Angela Woolsey | FFXnow

Dominion Energy to begin prep work on undergrounding Tysons power line

Published April 26, 2023 at 1:30PM | Updated April 27, 2023 at 12:19AM

Tysons to Spring Hill transmission line construction phases (via Dominion Energy)

(Updated at 12:15 a.m. on 4/27/2023) Preliminary construction activities will kick into gear this weekend on a long-gestating project to move part of an electric transmission line underground in the Spring Hill area of Tysons.

Starting this Friday (April 28) evening, Dominion Energy will close the Vesper Trail from Route 7 (Leesburg Pike) to Vesper Street so its crews can install a manhole needed for the project, spokesperson Peggy Fox said. The trail closure will last until Tuesday (May 2).

News

Vienna Town Council approves larger tax rate reduction than first proposed

By Angela Woolsey

Published April 26, 2023 at 10:15AM

Vienna Town Hall (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The Town of Vienna will reduce its real estate tax rate by a full cent for the upcoming fiscal year 2024, which begins July 1.

Approved unanimously by the town council on Monday (April 24), the reduction is bigger than the quarter-cent decrease first proposed by Town Manager Mercury Payton last month, but it still won’t be enough to completely counterbalance the rising property values most homeowners experienced this year.

Countywide

FCPS expands background checks for employees in wake of ex-counselor’s conviction

By Angela Woolsey

Published April 26, 2023 at 9:30AM

The Fairfax County Public Schools administrative center in Merrifield (file photo)

Going forward, all Fairfax County Public Schools workers will be required to undergo regular background checks and notify the school system of any arrests while they’re employed.

The expanded background check policies will be implemented after an investigation last year found “systemic gaps” in the hiring process, FCPS announced yesterday (Tuesday).

News

Vienna Elementary, one of Fairfax County’s oldest public schools, to throw 150th birthday bash

By Angela Woolsey

Published April 25, 2023 at 2:15PM

Vienna Elementary School from 1915. The four-room building burned down around 1919 and was replaced by the current school in 1923 (courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division)

When Vienna Elementary School celebrates its 150th anniversary next month, the occasion will double as a milestone for the entire Fairfax County Public Schools system.

Opened in 1923, the 74,904-square-foot home of the Vikings at 128 Center Street South is the oldest continuously operating public school building in the county, though the school as an institution can trace its origins back to the founding of FCPS in 1870.

News

Columbia Pike intersection where crash killed teen secures funds for crossing beacon

By Angela Woolsey

Published April 25, 2023 at 11:45AM

A memorial at Columbia Pike and Tyler Street for Lesly Diaz-Bonilla, who was killed by a driver on Nov. 16, 2022 (photo by Ellie Ashford, courtesy Bailey's Crossroads and Culmore PBI Coalition)

To the relief of Bailey’s Crossroads residents, some traffic safety improvements are in the works for the often harrowing area where Columbia Pike and Route 7 (Leesburg Pike) meet.

Perhaps the most urgent change will be the addition of a pedestrian hybrid beacon at the crosswalk across Columbia Pike at Tyler Street — the intersection where a driver hit and killed Justice High School student Lesly Diaz-Bonilla in November.

Around Town

Fast food restaurant Z-Burger lands prime spot for new Vienna location

By Angela Woolsey

Published April 25, 2023 at 11:00AM

The fast food restaurant Z-Burger sells burgers, chicken sandwiches and milkshakes (via Z-Burger/Instagram)

McDonalds and Chick-fil-A will soon have some new competition for Vienna high school students looking to chow down while relaxing with friends after class.

The D.C.-based fast food chain Z-Burger is set to open later this spring in the former Pizza Hut at 541 Maple Avenue West, continuing an expansion into Northern Virginia that began in McLean and recently spread to Alexandria.

News

Three people taken to hospital after crash that closes John Marr Drive

By Angela Woolsey

Published April 25, 2023 at 9:45AM | Updated April 25, 2023 at 11:23AM

The intersection of John Marr Drive and Little River Turnpike has been closed after a crash (via Google Maps)

Updated at 11:25 a.m. — All lanes on John Marr Drive and Little River Turnpike have now reopened to traffic, police say.

Earlier: A crash on John Marr Drive in Annandale took down power lines and sent three people to the hospital this morning (Tuesday).

Around Town

Volunteers wanted to plant cherry blossom trees in Tysons for Arbor Day

By Angela Woolsey

Published April 24, 2023 at 1:30PM | Updated April 27, 2023 at 11:36AM

A cherry tree in front of the Vita Apartments on the Plaza at Tysons Corner Center (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Updated at 11:35 a.m. on 4/27/2023 — With rain in the forecast tomorrow (Friday), the cherry tree plantings have been postponed to May 6, the Tysons Community Alliance announced today.

Earlier: This year’s cherry blossom season has come and gone, but in Tysons, the seeds for future flowers are about to take root.

News

Reston contractor settles allegations of racial discrimination in hiring, says labor department

By Angela Woolsey

Published April 24, 2023 at 11:00AM

Two people shaking hands (via Cytonn Photography on Unsplash)

An IT contractor headquartered in Reston’s South Lakes area has agreed to pay over $435,000 to settle a federal investigation that found racial discrimination in its hiring practices.

Intelligent Waves LLC allegedly engaged in “systemic hiring discrimination” against 14 Black applicants who sought work in Arizona and Nevada as test instrumentation technicians, the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) announced Friday (April 21).

News

Vienna Police: Reckless driver hits fences, tries to break into houses to escape officers

By Angela Woolsey

Published April 24, 2023 at 9:30AM

Vienna police officers on Church Street (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

A 33-year-old man from Haymarket was charged with reckless driving and felony property destruction last week following a vehicle and foot chase with Vienna police.

The Vienna Police Department received a report around 2:28 p.m. last Tuesday (April 18) that a reckless driver was “harassing people” in the 300 block of Maple Avenue East, according to the department’s recap of the week of April 14-20.