National Poetry Month has arrived, bringing a new slate of free poetry readings and other events at Fairfax County parks.
For the final year of her tenure, Fairfax County Poet Laureate Danielle Badra has organized a second “Poetry in the Parks” initiative, inviting community members to experience linguistic and natural beauty at the same time.
Announced Monday (April 1) by ArtsFairfax, the series will kick off on April 27 with a “National Poetry Month Reading” at Green Spring Gardens (4603 Green Spring Road) in Lincolnia. D.C. area writers Camisha L. Jones, Emilia Philips, Benjamin Renne and Marcielo Shirley will participate in the reading, which is scheduled for 1-2:30 p.m.
Subsequent months will see the returns of a “Pride Month Poetry Reading” and two “Poetry Beneath the Stars” events, which were both included in last year’s inaugural “Poetry in the Parks” series.
Brought back “by popular demand,” the “Poetry Beneath the Stars” writing workshops will be held on May 4 and Aug. 17 from 7:30-8:30 p.m. at Turner Farm Park (925 Springvale Road) in Great Falls. Attendees will craft verse about the cosmos while viewing it through telescopes in the park’s Roll Top Observatory.
This year’s Pride Month poetry reading will bring Badra, Gowri Koneswaran, Brian Teare and other LGBTQ+ poets together on June 1 from 1-2:30 p.m. to highlight the role of poetry in the queer community. The event has shifted to Green Spring Garden after previously being hosted by Ellanor C. Lawrence Park in Chantilly.
“Poetry in the Parks brings together nature lovers and poetry lovers in an incredible way,” Badra said in a press release. “Last year, we had professional stargazers with a newfound admiration for poetry, and poets who were first-time visitors to a featured park creating outstanding verses. It was such a beautiful melding of worlds, which is ultimately the goal of each Poetry in the Parks event.”
The three “Poetry in the Parks” events in 2023 were attended by more than 120 people, according to ArtsFairfax, which partnered with Badra and the Fairfax County Park Authority for the program.
As part of the 2024 series, Badra will also unveil new permanent plaques with poems about nature at Ellanor C. Lawrence Park and Riverbend Park in Great Falls.
“As a long-term expression of Poetry in the Parks, the plaques will invite park visitors to reflect on their environment, with the additional opportunity to submit a poetic or artistic response to the plaque through a link on the ArtsFairfax website,” ArtsFairfax says. “Selected submissions will be featured in a digital collection.”
Appointed in November 2022, Badra became Fairfax County’s second poet laureate, following in the footsteps of “How to Prove a Theory” author and Northern Virginia Community College professor Nicole Tong. ArtsFairfax created the two-year position in 2020 as a way to promote poetry in the community.
The search for Badra’s successor will begin when applications open on April 15. ArtsFairfax will hold a virtual information session to discuss the poet laureate program from noon to 1:30 p.m. on April 23.
Though it’s near full capacity, the Fairfax County School Board has chosen not to proceed with boundary adjustments for Lincolnia’s Glasgow Middle School.
Instead, they’re betting on a broader, “holistic” approach to boundary changes that could reduce overcrowding across all schools.
With two abstentions, the school board voted 7-3 last Thursday (March 21) to reject a staff proposal to decrease Glasgow Middle School’s population from 1,722 students to 1,350. The plan would’ve redirected incoming students to other nearby middle schools, including Poe, Holmes and Jackson.
The board’s decision came a month after they moved to prioritize boundary adjustments for Parklawn Elementary School in Lincolnia and Lutie Lewis Coates Elementary School in Herndon, which staff anticipated will exceed total capacity within four to five years.
At their Feb. 8 meeting, several board members stressed they would only back boundary adjustments for Parklawn and Coates with the understanding they will be the final instances, highlighting the need for a comprehensive review of current boundary adjustment policies.
The school board’s governance committee is actively reviewing its policies and aims to present a draft of recommendations for potential adoption by the full board later this spring.
At their March 21 meeting, several board members voted against the Glasgow boundary study based on their commitment in February to withhold support for any further adjustments until a broader strategy was approved.
“I made a commitment to all the board members here when we had that discussion that we have to look at this holistically,” Franconia District representative Marcia St. John-Cunning said.
“I know teachers at Glasgow…I understand the situation,” she continued. “I have situations like that in my district, but we have to look at this holistically if we’re going to tackle this problem. And be equitable and fair, and considerate, and look at the entire county, not just one district.”
Mason District representative Ricardy Anderson clarified that the proposal before the board members was not a final plan, but rather, a proposal to narrow the scope of the boundary adjustment, which has been under discussion since last fall. Staff had recommended taking some Advanced Academic Programs out of consideration.
Had the board approved the motion, a public hearing would have still been necessary before the board could formally adopt any changes.
Anderson — one of just three returning members after last November’s election — also pointed out that the previous school board had asked staff to look into adjusting Glasgow’s boundaries, which are in her district, and that this process has already been going on for a few years.
“Glasgow currently has 1,722 kids. Holmes has 883 fewer kids. Poe has 832 fewer kids. It’s twice the size of those other schools within a 3-mile area,” she said. “This is not a new conversation. It is not going to usurp or upset or be out of alignment with any pending future work.”
Yet, when probed about her stance on the Glasgow proposal with a more comprehensive strategy for boundary changes in motion, Superintendent Michelle Reid indicated she no longer backed it.
“If you’re asking today whether I think that this [boundary adjustment] is in our best interest to move forward with, in light of the holistic work…I would not recommend doing that,” Reid said. “I think it would be better subsumed under a more holistic work.”
A man who helped murder a 14-year-old in Holmes Run Stream Valley Park nearly eight years ago will spend a quarter-century in prison for his role in the crime.
Edwin Orellana Caballero was sentenced yesterday (Wednesday) to 25 years in prison — the maximum possible sentence — by U.S. District Judge Rossie D. Alston Jr., the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced.
A member of a local branch of the transnational gang MS-13, Orellana Caballero pleaded guilty to maiming in aid of racketeering activity in November.
Orellana Caballero was 16 years old and a resident of Alexandria when he joined other MS-13 members in attacking the 14-year-old — who’s identified in court documents as S.A.A.T. — in the Lincolnia section of Holmes Run park on Sept. 26, 2016, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“The gang lured S.A.A.T. to Holmes Run Stream Valley Park in Fairfax County and murdered him in a wooded area there with knives, machetes, and a pickaxe,” the news release says. “Orellana Caballero struck S.A.A.T. multiple times with the pickaxe. Once S.A.A.T. was dead, the gang buried him in a shallow grave.”
Police found the 14-year-old’s body inside the park near the intersection of Crater Place and Yellowstone Drive on March 2, 2017 after a tip prompted a two-day search of the area. A second set of remains uncovered in the same area was a 17-year-old identified by federal prosecutors as E.E.E.M.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, E.E.E.M. was lured to Holmes Run Stream Valley Park by MS-13 members on Aug. 28, 2016, because they “erroneously suspected” that he belonged to a rival gang. He was stabbed and cut more than 100 times with knives, a machete and a pickaxe.
A month later, the same individuals targeted S.A.A.T. under the suspicion that he was a police informant.
Seventeen people have been charged in connection with the two murders. Five men who went to trial were convicted of murder and kidnapping by a jury in July 2022, resulting in life-long prison sentences for all of them. Orellana Caballero is one of 10 defendants so far to plead guilty before a trial.
“In so doing, he admitted to participating in S.A.A.T.’s murder for the purpose of maintaining and increasing his position in MS-13,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Orellana Caballero’s sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Jessica Aber, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis and FBI Washington Field Office Special Agent in Charge David Scott.
A Japan-based ramen chain is gearing up to open a new location in Lincolnia this summer.
Founded in Nagoya, Japan, in 2010, Kajiken is expanding its footprint with an outlet in Pinecrest Plaza at 6550K Little River Turnpike. The restaurant is scheduled to open within the next six months, according to the franchise owner, Maryland-based IVEA Restaurant Group.
The 3,100-square-foot space was filled for the past two decades by Foxfire Grill, a popular establishment that closed its doors on Oct. 31, 2023. Owner Terri Fox told Annandale Today that Edens, which owns Pinecrest Plaza, doubled the rent.
Foxfire Grill’s suite has been cleared out, but Kajiken doesn’t appear to have started its buildout yet. As of last week, no signs had been posted to announce its impending arrival.
Known for its abura soba, a “soupless ramen” dish featuring buckwheat noodles served with oil instead of traditional broth, Kajiken has locations all over the world, including 37 in Japan, 20 in China, five in Singapore, five in New Zealand, and now three in the U.S.
IVEA CEO Edward Yo told FFXnow the company launched its first U.S. franchise in Baltimore, Maryland, before moving into markets in Chicago, Illinois, and San Mateo, California.
Per its website, the company is planning to expand to five additional locations in Rockville, Maryland; Manhattan and Flushing, New York; Bellevue, Washington; and Richfield, Minnesota.
While this will be the first Kajiken location in Virginia, IVEA is no stranger to the region.
In addition to Kajiken, the restaurant group operates dozens of other Asian-inspired eateries throughout the D.C. area, including Genki Izakaya, Urban Hot Pot and Southeast Impression.
A teen was hospitalized last night (Tuesday) after getting shot outside Tropical Smoothie Cafe in Lincolnia’s Pinecrest Plaza.
Police officers were called to the 6500 block of Little River Turnpike just before 8 p.m. in response to “multiple calls for a shooting,” the Fairfax County Police Department said today in a news release.
Found “a short distance away,” the 14-year-old boy was shot in the arm and taken to a hospital with injuries considered non-life-threatening.
Based on a preliminary investigation, detectives determined that the teen and another individual were standing outside Tropical Smoothie (6552 Little River Turnpike, Unit A) when the shooting occurred, according to police.
“Both the victim and subject ran a short distance away and called the police,” the FCPD said. “No additional injuries resulting from the gunfire were reported.”
The circumstances of the shooting remain under investigation, but the FCPD says it’s not believed to a random act. Police are seeking additional information or access to home surveillance footage as part of the investigation.
“Anyone with information regarding this shooting to call our Major Crimes Bureau at 703-246-7800, option 5,” the department said. “Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Crime Solvers by phone – (703)-246-4676, and by web.”
The incident at Pinecrest Plaza was the second shooting that the FCPD reported yesterday. A woman also reportedly arrived at a hospital with a gunshot wound shortly before 1 p.m. after a possible shooting at the Fairmont Gardens apartments in Annandale.
Fairfax County saw its first homicide of 2024 on Saturday (Jan. 13) from a stabbing in Annandale that killed a 17-year-old boy. Two other teens were injured in the incident.
Image via Google Maps
(Updated at 6:55 p.m. on 2/28/2024) Another suspect in the 2016 murders of two teens at Holmes Run Stream Valley Park in Lincolnia has pleaded guilty.
Edwin Orellana Caballero, a member of the gang La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, pleaded guilty yesterday (Wednesday) to one count of maiming in aid of racketeering activity in connection to the kidnapping and killing of a 14-year-old from Alexandria, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced.
An Alexandria resident who was 16 years old at the time, Orellana Caballero is one of 17 people who have been charged in the case, which also involved the murder of a 17-year-old Falls Church resident.
According to the Department of Justice, Orellana Cabellero and other members of an MS-13 clique known as the Park View Locos Salvatrucha kidnapped and killed the 14-year-old, who’s identified only as S.A.A.T., on Sept. 26, 2016.
“The gang lured S.A.A.T. to Holmes Run Stream Valley Park in Fairfax County and murdered him in a wooded area there with knives, machetes, and a pickaxe,” the DOJ said in the press release. “Specifically, Orellana Caballero struck S.A.A.T. multiple times with the pickaxe. Once S.A.A.T. was dead, the gang buried him in a shallow grave.”
Prosecutors have said that S.A.A.T. was targeted based on an unfounded suspicion that he was a police informant. The 17-year-old, identified as E.E.E.M., was killed at Holmes Run park in a similarly brutal manner on Aug. 28, 2016.
Five of the individuals involved in the murders were convicted by a federal jury in July 2022 and received lifetime prison sentences that November. Including Orellana Cabellero, 10 defendants have now pleaded guilty before a trial, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis joined U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District Jessica Aber and Wayne Jacobs, the special agent in charge of the FBI Washington Field Office’s criminal division to announce Orellana Cabellero’s plea after it was accepted by U.S. District Judge Rossie Alston Jr.
Orellana Cabellero is scheduled for sentencing on Feb. 28, 2024. He faces a potential sentence of at least 20 years and at most 25 years in prison.
Image via Google Maps
Fairfax County police are investigating potential connections between some recent ATM break-ins and armed robberies in the Lincolnia area.
Officers responded to the TD Bank in Pinecrest Plaza at 6566 Little River Turnpike around 3:08 a.m. yesterday (Tuesday) after getting a call that three people were attempting to “forcibly access” the ATM, according to a news release from the Fairfax County Police Department.
The individuals were reportedly unsuccessful, as officers found that the ATM was damaged but no money had been stolen, police said.
However, just minutes later at 3:13 a.m., police were called to the 7-Eleven at 4818 N. Beauregard Street — just outside the Plaza at Landmark shopping mall — for an armed robbery, according to the FCPD.
Officers are on scene of a robbery at the 7-Eleven at 4818 Beauregard St in Lincolnia. Multiple suspects entered the store, implied a gun, and stole the ATM. No injuries were reported. Suspects fled in a grey BMW w/ VA tags TNV1895. Call 911 w/ info. #FCPD pic.twitter.com/C1UTkhErgZ
— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) November 7, 2023
“The suspects entered the store, implied they had a firearm and threatened the employee,” police said. “The suspects gained access to two separate ATMs at the business and left with an undisclosed amount of money.”
The FCPD believes the incidents were related, and detectives are investigating whether they might also be connected to a pair of ATM thefts, one of them involving a firearm, that occurred in Kingstowne last Thursday (Nov. 2).
On November 2 at 3:42 a.m., three suspects entered the 7-Eleven at 6147 Franconia Road in Kingstowne. The suspects displayed a firearm and stole money from the ATM. That morning, an employee reported someone attempted to steal money from the ATM at the Burke and Herbert Bank at 5519 Franconia Road. Detectives are investigating to determine if these cases are connected to the overnight incidents.
Alexandria police also responded to two robberies on Nov. 2 where the suspects reportedly took ATMs. In one case, they showed a handgun in the process.
The FCPD told FFXnow that “as of now,” it doesn’t have any information on the Alexandria incidents, but it is “diligently pursuing all leads to ensure the safety of our community.”
“Our dedicated detectives are collaborating closely with our regional law enforcement partners to thoroughly investigate any potential connections,” the FCPD said.
A child was shot in the Lincolnia Hills neighborhood this afternoon (Tuesday), police say.
Police are looking for “multiple suspects” who were seen driving away from the 4600 block of North Chambliss Street in a white BMW, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.
A man called 911 around 4:19 p.m. to report that his 12-year-old son had been shot by “a group of young boys” who then “went running,” a dispatcher said, according to the police scanner on Open MHz.
An officer told the dispatcher that he spoke with a neighbor who said “several subjects jumped into a white sedan” that drove off in an unknown direction.
The child was shot in the lower body and taken to a hospital, according to the FCPD, which says his injuries aren’t considered life-threatening.
Officers on scene of a shot juvenile in the 4600 blk of North Chambliss St in Lincolnia. Victim was shot in the lower body and is being taken to the hospital w/ injuries not considered to be life-threatening. Multiple suspects left in a white BMW. Call 911 w/ info. pic.twitter.com/qIiHESH1L8
— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) October 24, 2023
Hat tip to Alan Henney
Taco Zocalo has officially moved well past its days as a food truck under the name Chef on Wheels.
The Mexican restaurant is opening another location in Fairfax County. A company representative tells FFXnow that the new location is expected to open in the Lincolnia area within two to three months.
It will open in Barcroft Plaza at 6343D Columbia Pike, according to county permits.
Taco Zocalo currently has locations in Ashburn, Reston and Chantilly.
It was started in 2011 by Afghan immigrant and chef Basir Ahadi, whose love of Mexican food inspired him to start his own food truck. His first brick-and-mortar location opened in Reston in 2017.
Items on the menu include tacos, burrito bowls, chimichangas and elote or Mexican street corn.
Located at the intersection of Columbia Pike and Lincolnia Road, Barcroft Plaza is anchored by Harris Teeter and also home to tenants like Starbucks, Glory Days Grill and Jake’s Ice Cream. Taco Zocalo will occupy 1,532 square feet between Navy Federal Credit Union and New York’s Chopped Cheese, per property owner Federal Realty’s site plan.
The site plan shows only one vacancy: a 2,758-square-foot suite next to Super Pollo and Bubble Nails on the western end of the shopping center.
Photo via Google Maps
A 5-year-old girl who was in the backseat of a sedan when it got stolen Sunday night (Jan. 15) has been reunited with her family, Fairfax County police say.
Detectives believe the girl’s stepfather stopped at a parking lot in the 6200 block of Little River Turnpike that evening, leaving his 2012 Honda Accord running while he went inside a restaurant to pick up food, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.
When the man came out of the restaurant, he found that the car was gone. The girl had been waiting in the car’s backseat.
Officers responded to the scene at 6:30 p.m.
“Our helicopter and officers from around the county saturated the area while detectives from our Major Crimes Bureau began the Amber Alert process,” the FCPD said. “A lookout for the car and the child were quickly provided to surrounding jurisdictions.”
The girl was found in downtown D.C. by two community members, who called the Metropolitan Police Department to the intersection of 13th Street and E Street NW around 7:18 p.m.
Fire and rescue personnel were brought in to determine that the kid was unharmed, and the FCPD helped reunite her with her family, according to yesterday’s news release.
The suspect allegedly fled in the stolen Accord, which is still missing.
Detectives continue to search for the stolen 2012 gray Honda Accord with Maryland plates 94667CJ. The car has a black hood with damage to the front and back end. The suspect is described as a black male with dark curly hair. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call our Major Crimes Bureau at 703-246-7800. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Crime Solvers by phone – 1-866-411-TIPS (866-411-8477), and by web – Click HERE. Download the ‘P3 Tips’ App “Fairfax Co Crime Solvers”. Anonymous tipsters are eligible for cash rewards. Please leave contact information if you wish for a detective to follow up with you.
Photo by Henry Bright/Twitter
