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

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

Tuesday (Nov. 10)

• On Deck with Mercury — 5-7 p.m. at Vienna Community Center’s Southside Room (120 Cherry St. E) — This month’s community forum with Vienna Town Manager Mercury Payton will focus on sidewalk projects, the Town says.
• Mayor @ Your Service — 7:30 p.m. at Vienna Town Hall (127 Center St. S) — Vienna Mayor Linda Colbert will talk about volunteerism during the COVID-19 pandemic in a presentation and conversation about Town programs and initiatives, Vienna history, or other topics of interest.

Wednesday (Nov. 11)

• Meadowlark’s Winter Walks of Lights — 5:30-10 p.m. at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens (9750 Meadowlark Gardens Court) — Meadowlark’s Winter Walk of Lights is open nightly starting Wednesday (Nov. 11) through Sunday (Jan. 3), the website says. The price ranges from $9 to $15.

Thursday (Nov. 12)

• Cross Stitch Crafternoon (Online) — 3-3:30 p.m. — Join the Mary Riley Styles Public Library’s Facebook page to get started on a cross stitch project, the City of Falls Church website says. Craft kits are available for pick up at MRSPL (120 N. Virginia Ave.) through Thursday (Nov. 19). The craft video will remain on the MRSPL Facebook page in the Crafternoon playlist.

Saturday (Nov. 14)

• Yoga and Beer — 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Solace Outpost (444 West Broad St.) — Roll out your mat on the spacious patio of Solace Outpost, in the heart of Falls Church, for an hour-long mindful movement experience, the website said. The cost is $25, which includes the yoga class and one beer. Participants should bring their own mat and wear a mask.
• Sing Books with Emily (Online) — 11-11:45 a.m. — Join the Mary Riley Styles Public Library through its Facebook page for a morning of stories and songs with Ms. Emily, the website said.
• Snack and Paint — 1-3 p.m. at McLean Community Center (1234 Ingleside Ave.) — Snack and Paint is an instructor-led painting class for teens that have painted before or not at all, the website said. The cost is $35. Participants will paint a fall-themed picture. To register, use this link.

Photo via Meadowlark Botanical Gardens/Facebook

Work on Metro’s Bike and Ride facility for the Vienna Metro Station is finally nearing the finish line.

More than five years after it started, major construction on the project has now been completed, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority spokesperson Ian Jannetta says.

“The Bike & Ride is being readied for customer use, including inspections and final project activities (such as integrating access control to the Metro network),” Jannetta told Tysons Reporter in an email on Oct. 30. “As soon as we have a date for when customers can use the facility, we will announce it.”

The Vienna facility is Metro’s second Bike and Ride in Fairfax County after one opened at the East Falls Church Metro Station in August. The two stations will have a combined 184 spaces for riders to park their bicycles before hopping on a train or bus.

Metro’s bike parking facilities are monitored around-the-clock by security cameras and include “fix-it stations” with a tire pump, tools, and a stand for making basic repairs and adjustments, according to WMATA.

In order to access the facilities, customers need a registered SmarTrip and must fill out an online form about 24 to 48 hours in advance of their visit, though the bike and rides are free to use.

Metro’s Bike and Ride facilities were recently the subject of a critical report by the WMATA Office of the Inspector General, which reviewed the projects after receiving public complaints and a request for information from a U.S. Senate subcommittee on federal spending oversight.

Released on Oct. 16, the report found that WMATA has spent over $5.9 million on three Bike and Ride facilities that collectively provide 304 parking spaces, amounting to approximately $19,400 per space.

The inspector general also criticized the prolonged construction schedule on the Vienna and East Falls Church facilities, the lack of timely communication with the public, and gaps in financial records for the projects.

Metro started developing Bike and Ride facilities in 2011 as part of a capital program designed to expand bicycle and pedestrian amenities at its stations.

While work on a Bike and Ride at College Park in Washington, D.C., started in August 2011 and finished in May 2012, the East Falls Church and Vienna projects were delayed by construction issues and contractor disputes, including a termination of the original contract in 2016.

Jannetta says WMATA has overhauled its structure for managing capital programs since the East Falls Church and Vienna Bike and Rides started construction in February 2015.

“While it took longer than it should have to get a new contractor on board, the issues were ultimately resolved, delivering bike capacity that will benefit current Metro riders and generations of environmentally conscious riders to come,” Jannetta said.

Photo via WMATA

Tysons Transit Prioritized by State — “The top five transit routings, based on preliminary analyses, are Bethesda to Dunn Loring via Tysons Corner; Bethesda to Tysons West; Gaithersburg to Tysons West;  Bethesda to Tysons East; and Germantown to Tysons West.” [InsideNova]

Vienna Torn Between Biden and Trump Precincts on Election Day — “At Vienna area polling places on Election Day, totals for Biden and President Donald Trump were closer in a few precincts, and Trump received more votes at the Flint Hill, Vienna #1, Vienna #2, Wolftrap, Thoreau, Oakton and Nottoway precincts.” [Patch]

Vienna Elementary School Teacher Adrienne McCormick Dies — “Of Adrienne’s many accomplishments, her 19 years as a teacher at Stenwood Elementary was her proudest–here she helped to build a village, a community that continues to serve the students she so loved.” [Patch]

Staff photo by Jay Westcott

Fairfax County voters approved the sale of $441 million worth of bonds to fund a full slate of pending capital projects during the 2020 general election on Tuesday (Nov. 3).

This year’s ballot featured four separate bond referendums that asked Fairfax County voters to authorize:

• $90 million for renovations and upgrades at four public libraries
• $112 million in parks bonds
• $160 million in transportation bonds to fund the county’s share of Metro’s capital improvement program, which covers rehabilitation and modernization projects for the Metrorail system
• $79 million in community health and human services bonds to renovate the Joseph Willard Health Center on Old Lee Highway and Alexandria’s Crossroads residential treatment facility

Though vote counts won’t be finalized until tomorrow’s noon deadline for absentee ballots, all four referendums passed with ease. The health and human services bonds garnered the most support with 76.5% “yes” votes, followed by parks with 72.4% and transportation with 67.7%. Just under two-thirds of voters (66.1%) supported the public library bonds.

The public library bonds include $23 million for Fairfax County’s planned redevelopment of the Patrick Henry Community Library in Vienna.

Originally built in 1971, Patrick Henry Library operates close to the level of a small regional library as one of the busiest community branches in the Fairfax County Public Library system, according to the county’s FY 2021-2025 adopted capital improvements program.

“Renovation is required to upgrade building systems and infrastructure that are well beyond the end of their life cycle and meet current and future operational needs,” the CIP said. “The building is one of the oldest, resulting in an antiquated layout that does not adequately reflect modern library design and usage.”

The new library bond funds will help expand Patrick Henry Library by roughly 7,000 square feet to a 21,000-square-foot building, permitting more public seating and a larger children’s section.

The renovation will also involve the construction of a 213-space parking facility that the county is working on with the Town of Vienna as part of an agreement approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in July.

Fairfax County’s 2020 parks bond includes $100 million for the Fairfax County Park Authority and $12 million to pay for the county’s share of the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority’s capital program, which focuses on resource protection, facility improvements, and the expansion of open space, trails, and recreational opportunities.

Tysons area projects covered by the Fairfax County Park Authority’s bonds funding include an upgrade of McLean Central Park in accordance with the park’s master plan and a renovation of the Providence RECenter to improve its efficiency.

The park bonds also have funds for design advancement for McLean’s Salona Park, even though the project was put on hold in September until the park authority develops a master plan for Langley Fork Park.

Photo via Google Maps

While the vote remains undecided nationally at time of writing, Fairfax County has swung heavily towards Biden. At the precinct level, however, the results are a little more divided.

Biden swept most of the precincts in the Tysons area, with Tysons itself going 57.71% for Biden. Merrifield had one of the largest percentage of support for Biden, with 62.23%.

The precincts didn’t unanimously favor Biden, however. In McLean and Spring Hill, Trump won by 55.49% and 50.71% respectively.

Further west, Trump won more securely in the Great Falls, Hickory and Seneca and Forestville precincts.

Biden won all three of Herndon’s precincts and all of Reston except Cameron Glen and North Point, which Trump won by 37 and 78 votes respectively.

In Pimmit, Biden had a 6 vote lead over Trump, taking the precinct 48.92% to 48.20%.

Because Fairfax County had such a high level of absentee voting for the 2020 general election, however, precinct level results might not be as revealing of voter attitudes in a particular area as in previous years.

According to unofficial results from the Fairfax County Office of Elections, the county has received 404,254 absentee ballots so far that were delivered by mail or in person. Absentee votes account for an estimated 51% of Fairfax County’s overall 77.5% voter turnout for this election, and with absentee ballots permitted up to noon on Friday as long as they are postmarked by Nov. 3, more ballots may be added in the coming days.

All absentee ballots are counted in a central absentee precinct for Fairfax County regardless of where they came from or where they were dropped off. Biden won a decisive 80.67% of absentee votes in the county, while Trump received 17.86%.

“What we know is that Democrats swept to a large victory in Fairfax County, sending a message in their votes in the national election,” said Professor Frank Shafroth, director of the Center for State and Local Leadership at George Mason University. “[Expressing] trust in a time of such political upheaval…being in a state with the only medical doctor of any state serving as Governor…[and] the ability to rely on facts in the middle of this pandemic is vital to trust in governance at such a difficult time of loss [for] too many American lives.”

Staff photo by Jay Westcott

Mary Riley Styles Public Library Construction Closes N. Virginia Ave. in Falls Church — “The 100 block of N. Virginia Ave. will be closed from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, November 4, to allow for work on the library renovation and expansion project.” [City of Falls Church]

Halloween House Fire in McLean Causes Serious Damage — “An abandoned house in McLean went up in flames on Halloween night, causing $621,400 in damages…The cause of the fire remains under investigation.” [Patch]

How a Tysons Task Force Built a Road Map for Redevelopment — “The Tysons Land Use Task Force provides a potential model for permitting more housing in other expensive, suburban jurisdictions.” [Greater Greater Washington]

Wawa Hosts Tesla Giveaway and Electric Car Parade in Vienna — “Not only did the event crown Luis, local resident of Alexandria, VA, with a brand-new Tesla, but the event supported sustainable environmental causes throughout Vienna.” [Wawa]

Photo courtesy Wawa

Updated at 9:45 a.m. on 11/4/2020 — The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department says the vehicle crash on Hunter Mill Road at Water Falls Lane in Vienna involved a dump truck that rolled down an embankment. Crews responded to the incident at approximately 1:18 p.m. yesterday (Tuesday).

Updated at 2:15 p.m. on 11/3/2020 — Fairfax County police say Hunter Mill Road has now reopened.

A vehicle crash that occurred before 2 p.m. today shut down Hunter Mill Road at Water Falls Lane in the Wolf Trap area of Vienna.

While the incident is still under police investigation, Fairfax County police spokesperson Tara Gerhard says that the crash involved a single vehicle, possibly a truck that turned over on the road. One person has been taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The crash has closed Hunter Mill Road in both directions, and the Fairfax County Police Department is advising drivers to find an alternate route.

“It looks like the road is going to be tied up for a little while,” Gerhard said.

TRAFFIC ALERT: Hunter Mill Road is closed in both directions at Water Falls Lane in Vienna due to a crash. Please use an alternate route. #FCPD pic.twitter.com/biPsfNOGew

— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) November 3, 2020

Joining the annuls of small, bizarre Vienna police reports, police were called out to a 7-11 in Vienna after a customer reported that he’d been struck — a tragic victim caught in the crossfire in an act of senseless violence between two Febreze-spraying vandals.

The incident reportedly occurred at the 7-11 at 537 Maple Avenue West at 10:16 p.m. on Oct. 22.

According to the police report:

Officers responded to the report of an assault. A customer reported that two juveniles were spraying Fabreeze [sic] in the store and some of the spray landed on him, which led to a verbal dispute. The customer then attempted to block the cash register while the juveniles made their purchase.

However, officers responding to the assault call found that customer may not have, in fact, been hit in a premeditated attack.

“Officers determined that juveniles did not intentionally spray the customer and that no assault occurred,” the report said.

Another item in this week’s police report was damage to political signs in residential yards. At least two instances of yard signs being stolen were reported at different locations across Vienna. A sign was also reported damaged last week, and another sign was spray-painted and left with notes containing profanity earlier this month.

Juan Vazquez, public information officer with the Vienna Police Department, said it’s not uncommon to see these sorts of acts in election years. The incidents are generally grouped under larceny or go unreported.

Photo via Google Maps

As Election Day approaches, public facilities in Fairfax County are announcing what will be closed and what will remain open on the state holiday.

Since the county opted to give most employees the day off, most Fairfax County government facilities will be closed, including the government center. However, the Office of Elections will be open, and polls will be open from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m.

“The right to vote is a very important, very important part of our American process,” Fairfax County Executive Bryan Hill said on the “Connect with County Leaders” podcast. “The Board of Supervisors on the FYI 22 calendar added Election Day as a day off, so it made most sense on a presidential election cycle to also add it.”

“Once they added it on…the calendar year ’22, I spoke to the supervisors and asked them if they would like it also to be on November 3, 2020,” Hill added.

The City of Falls Church will be operating as normal, according to Susan Finarelli, the director of communications for the city.

The Town of Vienna will also stay open, Vienna marketing and communications manager Lynn Coan says.

Students within Fairfax County Public Schools will have both Nov. 2 and Nov. 3 off of school, with today marking the end of the first quarter. Additionally, FCPS will be distributing double breakfast and lunch meals on Nov. 2 to cover both days off as a food resource for students, according to FCPS.

Virginia designated Election Day as a state holiday for the first time this year when the General Assembly passed legislation to substitute it for Lee-Jackson Day, which the Commonwealth had observed on the Friday preceding Martin Luther King Jr. Day in January since 1904.

“Voting is a fundamental right, and these new laws strengthen our democracy by making it easier to cast a ballot, not harder,” Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said upon signing the bill into law. “No matter who you are or where you live in Virginia, your voice deserves to be heard.”

Photo by Element5 Digital/Unsplash

With colder weather approaching, Tysons-area restaurants are preparing for a warm, socially-distant eating experience for their guests.

Last week, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted to approve an ordinance amendment that allows enclosed tents with heaters, both inside and outside, for outdoor dining, fitness, and exercise activities, and a few local restaurants are planning to take advantage of the ordinance.

Founding Farmers (1800 Tysons Blvd.) is planning to follow the ordinance by creating an outdoor-dining space. Majority-owned by American family farmers, Founding Farmers serves American dishes, along with seasonal fruits and vegetables from Virginia farms.

“We’re working through the final details of our tents but we do plan on installing some soon,” Farmers Restaurant Group Vice President and Marketing and Communications Specialist Meaghan O’Shea said.

“What we’re hoping to achieve is to continue to offer safe dining options both inside and outside through the cooler weather months,” O’Shea said. “If you want to be outside, we want to be sure we can accommodate that request and that it’s an enjoyable experience for both the guests and our team.”

Tyson’s first annual Restaurant Week earlier this month (Oct. 12-18) was a huge success, according to many local restaurant owners and managers.

Urban Plates (1782M Galleria at Tysons II), which participated in Tyson’s Restaurant Week, currently has an outdoor heated patio, so no further accommodations need to be made, according to General Manager Tony Bass.

“We also always have inside seating available, following Fairfax County COVID-19 guidelines — less than 10 people at one table, sitting six feet apart,” Bass said.

The Town of Vienna has not yet permitted restaurants to use closed tents for outdoor dining. The town council most recently re-adopted an emergency ordinance allowing institutions and businesses to get temporary waivers from zoning regulations on outdoor activities on Oct. 5, but the measure still requires tents to “remain open on all sides.”

Still, that limitation has not stopped the town’s restaurants from proactively preparing for the winter months.

Vienna’s Blend 111 (111 Church St. NW), a food and wine bar that specializes in Latin dishes, has already began “winterizing” its patio, according to owner/sommelier Mike Biddick.

“We added gas heaters, pop-up tents for use when it is rainy, and blankets,” Biddick said. “We are also working with a firm to design eco-friendly, heated chair cushions for later into the winter.”

Biddick says over 90% of his customers choose to enjoy their meals outside, but the restaurant has still worked to create a safe, socially-distant dining experience for the customers that choose to sit inside.

“Inside, we set up only eight tables,” Biddick said. “…While our open kitchen required that we installed very robust air ventilation when we opened last year, we also installed air particle filters next to each of the tables for added airflow and circulation. Masks are mandatory, as are gloves for our staff.”

Photo courtesy Jennie Kuperstein