Fairfax County is considering tweaking its zoning ordinance to ensure that last year’s parking requirements overhaul doesn’t lead to a decrease in accessible spaces.
Because developers build accessible parking in proportion to total parking, the number of accessible spots could go down if overall parking is reduced.
On this day 10 years ago, Metrorail arrived in Tysons and Reston, connecting two growing communities in Fairfax County to D.C. by train for the first time.
Decades in the making, the Silver Line’s Phase 1 launch on July 25, 2014 represented the D.C. region’s biggest rail expansion since the Green Line opened in 1991 and set the stage for a connection to Dulles International Airport and Loudoun County that came to fruition with Phase 2 on Nov. 15, 2022.
Let’s try this again: The long-anticipated pedestrian bridge over Wiehle Avenue in Reston is now officially open to Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) Trail users.
Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn had previously announced that the 147-foot-long, 16-foot-wide bridge would open on July 9, but the launch got delayed due to pending final inspections.
Watch Olympics Opening Ceremony at Library — “Let the games begin! Join us to watch a live steam of the Opening Ceremony of the Summer Games in Paris at the library! Light refreshments will be provided. No registration required. All ages.” The viewing begins at 2 p.m. tomorrow (Friday) in the Centreville Regional Library meeting room. [Fairfax County Public Library]
Part of GW Parkway to Close Temporarily — The George Washington Memorial Parkway’s northbound lanes will temporarily close between Spout Run Parkway and Route 123 “to install drainage systems and conduct other required rehabilitation work.” The closures will last from 8 p.m. on Friday to 5 a.m. on Monday for the weekends of July 26-29 and Aug. 2-5. [ARLnow]
Fairfax City 7-Eleven Robbed at Knifepoint — “City of Fairfax Police arrested a 28-year-old man they say robbed a city convenience store at knifepoint early Monday morning. Officers responded around 12:54 a.m. to the 7-Eleven at 3810 University Drive for the report of a robbery.” [Patch]
Korean Bar Opens in Annandale — “1943 Classic, a Korean fusion bar and restaurant at 7220 Columbia Pike in Annandale, is having a soft opening. The vibe is dark and classy, with a low-hanging chandelier at the entrance. 1943 Classic is a popular nightspot in Korea, where the franchise has dozens of locations.” [Annandale Today]
Vida Fitness to Host Grand Opening in Reston — Vida Fitness will throw a grand opening party for its new Reston Row location from 7-11 p.m. this Saturday (July 27). The dress code calls for cocktail party attire “with black, gold, silver, and white strongly encouraged, and the festivities will include craft cocktails, live music and appetizers. [Vida Fitness]
Update on Dulles Airport Development — “At their July 17 meeting, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority board members were briefed by chief capital development officer Roger Natsuhara on the status of a number of key projects at Ronald Reagan Washington National and Washington Dulles International airports.” [Gazette Leader]
LGBTQ Center Creates Community Hub in Oakton — “The NoVA Prism Center in Oakton has emerged as a hub for LGBTQ community engagement in Northern Virginia. Leon van der Goetz, a transgender man, founded NoVA Prism Center in 2022 after he returned to the U.S. from Japan where he had been an English teacher. The organization has steadily grown since.” [Washington Blade]
Local Evangelical Pastor Embraces Tough Topics — “As lead pastor for megachurch McLean Bible Church, [Rev. Mike] Kelsey draws parallels between biblical context and current events for the thousands of congregants who call him their pastor. Provocative issues — race, social injustice, and politics — are on people’s minds and in his sermons.” [Northern Virginia Magazine]
It’s Thursday — Expect scattered showers and thunderstorms, increasing in likelihood after 5pm, under cloudy skies with a high near 85. At Thursday night, shower chances dwindle after 11pm, with skies turning from cloudy to partly cloudy and a low of 69. [NWS]
Despite steady growth in employment numbers, office vacancy rates in Fairfax County continue to rise.
Stephen Tarditi, director of market intelligence at the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA), presented recent data on office vacancies to the Board of Supervisors during an economic advisory committee meeting yesterday (Tuesday).
Fairfax County officials are exploring privatizing the police department’s school crossing guard program as a potential solution to address staffing challenges and reduce the burden on officers.
The Fairfax County Police Department has struggled to meet the demand for crossing guards in recent years, leading sworn police officers to step in and provide additional support, Assistant Police Chief Bob Blakley told the Board of Supervisors at a Safety and Security Committee meeting yesterday (Tuesday).
Some library services will still be available in Vienna while the town’s recently renamed Patrick Henry Community Library undergoes an extensive renovation starting early next year.
Fairfax County Public Library (FCPL) is planning to open a temporary branch at the Cedar Park Shopping Center in spring 2025 that will support a limited selection of materials and programming, such as storytimes.
Five more homeowners’ associations have been selected to receive grants for electric vehicle charging stations through Fairfax County’s Charge Up Fairfax program.
Spearheaded by the Office of Environmental and Energy Coordination (OEEC), the initiative originally launched in 2023 as a pilot program to encourage residential neighborhoods to invest in electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure by reimbursing HOAs for up to a third of the costs to install charging stations.
Pedestrian Injured in Herndon Crash — A pedestrian was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries after being hit by the driver of a car on Sterling Road near Herndon Parkway last night (Tuesday). Sterling Road reopened around 3 a.m. [Herndon Police/Twitter]
Idylwood Man Battles Damaging Golf Balls — “For more than half his life, Forrest Hatcher has dealt with near-daily damage from errant golf balls flying from Jefferson Park Golf Course. The balls have shattered his windshield, dented his van, and damaged his home’s siding, trim and windows…Netting was put up to stop the golf balls, but Hatcher said it’s not high enough.” [NBC4]
Va. Democrats Back VP for Nomination — “Nearly all of Virginia’s 119 delegates to next month’s Democratic National Convention have endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the party’s presidential ticket in November, after President Joe Biden abandoned his reelection bid.” [Virginia Mercury]
Capital One Reports Drop in Profits — Tysons-based Capital One Financial Corp. reported a profit of $597 million for the second quarter of 2024, down 54% from the first quarter and 57% from Q2 2023. The decline reflects an increase in “credit card chargeoffs” and “the termination of its credit card partnership with Walmart Inc.” [Washington Business Journal]
Annandale Commercial Building Up for Sale — “A small commercial building at 7229 Little River Turnpike in Annandale is up for sale. The current tenant, HanmiPost, has a three-year lease. HanmiPost moved to that space in April 2023 after its previous building on Columbia Pike burned down.” [Annandale Today]
Reston Realtor Collects Backpacks for Students — “Nicki Moravitz, a Realtor with Century 21 New Millennium in Reston, will be celebrating her birthday on Saturday by collecting new backpacks for local children in support of Cornerstones’ Annual Back-to-School Backpack Drive…Cornerstones will be accepting in-person donations of new backpacks from Monday, July 29-Friday, Aug. 2.” [Patch]
Vienna Planning Commissioner Wins Award — “Stephen Kenney, a member of the Vienna Planning Commission, has been presented with the 2024 Chandler Award for Citizen Planner of the Year by the Virginia chapter of the American Planning Association (APA Virginia).” [Gazette Leader]
It’s Wednesday — The day will be mostly cloudy, reaching a high near 85 and a 70% chance of precipitation. Showers and possible thunderstorms are expected before 8pm, continuing with a chance afterward. The night will remain mostly cloudy with a low around 74. [NWS]
Updated at 9:30 a.m. on 7/26/2024 — The man found dead in Oakton last Saturday (July 20) has been identified as Nicacio Hernandez Gonzalez, 47, of Fairfax, police say.
The Fairfax County Police Department announced today (Friday) that a third man, 20-year-old Wilmer Adli Guzman, was arrested in D.C. on Wednesday (July 24) and charged with malicious wounding by mob in connection to Gonzalez’s killing.
