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.

Photo via Facebook/Falls Church- McLean Children’s Center

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.

(Updated at 4:45 p.m.) One person has been taken to the hospital after a car ended up on its side in the front yard of a McLean home.

Fairfax County police received a call about a sedan in a ditch at Kirby and Birch roads shortly after 3 p.m. today (Monday), spokesman Sgt. Greg Bedor told Tysons Reporter.

Bedor said that rescue personnel responded, and one person was taken to the hospital with minor, non-life threatening injuries.

The crash caused a “brief road closure” of Birch Road “to get the car out safely,” Bedor said.

When Tysons Reporter showed up around 3:50 p.m., the car was lying on its side atop utility lines with the roof ripped off — though the roof might have been removed by rescuers trying to free the vehicle’s occupant.

Utility crews are checking the tension wire to the utility pole, Bedor said, adding that the crash is under investigation.

Map via Google Maps. Jay Westcott contributed to this story.

Langley High School delayed students from leaving this afternoon while Fairfax County police responded to a report of a “suspicious man” in a nearby yard.

Sgt. James Curry, a police spokesman, told Tysons Reporter that police received a call at 2:16 p.m. about a man in someone’s yard in the 900 block of Ridge Drive.

Curry said that the man ran away when police arrived and has not been found.

The incident was not related to the school and does not appear to pose any threat to the school, Curry said.

The school was secured — which is different from a lockdown — because of the increased police activity in the area, Curry said.

Principal Kimberly Greer said in a letter to families that the school was secured around 2:50 p.m. “At this time, students (and buses) have been released,” Greer wrote.

More from Greer:

This letter is to inform you of an incident that occurred today. At approximately 2:50 p.m. the school was notified that there was an incident in the surrounding neighborhood with police involement. At that time we went into “Secure the Building” status. This means that all exterior doors are locked and students are to remain inside. Staff reacted swifty and appropriately, and our students behaved in an exemplary manner. At no time was anyone on school property.

Upon advisement from the Fairfax County Police Department, we ae no longer in “Secure the Building” status. At this time, students (and buses) have been released.

Map via Google Maps

The Weekly Planner is a roundup of interesting events coming up over the next week in the Tysons area.

We’ve scoured the web for events of note in Tysons, Vienna, Merrifield, McLean and Falls Church. Know of any we’ve missed? Tell us!

Tuesday (Sept. 24)

• Ribbon Cutting: Zenola — 6-7 p.m. at Zenola (132 Branch Road SE) — Newly opened Zenola is hosting their grand opening in partnership with the Vienna Business Associaton and the Town of Vienna.
• Laughs In The Lobby Bar — 8 p.m. at Jammin Java (227 E. Maple Avenue) — This free event lets people gather for an evening of comedy featuring a variety of experience levels. All ages are welcome. Those wishing to get on stage should show up at 7 p.m.
• Happy Hour Mixer in Falls Church — 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Hilton Garden Inn (706 W. Broad Street) — The Greater Merrifield Business Association and the Falls Church Chamber of Commerce are hosting a joint event with food, drinks and networking.

Wednesday (Sept. 25)

• Community Conversation: Shaping the Future of Fairfax County Together — 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Marshall High School (7731 Leesburg Pike) — Fairfax County wants feedback from citizens about what they want their community to look like in 10-20 years. This is an opportunity for people to gather and give input at an open forum.

Thursday (Sept. 26)

• Alya Salon Grand Opening Party — 5:30-8:30 p.m. at Ayla Salon (139 Park Street SE) — This new hair salon will celebrate its grand opening with food, drinks, music, various product samples and a mini-fashion show.

Friday (Sept. 27)

• Friday Night Live — 8-11 p.m. at Falls Church Distillers (442 S. Washington Street) — Each week, this free event invites community members to gather for live music.

Saturday (Sept. 28)

• Merrifield Fall Festival — 11 a.m.-6 p.m. at the Mosaic District (2910 District Avenue) — This festival gives attendees the opportunity to enjoy some fall weather while listening to live music, enjoying brews from Caboose Brewing in Strawberry Park and shop at the local farmers market and on-site craft fair. This event is free to attend.

Sunday (Sept. 29)

• Plant Swap — 11 a.m.-noon at Botanologica (817 W. Broad Street) –– This free event gives community members the chance to trade plants or clippings. Organizers ask that participants bring only healthy plants, label the species and provide written care instructions for the next owner.
• Pimmit Hills Day — 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at Olney Park (1840 Olney Road) — This festival invites community members to check out live music and various vendors offering live music, food and drinks. All ages are welcome to this free event. There will also be activities for kids.

Photo via Facebook

Dumpster Fire Broke Out at Tysons Building — Firefighters responded reports of smoke from a dumpster fire in a Tysons building in the 1500 block of Boyd Pointe Way Sunday (Sept. 22) afternoon. The fire sprinklers were activated and the fire was extinguished. No injuries were reported. [Fairfax County Fire and Rescue]

McLean Community Garage Sale Recap — “More than 100 people stood in line to enter the Fall Community Garage Sale hosted by the McLean Community Center, where more than 50 vendors had set up shop on Saturday morning.” [Connection Newspapers]

Falls Church Group Home Wins Award — “The City of Falls Church will be presented the “Community Health” Innovation award by the Virginia Municipal League (VML) in recognition of the Miller House, a group home for adults with disabilities. The award will be presented to the City at the annual VML conference in October.” [City of Falls Chuch press release]

Tysons Tech Center Renovated — “Element Critical, a leading provider of data center and IT infrastructure services driven by customer-centric solutions and backed by engineering expertise, today announced completion of a major renovation and transformation of its 280,000 square foot Tysons Technology Center on its 14.5 acre campus near Tysons.” [Yahoo]

McLean Makes Best Places to Live List — Dranesville landed on the #14 spot on Money’s “Best Places to Live in 2019” list. [Money]

Tysons Office Sells for Millions — “Brandywine Realty Trust has sold 1900 Gallows Rd., here for $35 million. The buyer of the 210,000-square foot building is Foulger-Pratt.” [GlobeSt.com]

Tysons-Based Tegna Acquires 11 TV Stations — “Tysons-based Tegna Inc. has completed its $740 million cash acquisition of 11 television stations from Texas-based Nexstar Media Group… The 11 stations were among 19 divested by Nexstar for a total of $1.32 billion to meet federal antitrust requirements as it acquires Chicago-based Tribune Media for $7.2 billion.” [Virginia Business]

Mental Health Awareness Walk in Tysons — “More than 400 supporters came out to Tyson’s Corner on Saturday to raise funds for programs that help people cope with depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.” [Local DVM]

Glass Still in Falls Church Recycling Bins — “With some surrounding jurisdictions ditching the one-size-fits-all mentality when it comes to recycling, the City of Falls Church is continuing to accept all kinds of items — including glass — at the curb while joining local governments in informing residents to remove other disposables from recycle bins altogether.” [Falls Church News-Press]

Falls Church Has Nearly $3 Million Surplus — “The City of Falls Church scored a whopping $2.4 million surplus over budget for the Fiscal Year 2019, which ended June 30, the City’s Director of Finance Kiran Bawa reported to the F.C. City Council at its work session Monday night.” [Falls Church News-Press]

Work to repair one of two flood-damaged McLean roads is taking longer than originally expected.

The 1300 block of Kirby Road and Swinks Mill Road by Scott’s Run are still closed due to severe storm damage from July 8 flash flooding. The Virginia Department of Transporation (VDOT) has said that both roads will stay closed for several months.

In an update yesterday (Thursday), VDOT said that work on Kirby Road is slated to be finished in mid-December instead of late November.

“The road is expected to safely reopen to through traffic in mid-December, and final asphalt and lane striping will continue through May 2020,” VDOT said in an update yesterday (Thursday).

“Martins Construction Corporation has been awarded a $2.1 million emergency contract for repairs, and work is anticipated to begin the week of Sept. 23,” VDOT said.

Meanwhile, work on Swinks Mill Road is expected to be done by the end of this month, VDOT said, adding that crews are currently working on reconstructing the bridge deck and making sub-structure repairs.

VDOT also provided information on the progress this week for both roads:

Swinks Mill Road at Scotts Run

In the last month, crews have:

• Excavated and poured concrete working surfaces on the downstream side on which the footers will be built
• Installed rebar and poured two footers on the downstream side
• Installed rebar and support for the stem wall on the downstream right-side abutment
• Partially installed rebar for stem wall on the downstream left-side abutment

Kirby Road at Pimmit Run 

Martins Construction Corporation’s work includes:

• Relocation of Little Pimmit Run to its previous stream alignment in compliance with federal/state permitting agencies
• Rebuilding the washed-out section of Kirby Road with concrete and rip rap
• Replacement of a more than 50-year-old, 24-inch sanitary sewer line
• Reconstruction of the bridge over Pimmit Run with work on the abutments, wing walls, parapets, bridge deck and approaches

Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust wrote in an email to constituents yesterday that he is working with other elected officials to set up a community meeting “to provide residents with an opportunity to learn more about these emergency repairs and ask questions.”

Photo courtesy VDOT

Updated at 1:30 p.m. — The power outages were resolved around noon, a spokesperson for Dominion Energy told Tysons Reporter. 

More than 2,000 Dominion customers in the McLean area are without power this morning (Tuesday).

The Dominion Energy map shows two overlapping power outages east of Pimmit Run Stream Valley Park and Kent Gardens Park, stretching from Route 123 down to Powhatan Street.

Crews have been dispatched to the larger of the two outages, which was caused by an “equipment problem” and left 1,232 customers without power, according to Dominion. Power is expected to be restored there between 2-7 p.m., according to map.

Meanwhile, the outage south of Old Dominion Road is affecting 1,058 customers. Crews are currently assessing the damage, and the power is expected to be restored between 11 a.m.-4 p.m. today. The cause of the outage has not been determined yet.

Map via Dominion Energy

This weekend, bibliophiles can gather for a charity used book sale.

The McLean branch of the American Association of University Women is putting on a book sale that will provide scholarships for college students. This year marks the annual sale’s 50th anniversary.

Since the organization’s founding in 1969, the AAUW strives to assist with advocacy, education, philanthropy and research for women seeking higher education.

There will be a wide variety of genres available including philosophy, cookbooks, business, law, science, mathematics, travel, art, pets and animals and books in foreign languages, according to the event’s website. There will also be specialty and vintage books available for purchase.

For anyone not interested in books, there will also be a selection of DVDs.

Prices range from $10 to $200. Both cash and credit cards will be accepted.

The event will take place on Friday (Sept. 13) from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday (Sept. 14) from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday (Sept. 15) from noon-4 p.m at the McLean Community Center (1234 Ingleside Avenue).

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash