(Updated at 4:30 p.m.) A counselor at Glasgow Middle School in Lincolnia is facing criminal charges after he allegedly head-butted an 11-year-old student last week.
Detectives began investigating the reported assault on April 16 and found that Craig Small, a 44-year-old Lorton resident, assaulted the student and “carried him out of the cafeteria” in response to the student calling him “a derogative name,” according to the Fairfax County Police Department.
Small has been served warrants for misdemeanor assault and battery, police said.
According to the FCPD, Small has been a school counselor at Glasgow since August 2021, but he no longer appears to be listed in the school’s staff directory or its webpage for student services staff.
“He remains out on leave,” a Fairfax County Public Schools spokesperson said when asked about Small’s employment status.
The Town of Herndon is getting a new director of economic development.
Marc G. Smith will assume the position starting on May 13, the town announced today (Tuesday). He will succeed previous economic development manager Dennis Holste, who was appointed to that newly created position in 2013 and vacated the job last year to move to his native Florida.
Previously the senior business development manager for Arlington County, Smith will be responsible for promoting Herndon as a destination for new businesses, maintaining relationships with existing ones, and leading initiatives “related to economic development and business vitality,” according to a Town of Herndon press release.
He will also serve as the town’s liaison to Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce and other organizations involved in the commercial sector.
“Marc brings an exceptional mix of experience and expertise to his new role,” Town Manager Bill Ashton said. “He has held both county- and state-wide positions throughout the Commonwealth, which have resulted in solid connections as well as deep knowledge of Virginia’s commercial landscape. Herndon’s business community will be well-served with Marc in this key position.”
According to the town, Smith’s prior work in Arlington involved oversight of a team responsible for attracting and retaining businesses. Their efforts brought in $28 million in investments and 6,400 new jobs, including a net addition of 650 jobs with CoStar Group relocating its headquarters to Rosslyn from D.C.
More from the town on Smith’s resume:
He also managed the county’s lead generation and business development portfolio and created a new strategic plan for the division. Previously, Smith was a business manager for the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP), the economic development authority for the Commonwealth, where he developed and executed lead generation strategies and served as project manager for significant prospects, amounting to $7 billion in capital investment and 9,400 new jobs; and served as business development officer for Stafford County, where he oversaw business attraction, development and expansion. He holds a BS in Political Science with a minor in History from Radford University.
In less than two years, the flooding that plagues Old Courthouse Road at Besley Road during every rain storm should be relegated to the past.
Construction has been underway since February to realign the intersection on the border of Tysons and Wolf Trap, giving it a literal boost with a bridge and other design and safety improvements.
In addition to replacing a “substandard” culvert with a bridge over Wolftrap Creek, the project will elevate and reconstruct about 1,000 feet of Old Courthouse Road and shift the Besley Road alignment east, according to a Fairfax County Department of Transportation presentation.
It will also add pedestrian improvements, including a crosswalk and refuge island east of Besley Road and walkways on both sides of Old Courthouse Road. The south side will get an 8-foot-wide shared-use path, while on the north side, a 5-foot-wide, concrete sidewalk will transition to an 8-foot shared-use path that connects to Spring Lake Trail, FCDOT spokesperson Freddy Serrano says.
Designed to accommodate a 25-year flood event, the project has been in the works for almost a decade now. FCDOT submitted preliminary plans back in 2016 and held its final community meeting on the design in February 2018.
The project is being funded by county bonds approved by voters in 2014. Its estimated cost of $15.5 million includes $11.4 million for construction.
Fort Myer Construction Corporation, the county’s contractor, is working in the Virginia Department of Transportation’s right-of-way from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Fridays, according to Serrano.
Outside the right-of-way, construction hours are between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m.
“There are a variety of phases to the project and impacts to traffic will vary depending on the phase of construction,” Serrano said. “There are short segments of road closure where traffic will alternate through the construction zone during some of the construction activities.”
Besley Road will be closed during the fourth phase of construction, which will focus on a 150-foot stretch of the road and is expected in the spring of 2025. FCDOT has proposed detouring traffic onto Arabian Avenue.
Construction of the overall project is scheduled to finish in December 2025.
Planning is well underway for a new elementary school in Dunn Loring, but some McLean residents argue that Fairfax County Public Schools still hasn’t explained why the project should be prioritized over other needs.
As part of a resolution on the proposed county and FCPS budgets, the McLean Citizens Association’s board of directors urged the Fairfax County School Board last Wednesday (April 3) to “refrain from constructing” the school if officials can’t “provide adequate data” justifying it.
“What they are expecting to do is spend $80 million-ish, and they do not have any data to support the construction of that,” Louise Epstein, who chairs MCA’s budget and taxation committee, said.
Partially funded by bond money once intended for a new school in Oakton, the proposed four-story, 125,905-square-foot building will repurpose the Dunn Loring Administrative Center at 2334 Gallows Road. In addition to relieving crowding at schools in the Dunn Loring, Tysons and Falls Church areas, the project will add new playground facilities to the 10-acre site and move the vehicle access points from Gallows Road to Idylwood Road, according to a rezoning application under review by the county.
While crowding was an issue at Shrevewood Elementary School for years, the school in Idylwood is now operating at 95% capacity, and FCPS projects that will drop to 86% in the 2028-2029 school year, according to its latest capital improvement program (CIP), which was approved by the school board on Feb. 8.
Stenwood Elementary School, which is in Dunn Loring, is utilizing 97% of its capacity right now and is projected to reach 98% in 2028-2029.
In its resolution, MCA acknowledged that FCPS will face “upward pressures” on enrollment from new residential development, including in Merrifield and Tysons, but it says the CIP and its own “independent analysis” based on data provided by FCPS don’t show any near-term impacts on elementary schools in Dunn Loring.
“The School Board’s inclusion of Dunn Loring project in the FY 2025 Advertised Budget is not supported by FCPS 5-year enrollment projections,” MCA’s resolution says, “since no elementary school near Dunn Loring has an existing or projected ‘capacity deficit,’ and elementary schools in that vicinity are projected to have an aggregate ‘capacity surplus’ of 789 seats in 2028-29.”
Per the CIP, FCPS is forecasting capacity deficits at 20 elementary schools by the 2028-2029 school year, including at Spring Hill, Franklin Sherman and Kent Gardens. Boundary changes in McLean will take effect starting this fall. Read More
A 23-year-old man from Arlington has been charged with manslaughter in connection to a Feb. 16 crash in Bailey’s Crossroads that resulted in the death of a 93-year-old woman.
The Fairfax County Police Department announced on Thursday (April 4) that its detectives believe Isai Jimenez Paz was speeding when he allegedly crashed into a Toyota Corolla at the Leesburg Pike and South Jefferson Street intersection.
“[He] was driving a Toyota GR86 at a high speed westbound on Leesburg Pike,” the FCPD said in an updated news release. “The driver of a Toyota Corolla attempted a left turn onto a service road near South Jefferson Street from the eastbound lane of Leesburg Pike. Jimenez Paz struck the Corolla.”
The occupants of both vehicles, including the drivers and one passenger in each, were all transported to nearby hospitals for treatment. Falls Church resident Gladys Bilbao, the Corolla passenger, died from her injuries on Feb. 21.
Jimenez Paz, his passenger and the Corolla driver have since been discharged from the hospital, according to police.
Detectives arrested Jimenez Paz and charged him with involuntary manslaughter on April 3, the FCPD said. Released from custody on a secured bond, he’s scheduled for an arraignment this Wednesday (April 10) and a preliminary hearing on July 15, according to Fairfax County General District Court records.
There have been two fatal crashes on Leesburg Pike this year, both of them in the Bailey’s Crossroads area. Police also announced last week that the driver in a crash that killed a motorcyclist at Glen Carlyn Drive on March 10 has been charged with failing to yield on left turn.
Image via Google Maps
When Vienna Town Manager Mercury Payton stepped on the infield grass at Camden Yards earlier this week to throw a ceremonial first pitch, he thought about his family.
He thought about his wife and 17-year-old daughter, who had accompanied him to the Baltimore Orioles’ game on Monday (April 1) against the Kansas City Royals. He also imagined the reactions of his late father and grandfather, who took him to games as a kid and helped turn him into a lifelong O’s fan.
“If they were here, they would have been excited to see me throw out the first pitch because they both loved the Orioles and our family loved the Orioles, so that would have been fun for them to see that experience,” Payton told FFXnow.
Payton didn’t expect to be called upon to throw out the first pitch of the game.
A season ticket holder, a status whose perks include access to a members-only clubhouse, he and his family were taking advantage of the complimentary drinks and snacks when two Orioles employees approached them and made the offer — apparently without awareness of his position as a government official.
So, instead of heading to their seats, Payton and his wife found themselves waiting behind home plate to get the credentials that would allow them to go onto the baseball field. Around that time, Payton’s wife questioned if they were being subjected to an April Fool’s Day joke.
“I didn’t think about that until she mentioned that,” he admitted. “I’m like, ‘Oh, this is April 1st’ …But no, they were not joking, and it was a fun experience.”
Check out the @Orioles secret weapon! Vienna Town Manager Mercury Payton was picked to throw out the first pitch at the 4/1 game and set the pace for the team with a strike! Orioles defeated the @Royals with a walk-off home run. Nice job Mercury! Cross that off the bucket list! pic.twitter.com/OFJPaXEoFA
— Town of Vienna, VA (@TownofViennaVA) April 2, 2024
As for the pitch itself, the ball was caught by the Oriole Bird mascot set up behind home plate, instead of bouncing on the way, according to Payton, who considers that a success.
Though the experience went by “pretty quick,” it marked a new highlight in Payton’s long-standing relationship with the Orioles.
Growing up as a baseball fan in Prince William County, they were the closest thing he had to a hometown MLB team. At 10, he watched as the Orioles won the 1983 World Series, and his loyalties were cemented, unchallenged by the arrival of the Washington Nationals to D.C. in 2005.
The reigning American League East champions rewarded Payton for that unwavering support on Monday night with not only the chance to throw out the first pitch, but also a win on a walk-off home run by shortstop Jordan Westburg.
Still, Payton says what really made the night special was sharing it with his family.
“It’s just one of those things where you have memories with your family,” he said. “I know that my 17-year-old daughter, who was there, and my wife will probably remember that for a long time, and it’s just things that you do with your family are most important…It was good that they were there, that we could experience that together.”
The outdoor basketball court at McLean Central Park is getting a new and hopefully improved look.
Contractor ATC began mobilizing this week for a renovation of the facility, a process expected to take about six weeks, depending on the weather, the Fairfax County Park Authority announced yesterday (Thursday).
The project will include a replacement of the court’s two basketball hoops, a new stone dust and asphalt overlay, fresh color coating and line painting, the addition of a 10-foot-tall, vinyl-coated fence on the northern end and the installation of a memorial bench.
The park at 1468 Dolley Madison Blvd will remain open, but construction could affect access to some areas, according to the park authority.
“The work may impact access to some areas of the park, including the parking lot behind the Dolley Madison Library,” the FCPA said. “Visitors are reminded to please follow all signs and placards around the site to safely navigate around construction activities during the project.”
The park authority approved a $20,000 Mastenbrook grant to fund the renovation in December. Supplementing nearly $45,177 in community donations, the grant was requested by friends and neighbors of Thomas Mulquin, a McLean resident and youth basketball coach who died from pancreatic cancer in May 2023.
The project’s total budget is just under $65,177, according to the FCPA.
McLean Central Park’s basketball court will be renovated concurrently with upgrades to the playground, tot lot and walkways that got underway in early March. That project, which will also add an amphitheater, is on track to finish by the end of this year, a park authority spokesperson says.
In just three days, the moon will cross right in front of the sun, creating a total solar eclipse that will be visible from more than a dozen states.
Virginia isn’t one of those states, but in Fairfax County, an estimated 87.4% of the sun will still be blocked when the eclipse peaks around 3:20 p.m. — a bigger percentage than the 2017 event, according to the Fairfax County Park Authority.
The prospect of a total solar eclipse that scientists say could be even more exciting than the last one has sparked tourism booms in rural towns and states in the path of totality, which is home to about 31 million people. At least one projection suggests that as many as 3.7 million people will travel to see the total eclipse.
Splurging on a rare celestial event comes with risks, though, as forecasts currently indicate that storms may obscure the eclipse in the central U.S.
County residents who decide to stay local will have plenty of viewing options, including events at county parks, Reston Station and the National Air and Space Museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly. Students at Daniels Run Elementary School will take an “Eclipse Walk.”
We’re curious about how you’re preparing for the solar eclipse on Monday (April 8). Have you snagged a pair of the glasses needed to safely watch a partial eclipse, or are you opting for a pinhole projector? Is anyone traveling into the path of totality?
Photo via NASA/Gopalswamy
Hilton continues to rake in five-star reviews from employees.
The Tysons-based hotel giant has been named the best company to work for in the U.S. by Fortune Magazine, which released its 27th annual round-up of the top 100 companies today.
The announcement marks a return to the top for Hilton, which has been ranked no. 1 twice before but slipped to second place last year and in 2022. That was still enough for Fortune to recognize Hilton as the World’s Best Workplace for 2023, giving the distinction to a hospitality company for the first time ever.
“Our team members have always been at the heart of our hospitality, and these collective recognitions are the result of the passion they bring to our guests and to one another each and every day,” Hilton President and CEO Chris Nassetta said. “We are so proud of the incredible culture we’ve built together and look forward to building on this tremendous foundation in the years to come.”
Based on surveys conducted by the data and research platform Great Place to Work, this year’s 100 Best Companies to Work for were united by an embrace of hybrid and remote work, with only two requring employees to work on-site four or more days a week, Fortune CEO Alan Murray said.
According to Great Place to Work, earning employee trust is more critical than ever for a quality workplace, as many industries assess the potential and risks of generative artificial intelligence, technology that CEO Michael Bush says “will radically transform how we work.”
Rated as a great place to work by 95% of responding employees, compared to 57% for a typical U.S. company, Hilton was distinguished by an emphasis on diversity and career growth, along with worker benefits such as discounted stays at its hotels, according to Fortune.
An example of employee comments describes a supportive environment for all workers:
The company goes above and beyond to recognize and celebrate team members and I have never experienced anything like it at any other workplace. I can confidently share my ideas and they are taken seriously even as an hourly employee. I have learned so much about sales, revenue, front office, food and beverage and operations in my 4 years here and I worked in 4 other hotels that never provided nearly as much learning experience as I’ve received here. My boss is the most encouraging, supportive and understanding boss that I have ever worked for. I love it!
In a press release, Hilton said it has worked to create a “strong global culture” and invested in “programs and benefits that support inclusion, wellness, growth and purpose.”
“Hilton’s culture of people serving people engages and inspires team members to create great stays for our guests, which drives guest satisfaction, strengthens Hilton’s business and creates continued economic opportunity for communities around the world,” the company said.
Headquartered at Park Place II (7930 Jones Branch Drive) since 2009, Hilton employs about 460,000 people, including 4,300 people in the D.C. area. The company has over 7,500 properties and is currently angling to build a new, dual-branded hotel in Tysons’ Scotts Run neighborhood.
Clean-up efforts are underway at Fort Belvoir after a truck overturned near its airfield yesterday (Wednesday), spilling thousands of gallons of jet fuel and temporarily closing part of Richmond Highway.
Fort Belvoir Fire and Emergency Services and the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department were dispatched to the Davison Army Airfield (6954 Britten Drive) around 6:30 p.m. in response to an overturned government fuel truck.
“Approximately 3,000 gallons of JP8, commonly used in aviation equipment, spilled onto the roadway, causing the temporary closure of Richmond Highway,” Fort Belvoir said this morning (Thursday) in a news release.
According to the Army base, first responders and the Fort Belvoir Environmental Division were able to quickly contain the initial spill and start clean-up efforts “to minimize the impact to the surrounding environment.”
Crews remained at the scene into the early hours of this morning, Fort Belvoir Fire and Emergency Services said. No injuries were reported, but the fuel truck driver was taken to a hospital “for further evaluation.”
Fire officials say lingering odors from the spilled fuel don’t pose any threat to people’s health.
The partial closure of Richmond Highway was lifted around 11 p.m., according to a Fort Belvoir spokesperson.
The base says it’s continuing to assess the spill’s environmental impacts and will provide updates on the clean-up and mitigation operations as needed through its social media channels.
“Our top priority is the safety and well-being of our community and the preservation of the environment,” Fort Belvoir said. “Therefore, we are working closely with several environmental agencies to monitor and mitigate the impact of the spill.”
