What to Know About the 2021 Presidential Inauguration — Inauguration Day has arrived, and with it came a host of street closures and transportation service changes in the D.C. area, as local public officials advised residents to stay home and avoid traveling downtown. [Fairfax County Emergency Information]
FEMA Declines to Reimburse Virginia for Capitol Riot Response — “The Federal Emergency Management Agency has denied requests from Maryland and Virginia for an emergency declaration to cover expenses associated with responding to the Capitol riot and increasing security around President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.” [The Washington Post]
MetroWest Developers Look to Bring New Apartments to Vienna Metro Station Area — “Pulte Homes and the CRC Cos. are both pushing ahead with new construction on the 56-acre site, located just across Interstate 66 from the Vienna/Fairfax-GMU Metro stop. The companies could start work in 2021 after years of delays on what would eventually be a combined total of six buildings with at least 980 units and 41,500 square feet of retail.” [Washington Business Journal]
1st Stage Teams Up with Tysons Regional Chamber of Commerce on Food Drive — Food donations for the Capital Area Food Bank can be dropped off at the 1st Stage theater and offices between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. from today through Friday, and from 12-4 p.m. on Saturday (Jan. 23). [1st Stage Theatre/Twitter]
Cunningham Park Elementary School Students Learn About Government with Mock Election — First graders at Cunningham Park got a virtual chat and tour of Vienna Town Hall with Mayor Linda Colbert before participating in a fictional mayoral election with storybook characters as candidates. [FCPS]
Driver Hospitalized After Leesburg Pike Crash — Eastbound Route 7 closed for much of the morning yesterday (Monday) while police investigated a crash near Gosnell Road in Tysons. The highway reopened around 1 p.m., but a driver was hospitalized, and the crash investigation remains ongoing. [Fairfax County Police Department/Twitter]
Fairfax Water Extends Deadline for Utility Relief — Fairfax Water announced last week that applications for its Municipal Utility Relief Program will now be accepted through December 1, 2021, or until funding runs out. Applicants must confirm that they are experiencing financial challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Visit Fairfax Water’s website for more details. [City of Falls Church]
McLean Powerball Player Wins $2 Million — “The Virginia lottery player in McLean won $2 million by matching the first five numbers and only missing the Powerball number in the Jan. 13 drawing.” [Patch]
McLean Community Center Seeks Governing Board Candidates — MCC is looking for district residents to serve on its 2021-2022 governing board, which sets policy, approves budgets, and oversees the community center’s programs. Both adult and youth candidates must obtain 10 signatures and return their petition to MCC by 5 p.m. on Mar. 12. [McLean Community Center]
Staff photo by Angela Woolsey
Virginia Issues New Guidance to Support Schools Reopening — “A school division’s capacity to successfully implement mitigation strategies AND local community disease data should be factored into school operations plans…As local school and health leaders evaluate and adjust instructional offerings in 2021, they must carefully balance the risks associated with operating during a pandemic and the long-term effects of students not attending school in person.” [Virginia Department of Education]
Vienna Planning Commission Kicks Off Comprehensive Plan Review — Virginia law requires localities to review their comprehensive plan every five years. Planning commissioners don’t expect this new review to be as extensive as the Town of Vienna’s last update in 2016, but some sections, such as the chapter dealing with economic development, could be in need of revision. [Town of Vienna]
Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office Starts COVID-19 Vaccinations — “Today was the day! We are so very grateful to get the COVID-19 vaccine. @VDHgov @fairfaxhealth #FairfaxStrong” [Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office/Twitter]
Staff Photo by Jay Westcott
Fairfax County Public Schools to Start Vaccinations on Jan. 16 — “All FCPS employees will have access to the COVID-19 vaccine as a part of the Virginia Department of Health 1b group of other essential workers. All FCPS staff who wish to access the vaccine will have the opportunity to receive their first dose in the next three weeks.” [FCPS]
Metro Announces Inauguration-Related Service Changes — Metro will close 13 stations starting Friday (Jan. 15) through Jan. 21. Trains will operate according to a Saturday schedule, bypassing the closed stations, and 26 bus routes will be detoured around the security perimeter that law enforcement authorities have put in place for the Inauguration on Jan. 20. [WMATA]
Airbnb Cancels Reservations in D.C. Area — “Today, in response to various local, state and federal officials asking people not to travel to Washington, D.C., we are announcing that Airbnb will cancel reservations in the Washington, D.C. metro area during the Inauguration week. Additionally, we will prevent any new reservations in the Washington, D.C. area from being booked during that time by blocking such reservations.” [Airbnb]
Tysons-based Alarm.com Debuts No-Touch Video Doorbell — The video doorbell uses “video analytics to ring itself whenever it sees someone standing on your mat. That design eliminates the need for anyone to physically press a button, and the built-in camera and microphone let you talk with them through your phone without opening the door.” [CNET]
Staff photo by Jay Westcott
Fairfax County Sheriff’s Deputy Dies in Jail COVID-19 Outbreak — “A veteran Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office deputy has died of covid-19 amid an outbreak of the coronavirus at the county jail that has sickened more than 30 guards and inmates in recent days, authorities said.” [The Washington Post]
Northern Virginia Critical Incident Response Team Launches — 11 local law enforcement agencies, including the police departments of Vienna and Falls Church City, have agreed to assist each other on investigations where an officer could face criminal charges, such as a shooting or in-custody death. [City of Falls Church]
How Office Development Rules Limit Walkability in Tysons — “While new developments in Tysons are improving the area’s density and walkability, some of them retain characteristics of the county’s historically suburban character. In particular, regulatory barriers prevent office development in Tysons from having the features of the most walkable pedestrian environments.” [Greater Greater Washington]
Hundreds of Residents Donated to Tysons Corner Blood Drives in 2020 — “The blood drives were wildly successful ultimately yielding 1,757 total blood donations helping over 5,200 patients get the necessary blood, plasma, and platelet transfusions needed to heal.” [Tysons Partnership]
Louise Archer Students Earn Honors in Vocabulary Competition — “Several teams representing Louise Archer Elementary achieved highest honors in the recent WordMasters Challenge™, a national vocabulary competition involving nearly 125,000 students annually.” [FCPS]
Staff photo by Angela Woolsey
Second Dead Capitol Police Officer Was Madison Alumnus — The Capitol Police announced on Saturday (Jan. 9) that officer Howard Liebengood had died — reportedly by suicide — after being on the scene when a mob breached the U.S. Capitol last week. Liebengood attended Vienna’s James Madison High School in the 1980s and participated in the school’s wrestling team. [The Washington Post]
Fairfax County Libraries Return to Curbside Service Only — “Effective Monday, Jan. 11, all Fairfax County Public Library branches will provide curbside and virtual services only. Please stay home if you’re sick, if you’ve been exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19 or if you’re awaiting your own COVID-19 test results.” [Fairfax County Public Library]
Bowlero to Move into Former Macy’s at Tysons Galleria — “Bowling alley operator Bowlero plans to open its fifth location in Greater Washington this November at Tysons Galleria…The new location will house 36 bowling lanes, more than 70 arcade games, a full-service kitchen, sports bar and audio-visual capabilities including hi-definition video screens above the bowling lanes.” [Washington Business Journal]
Construction on New George Mason High School Nearly Complete — “The new school set to replace the old George Mason High School in the City of Falls Church will be opened in the coming weeks, but in-person learning may not be allowed despite a recently announced reopening plan.” [Falls Church News-Press]
Fairfax County Requests Flexibility and Funding from State — During a public hearing on Jan. 9, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay told the county’s General Assembly delegation that localities need the flexibility to determine their own priorities as they try to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. [WTOP]
Staff photo by Jay Westcott
Vienna Police Move into New Temporary Home — With construction on a new station set to begin soon, the Vienna Police Department relocated to the former Faith Baptist Church at 301 Center Street on Jan. 7. Operations and responses haven’t been affected by the move, but the department is taking non-emergency calls at 703-255-6366. [Vienna Happenings]
Mosaic District to Add Dutch Snack Outlet — Poffy will serve traditional Dutch mini pancakes called poffertjes that are often prepared by street vendors. Owner Lilian Wanandy-Perez hopes to open the store in May or June, depending on the permitting process. [Northern Virginia Magazine]
Golf Training Center Opens in Tysons — “GOLFTEC Tysons Corner, a golf instruction and club fitting center, has opened in Tysons. Located at 1430 Spring Hill Road, Suite 102, McLean, the 2,500 -square-foot facility offers golf lessons for a variety of individual needs.” [Patch]
Tysons IT Company Receives Acquisition Proposal — DXC Technology confirmed on Jan. 7 that it received an unsolicited, preliminary and non-binding proposal from Atos SE to acquire all DXC shares. The company’s board of directors will be evaluating the proposal. [Business Wire]
Home Sales in McLean Were Up in 2020 — “Year over year, there has been marginal improvement in the number of home sales with a total count of 1,249 in 2020 compared to 1,219 in 2019. Compared to one decade ago in 2010, there is significantly better news as sales are up 39 percent over that time frame.” [Connection Newspapers]
Staff photo by Jay Westcott
Vienna Police Respond to Republican Senator’s Report of Vandalism and Threats by Protestors — “Officers were called to [Missouri Sen. Josh] Hawley’s home in Vienna, a Washington suburb, around 7:45 p.m. after someone reported that there were “people protesting in front of the house.” Officers who responded to the scene found that the “people were peaceful,” said Master Police Officer Juan Vazquez, a spokesman for the Town of Vienna Police Department.” [Associated Press/WTOP]
VDOT Schedules Meeting on American Legion Bridge Transit Recommendations — “After draft transit recommendations for the Interstate 495 American Legion Bridge Transit and Transportation Demand Management study were shared, a virtual public meeting will be held on Jan. 12.” [Patch]
Fauci to Hold Virginia Town Hall on COVID-19 Vaccine — “Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, will speak about the COVID-19 vaccine during a virtual Friday afternoon event co-sponsored by Gov. Ralph Northam’s office, the state health department and faith leaders from around the state.” [Inside NoVA]
Local Students Named to Statewide Honor Choir — “Twenty-four Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) students from 13 high schools have been named to the 2020 Virginia Music Educators Association (VMEA) Senior Honors Choir. This group will present a virtual concert in March at a time and date to be announced.” [FCPS]
Staff Photo by Jay Westcott
