eco-friendly guidelines as Fairfax County looks ahead to the next 10 to 20 years.
Roughly four dozen attendees showed up to the meeting at Marshall High School last night (Wednesday) to provide feedback on the county’s preliminary strategies.
After brief presentations by County Executive Bryan Hill and James Patterson, the manager of the countywide strategic planning process, attendees were able to choose three out of the nine areas they wanted to learn more about by talking to team members.
Attendees were given copies of the preliminary strategies — 166 in total — and asked to provide feedback to the teams.
The county is especially interested in these nine areas:
- cultural and recreational opportunities
- economic opportunity
- education and lifelong learning
- effective and efficient government
- health and environment
- housing and neighborhood livability
- mobility and transportation
- safety and security
- self-sufficiency for people with vulnerabilities
The nine areas have five shared themes: affordability, equity, sustainability, innovation and collaboration, Patterson said.
Many of the people told the various teams that they support environmentally-friendly strategies, urging the staffers to strengthen or add language that would reduce pollution and waste. “I feel like the environment is critical,” one attendee said.
Locals talking to the “Health and Environment” team pushed for replanting of older instead of younger trees and stronger recycling rules.
People also suggested mandating that businesses recycle, adding urban gardens to schools and reducing food waste. Several attendees expressed frustration about unclear recycling rules and suggested that Fairfax County use stickers and more communication to clarify its glass recycling rules.
“We’re a wealthy county,” one person said. “Give us a glass recycling bin.”
While attendees seemed to come to a consensus that they want stronger protections in place to protect the environment, not everyone agreed on the specifics. In response to a suggested plastic ban, an attendee pointed out that plastic bans can hurt low-income families.
Over at the “Mobility and Transportation” station, people pushed for more frequent bus transit, suggesting different size buses — like double-deckers and buses of various lengths — to accommodate more riders.
Brent Riddle, a transportation planner for Fairfax County, said that the staffers are exploring different ways to add more cross-county transportation, like adding buses between Annadale and the Mosaic District and creating bus-only lanes.
“Public transit is more oriented as a feeder system into D.C,” Riddle said about current transit options.
Overall, attendees said that it’s better to incentivize group travel than disadvantage single-occupancy vehicles — possibly hurting lower-income communities in the process.
Some of the strategies that attendees showed strong support for include:
- Increase the walkable access (within half-mile or 10-mile walk countywide) to parks, facilty entrances or trailheads to connect people to nature and receational experiences, prioritizing implementation in areas with disparate health outcomes and other equity measures.
- Prioritize and incentivize the use of high-occupany vs. single-occupant vehicles; this includes transit buses, vanpools and carpools.
- Shift the design of selected roadways away from a sole focus on automobile traffic to a multi-modal focus by incorporating sidewalks, bike lanes and high-occupancy vehicle and bus lanes and rail lines.
The meeting last night was the last of six recent meetings to seek community input. Currently, county staffers are working to develop and refine strategies before finalizing the draft by the end of the year, Patterson said. Early next year, the draft will get publicized and adopted by the Board of Supervisors.
The county plans to use the input to identify priority areas and success metrics for the county-wide strategic plan.
People can still submit feedback on the preliminary strategies through an online survey that is available in English, Spanish, Korean, Chinese, Urdu and Vietnamese.
Comic fans rejoice — today is National Comic Book Day. Tysons Reporter has rounded up some places to check out to buy comic books.
The concept of comic books originated in the U.S. around 1933, according to the National Day calendar. “Famous Funnies” was a reprint of popular newspaper comics and sold as the first comic book. It embodied storytelling devices associated with comic books seen today.
Several local shops keep the comic book spirit alive in the Tysons area.
At the local chain’s Vienna location (426 E. Maple Avenue), the store offers visitors a large variety of comic book options including print editions, online comics and even a comic-book based podcast. Today, the store is open from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. The shop also has locations in Mayland and D.C., though hours vary.
Though more of a bookshop, the store does offer customers a comic and graphic novel section. People can browse over 100 pages of options on the bookstore’s website. The store also offers a selection at their physical location (2200 N. Westmoreland Street) near the East Falls Church Metro station. Hours of operation today are 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
Victory Comics claims to have one of the most comprehensive inventories in the D.C. area, according to its website. Located in Falls Church at 586 S. Washington Street, the store sells new comics, sports cards, paperbacks and a variety of other items. The store is also looking to buy comics. Hours of operation today are 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
Hole in the Wall Books also used to sell comics in Falls Church until it closed in August.
Photo via Big Planet Comics/Facebook
As scrutiny continues of public building and road names tied to the Confederacy, the Fairfax County School Board is looking to revamp its renaming guidelines for schools.
A proposal under consideration by the school board would allow the school board to rename schools to “reflect an inclusive, respectful learning environment as outlined in our adopted One Fairfax Policy.”
Two local elementary schools are named after individuals with Confederate ties — Haycock Elementary School (6616 Haycock Road) in McLean and Shrevewood Elementary School (7525 Shreve Road) in the Falls Church area, according to the school board.
They are a part of six FCPS schools and one facility owned by the City of Fairfax School Board that have names with Confederate ties.
The school board has been discussing the issue over the past year, Reston Now reported, adding that school board members recently said that “Confederate values are ones that do not align with our community.”
The school board is scheduled to vote on a proposal this Thursday (Sept. 26).
If the proposal is approved, it is unclear how soon the schools and facility might undergo name changes.
