A mobile clinic will provide free dental screenings for kids and teens without insurance at Richard Byrd Library in Springfield this weekend.
Vans from the Medical Care for Children Partnership Foundation (MCCP) — a public-private nonprofit based at Northern Virginia Community College’s Springfield campus — will stop by the library at 7250 Commerce Street from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday (March 4).
The free screenings will be available on a first-come, first-served basis for uninsured people between 3 to 18 years of age, according to a flyer.
“If further urgent dental treatment is needed, information will be given to parents about who to call,” the flyer says. “We will also bring free goody bags for each child seen.”
Founded in 2007, MCCP is dedicated to providing access to medical and dental health care for kids in Fairfax County.
Medical Care for Children Partnership, along with @NOVAcommcollege, offering free dental screenings for uninsured children 3-18 years old.
Vans will visit Richard Byrd @fairfaxlibrary in Springfield on Saturday, Mar. 4, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
First come, first serve. pic.twitter.com/bQdPVbLtew
— Fairfax County Government 🇺🇸 (@fairfaxcounty) February 28, 2023
Photo via Google Maps
Nikole Hannah-Jones, the investigative journalist behind “The 1619 Project,” is coming to McLean.
Anyone hoping to snag a last-minute ticket to her talk at the McLean Community Center on Sunday (Feb. 19), however, is out of luck. Seats filled up quickly once registration opened last month, and the waitlist has exceeded 400 people, according to the Fairfax County Public Library (FCPL), which organized the free event.
Fortunately, Hannah-Jones has agreed to let the county make a recording of the event that will be shared “for a limited time” with attendees and everyone on the waitlist, FCPL Director Jessica Hudson says.
“We are honored and excited to host Ms. Hannah-Jones, a Pulitzer Prize and Peabody Award winning author, and creator of the landmark 1619 Project, during our Black History Month celebration,” Hudson said in a statement. “Authors are chosen for a variety of reasons including educational value, because they inspire a high level of interest among our diverse community members, and for their ability to offer unique insight into important cultural and social issues.”
Since launching in The New York Times Magazine on Aug. 14, 2019, The 1619 Project has ignited vigorous debate among academics and the general public alike over its argument that racism and slavery are foundational — not incidental — to American history.
The initiative won awards for Hannah-Jones, including a 2020 Pulitzer Prize, and has expanded with a teaching guide, podcast, the nonfiction book “The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story,” the kids’ book “Born on the Water,” and most recently, a documentary series on Hulu.
The project’s longevity surprised even its author — as has the intense backlash, which has manifested in everything from historians disputing specific claims to politicians banning it from classrooms.
Far from being wary, Hannah-Jones wants to visit states like Virginia, where pushback to her work and the once-niche academic concept of critical race theory has evolved into broader fights over how history is taught in schools and access to books. She spoke in Arlington last year for “Banned Books Week.”
“It’s really important for me to go into places that are having these battles,” she told FFXnow. “Really, I see part of it as standing up for teachers and librarians and students’ right to learn, but of course, in a place like Virginia or a place like Fairfax County, or a place like Arlington, or really anywhere, we are daily seeing how the legacy of slavery is shaping lives, and people don’t often recognize that.” Read More
Fairfax County has made some progress over the past decade in introducing public amenities to support its growing community in Tysons.
Since adopting its Tysons Comprehensive Plan in 2010, the county has secured sites for 14 new, major public facilities, including the completed Scotts Run Fire Station and Capital One Hall, which is privately owned but guarantees space for community groups under an agreement with ArtsFairfax.
Tysons has also added 34 acres of parkland, including four urban parks within the past year, and athletic fields are “ahead of where we need to be based on the…development that’s been delivered,” Department of Planning and Development (DPD) Urban Centers Section Chief Suzie Battista told the Fairfax County Planning Commission’s Tysons Committee at a Jan. 12 meeting.
Planning is underway on other projects, like the relocation of Fire Station 29 to serve western Tysons, but with the area booming in terms of development and population, commissioners asked how county staff decide what needs to prioritize when negotiating commitments from developers, known as proffers.
For instance, why is a community center going into the planned residential high-rises at Dominion Square, rather than a library?
“I think what some of us are concerned about is that opportunity cost,” Providence District Commissioner Phil Niedzielski-Eichner said. “If we make a commitment to a community center, what are we not doing, not able to do as a consequence of that decision? Why is that community center a priority over that thing that we are not able to do?”
The need for a community center in Tysons dates back to the comprehensive plan’s adoption and “was of great interest” to former Providence District supervisor Linda Smyth, who retired in 2019, according to DPD Deputy Director Chris Caperton.
The plan recommends phasing in public facilities based on population and employment growth, acknowledging that they can take a long time to plan, fund and construct.
A community center is listed as a “current need” in the county’s Tysons Tracker, along with a Dominion Energy power substation and interim office space for police. Though the data platform doesn’t show a threshold for a library, the comprehensive plan predicts one will be needed when Tysons reaches 50,000 residents, or between 2030 and 2040.
As of 2022, Tysons had 30,124 residents, according to county data. The county’s plan calls for 100,000 people by 2050. Read More
The doors of the $18 million Lorton Community Center are now open, ahead of a ribbon-cutting ceremony set for this coming weekend.
The 30,000-square-foot facility on Richmond Highway is combined with a renovated and expanded Lorton Library as well as the new 1.7-acre Lorton Park.
The community center features a gym, a fitness room, a kitchen, an art room, and a sensory room. The facility also includes space for the Lorton Senior Center and the Lorton Community Action Center, a nonprofit that provides emergency financial assistance to those in need.
The 10,000-square-foot library has been expanded by 6,000 square feet for a larger children’s area, increased seating, and more meeting and study rooms. The new Lorton Park is located behind the parking lot and has open field space, picnic tables, playground, fitness area, and a trail loop.
The facility also has sustainability features like a rain garden, underground stormwater facility, and infrastructure for solar panels.
The full project — the park, community center, and library — cost $27.23 million, with the community center accounting for essentially two thirds of the cost, according to a county spokesperson.
The entire facility opened to the public yesterday (Monday) with a ribbon cutting and “community celebration” scheduled for Saturday (Oct. 15) afternoon, rain or shine.
Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck, Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay and other local officials are expected to attend. There will be tours of the new center and light refreshments.
The facility was initially scheduled to open late last month but was pushed several weeks to allow for “final facility work to be completed,” Storck said.
The Lorton Community Center and Lorton Library facility will open its doors Oct. 10, 2022, with a grand opening celebration scheduled for Oct. 15, 2022. The new opening date was shifted from a previously-announced date of Sept. 26 to allow final facility work to be completed.
— Supervisor Dan Storck (@DanStorck) September 23, 2022
There’s no gift like one made by hand.
That sentiment inspired Fairfax County Public Library’s new “Knitting for Charity” initiative, a pilot project launching next week that encourages community members to craft winter hats for those who will need warm clothes as temperatures drop.
“We were thinking about some type of community-driven project, and [my programming assistant] felt that this was taking giving to the next level, because we are asking people to spend time creating something that other people will use,” FCPL Program and Educational Services Director Renee Edwards said.
Starting on Monday (Sept. 12), the City of Fairfax, Chantilly, Tysons-Pimmit, Patrick Henry and John Marshall libraries will have a limited supply of yarn available for pick-up. The bags will also contain a sewing label and instructions.
However, anyone with yarn can participate. The yarn must be new, washable, and made out of wool/wool-blend or 100% acrylic, according to the FCPL website, which says to specifically avoid angora or mohair yarn since people may be allergic.
Donations will be accepted at those five libraries until 6 p.m. on Nov. 18. All of the hats will go to the nonprofit Shelter House, which provides crisis intervention, permanent and emergency housing, and other services for families experiencing homelessness and victims of domestic violence.
Since it’s a new initiative, FCPL wanted to start small, but when administrators contacted each library branch to gauge its interest in serving as a collection site, “the response was tremendous,” Edwards says.
“We looked at all of the branches that responded positively, looked at where they were located geographically on the county map, and then we chose,” she told FFXnow. “If this initiative is successful, the hope is that next year, we would expand it.”
Edwards says the initiative’s name is intentionally broad so it can evolve going forward. Though the current focus is on hats, other clothing items like scarves and mittens will be accepted too, as long as everything is hand-knit.
Reflecting the modern expectation of libraries as providers of public resources beyond books, Knitting for Charity is a continuation of FCPL’s efforts to address a variety of community needs, whether through donation drives, classes that teach technology skills, or its promise of an escape from the summer heat.
“We always are looking for events and initiatives that continually demonstrate to our community that we are more than just books,” Edwards said. “Not that we don’t have book discussions and author events and story times — that’s our bread and butter — but we also take it a step further, and we do a lot of other different programs and initiatives for our community members.”
Photo via Margarida Afonso/Unsplash
As schools and libraries across the U.S. grapple with a historic surge in book bans and challenges, the topic has inevitably become a concern for Fairfax County Public Library officials.
The FCPL Board of Trustees raised the possibility of revisiting the library’s collection development policies when it met on July 13, according to meeting materials.
However, after a discussion, the board decided there was no need to modify the existing policies, FCPL Board Chair Brian Engler told FFXnow.
“Our current policies support purchasing materials that provide a broad and deep collection that is reflective of our diverse community,” said Engler, who represents Braddock District on the board. “Our staff use these policies to inform their purchasing patterns and it is this board’s intention that the public library will continue to support all our residents through both our physical and digital collections.”
Aside from a protest late last year over a book display at Dolley Madison Library in McLean, FCPL has gone mostly unaffected by the mostly conservative push to restrict access to books, particularly ones that feature LGBTQ+ individuals and Black people.
Though Fairfax County Public Schools dealt with a high-profile challenge against two books last year, the county library system typically receives just one or two formal challenges to materials in its collections each year, and “2022 so far has not been an exception,” Director Jessica Hudson says.
Elsewhere, libraries have lost funding and workers over book ban campaigns that they felt amounted to harassment and intimidation. Some states have passed laws banning “sexually explicit” materials in schools or giving parents the ability to dictate what their kids are allowed to read.
In Virginia, public schools are now required to notify parents of sexually explicit instructional materials under new policies that the Pride Liberation Project, a local LGBTQ+ student advocacy group, worries will have a “chilling effect.”
FCPL’s collection development policy says materials should “be evaluated according to objective standards” with consideration given to artistic and scholarly merit as well as potential recreational and entertainment value.
The policy emphasizes a need for flexibility, open-mindedness, and responsiveness to changing social and cultural values and technological advances.
“Different viewpoints on controversial issues may be acquired, including those which may have unpopular or unorthodox positions,” the policy says. “The Library recognizes that those materials which offend, shock or bore one reader may be considered pleasing, meaningful or significant by another.”
The policy’s stance on access and free speech will be highlighted in the strategic plan that FCPL is in the process of revising, according to minutes from the July 13 board meeting.
Engler, who chairs the ad hoc committee developing the new strategic plan, says the library typically reviews its plan every five years, with the current one running through this December.
“I can’t specifically comment on the updated Strategic Plan yet, but suffice it to say that it will be proactive in addressing the latest issues, including the collection, selection, reconsideration guidance and the like,” Engler said.
The ad hoc committee is expected to present a draft at the board of trustees’ Nov. 9 meeting, with a final vote coming in December.
Dog Dies in Newington Townhouse Fire — Unattended cooking started a fire at a townhouse in the 6700 block of Red Bird Woods Court last Friday (July 15) that displaced one resident and caused approximately $93,750 in damages. County firefighters found a dog while searching the property that was given medical care but didn’t survive. [FCFRD]
Fairfax Nonprofit Helps Rescued Beagles — The Fairfax-based animal rescue group Homeward Trails is one of several shelters across the country helping the Humane Society find homes for beagles rescued from a Cumberland breeding facility. The nonprofit will place 1,500 of the dogs and has already received almost 1,000 adoption applications. [Washingtonian]
New Mental Health Crisis Hotline Available — “A new 9-8-8 crisis and support hotline is now active across the United States, including here in Fairfax County…Dialing either 9-8-8 or the existing [National Suicide Prevention Lifeline] number, 1-800-273-TALK (8255), will connect you to behavioral health care and support 24 hours a day.” [Fairfax County Government]
GW Parkway Rehab Could Bring Traffic Cameras — “WTOP has learned that an upcoming major rehabilitation of the George Washington Parkway’s northern section will lay the groundwork — literally — for live traffic cameras along a 7-mile stretch of the roadway running from the Capital Beltway to Spout Run. Ground was broken for the project on Monday.” [WTOP]
McLean Baseball Player Drafted by New York Mets — “Add one more significant achievement, and likely the best of all, in a season full of big accomplishments and recognitions for Nick Morabito. The McLean resident and 2022 graduate of Gonzaga College High School recently was chosen in the second round (75th pick overall) of the Major League Baseball draft by the New York Mets.” [Sun Gazette]
Great Falls Bank to Expand — “Three-year-old Trustar Bank in Great Falls has raised $18 million in fresh capital and intends to use the proceeds to help fund its expansion across the D.C. region. The private placement…could be a prelude to an eventual initial public offering for the $560 million-asset Trustar.” [Washington Business Journal]
Annandale Park Field Named After Advocate — “In action at their regular meeting on July 13, 2022, the Fairfax County Park Authority Board voted to name rectangular field 6 at Pine Ridge Park in honor of Wanda Rixon at the request of the Fairfax Women’s Soccer Association (FWSA)…FWSA and Rixon played an instrumental role in the effort to retain Pine Ridge Park as permanent park land.” [FCPA]
DMV Stops by Tysons Library Tomorrow — “Looking to renew your license, get the real ID and more? The DMV is visiting the Tysons-Pimmit Library. Registration is required and an appointment can be made here. Please note the DMV takes a lunch break from 12:30pm-1:30pm.” [FCPL]
It’s Thursday — Humid and partly cloudy throughout the day. High of 89 and low of 78. Sunrise at 6:02 am and sunset at 8:31 pm. [Weather.gov]
(Updated at 1:50 p.m. on 7/20/2022) Fairfax County Public Library will trim back its hours, starting next month, due to challenges in hiring staff.
Starting on Aug. 14, the county library system’s eight regional branches will be open from 1-9 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday, and from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on Wednesdays through Sundays.
The 14 community branches will operate from 1-9 p.m. on Monday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on Tuesday through Saturday. Those branches don’t open on Sundays.
The Access Services branch at the Fairfax County Government Center will maintain its standard hours of 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
The adjustments will allow all branches to stay open seven days a week, since the new schedules require only one shift of workers, FCPL said in its announcement yesterday (Monday).
“The schedule modification is effective Aug. 14 because that gives staff time to adjust any staffing and programming schedules necessitated by the change,” FCPL spokesperson Erin Julius told FFXnow by email. “We also wanted to ensure we maintained higher service levels during summer hours when children are out of school.”
#Fairfax: As of Aug. 14, FCPL branches will have modified hours due to staff recruitment challenges. Adjusted hours: Regional branches: Mon & Tues: 1-9 pm. Wed thru Sun: 10 am-6 pm. Community branches: Mon: 1-9 pm. Tues thru Sat: 10 am-6 pm. More info: https://t.co/k8YmKDgOPz pic.twitter.com/G14Pe6jkHm
— Fairfax Library (@fairfaxlibrary) July 18, 2022
This is the second time so far this year that FCPL has adjusted operations in response to staffing issues. During the height of this past winter’s COVID-19 surge, the library system closed its branches for two days per week from January through March.
However, while that change had a clear end date of April 1, the latest adjustments will stay in effect indefinitely, according to the news release.
The staffing limitations have presented an obstacle to FCPL’s efforts to establish a new sense of normalcy in response to the pandemic. With its return to full in-person services in June 2021, the library system introduced newly expanded, more consistent hours — a longtime goal of advocates.
Fairfax County isn’t alone in struggling to attract and retain library workers. Libraries across the country have seen employees step away over the past two years, citing issues from burnout and inadequate compensation to public safety concerns and low morale partly related to an uptick in increasingly hostile book ban campaigns.
“Like many industries, public libraries are facing recruitment challenges that stem from some employees choosing to leave the workforce early, some reassessing their interest in direct public service work and competition in the DMV region,” Julius said.
According to Julius, staffing levels have varied on a daily basis, but FCPL has been averaging a vacancy rate of 18 to 20%.
The county’s budget for fiscal year 2023, which began July 1, funds 390 positions, including about 374 full-time staff.
While it won’t be quiet around Fairfax County on Monday with Fourth of July celebrations, many government offices and facilities will be closed.
Government offices, and some businesses, are closed for the Independence Day holiday. Public transportation schedules may be lighter and public services, like trash collection, may be changed. See our listing below to get details on what will be open and closed.
Government
Fairfax County government offices will be closed Monday (July 4) in recognition of the Fourth of July holiday, but some facilities are open and schedules vary.
The library system’s branches will be closed on Monday. Animal Control is closed, as it normally is, on Mondays.
The Circuit and District courts will be closed Monday.
The Town of Herndon offices will be closed Monday.
Park Authority
All Park Authority rec centers and golf centers and will be open Monday. Historic sites, nature centers and Green Spring Gardens will be closed. Frying Pan Farm Park Farm and indoor arena will be open while its visitor center will be closed. The River Bend Park Visitor Center will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
All Neighborhood and Community Service facilities will be closed Saturday (July 2) through Monday. Reston Community Center Hunter Woods will be open Monday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Lake Anne will be closed on Monday.
The McLean Community Center will be closed.
Herndon Community Center will be closed Monday. But Herndon Centennial Golf Course will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., weather permitting.
Transportation
Fairfax Connector will operate on a Saturday service schedule on Monday. Human Services Transportation (FASTRAN) will not operate on Monday.
On Monday, Metrorail will open at 7 a.m. and close at midnight but last train times vary by station. The Orange Line trains will operate between Vienna and Stadium-Armory only, according to Metro, but free express and local shuttle buses will be provided.
Trash
The county advises residents to contact their trash and recycling collector directly for service schedule changes due to the holiday.
The I-66 Transfer Station and I-95 Landfill Complex will be closed Monday.
Town of Herndon recycling will be collected Tuesday (July 5) since it is normally collected Monday.
The Friends of Reston Regional Library (FRRL) is celebrating Fairfax County Public Library’s theme for 2022 — the year of literacy — with a record-setting gift.
The nonprofit organization, which has been supporting the Reston library since 1985, is providing a grant of $200,000 to the county library system to expand its printed and digital materials for the library collection.
According to Eileen Evon, a spokesperson for FRRL, this is the largest single gift the organization has ever given to FCPL.
“The gift will give a much needed boost to the library’s ability to add more copies of popular titles already in the catalog, while also expanding the depth and breadth of many subject areas, including fiction for all ages, as well as non-fiction books, bi-lingual books, and books in other languages for young readers,” FRRL said in a news release.
FRRL issued the following statement regarding the gift:
The truth is, between the hard wear and tear on highly circulated print materials, the increased demand for digital materials, and the increase in total checkouts and library card holders, the County budget to the Library for collections just hasn’t caught up to the need. We know they are reviewing this and hope that it will change in the future as the library system continues to grow and change.
In the meantime, we thought the Year of Literacy was the perfect time for us to call public attention to this pressing need, and pitch in ourselves with the monies generated — one book at a time — by our hardworking volunteers who sort and sell books and media from over 40 tons of donated materials each year. After talking with Director Hudson and the head of Technical Operations, Dianne Coan, we know the Collections Development team will work hard to make the most out of every dollar to strengthen and expand the collection to best serve all of its patrons.
The gift will be formally handed over in a ceremony on June 8 at an FCPL Board of Trustees meeting. FCPL director Jessica Hudson, the board, Hunter Mill District Supervisor Water Alcorn, and other local officials plan to attend.
The Friends are also providing one-time grants to local organizations in an effort to support and promote literacy in the community. Grants range from $5,000 to $50,000 and will be awarded to a group that provide hands-on programming that directly impacts literacy in Reston, Herndon, and the county overall.
The news comes as FRRL positions itself to support the creation of a new library for Reston — which has been contemplated for several years. While county voters approved a bond in 2012 to fund the project, FRRL president Brian Jacoby noted that more funds may be needed.
“Every branch has its own unique requirements to best support its staff, volunteers, and patrons,” Jacoby wrote in statement. “New furniture, materials and equipment, or facilities space specific to the needs of our local community may not be covered by either the developer’s plans or the County’s funding. Our volunteers and our patrons are long-time active users of the Reston branch and they have a strong love for the library and what it provides to our community.”
The Friends’ board recently affirmed its commitment to set aside savings for needs related to the future building.
