A Vienna native has opened a new hair studio in downtown Vienna.
Sundown and Rise Up filled the former space of the Maple Avenue Market, which closed in February after nearly 10 years in downtown Vienna.
David McCarthy, the owner and stylist, grew up in Vienna and went to George Mason University before pursuing hairstyling, according to his bio on the salon’s website.
Sundown and Rise Up offers haircuts, blow-drys, coloring, highlights and balayage services.
The website describes Sundown and Rise Up as “a truly unique, open, creative, art-centered workspace in the heart of Vienna.”
The salon’s hours are 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Tuesdays, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Fridays and 8 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturdays.
Mothers Out Front Fairfax, the local climate change branch of a national movement, is advocating for electric school buses in Fairfax County.
More than 40 people gathered at a room in the Patrick Henry Library (101 E. Maple Avenue) in the Town of Vienna for the “Clean Buses for Kids” campaign launch last evening (Tuesday).
Bobby Monacella, the co-leader of Mothers Out Front Fairfax and the mother of two kids attending the county’s public schools, told the attendees that electric buses seem like a “no brainer.”
“They are safer. They’re healthier. They are less expensive to expensive to operate. The maintenance is much less. The cost of electricity versus diesel is much less,” Monacella said.
She added that the push for electric school buses needs to start now because of the life cycle of diesel school buses.
“It made us realize we simply can’t buy one more diesel school bus because it lasts us 15 years and with the cost of fuel emissions, our kids’ future can’t wait for that,” she said.
Since electric school buses don’t have an engine, muffler or alternator that requires tune-ups, the lifetime fuel and maintenance savings over diesel buses total $170,000, according to a Mothers Out Front Fairfax press release.
Some places around the country have already made the switch from diesel to electric school fleets, including schools in California and New York.
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) runs one of the largest school bus fleets in the U.S. with more than 1,600 buses.
Karl Frisch, the Democratic candidate for the Providence District seat on the FCPS School Board, said that a switch to electric buses would attract companies, further diversifying businesses in the county.
Pat Hynes, who represents the Hunter Mill District on the school board, told Tysons Reporter that the cost of switching to electric buses is the main challenge facing the school board.
“I think it really comes down to the upfront cost not only for the buses, which are three times more expensive than the diesel buses, there’s also an investment that has to made in the infrastructure,” Hynes said, adding that the buses would need chargers.
Hynes said that “it’s a win, win, win” if the local government partners with the state government and also the local utility company to help defray the upfront costs.
Overall, Hynes said she thinks the school board will support the campaign as long as the electric buses aren’t more expensive than diesel-fueled ones in the long term.
“Every statement that the board has made in the last couple years in favor of taking some leadership on climate change has been supported almost unanimously,” Hynes said.
The school board and the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors also jointly formed the Joint Environmental Task Force to lead on climate action, Hynes said, adding that the task force will hold its inaugural meeting on Sept. 3 at the Mason District Government Center (6507 Columbia Pike).
“That is where policy will begin for both boards — the school board and the county board,” she said.
Del. Mark Keam (D-35th District) said that the conversation about electric buses should be broadened beyond talking about the environment.
“This isn’t about Julie taking care of her daughter or me taking care of my kids… It’s about Mother Earth suffering,” Keam said. “That’s why I think this conversation should start and end with the bigger picture of climate change and where we are with this crisis.”
At the end of the campaign launch, the group urged attendees to sign a petition urging the school board to buy a test bus in 2020 and request a small number of electric buses by 2021.
The group aims to replace FCPS buses with electric ones by 2024.
“When moms get involved, things happen,” Keam said to cheers.
Hair salons keep popping up in the Town of Vienna.
Along Maple Avenue, there are around two dozen hair salons and various types of beauty parlors offering personal care services.
While nearby Falls Church and McLean also have a plethora of salons, the ones in Vienna are concentrated mainly along Maple Avenue, with many hair salons working in close proximity to their competitors.
Along Maple Avenue by Nutley Street SW, the Village Green Shopping Center at one point housed three hair studios — Village Green Hair Salon, Avivo Salon and Day Spa and Dogan and John Hair Salon. (Avivo relocated to Tysons earlier this year.)
Tysons Reporter asked Lynne Coan, the town spokesperson, what might draw the appeal for owners to open up shop in this particular area.
“I did check with our planning department, and we really don’t have an explanation for why there are so many hair salons in Vienna,” Coan said. “There are no unique or ‘encouraging’ ordinances.”
Salon O Tony (130 W. Maple Avenue) has been open for 12 years because of its customer service and good reputation, Mustafa Demir, the shop’s spokesperson, told Tysons Reporter. When asked about competition among all the various hair salons, he said salon management doesn’t think it is an issue, but didn’t expand on why.
In 2019, at least three new salons and beauty relators arrived in the area — each one of them offering a variety of hair cuts and spa treatments.
Alya Salon and Spa (139 Park Street) and Jolie Hair Studio (121 W. Maple Avenue) both opened in February.
Hair studio Sundown and Rise Up moved into the former space of Maple Avenue Market (128 E. Maple Avenue) this summer.
These openings come at a time when the Town of Vienna said that more businesses have opened than closed recently, despite vacancies and increasing rents around town.
“It seems that, for whatever reasons, each community has a proliferation of some kind of business, be it pizza shops or nail salons or hair salons,” Coan said. For the Town of Vienna, it appears to be hair salons.
Photo 3 via Facebook, photo 4 via Facebook, map via Google Maps
After 27 years of service in the U.S. Military, Vienna resident Timothy Redmond decided to share his experiences in an autobiography.
“As You Were” is a novel about Redmond’s personal life experience after 9/11 and the time he served on duty in Afghanistan. Though the book came out in 2018, it continues to attract attention from readers as he tours local bookshops.
Before he even decided to write a novel, Redmond discovered his passion as a novelist during a creative writing workshop for retired combat veterans hosted by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
During the writing process, Redmond told Tysons Reporter he spent time processing traumatic events that happened to him and his close friends — including the death of a friend.
“It’s stressful to relive some of that,” he said.
He also said it took him a little extra time to write the book because he “wanted to get it right” and respect the people he served with through remembrance. Redmond mentioned that several members in his former unit read the book and gave positive feedback.
From the description of the book on Amazon:
A freshly-minted prosecutor with the Brooklyn DA’s Office, Tim Redmond thought he’d left his life as a Green Beret behind as he pulled into the World Trade Center train station on the morning of 9/11. Three months later he was back in Afghanistan with his old A-Team gearing up for the fight of their lives! Follow this team of Special Forces on their raucous and heroic journey through the unimaginable horrors of war and their unique struggle to return to a home they can no longer make sense of.
Redmond shared his book with the community on Aug. 4, when he set up a table at the new Barnes & Noble in the Mosaic District. He signed autographs and bonded with community members from around the region.
Looking forward to the future, Redmond, who works at a local law firm in Tysons, said that he and his publicist are in the process of scheduling similar events in Tysons.
Photo courtesy Tim Redmond
After severe thunderstorms hit the area last night, around 100 people are left without electricity in Vienna.
Over by Maple Avenue and Lawyers Road NW, 56 customers are without power, while 57 people are left in the dark east of Wildwood Park. Both outages are due to power line damage, according to Dominion Energy.
Dominion Energy expects power to be restored between 10 a.m.-1 p.m. today (Aug. 20) for both spots.
Maps via Dominion Energy
The Vienna Police Department may soon crack the three indecent exposure cases reported last week along the Washington and Old Dominion Trail.
Deputy Chief of Police Dan Janickey told the Vienna Town Council last night (Monday) that the police have “promising leads” for the three separate incidents with “what appears to be the same individual.”
A woman told the police that she saw a man masturbating in the woods between Park Street and Branch Road SE shortly before 8 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 12. The next day (Tuesday), another report from a woman said a man was masturbating in the woods near Park Street and Dominion Road SE.
Two days later on Thursday (Aug. 15), a woman told police that “she was walking near the W&OD Trail when a man came out from a wooded area and approached her with his pants down, exposing himself to her” around 7:30 a.m. near Park Terrace Court SE, according to a police report.
Janickey said that surveillance and patrols have increased along the trail and that the police department expects to close the case in the next couple of days.
Photo via Facebook
Town of Vienna officials are denying the allegation that the Town Council discriminated against seniors and people with disabilities when rejecting an assisted living facility.
On July 17, Sunrise filed a lawsuit in Fairfax County Circuit Court against the Town Council after it denied Sunrise’s rezoning application for a proposed 82-unit facility downtown.
Sunrise is arguing that the Town Council’s rejection violated the Virginia Fair Housing Law and Sunrise was treated differently from other developers seeking rezoning under the Maple Avenue Commercial Zone.
In the lawsuit, Sunrise also claims that the rezoning application was consistent with the town’s Comprehensive Plan and that some council members’ concerns about parking “were not grounded in empirical evidence, and thus were necessarily arbitrary and capricious.”
Last Wednesday (Aug. 14), the Town Council responded to Sunrise’s allegations, saying “the Virginia Fair Housing Law is inapplicable given the facts asserted in the complaint.”
The Town Council wants Sunrise to file the complete legislative record, which includes the rezoning affidavit, staff reports and audio and minutes from Vienna meetings, hearings and work sessions.
“In order to evaluate Sunrise’s claims, the court necessarily must review and evaluate the legislative record which Council considered, said record being central to the claims brought by Sunrise,” according to the response.
While Sunrise is seeking a jury trial and wants the Town Council to reconsider the rezoning denial and pay Sunrise $30 million in damages, the Town Council asked the court to permanently dismiss the case.
Steven Briglia, the town’s attorney, told Tysons Reporter that the town does not comment on pending on litigation. Briglia said that no date has been set yet for the court to rule on the demurrer from the Town Council and motion.
Image via Town of Vienna
As the Town of Vienna awaits Fairfax County’s renovation of the Patrick Henry Library, the Town Council continues to drive forward a proposed public parking garage.
The Town Council is set to hear a presentation tonight (Monday) from Grimm and Parker about several ideas that could incorporate public parking in the project.
Opened in 1971, Patrick Henry Library (101 E. Maple Avenue) is set to be rebuilt as part of a $91 million bond referendum to upgrade the county’s aging libraries. Mayor Laurie DiRocco previously said that the library got moved up in the county’s renovation schedule from 2026 to 2022.
Ultimately, the town wants cost-effective public parking that will create a synergy between the library and the surrounding commercial area, according to a report from Grimm and Parker.
“Parking is critical to the success of the Patrick Henry Library. The current parking supply often does not meet the demand,” the report said. “Additionally, the Town of Vienna is experiencing a parking shortfall for the Maple Avenue Corridor.”
According to the report, the three designs concepts for the library and parking are:
- a stand-alone, two-story building with surface parking for 90 cars;
- a single-level library with an integrated parking garage with 125 spots for the library and 84 for the town;
- or a single-level library with an integrated parking garage with 125 spaces for the library and 188 for the town
Prior to the meeting, the Town Council will hold a work session about the final phase of the scope of work for the multimodal transportation study of the Maple Avenue Corridor that is being done by Kimley-Horn.
“Based on the future land use scenario results, Kimley-Horn will present potential multimodal transportation improvements for discussion with Town citizens in a workshop format,” according to the town’s website.
The final community workshop for the study will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 4, at 7 p.m.
Vienna Man Arrested After Chase — “State police arrested a Vienna man early Wednesday following a high-speed chase and crash in Shenandoah County.” [Inside NoVa]
Billions for Booze — “The Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority has reported annual revenue of more than $1 billion, up $71.8 million over the previous year.” [Inside NoVa]
Tysons Company Growing Quicky — “Inc. Magazine compiled the 2019 list of companies based on the percent of revenue growth from 2015 to 2018. Qualifying companies must be based in the U.S. and be privately held. The 12th spot belonged to Urgently, a global mobility and roadside assistance app.” [Tysons Patch]
Falls Church Candidate Drops Out — “Thomas Cash, a candidate for one of three contested Falls Church City Council seats up for bid this November, announced [Friday] that he is dropping out of the race.” [Falls Church News-Press]
Rep. Wexton Joins “Play Date” in McLean Park — Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.) joined families “Aug. 9 at Clemyjontri Park in McLean as part of a ‘play date’ organized by Little Lobbyists, an advocacy group dedicated to supporting and sharing the stories of families with children who have complex medical needs.” [Fairfax County Times]
Grocery Store Scales Back Hours — “Touting its 24-hour service when it opened three years ago in the middle of downtown Falls Church, the Little City’s Harris Teeter will no longer be open for all-hour grocery shopping starting next week.” [Falls Church News-Press]
Little Leaguers Interrogate Nats Player — “The Washington Nationals’ Trea Turner met with Falls Church Kiwanis Little Leaguers Thursday and fielded some questions from the young players that were surprisingly hot to handle in an event aimed at boosting Fall Ball participation.” [Falls Church News-Press]
Falls Classes Available in McLean — “Registration is now open for McLean Community Center’s (MCC) fall session classes and activities.” [McLean Patch]
The Vienna Police Department is investigating three indecent exposure incidents reported this week along the Washington and Old Dominion Trail.
A woman told the police that she saw a man masturbating in the woods between Park Street and Branch Road SE while she was running on the bike trail shortly before 8 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 12.
The next day (Tuesday), the police department received another report from a woman about a man masturbating in the woods — this time near Park Street and Dominion Road SE.
Police said they searched both areas but were unable to find the man.
Then yesterday (Thursday), a woman told police that “she was walking near the W&OD Trail when a man came out from a wooded area and approached her with his pants down, exposing himself to her,” according to the police report.
That incident occurred around 7:30 a.m. near Park Terrace Court SE.
“The woman stated the man began to follow her until a trash truck approached and he left the area,” police said.
The police department is also investigating a report of a man masturbating by Wildwood Park from earlier this month.
A woman told police that the incident took place shortly after 10 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 2, by Alma Street SE and Delano Drive SE.
Photo via Facebook
