Tysons | FFXnow - Part 353

Flat real estate tax rate, new paid family leave policy proposed in Vienna budget

Published March 14, 2024 at 10:15AM | Updated August 12, 2024 at 6:27PM

Vienna Town Hall (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

(Updated at 2:40 p.m.) Vienna officials have released a proposed budget that maintains the town’s current real estate tax rate, despite continued economic challenges from inflation and supply chain issues.

The $53.8 million budget for fiscal year 2025, which starts July 1, holds the tax rate at $0.1950 per $100 of assessed value. Combined with a cumulative 3-cent reduction over the previous three years, the town will have cut its tax rate by 14% since 2021, Town Manager Mercury Payton said in a message to Mayor Linda Colbert and the town council.

Around Town

Taste of NoVA food festival coming to Army Museum in Fort Belvoir

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 14, 2024 at 9:30AM

The inaugural Taste of NoVA event was held in Leesburg in 2023 (courtesy Amie Otto/Northern Virginia Magazine)

Dozens of restaurants and breweries from across Northern Virginia will descend on the Fort Belvoir area this spring.

The National Museum of the U.S. Army (1775 Liberty Drive) will host this year’s Taste of NoVA, a relatively new food festival produced by Northern Virginia Magazine as a celebration of its annual 50 Best Restaurants list.

Countywide

Morning Notes

By FFXnow.com

Published March 14, 2024 at 8:15AM

A clock in Fairfax City's Old Town Square with Old Town Hall in the background (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Man Charged in Beltway Tractor-Trailer Crash — “A 28-year-old man has been charged after a multi-vehicle crash shut down a portion of southbound Interstate 495 in Fairfax County for several hours Wednesday morning…Troopers responded to a crash in the southbound lanes of I-495 where a passenger vehicle and two tractor-trailers collided near Exit 45.” [WJLA]

Annandale Man Killed in Maryland Robbery — “Annandale resident Mohammad Hanif, 50, was murdered following a robbery at the convenience store he owned in the 900 block of Larchmont Avenue in Capitol Heights, Md., on March 5. The Prince George’s County Police Department is offering up to $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the case.” [Annandale Today]

Countywide

Fairfax County police to use AI technology to evaluate body camera footage

By Fatimah Waseem

Published March 13, 2024 at 3:30PM

The police department is working with a company to automatically review body-worn camera footage

The Fairfax County Police Department will utilize automated technology to analyze body-worn camera footage in real time.

Seeking to improve its training and interactions with the public, the FCPD is the first jurisdiction in Virginia to sign on with Truleo, the Chicago-based technology company announced yesterday (Tuesday).

News

Nonprofit’s use of McLean senior center to make and distribute free meals approved

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 13, 2024 at 1:30PM

SevaTruck provides free meals at the Annandale Community Center in March 2023 (courtesy Fairfax County Neighborhood and Community Services)

SevaTruck Foundation has been granted permanent use of the Lewinsville Center’s kitchen for its food distribution operations.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a special exception on March 5 that will let the nonprofit continue making and providing free meals out of the senior center in McLean, which also houses adult day care and child care programs.

Aging Well: Generation X, examined

By Sponsor

Published March 13, 2024 at 12:30PM

A new study from Mather Institute explores the lifestyle trends, attitudes, and priorities of Generation X

This biweekly column is sponsored by The Mather in Tysons, Virginia, a forward-thinking Life Plan Community for those 62 and better.

Generation X — whose members are currently 43 to 58 years old — has been continually overshadowed by the much larger baby boomer and millennial generations. Yet these days, this “forgotten generation” has moved to the forefront. They are parents; employees and bosses; social, cultural, and political leaders… but who are they?

Countywide

Solar eclipse viewing glasses now available at Fairfax County Public Library branches

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 13, 2024 at 11:45AM

People at Reston Town Center witness the 2017 partial solar eclipse through viewing glasses (photo by Dave Emke)

Fairfax County Public Library is giving away free solar eclipse viewing glasses in anticipation of next month’s event, but to snag a pair, you’ll have to move fast.

Each branch will have “a very limited allotment” of a few hundred glasses at most, FCPL Board of Trustees chair Brian Engler confirmed. Though some branches received shipments early, the glasses were expected to be ready for distribution at all locations today (Wednesday), according to FCPL Director Jessica Hudson.

Countywide

FCPS superintendent advocates for federal action on cybersecurity threats to schools

By James Jarvis

Published March 13, 2024 at 10:15AM

Superintendent Michelle Reid (staff file photo by James Jarvis)

Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid is urging national elected officials to step up their efforts to safeguard local schools from cybercrime threats.

During a Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce event in Tysons on Monday (March 11), Reid asked Sen. Mark Warner about Congress’s strategy to address privacy threats to FCPS students and staff and other communities nationwide that are susceptible to ransomware attacks.

Countywide

Morning Notes

By FFXnow.com

Published March 13, 2024 at 8:15AM

Geese on the shore of Lake Accotink (staff photo by James Jarvis)

County to Update Zoning for Data Centers — “Several board members expressed concern that some zoning districts currently allow for the development of data centers by right…Committee Chair Karen Smith (D-Sully) suggested that the board begin the process of updating the zoning ordinance at its next meeting on March 19, which received unanimous support from the other board members.” [Patch]

Covid Survivors Revisit Inova Fairfax Hospital — “This week marks four years since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic and 7News Health and Wellness Reporter Victoria Sanchez caught up with two survivors after first sharing their stories in 2020. Titou Phommachanh and Rodrigo Valderrama greeted each other with a hug in front of Inova Fairfax Hospital. Before the two became the faces of COVID-19 in Northern Virginia four years ago, the men had never met.” [WJLA]

News

Funding for new tree plantings approved by Vienna Town Council

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 12, 2024 at 1:30PM

Entrance to the East Creek Trail in Vienna (via Google Maps)

The Town of Vienna will take a critical step this coming Arbor Day toward replenishing its tree canopy, thanks to the late councilmember Maud Robinson.

During its March 4 meeting, the current Vienna Town Council gave staff the go-ahead to spend $50,000 from the Robinson Trust on a planting project that will add 145 trees along local streets and the East Creek Trail.