It’s Earth Day — The Fairfax County Park Authority launched a new Earth Day website this week to provide information on upcoming events, volunteer opportunities, and ways to promote environmental stewardship. The annual occasion started in 1970 “to generate awareness and support for environmental protection.” [FCPA]
Community Raises $20K for Young Reston Soccer Player — “Aaron, a player in the Great Falls-Reston Soccer Club, recently told his coach that he couldn’t come to practice because he didn’t have any cleats. The elite soccer player explained that he was one of the 15 people who’d been displaced by a fire at the Stonegate Village Apartment complex in Reston on April 10.” [Patch]
No Development Planned for Seven Corners Shopping Center — “The Seven Corners Shopping Center is not going to be replaced with a mixed-use development, confirms Janet McCarthy, vice president of leasing at Saul Centers Inc., at least for the foreseeable future…Saul Centers expects to announce a new tenant for the Dogfish Head Alehouse spot by June 1.” [Annandale Today]
Firefighters Reunite with Rescued Vienna Resident — “Engine 402, Vienna, and Engine 430, Merrifield, A-Shift teamed up to assist an occupant out of a house fire last week. Engine 402 was thrilled to meet occupant recently, along w/Vienna Mayor Colbert, and saw he was well. #FCFRD is happy he is doing well after horrific event.” [FCFRD/Twitter]
Kingstowne Shopping Centers Change Hands — Federal Realty will acquire Kingstowne Towne Center and Kingstowne Shopping Center for roughly $200 million, the company announced yesterday (Thursday). The real estate firm says it will “amenitize” the towne center but has no immediate plans for redevelopment. The purchase doesn’t include the Regal cinema. [Washington Business Journal]
Herndon Satellite Company Prepares for Launch — “The long-delayed first launch of a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from Virginia is now scheduled for late this year, carrying satellites for HawkEye 360. Rocket Lab announced April 19 it signed a contract with HawkEye 360 to deliver 15 satellites over three launches.” [Space News]
Spring Fest Returns to Mosaic District — Caboose Commons is bringing back its celebratory spring festival tomorrow (Saturday), promising food, live music, and games as well as beer, wine, and cocktail tastings. The festivities begin at noon and continue until 7 p.m. [Caboose Brewing Company]
Reston’s Water Mine Hiring Tomorrow — “Looking for a fun summer job? This Saturday (4/23/22) the Water Mine in Reston is hosting an open hire. Stop by anytime between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. to apply, interview, and if offered a position, complete hire paperwork on-the-spot.” [FCPA/Twitter]
Marshall HS to Open Musical Next Week — “After a successful fall play, the Statesmen Theatre Department at Marshall High School is preparing to perform its spring musical on two upcoming weekends. The spring musical at Marshall High School will be the Tony Award-nominated ‘A Year with Frog and Toad.’ Performances are scheduled for April 28 and 29 and May 6 and 7.” [Patch]
It’s Friday — Partly cloudy throughout the day. High of 72 and low of 51. Sunrise at 6:23 am and sunset at 7:54 pm. [Weather.gov]
Fairfax County’s work release program remains shut down due to the pandemic, keeping one option for inmates off of the table for a little over two years.
Due to concerns about the transmission of COVID-19, the county’s sheriff’s office says its is unclear when and if the program will resume. The program first shut down in March 2020.
“We cannot have inmates going to places of business, potentially being exposed to COVID, and then exposing other inmates when they return at the end of their work shift,” Andrea Ceisler, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, told FFXnow.
Even when the Fairfax County Health Department gives the green light, it’s still unclear if the office has enough manpower to staff the program, according to Sheriff Stacey Kincaid.
The office doesn’t have enough resources to screen inmates and potential employers. Ceisler added that monitoring inmates offsite is a “labor intensive” activity.
Its vacancy rate has risen from 11% last year to nearly 15% this month. That’s despite launching a website dedicated to recruiting and establishing a full-time recruiting position.
“A major issue concerns pay,” Ceisler said. “Although our deputy sheriff recruits attend the same Criminal Justice Academy as Police Department recruits, complete the same training side by side, and have several overlapping responsibilities, our deputies are paid less than their police counterparts.”
At most ranks, ranks deputies receive 2.5% less than equivalent police ranks. At the rank of sergeant and second lieutenant, deputies receive 7.5% less.
“The pay disparity impacts recruiting as well as retention,” she said.
Over the last three years, the number of inmates enrolled in the county’s work-release program has decreased significantly.
In 2017, 112 inmates were enrolled, and 44 successfully completed the remainder of their sentence while in the program. In 2019, just 48 inmates were enrolled, though 32 completed the remainder of their sentence.
Bode Technology, which assists Fairfax County and Virginia with forensic services, will spend $2 million to hire more staff to meet its growing needs.
Announced today (Monday) by Gov. Glenn Youngkin and the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, the investment will help the company hire “additional senior and entry-level laboratory technicians, information technology and engineering professionals and other business support roles,” the news releases said.
“For more than 25 years, Bode Technology has called Virginia our home, and today’s announcement is a testament to that bond,” Bode Technology CEO Mike Cariola said. “To help fight crime, we need to hire the most talented scientists in the world, and the universities in Virginia and surrounding areas have been essential to our success.”
Located at 10430 Furnace Road, the company will get support from the Commonwealth through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program, where state funding helps businesses recoup costs of adding jobs.
“Bode Technology is eligible to receive up to $850 per job, for a total of up to $60,350 for 71 net new jobs, from the Virginia Jobs Investment Program (VJIP),” Virginia Economic Development Partnership spokesperson Suzanne Clark told FFXnow in an email. “VJIP is a performance-based incentive. Once a designated funding amount is approved, companies do not receive reimbursement until they have created the minimum net new, full-time jobs to qualify for funding and the new hires have been on the company’s payroll for at least 90 days.”
The company currently has 250 employees.
The governor’s news release noted that the state’s economic development authority worked with the Fairfax County EDA through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program, which provides consultative services and funding to companies creating new jobs to support employee recruitment and training activities.
Bode Technology uses DNA to help law enforcement agencies track criminals, and it also reduces backlogs by processing sexual assault kits, among other services. According to the company, it helped identify victims of the 2001 World Trade Center attacks and the remains of U.S. soldiers dating back to World War II.
“Demand for our services has increased, and today we are recruiting talented scientists from across the country to join us here in Fairfax County so that we can continue our mission,” Cariola’s statement said.
Photo via FCEDA
The top leadership position at Reston Association — which has sat cold since September — may soon be filled.
At a meeting Wednesday night (April 6), RA’s Board of Directors unanimously supported a measure to approve reimbursement of travel expenses for finalists being considered for the position.
Since former CEO Hank Lynch stepped down to take the same position at a nonprofit focused on protecting endangered species, Larry Butler has temporarily shifted from the organization’s chief operating officer to acting CEO.
Three senior leadership vacancies remain: the human resources director, a senior level environmental position, and an IT director.
The goal of the meeting, which was largely held in executive session, was to identify candidates for a final round of interviews. The board aims to select a new CEO before the final results of RA’s board election are announced.
Board members John Mooney, Tom Mulkerin and Aaron Webb are set to step down this month.
The timing of the move has drawn criticism by some who called on RA to delay the selection of the new CEO until after the election to give new board members a voice in the selection process.
A new innovation hub in the Lee District Community Center (7950 Audubon Avenue) is expected to open in May.
With the support of private partners and state and federal funds, the Workforce Innovation Skills Hub (WISH) is intended to expand job opportunities for residents living along the Richmond Highway corridor.
“With Amazon and Virginia Tech making significant investments a few miles to our north and the proximity to Fort Belvoir and their stream of contracting opportunities, the Richmond Highway Corridor is the ideal location for a workforce development program,” Lee District Supervisor Rodney Lusk’s office said.
Lusk hopes the workforce training program will give residents a chance to earn a middle-class income and end generational poverty.
“The ultimate goal of the WISH is to create an accessible community hub where residents can walk to and receive training in the trades and technology jobs of the future,” he said.
The hub in Groveton received $2.4 million from the county’s coffers and is in the process of securing $800,000 in supplemental state and federal funding.
County funds were primarily used to acquire and renovate the space, including bringing the center up to code.
Lusk and his office have been working with Amazon for more than year to determine how the online retail and web services company will support the project.
So far, as part of a recent land-use application to build a data center in Springfield, Amazon plans to work with Lusk’s office on contracting related to the construction and build-out of the data center.
Amazon received the county’s blessing in February to construct a roughly 242,000-square-foot data center at 7961 Loisdale Road in Springfield.
The company will also provide the office with the number of jobs available in the data center. Program constructors will then build a model to connect job training to existing jobs in the Lee District.
Worker resignations for Fairfax County government positions jumped up nearly 62% from 2020 to 2021, from 507 departures to 821 departures.
Fairfax County leaders are debating how to improve recruitment and retention, citing private-sector wages that created competitive environments for positions from police to information technology.
“These resignations and retirements are trending higher,” Director of Human Resources Cathy Spage said yesterday (Tuesday) during a personnel committee meeting. “I will say that they were trending higher before the pandemic. They just started accelerating their trend pretty much starting in 2021.”
Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust noted that Maryland recently ended its four-year-college-degree requirements for many jobs. The Old Line State estimates that more than half of its over 38,000 positions can substitute a four-year degree with experience, training, or community college education.
Foust recommended that Fairfax County reevaluate its criteria for different positions, which could have been established decades ago in some cases.
Different factors mean different agencies across the regional government require different solutions, County Executive Bryan Hill said.
“We’ve seen the attrition rate for public safety rise dramatically over the last couple years,” said Tom Arnold, the deputy county executive for safety and security.
Resignations in public safety have increased from 87 positions in 2018 to 129 departures in 2021, while retirements have increased every year during that time frame, from 96 to 141.
“Over the first two months of this calendar year, we’ve seen a much higher attrition rate…within public safety, comparable to…health and human services or others, but I think the scariest part of that is, many of those exits are to the private sector,” Arnold said.
As agencies have raised starting salaries to compete, additional challenges could arise from the resulting inequities between pay for new staff and existing staff, he noted. Read More
Life Sentences Recommended in McLean Murder Case — “A Fairfax County jury delivered a guilty verdict Monday against a woman accused of killing her own mother and sister in 2017. Megan Hargan, 35, was convicted on two counts of first-degree murder, and two counts of using a firearm in committing a felony.” [WUSA9]
Great Falls Fire Caused by Garage Door Opener — A house fire in the 9900 block of Deer Pond Drive on March 22 was caused by “an electrical event involving wiring to a garage door opener,” Fairfax County Fire and Rescue investigators say. The fire didn’t result in any injuries or displacements, but it caused approximately $87,500 in property damages. [FCFRD]
Dead Fish Near Frost Middle School Under Investigation — “Construction at Frost Middle School in Fairfax may be the cause of a significant fish kill incident that occurred last week in the nearby Long Branch Stream, state officials said…The cause of the fish kill remained under investigation as of 3 p.m. Monday, according to VEDQ’s incident report.” [Patch]
Reston National Developers Propose “Quality of Life” Study — “Reston National Neighborhood Study Group will be examining ‘quality of life’ gaps between north and south Reston and the implications those purported gaps may have on property values…The group plans to finish its study in April and follow it up with a round of community meetings.” [Patch]
Tysons Company Anticipates Eventual Relocation — “Tysons residential and commercial security company Alarm.com Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: ALRM) expects to continue building its Northern Virginia headcount to the point it will outgrow its nearly 190,000-square-foot facility. That’s after it announced earlier this year the addition of another 180 jobs at its headquarters as part of a $2.6 million investment to grow its research and development operation there.” [Washington Business Journal]
“Manageable” Growth Expected for Region — “Northern Virginia localities should expect moderate levels of jobs growth in the coming two decades, with the metropolitan area as a whole adding perhaps 880,000 new ones by 2045…During that 23-year period, employment is slated to rise 27 percent in both Arlington and Fairfax counties” [Sun Gazette/Inside NoVA]
DMV Coming to Reston Tomorrow — “DMV Connect, the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles’ mobile service, will be at Reston Community Center Hunters Woods this week: Wednesday, March 30, Thursday, March 31 and Friday, April 1, 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.” [RCC/Twitter]
Learn About Home Buying at Tysons Library — “In the market to buy your first home, #Fairfax? Join us and @kwri McLean Realtor Tom Hanton at our Tysons-Pimmit Regional branch April 5 at 7:30pm to learn how to navigate the process of #homebuying and be prepared emotionally and financially.” [Fairfax County Public Library/Twitter]
It’s Tuesday — Clear throughout the day. High of 43 and low of 21. Sunrise at 6:59 a,m. and sunset at 7:30 p.m. [Weather.gov]
Jeff Bezos’ mysterious moon mission is landing in Reston.
The space flight company is opening a facility and office in Reston sometime in the “first half of the year,” reads the website.
Blue Origin is a space flight company founded by one of the world’s richest men, Jeff Bezos. Its mission is to popularize space tourism and colonize the moon with the ultimate grandiose goal of saving the Earth by tapping space’s “unlimited resources.”
Reston will be home to the company’s “engineering Center of Excellence” and will focus on “space architecture, launch vehicle systems analysis, launch vehicle component design and validation, and safety and mission assurance.”
On the website, the company touts Reston as part of the “Dulles Technology Corridor.”
To staff the center, a number of Blue Origin job postings located in Reston have popped up in recent days on the company’s website. As of this writing, there are 89 jobs listed.
The job listings are for assorted highly technical positions, including “Sr Instrumentation & Transducer Development Engineer,” “Intermediate Avionics Software Platform Engineer,” and “Cryogenic Fluids Engineer.”
“This position will directly impact the history of space exploration and will require your commitment and detailed attention towards safe and repeatable space flight,” reads many of the job descriptions. “Join us in lowering the cost of access to space and enabling Blue Origin’s vision of millions of people living and working in space to benefit Earth.”
Blue Origin also hosted a jobs open house this week at the Westin on Sunrise Valley Drive.
ICYMI @BlueOrigin is opening an office in #Reston, VA: "Slated to open in the first half of this year, Blue Origin’s Reston office, located in the Dulles Technology Corridor, will be our newest engineering Center of Excellence:" https://t.co/tNhWXo2VM5 #BlueOrigin #SpaceCommerce pic.twitter.com/WdySsKPowi
— SpaceVirginia (@SpaceVirginia) February 23, 2022
While the company is hiring for the Reston facility, it’s not immediately known where that office might be located.
A map on the company’s website lists Washington D.C. as a location, but not specifically Reston.
FFXnow has reached out to the Washington State-based Blue Origin via email and phone for more information about the facility, but so far those messages have gone unanswered.
Last month, Blue Origin also announced it was expanding operations to Phoenix and Denver.
The company has made news recently by saying it’s looking to increase the number of people the company flies to space in 2022. To do this, Blue Origin will need to build more rockets.
Reston has become a hotspot for tech companies in recent years. Last year, one of the government’s largest military contractors CACI moved its headquarters near the Reston Town Center Metro station.
Fairfax County businesses added nearly 9,000 jobs over the course of 2021, even with the uncertain environment created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the county’s economic development authority says.
According to a press release, the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority worked with 146 businesses that added a total of 8,973 jobs to the Fairfax County economy.
The businesses came from a variety of sectors, from manufacturing and real estate to information technology and cybersecurity. They were also spread out throughout the county, including Chantilly, Reston, Fairfax, Tysons, and Herndon.
Of the 146 businesses that reported job growth, 14 were newcomers that the FCEDA had courted to come to Fairfax County. Many were attracted not just from other areas of the U.S., but from other countries.
The seafood company Starkist, which is owned by Korean-based Dongwon Group, is relocating its headquarters from Pittsburgh to Reston Town Center. Other examples include the Canadian-based Brookfield Residential Properties and Israeli aerospace and defense company D-Fend Solutions.
According to data provided by the authority, the sector that saw the most growth was information technology services, which accounted for 2,648 new jobs, or 29.5% of the new positions in the county.
Much of that growth came courtesy of Herndon-based Peraton, which added 1,200 positions in 2021. The contractor announced plans in December to move its corporate headquarters to Reston Town Center.
“We would be proud to announce almost 9,000 jobs in any new year,” FCEDA President and CEO Victor Hoskins stated in the press release. “But very few communities can claim the kind of diversity that we have in our business community.”
FCEDA also touted that 25 of the American companies that came to the county are owned by women, minorities, or veterans.
Those businesses were found mainly in the information technology sector and include the Fairfax-based Kreative Technologies, which created 296 jobs, and Tysons-based Alpha Omega Integration, which created 154 jobs.
The nonprofit Community Foundation of Northern Virginia released a report in June 2021 showing that minority-owned businesses in Fairfax County have suffered more acutely than white-owned businesses during the pandemic.
The report stated that while the number of minority-owned businesses remained flat, revenue and staffing dramatically decreased, while unemployment insurance claims rose.
Fairfax County has worked to support local businesses during the pandemic by distributing federal relief funds through a series of grant programs, including the Fairfax RISE initiative that distributed more than $52 million in 2020 — 72% of which went to minority, women, or veteran-owned businesses.
The county awarded $16.8 million in grants last year with its PIVOT program, which focused on small businesses and the hospitality industry.
The FCEDA has been hosting virtual job fairs and other events to connect employers with workers as part of its Work in Northern Virginia initiative.
