One local site aims to bring slugging — the practice of informal carpooling for commuters — into the 21st century with a Facebook group and app to connect Beltway and I-66 riders and drivers.

Sluglines is a site that uses social media and an app to link commuters for shared rides.

Morning commuters are picked up in Northern Virginia and dropped off in Arlington or D.C., and picked up from those locations in the afternoon to driven back into Northern Virginia. Among the Northern Virginia stops is one at the Vienna Metro station’s southern kiss-and-ride.

The group is self-governed by participants and no money is exchanged between riders and drivers.

According to the Facebook group:

• Drivers post pickup location, pickup time, drop off location and the number of seats available. Drivers post before 6 a.m. for morning rides and 12 p.m. for afternoon rides.
• Riders respond to the driver’s post
• Riders request only if there are no rides that fits them.

The app includes information on how drivers can take advantage of I-66 HOT lanes.

The rides are first come, first serve. Most of the site’s suggested rules and etiquette are general courtesy items like “play acceptable news or music” and “no personal grooming in the car.”

A similar app, Sameride, includes commuter routes through Tysons.

Photo via Facebook

The Vienna Town Council will review two projects along Maple Avenue in a work session tonight (Monday), after indicating concerns that developers are trying to skirt zoning regulations by pushing their proposed heights a bit higher than current limits might allow.

The 380 Maple development is a proposed mixed-use building with 7,500 square feet of ground floor retail and 40 residential condominiums on three floors. The building includes one floor of underground parking and two floors of structure above-ground parking, but staff noted that the applications calls for an extra half-floor added to the mix, beyond current limits in the area.

“Staff notes that the applicant is proposing a half-floor of parking between the first story and second story of the building, beyond the four stories allowed per code,” staff said in a project overview. “The applicant is applying for a modification of requirement for the additional half-story.”

While approving of greater levels of parking available at the site, Councilmember Douglas Noble said at a meeting last week that he was concerned the additional half-story would still be contrary to the Maple Avenue zoning code’s five-story limit.

Meanwhile, the Sunrise Assisted Living project, a four-story building with 85 assisted living units and 7,700 square feet of first-floor commercial space, is also requesting a “half-story” space.

“Staff notes that the applicant is proposing a half-story space to include additional lobby and common spaces for the assisted living facility between the first story and second story of the building, beyond the four stories allowed per Code,” staff said in the project overview. “The applicant is applying for a modification of requirement for the additional half-story.”

An additional item listed as “limiting discussion with developers” was also added to the agenda at the request of Councilmembers Pasha Majdi and Howard Springsteen, two of the leading opponents to the controversial Maple Avenue Commercial developments last year.

Image via Town of Vienna Planning and Zoning

Vienna police were called to a home on Carole Court SE last Friday after a resident found a dollar bill and then started feeling dizzy.

The incident happened shortly after 10 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 22.

“A resident advised that she heard a knock at her door,” Vienna PD said in a weekly crime report. “When she answered the door, no one was there, but she found a dollar bill on her driveway. After picking up the dollar bill, the resident felt dizzy. The resident refused medical treatment.”

“The dollar bill was turned over to the property section,” police added.

Photo via Facebook

Vienna’s quarterly Recycling Day is tomorrow (Saturday), so if you’ve been Marie Kondo-ing your home, this is your chance to get rid of your troublesome surplus.

Materials can be taken to Northside Property Yard, located at 600 Mill Street NE, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The service is provided by the Department of Public Works (DPW) to help locals dispose of waste products in a convenient and environmentally friendly way, according to the Town of Vienna website.

Materials that can be collected include:

• Used motor oil
• Antifreeze
• Vehicle and other batteries
• Electronics except “large backside” computers or TVs
• Refrigerators

Hazardous waste products, like insecticides, paint or other chemical products are not accepted for recycling.

Photo via Facebook

(Updated 3:15 p.m.) — For 17 years, Natalya Anderson worked cutting hair in Tysons with one goal: opening her own salon. The recently opened Alya Salon and Spa, located at 139 Park St. in Vienna, represents the realization of that dream.

“I always wanted to own my own salon,” said Anderson. “I wanted to have a great team and create a good family.”

The salon opened on Feb. 1, and Anderson said business has been good so far, with a very friendly customer base in Vienna. The store is one block south of Maple Avenue behind the Whole Foods.

For Anderson, people working in hair design are artists, and one of her goals was to have a place in Vienna where she could bring great artists under one roof.

The salon deals mainly with hair, including coloring, cuts and extensions. Anderson said she’s currently looking for someone to help the salon expand to offer spa and facial care services.

Haircuts at the salon are $75, with the salon specializing in curly hair and health-focused haircare. Anderson said the salon has vegan, gluten-free, and paraben-free hair products.

“We’re working on being a ‘green salon’ in the near future,” said Anderson.

Anderson said the green salon status involves entirely eliminating product waste and reducing energy use. Gustavo LLC, where Anderson says she gets her cosmetic products, is also cruelty-free and organic.

But it isn’t all checkups and dye jobs at Alya Salon. Anderson said the company also handles weddings and some fashion shoots.

They recently helped Fairfax Woman Magazine with the cosmetic work for their March/April magazine. Anderson’s also interested in helping out more with charity events around town to help give back to the community that’s welcomed her.

If you’re a member of Vienna’s Nextdoor neighborhood network, you might start to see an increased number of updates on crime and issues in your local community.

Nextdoor is a social networking service focused on neighborhoods, requiring users to submit their real names and addresses to keep the information local. The website often includes reports on crime in the area and has taken some flack as a potential tool for racial profiling.

The Vienna Police Department announced yesterday it’s partnering with the website’s government interface to send updates.

“I am pleased to let you know that starting today; we’ll start using Nextdoor’s free government interface to partner with you and your neighbors to build community, improve quality of life, and work together to make your neighborhood safer and stronger,” Juan Vazquez, public information officer for the Vienna Police Department, said in the post. “As a member of Nextdoor that lives in Town of Vienna, you’ll automatically get our messages.”

The messages can be opted out of at Nextdoor’s management system.

Vazquez also noted in the post that police cannot read what users of Nextdoor are discussing, but can see replies to posts when discussions are enabled.

Photo via Facebook

There’s black bunting up on the Vienna Volunteer Fire Station in commemoration of George William “Bill” Ellis, a man who worked in the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department for 50 years and served as chief for 20.

Ellis died last Friday (Feb. 22) at 81 in Fairfax Hospital.

He was born in D.C. in 1937 and joined the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department at 18, according to his obituary. He attained the rank of Fire Chief in 1980 and remained in that role until 2001 when he and his wife, Joan Ellis, moved to Culpeper. He was the longest serving volunteer firefighter.

There, he joined the Salem Volunteer Fire Department and continued to work as a fire truck driver until a little over a year ago.

“He represents the best of Vienna over the years,” said Vienna Town Councilmember Howard Springsteen at a meeting on Monday.

When he wasn’t volunteering at the fire department, Ellis was a cable splicing technician with C&P Telephone, hanging off of telephone poles to install and fix lines.

“Bill enjoyed tinkering with everything,” according to the obituary. “His collection of nuts, bolts, washers and various fasteners, tools and wire allowed him to create a device for almost every situation. If you were missing a small part, Bill had it or could make it. His basement in Vienna and, later, his garage in Culpeper were his domain. Only he knew where things were.”

The Salem Volunteer Fire Department will host a celebration of his life on Saturday (March 9) at 11 a.m. in their headquarters at 13428 Scotts Mill Road.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to his wife, Joan, to assist with medical and funeral expenses. Donations can also be made through PayPal by contacting Bill’s son, Robert Ellis at [email protected].

Ellis photo via Twitter, Vienna Volunteer Fire Department photo via Facebook

Fresh off a ranking in Bloomberg’s wealthiest places in America list, McLean took the number 10 spot in a rundown of American cities ranked by money management.

The list by WalletHub, a personal finance website based in D.C., compared over 2,500 cities and ranked them based on 10 indicators of money management.

The ranking factors in things like credit card, mortgage, and other debts as compared to incomes.

The median credit score in McLean is particularly high at 761 with an average number of late payments at 0.75.

Vienna also made an appearance on the list at 37th overall. The town’s average credit score is 763, but residents are a little sloppier on the payment deadlines, with an average 1.1 late payments.

Falls Church comes in at number 68 with a credit score of 733 and 2.08 late payments.

As the winter starts to thaw, stands hawking Girl Scout cookies are starting to crop up nationwide.

But rather than randomly stumbling on them, a new app can help Tysonians with a sweet tooth track their dealers.

Here’s a look at some of the spots around the Tysons area to get your cookie fix:

Tysons

• McLean Metro (1824 Dolley Madison Blvd): Thursdays and Fridays: 3:30-7:30 p.m.
• Silver Diner (8101 Fletcher Ave): Friday (March 1) 4:30-6:30 p.m. Saturday (March 2): 9-11 a.m. Sunday (March 3): 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
• Safeway (1688 Anderson Road): Saturdays, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
• Ascent Apartment Building (8421 Broad Street): Monday (March 4): 5-7 p.m.
• Marshalls (8353 Leesburg Pike): Friday (March 1): 4:30-6:30 p.m. Saturday (March 2): 9:30-11:30 a.m. Sunday (March 3): 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
• TJ Maxx (8389 Leesburg Pike): Fridays, 5-7 p.m., Saturdays 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Sundays 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
• 7-Eleven (1931 Old Gallows Road): Saturday (March 2): 1-3 p.m., Sunday (March 3) 12-2 p.m.

Vienna

• OLGC CFF (8601 Wolftrap Road): Saturday (March 2): 8:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
• Vienna-Dunn Loring Metro (2700 Gallows Road): Weekdays, 3:30-7:30 p.m. Saturdays, 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
• Advance Auto (311 Maple Ave E): Fridays, 5-8 p.m. Saturdays, 9 a.m.-12 p.m.
• Dollar Tree (264 Cedar Lane SE): Friday (March 1): 4-6 p.m. Saturday (March 2): 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Sunday (March 3): 12-2 p.m.
• Lacrosse Unlimited of Vienna (209 Maple Ave E): Fridays, 4-7 p.m. Saturdays, 10 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Sundays, 10-11:45 a.m.
• Rexall (150 Maple Ave W): Fridays, 5-9 p.m. Saturdays, 9 a.m.-12 p.m.
• Cocoa Vienna (120 Church Street NE): Saturday (March 2): 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Sunday (March 3) 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
• Dunkin’ Donuts (2750 Gallows Road E): Saturdays and Sundays, 8-10 a.m.
• Ben and Jerry’s (136 C Maple Ave W): Sunday (March 3): 12-3 p.m.

McLean

• Balducci’s (6655 Old Dominion Dr): Fridays, 5-8 p.m. Saturdays, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sundays, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
• Giant Food (1454 Chain Bridge Rd): Fridays, 5-8 p.m. Saturdays, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
• Safeway (6244 Old Dominion Drive): Fridays, 4-7 p.m. Saturdays, 1-5 p.m.
• Advance Auto (1449 Chain Bridge Rd): Saturdays, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sundays, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
• Flowers and Plants (1378 Chain Bridge Rd): Saturdays, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
• McLean Family Restaurant (1321 Chain Bridge Rd): Saturdays, 9-11:30 a.m.
• Child’s Play (1382 Chain Bridge Rd): Sundays, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

Photo via Facebook

Business is hurting in Vienna. The Maple Avenue Market closed last week, as did the GameStop, with an employee there citing increasing rents as the leading cause.

As store after store shuts its doors, there are questions swirling around town about whether local businesses can stay competitive with new developments surrounding Vienna — and if so, how?

At a town council meeting in January, town business liaison Friderike Butler said businesses on side streets were being hit particularly hard.

“If they’re not on the main street, they’re struggling a lot more,” said Butler. “Even on Church Street, it’s not easy. The economy is doing well overall, and if we have small businesses struggling as the economy is doing well, what is going to happen if there is a recession? It’s something to really think about and make sure our business community is strengthened and supported.”

Peggy James, executive director of the Vienna Business Association, told Tysons Reporter that two big challenges are facing local stores.

“It’s very expensive and we’re pretty tight on parking,” said James.

What’s driving up the rent? It’s an old maxim anyone in real estate will be familiar with.

“Location, location, location,” said James. “It’s always been an expensive place. With Mosaic District just two miles away and Tysons building up like crazy, the competition for brick and mortar is tough.”

Over the years, James said the Saturday morning shopping at mom-and-pop stores that had turned Vienna into a local destination disappeared as sales went to big box stores and Amazon.

“The challenge in this age of Amazon is double,” Frank Shafroth, director of the Center for State and Local Leadership at George Mason University, wrote in an email. “You don’t even have to leave your home or apartment to purchase, and Amazon has such size and distribution that it can undercut in price on almost anything one would purchase at a small business.”

But all three experts noted that there are ways to help local businesses survive.

From a policy standpoint, Butler said the Town of Vienna can help make parking more accessible.

“We need a comprehensive parking map,” said Butler. “Culpepper has a beautiful parking map distributed everywhere in stores and people know where to park. For visitors who have never been in Vienna, it’s very confusing where to park. A comprehensive map would be helpful.”

Town Councilmember Howard Springsteen also recommended the Town Council consider hiring a full-time economic development specialist, an idea that’s been tossed around the council for two years.

“There’s a limit to how much we can rely on volunteers,” said Springsteen. “We just really need to bite the bullet and do it.”

For businesses, Shafroth said survival hinges on finding a niche that can’t be as easily replicated by bigger stores or by Amazon.

“Retailers have to carve out a niche that makes them indispensable: whether shopping for a stroller, car seat, crib or mattress,” said Shafroth. “For instance, new parents want to walk into a physical store and speak with a retailer who can field multiple questions and direct them to the products that best suit their needs — even if those products are available through a different vendor.”

As part of that, Shafroth also said smaller stores should capitalize on the advantages physically touching merchandise offers.

“It’s hard to be certain–especially if you are shopping for a small child, for instance — what will work,” said Shafroth. “A parent wants to feel and touch something: is it baby soft? If it’s a toy, is the mechanism simple enough and safe enough for a tot?”

He continued: “According to Forrester, 43 percent of millennials respond they would rather shop at small local stores, as opposed to big national chains. According to Cassandra, a trend forecasting, research and brand strategy firm, 78 percent of parents in the U.S. would rather shop in stores than online. And, according to the National Retail Federation, today’s young parents spend as much as $1 trillion on items for kids — and this generation values good service more than convenience: they want to be certain that what they purchase will be appropriate — and safe.”

And at the individual level, there’s an obvious answer for how locals can help small stores survive.

“The best thing people can do is give local businesses the first shot at a sale,” said James. “I had a lot of loyal customers at Artful Gift Shop. They’d come to us first. You don’t have to find what you want, but give us a shot.”

James also noted that it can be too easy for locals to blame new developments, like those coming in with the Maple Avenue Commercial zoning changes, for the hardships local stores are facing.

“We can’t stay small and survive,” said James. “We can’t stay as small shops if we can’t keep customers. New spaces [are being developed] on Maple Avenue. Citizens don’t like it and I can understand it, but it kind of has to happen.”