In response to burgeoning needs, Reston Hospital Center is poised to expand a key facility that serves its youngest patients.
The center will expand the capacity of its Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) this year from 16 to 29 patient beds. The expansion is also intended to provide more privacy for patients and their families.
Dulles Toll Road Ramp to Beltway Closed Overnight — “Between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m. starting Monday, June 5, and continuing nightly through Friday, June 9, 495 NEXT project crews will close the ramp from the westbound Dulles Toll Road to northbound I-495. The nightly ramp closure is necessary to safely allow crews to conduct joint repairs at the top of the ramp to the Beltway lanes.” [VDOT]
Metro Halves Fares for SNAP Recipients — “Low-income residents who are enrolled in SNAP benefits will qualify for a new Metro half-off fare discount. The program, called Metro Lift, starts June 20…The transit agency estimates more than 90,000 riders will benefit from Metro Lift, which is estimated to cost about $4 million, but is expected to generate an additional 1.6 million trips.” [DCist]
A project to reduce light pollution at Turner Farm Park Observatory will soon kick off.
The project, funded by the Mastenbrook Volunteer Matching Fund Grant Program, will provide $7,515 to retrofit 26 light bollards to replace current fixtures with LED lights.
Fairfax County’s child welfare system has seen abuse and neglect cases surge over the past year, taxing the dozens of volunteers charged with advocating for those children in foster care and court.
As of May, over 188 new kids have been placed in foster care or under a protective court order since July 1, 2022 — nearly double the 98 cases added the previous year, according to Fairfax CASA, a nonprofit that trains and supervises volunteer, court-appointed special advocates for children.
Another race is in the mix of Reston’s racing options: the Women’s Training Festival 5K.
On June 25 at 9 a.m., women will take part in the event, which is specifically designed with women in mind.
Reported Boom Came From Military Planes — “Fighter jets caused a sonic boom heard and felt throughout the D.C. area after they were scrambled from Joint Base Andrews to intercept a Cessna jet that flew over” D.C. and later crashed in southwest Virginia yesterday. Fairfax County’s police and fire departments were among the emergency responders that got reports of a loud noise around 3 p.m. [NBC4]
Student Repping Fairfax County Finishes Second at Spelling Bee — “Charlotte Walsh, an eighth-grader representing Fairfax County, was the runner-up in the 95th Scripps National Spelling Bee. Walsh, 14, from Compass Homeschool Enrichment, based in Herndon, survived 13 rounds of spelling and word definitions before being tripped up by ‘daviely’ in the 14th round of the finals Thursday night.” [Inside NoVA]
Fairfax County Public Library is kicking off its summer reading program with a different approach this year.
The Fairfax Library Foundation will launch its inaugural Children’s Summer Reading Festival at two libraries this month to celebrate the beginning of FCPL’s annual summer reading program.
The renovation of Reston’s Armstrong Elementary School is expected to begin in the spring of next year, according to Fairfax County Public Schools.
The school system has formally submitted a proposal before the county to add 126,000 square feet and modern amenities to the school.
Vienna Featured Live on TV Right Now — “Lights. Camera. Action! Tune into the @fox5dc Zip Trip LIVE from the Town Green [today] from 6-11 a.m. as the Town gets its 15 minutes of fame (really it’s five hours, but who’s counting?)! See familiar faces, businesses, favorite spots, and more!” [Town of Vienna/Twitter]
Air Quality Alert Issued — “The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has issued a Code ORANGE Air Quality Alert Friday for Northern Virginia. A Code Orange Air Quality Alert means that air pollution concentrations within the region may become unhealthy for sensitive groups.” [National Weather Service]
If you find trips on the Capital Beltway into Maryland nightmarish now, imagine what they would be like without any transit options.
That’s the scenario posed by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) in a new study on the value of the region’s transit network, including Metro, local bus services like Fairfax Connector and the Virginia Railway Express (VRE).
