State lawmakers punted consideration of a casino in Fairfax County to next year, but that hasn’t stopped some proponents from seeking to assist in the divisive plan to bring the Washington Wizards and Capitals to Northern Virginia, whose odds of a comeback win are looking slim.
Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, who represents Fairfax County’s Richmond Highway corridor, recently pitched the idea of bringing both a casino and the sports arena to Tysons to a representative of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns the basketball and hockey teams, the Washington Post reported on Sunday (March 24).
According to the Post, Surovell dropped the idea after Monumental President of External Affairs Monica Dixon “immediately” rejected it, but Christopher Clemente, CEO of the aspiring casino developer Comstock, and Ben Tribbett, a prominent consultant whose clients include Comstock and Surovell, “continued shopping the idea last week.”
The suggestion of combined arena/casino site in Tysons emerged as Monumental’s much-hyped plan to move the teams from D.C. to Alexandria’s Potomac Yard flailed for support. The Virginia General Assembly adjourned on March 9 without including funding for a state authority to finance the $2 billion entertainment district in their budget proposal, and at least one Alexandria City elected official withdrew her endorsement of the project.
Clemente told the Post that a joint development could “enhance financing options for the arena” by using tax revenue generated by the casino to guarantee bonds that would pay for the stadium, but Potomac Yard developer JBG Smith’s CEO, Matt Kelly, noted the deal could be used to evade Virginia’s requirement that casinos get approved by voter referendum.
Like the arena, Fairfax County’s potential casino is envisioned as part of an entertainment district, according to State Sen. Dave Marsden, who sponsored legislation to make the county eligible for a gambling establishment this past session and in 2023.
After vocal opposition from local residents and some officials, though the county board stopped short of taking an official position, a Senate committee voted on Feb. 6 to continue this year’s bill to 2025 to allow for more study and public engagement.
The combined facility proposal appears to be dead on arrival, with Monumental owner Ted Leonsis and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin reportedly expressing “disgust” and “no interest,” respectively. But hypothetically, would you support the Wizards and Capitals calling Fairfax County home? Would it alter your stance on a casino?
Rendering courtesy JBG Smith
Clogged-up pipes will force Scott’s Run Nature Preserve to close for more than a month, starting later this week.
Contractors will begin work on the “emergency project” to clear and repair wastewater pipes in the McLean park this Thursday (March 28), the Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services recently announced.
The 385-acre park at 7400 Georgetown Pike will be closed throughout the project’s first phase, which is expected to take about six weeks and will remove an estimated 80,000 tons of sediment from the pipes, according to DPWES.
Also known as siphons, the pipes carry wastewater from McLean across the Potomac River and into Maryland, connecting to a DC Water interceptor through Carderock National Park.
“During a recent inspection two of the three pipes at the wastewater siphon were found to be non-operational,” DPWES said in a news release. “An emergency repair is necessary, as there is no reasonable bypass alternative if the last pipe fails, which would mean millions of gallons of sewage per day going into the Potomac.”
According to the project page, the park needs to close during the project so construction crews and equipment can access the trails without creating conflicts for visitors or pushing pedestrians off-trail, which would damage the natural environment.
Work will take place Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., depending on the weather. The closure will apply to all trails and the east and west parking lots.
In addition to removing sediment, which will be transported out of Scott’s Run daily by truck, the project will involve replacing valves and cleaning the siphon barrels. The siphon barrel cleaning will be done in Carderock National Park.
A second phase of work focused on maintenance repairs is expected later, requiring another park closure, but the exact timing will be determined after “additional investigations are made during the cleaning process,” DPWES said.
In total, the work at Scott’s Run is expected to take three months, though the overall project has an anticipated timeline of six to nine months.
DPWES says no other properties should be affected by the project, and traffic into and out of the Scott’s Run parking lot will be “limited” after the contractors arrive Thursday morning.
“Materials and construction equipment for the project will be safely stored onsite,” the project page says. “Additionally, Fairfax County McLean District Police have been notified of the project and will be monitoring traffic patterns in the area to ensure safety of residents and commuters.”
The county says it’s identifying “methods to optimize and enhance its inspection and cleaning procedures to reduce the likelihood” that an emergency response of this level will be needed in the future.
A man who sexually assaulted two women in the Annandale area on consecutive days last week is now in custody, police say.
Kevin Lopez Altan, 24, of Annandale was arrested on Friday (March 22) after allegedly raping a business owner multiple times two days earlier and separately attacking a Northern Virginia Community College student the previous day, the Fairfax County Police Department announced this afternoon (Monday).
At a press conference, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis described the assault against the business owner in particular as “abhorrent and inhumane.”
“There is no reason beyond he is evil personified. He’s brutal in his attacks on women. He’s relentless in his attacks on women,” Davis said. “…We’re proud that we were able to put him in handcuffs, but we can’t begin to explain criminal misconduct like his.”
According to police, a man tried to enter a business near John Marr Drive around 11 a.m. on Wednesday (March 20). Since the business was closed, the owner, a 59-year-old woman, told him that he couldn’t enter two times before he forced himself inside when she opened the door to tell him a third time.
The man then held the woman captive inside her own business for “several hours,” police said.
“Throughout this nightmare, the suspect sexually assaulted the victim repeatedly and threatened to kill her if she didn’t do exactly what he told her to do,” Sully District Station Captain Dan Spital said. “The victim found the moment when the suspect’s attention was diverted and bravely took that opportunity to escape.”
After escaping, the woman managed to run to a nearby business, where she asked someone for help. The 911 call came in at 10:13 pm., according to the FCPD.
While investigating the case, FCPD detectives learned that the Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) Police were looking into an attempted sexual assault that had been reported around 8:50 p.m. on Thursday (March 21) at its Annandale campus.
The 20-year-old woman who got attacked is a current student and was able to get assistance from a nearby student in fending off the assault, NOVA Police Chief William “Jake” Jacoby said at the press conference.
After comparing notes, including a composite sketch created by the FCPD, investigators from the two departments determined they were looking for the same individual, according to Spital.
Lopez Alton was identified by a NOVA Police officer who coincidentally recognized a description from FCPD detectives of the suspect’s “unique” tattoos and “mannerisms.” The officer had encountered Lopez Alton in his previous work as a Fairfax County sheriff’s deputy.
When FCPD investigators found that Lopez Alton’s fingerprints matched ones found at the Annandale business, police launched a manhunt for him, targeting shopping centers around Annandale where he was “known to hang out,” Spital said. He was ultimately arrested in the Heritage Center (7617 Little River Turnpike) round 1:20 p.m. on Friday. Read More
More than a dozen candidates will vie for six seats — four held by adults, two by teens — on the McLean Community Center’s governing board this spring.
The community center announced on Friday (March 22) that 10 adults and five teens have qualified to run in this year’s board election, which has one more open seat than usual with current board member Ari Ghasemian resigning at the end of March.
Ghasemian’s empty seat will be filled by the fourth-highest adult vote-getter, who will serve the remaining year in his term. The other adult seats are for three-year terms, while the two youth seats — one representing the McLean High School area and the other representing Langley High School — have one-year terms.
Two existing board members — Lisa Mariam and Matt Colsia — are seeking to retain their seats, but they will need to fend off eight newcomers: Tarek Atia, Jonathan “Slade” Broom, Mike Drabyk, Doug Jeffery, Ronald Keesing, Michael Monroe, Peter Pin and Peggy Richardson.
There are three candidates for the Langley seat — Anastasiia Dudnik-Dubiniak, Sonya Thott and Luke Understein — and two for the McLean High School seat — Aanya Jain and Aaron Stark.
Open to residents of MCC’s tax district, absentee voting will begin this Wednesday (March 27) and continue until 5 p.m. on Monday, May 13. Ballots can be requested in person at MCC (1234 Ingleside Avenue), online, by phone at 703-744-9348 or by email at elections@mcleancenter.org.
The election will conclude with a day of in-person voting during McLean Day, which will take place from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday, May 18 at Lewinsville Park (1659 Chain Bridge Road).
MCC’s 11-person volunteer governing board guides policy and oversees the organization’s budget and strategic planning.
Provided by MCC in a press release, statements from each of the candidates can be found below. The statements will be available on the community center’s website once absentee voting begins. Read More
A longtime arts educator and administrator who has helped keep opera alive in cities as different as New York City and Nashville will soon bring that expertise to Fairfax County.
ArtsFairfax has hired Stuart Holt as its new president and CEO to replace Linda Sullivan, who retired on Feb. 29 after a 14-year tenure that saw the organization evolve from a council most known for producing the International Children’s Festival into a key advocate and source of funding for the county’s artistic community.
Holt’s experience with expanding access to the arts — most recently as director of learning and engagement for the Metropolitan Opera Guild in New York City — will help ArtsFairfax build on the transformation that Sullivan started, ArtsFairfax Board Chair Scott Cryer said in today’s announcement.
“Fairfax County interest in the arts has grown exponentially over the last 10 years due in large part to Linda Sullivan’s leadership,” Cryer said. “Now, we look to Stuart Holt to increase access to the arts for all residents throughout the region. The ArtsFairfax Board believes that Stuart’s vision and spirit of collaboration will inspire our talented staff and multiple stakeholders to find new ways of working together to strengthen the arts in Fairfax.”
Envisioning ArtsFairfax as a “catalyst for area artists to amplify and celebrate their work,” Holt told FFXnow in an exclusive interview that he’s “extremely excited about the opportunity” to work in a community the size of Fairfax County, which he noted has more residents than the state of Montana.
“The opportunity to think about access, exposure, a commitment to the arts on that scale is thrilling,” Holt said. “It’s daunting, but it is a huge opportunity, one which I think is a beautiful combination of all of the work that I have done up to this point in my career.”
A graduate of St. Cloud State University in Minnesota and Florida State University, where he got a master’s degree in opera production, Holt began his administrative career in 2004 as the director of youth opera programs for the Sarasota Opera. He then served as Nashville Opera’s education and outreach director before joining the Metropolitan Opera Guild in 2012.
According to ArtsFairfax, Holt’s work with the Met Opera Guild included a redesign of its Opera Learning Institute, participation in an Arts Workforce Fellowship that assists emerging artists from historically underrepresented communities, the creation of a Community Voices Choir for the arts center Culture Lab, and oversight of a research project on how “opera-based and arts-integrated learning” connects to student achievement.
Holt’s efforts have brought arts education programming to 30,000 students in Nashville and 120,000 students in New York, ArtsFairfax said in a press release.
Throughout his career Mr. Holt has brokered unique community partnerships, including collaborations with Lincoln Center to provide music education for children and young adults on the Autism spectrum and to serve adults affected by dementia; a partnership with the Vanderbilt Observatory to create the outdoor dining and live music “Opera on the Mountain” event, which remains an integral part of Nashville Opera’s perennial community engagement offerings; and a partnership with the Police Athletic League to develop an afterschool choral program in Sarasota, Florida.
As Director of Learning and Engagement at the Metropolitan Opera Guild, Mr. Holt dramatically increased the Guild’s reach, growing their K-12 school programs across all five boroughs of New York City and to six counties in New Jersey; launching the Metropolitan Opera Guild Podcast, which garnered over 2.2 million listens across 200 episodes; and creating the Guild’s Continuing Opera Education-Online Learning Platform, which reached adult learners from 41 states and 29 countries.
Holt says his past work has given him an appreciation for the importance of listening to constituents and building personal connections. Read More
A chain of bubble tea shops is adding another local link, this time in the Town of Vienna.
Vivi Bubble Tea anticipates opening its newest franchise at 233 Maple Avenue East in mid-April, according to Yaya Zhang, manager of both the upcoming Vienna location and the existing Fairfax City cafe (9974 Main Street).
The shop has moved into the former Elite Tutoring Place in Glyndon Shopping Center, filling out a row also occupied by Pizza Vienna and Bruster’s Ice Cream.
Zhang says Vivi Bubble Tea was interested in adding a franchise in Vienna for “many reasons,” including the opportunity to attract a different customer base than the people it sees in Fairfax.
“Vivi Bubble Tea would like to increase its brand presence and respond to customer demand, and we believe Vienna Town offers an attractive demographic profile and foot traffic,” Zhang said by email. “Compared to the Fairfax City branch, which faces customers with college students and nearby residents, the Vienna Town branch is looking to attract families, young professionals, and other nearby residents.”
Vivi Bubble Tea launched in 2007 with “cutting-edge technology for tea production,” according to its website. Since opening its first store in New York City, the company has expanded to over 100 locations across four continents and 13 countries.
The proliferation of chains like Vivi and Sharetea has fueled a surge in bubble tea’s popularity in the U.S., drawing attention to a longtime favorite of some Asian immigrant communities. First developed in Taiwan in the 1980s, the drink consists of cold, sweet milk tea and chewy tapioca balls, or boba.
In addition to both dairy and non-dairy milk teas, Vivi offers fruit and jelly teas, flavored hot tea, soda and slushes, which come in flavors like strawberry, lychee and Oreo cookie. The variety and ability to customize menu items with toppings and different sugar or ice levels sets the chain apart from other bubble tea shops, Zhang says.
The business also serves Asian street food, including popcorn chicken, bento boxes and takoyaki, a traditionally Japanese snack.
“We believe that by offering a range of food options alongside their bubble tea drinks, Vivi Bubble Tea can attract customers looking for a complete dining experience or those who want to enjoy a snack or meal with their beverages,” Zhang said.
Vivi’s Vienna shop will be its third franchise in Virginia, joining ones in Fairfax and at the Eden Center in Falls Church.
Zhang says the business plans to get involved in the local community, and customers can expect plenty of promotions and discounts.
“We can’t wait to open up and service everyone in Vienna,” Zhang said.
This summer at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts just got busier.
After announcing an initial line-up in January, the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts unveiled additional shows on Tuesday (March 19) that have been booked for its summer 2024 season at the Filene Center, the park’s main outdoor amphitheater, and the Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods.
The Filene Center’s season typically kicks off with “Blast Off!,” a free fireworks show, around Memorial Day in May, though the exact date won’t be announced until April in coordination with the President’s Own U.S. Marine Band.
The newly expanded slate of concerts features a range of genres, from 1990s R&B — represented by TLC, En Vogue and Jody Watley on July 5 — to musical theater belted by Tony-winning Broadway star Ben Platt on June 23.
There will be some notable collaborations between Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates and Elvis Costello on July 25, The Who lead singer Roger Daltry and singer-songwriter KT Tunstall on June 12, and indie bands The Mountain Goats and The New Pornographers on Aug. 4.
The National Symphony Orchestra is teaming up with indie musician Beck (July 27) and rapper Nas, who will commemorate the 30th anniversary of his debut studio album “Illmatic” on July 21. It has added “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” (July 24) to the list of movies getting a live score accompaniment, and audiences will be able to sing along to “The Sound of Music” on Aug. 16.
Other highlights include The Roots on Aug. 31, country singer Clint Black on July 3, rockers Cake (Aug. 2) and Blues Travelers (Aug. 23), and ’80s new wave band Crowded House, best known for “Don’t Dream It’s Over,” on Sept. 3.
Local musicians will also get a showcase, with rockers Virginia Coalition, emmet swimming and the Pat McGee Band coming together for “NOVA Nite” on Aug.7.
Over at the Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods, families will be treated to hour-long music, dance, theater, puppetry and magic performances on Tuesday through Sunday mornings at 10:30 a.m. from June 20 to Aug. 3.
Full schedules for both the Filene Center and Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods can be found on Wolf Trap’s website. Tickets for the just-announced shows will go on sale at 10 a.m. next Friday, March 29.
Fairfax County’s next budget could give its public libraries a little more spending money for books.
At the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday (March 19), Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn proposed allocating an additional $500,000 in the upcoming fiscal year 2025 budget to Fairfax County Public Library’s book collection.
“The Library continues to be one of the most popular services provided by the county and our Library branches are a vital hub of community information,” Alcorn said in his board matter. “…We continue to face issues with meeting the demand for library materials even with the digital formats.”
County Executive Bryan Hill presented a proposed budget on Feb. 20 that increases FCPL’s funding by $410,027, partially offsetting a $1.2 million jump in personnel-related costs with cuts to the system’s operating expenses.
Planned reductions include eliminating a vacant management position, shifting to black-and-white public copiers instead of color ones, adjustments to the number of computers at each branch based on usage, taking over data storage from a third-party vendor and making FCPL’s quarterly magazine digital-only.
Overall, the county is budgeting just under $35 million in expenditures for the library system, most of which ($22 million) goes toward day-to-day operations at its 23 branches.
Alcorn noted that the county’s funding is supplemented by contributions from the nonprofit Fairfax Library Foundation and the Friends groups that support individual branches. The Friends of Reston Regional Library, for instance, donated $100,000 earlier this year to boost the children’s books collection county-wide.
However, funding for books and other materials remains inadequate “to meet the needs of our residents,” who sometimes have to wait months or even more than a year for popular items, he said.
With increased demand for popular and new materials, the Library must balance a proper allocation of limited resources for those items with the needs for materials in support of K-12 students, and ensuring that materials are updated, available in print, large print, audio and digital copies and in multiple languages. Additional funds to the collection budget will ensure that we are providing the resources our community demands from our Library and decrease the wait times so that people can access those resources in a timely fashion.
The Board of Supervisors agreed unanimously on Tuesday to add Alcorn’s proposal to its list of items to consider incorporating into the budget, which includes $3.83 million in not-yet-allocated funds.
Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity also asked county staff to find out why FCPL is only devoting about 10% of its budget to purchasing materials and whether that guidance comes from the county, the library’s Board of Trustees or the state.
“I think we do need to clearly invest in our library collections,” Herrity said. “It’s something our citizens like. It’s a basic public service we need to promote.”
Town hall meetings on the proposed budget are currently underway, with the Franconia District holding the next one at 6 p.m. today (Friday). Public hearings are scheduled for April 16-18, and the board will mark up the budget, including determining whether to add items like the library funding, on April 30.
A final FY 2025 budget will be adopted on May 7.
The roster of retailers coming to Tysons Corner Center continues to grow.
A fast-casual Turkish restaurant that specializes in chicken, fashion designer Kate Spade and a fitness clothing brand are all slated to open locations in the mall at 1961 Chain Bridge Road later this year, according to a press release.
Gagawa, the restaurant, started life in 2012 and has since opened more than 275 restaurants in Turkey, where its name Tavuk Dünyası translates to “World of Chicken,” per its website. The company adopted Gagawa as its global branding and began expanding outside Turkey around 2021, adding locations in Cyprus and Madrid, Spain.
Tysons Corner Center will be Gagawa’s first location in the U.S. It will be located on the mall’s first floor across from California Pizza Kitchen, replacing the Panera Bread that closed in late 2022.
Inspired by cuisines around the world, Gagawa marinates its chicken for 12 to 14 hours and serves it with pasta or rice and a Mediterranean salad. The menu also includes red meat fillets and a variety of starters, such as hummus and feta cheese and olives.
“We are very excited to open our first restaurant in the U.S. in Tysons Center,” Gagawa Chairman Ahmet Faralyalı said. “Our mission is to provide everyone with the opportunity to enjoy a high quality, delicious, affordable meal in an environment where one can feel appreciated. Our local consumer research shows that both our concept and product are very much desired by consumers, and we thrilled to unveil a new, unique experience soon.”
The restaurant will be preceded by Kate Spade New York, which is expected to open on Tysons Corner Center’s second floor near Nordstrom this summer. Launched in 1993, the women’s fashion store sells seasonal collections of handbags, ready-to-wear, jewelry, footwear, gifts home décor and more.
Kate Spade can currently be found in Tysons Galleria at 2001 International Drive, Suite 1430. An employee confirmed to FFXnow that the outlet is relocating from the smaller mall, where it will close sometime in June.
“When customers walk into the store, we want them to feel that they are walking into a uniquely Kate Spade world,” Kate Spade New York CEO and Brand President Liz Fraser said. “…Designed to evoke the feeling of a great escape, this newly designed retail location at Tysons Corner Center will offer both comfort and possibility, inviting customers to feel instantly transported, while still feeling right at home.”
The final newly announced tenant is Vuori, a fitness, surf and yoga apparel store based in Encinitas, California.
Founded in 2015 by Joe Kudla, whom it describes as “an active yogi and surfer,” the company has stores in almost 50 cities around the world, including in Georgetown and Bethesda. Made with an emphasis on sustainability, its clothes can also be found at other retailers, such as Potomac River Running and CorePower Yoga.
Vuori is scheduled to open on Tysons Corner Center’s second floor near Macy’s in the third quarter of 2024.
“Tysons Corner Center is proud to offer our customers an expanded mix of sustainable focused brands like Vuori, who share our commitment to sustainability and corporate social responsibility,” said Jesse Benites, director of property management for Macerich, the mall’s owner and developer.
The mall has already welcomed a few new retailers this year, including the shoe store Rothy’s, the Pakistani clothing store Khaadi and the Indian restaurant Dhoom. Still in the works are fashion retailers Primark and Mango and Level99, a 40,000-square-foot playground for adults that’s coming in 2025.
In addition, the chain restaurants Maggiano’s and Cheesecake Factory will join Kate Spade in making the jump from Tysons Galleria. Maggiano’s is expected to move this summer, while the Cheesecake Factory is on track to follow in the fourth quarter of this year.
Fairfax County police are still searching for a teen who they believe fatally shot another teenager yesterday (Thursday) outside the Sonesta Extended Stay Suites in the McNair area of Herndon.
The Fairfax County Police Department has identified Ismael Cruz-Delcid, 18, of Herndon as the suspect in the shooting, which allegedly followed a physical altercation between three teens.
The encounter began after Cruz-Delcid pulled into the hotel’s parking lot in the 13700 block of Coppermine Road yesterday afternoon, according to police. At some point, he and two other teens began fighting.
“Cruz-Delcid then disengaged from the fight, pulled out a firearm, and shot at the victims,” the FCPD said. “Only one of the victims was struck and the second victim was not injured. Cruz-Delcid left his Honda Civic at the scene and took off on foot after the shooting.”
Officers arrived the scene shortly after 3:35 p.m. and found the teen who got shot suffering from gun shot wounds “to the upper body,” police said. After attempting life-saving measures, responders transported the boy to a hospital, where he died.
At a media briefing yesterday, FCPD Deputy Chief Brooke Wright said at least three shots were fired, and it wasn’t yet clear how many hit the victim. Another teen who wasn’t hit remained at the scene.
Police said the shooter was seen headed toward neighboring Coates Elementary School, prompting Fairfax County Public Schools to place the school under secured status just before students were scheduled to leave.
Detectives have obtained warrants that would charge Cruz-Delcid with second-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. The FCPD says he is involved in “a previous narcotics investigation,” prompting detectives to also get a warrant for cocaine distribution.
“Our officers, our Fugitive Track and Apprehension Unit, and our Organized Crime and Intelligence Bureau are working to locate Cruz-Delcid,” the FCPD said.