Vienna | FFXnow

Morning Notes

Published April 14, 2022 at 7:30AM

Lying down at the Vienna Town Green (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

School Board to Appoint New Superintendent Tonight — “The Fairfax County School Board will be announcing the final candidate for the next Superintendent of Schools at tomorrow night’s School Board meeting. The Board will also vote on the candidate’s appointment.” [FCPS]

School Board Defends TJ Admissions Policy to Supreme Court — The Fairfax County School Board said in a filing to the U.S. Supreme Court that an appeals court was “entirely within its authority” to let the admissions policy for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology stay in place while legal proceedings continue. [WTOP]

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Morning Notes

By FFXnow.com

Published April 13, 2022 at 7:30AM

People sit and walk by Occoquan River in Lorton (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Arrests in Fairfax and Arlington Counties Stir Debate over Bail Reform — “The man who was arrested on Sunday for robbery and carjacking after an inter-jurisdiction car chase on I-395 was awaiting trial in Fairfax County for stealing a car, court records show…Randall Mason, the president of the Arlington Coalition of Police, said Fairfax County’s release of the alleged carjacker put officers, the driver and the public at risk of injury.” [ARLnow]

Fairfax Real Estate Listing Goes Viral — “The $800,000 listing, a five-bedroom, 3.5-bath, single-family home, is only accepting all-cash offers despite needing multiple repairs and coming with roommates who aren’t paying rent and don’t have a lease. Oh, and potential buyers can’t see the lower level.” [Axios]

News

Vienna Town Council ponders future of Faith Baptist Church property

By Angela Woolsey

Published April 8, 2022 at 2:15PM

The former Faith Baptist Church is temporarily housing the Vienna Police Department (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Anything is possible for Vienna’s former Faith Baptist Church site — anything within the financial reach of a town whose annual budget comes in under $50 million, that is.

The 3-acre property at 301 Center Street South was a “godsend” for the town, hitting the market just as the search for a temporary home for the Vienna Police Department was becoming urgent, Councilmember Ed Somers said during a town council work session on March 28.

News

Newly opened Thai restaurant brings owners back to Vienna roots

By Angela Woolsey

Published April 7, 2022 at 3:00PM

Burapa Thai & Bar co-owner Bo Boonyaket will run the restaurant's drinks program at Bo's Rhapsody Bar (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

No matter how many times the name and owners change, the ground-floor restaurant in the office building at 226 Maple Avenue West seems destined to serve Thai cuisine.

Following in the steps of Tara Thai and the recently departed Tom Yum Thai, the newly opened Burapa THAI & Bar comes from a face familiar to local diners: co-owner Bo Boonyaket was the owner and chef at I-Thai’s Side Street & Sushi Bar in Tysons until it shuttered last year.

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Morning Notes

By FFXnow.com

Published April 7, 2022 at 7:30AM

A grassy field outside Wolf Trap National Park's Filene Center (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Annandale Chick-fil-A Opens Today — “Chick-fil-A will open Thursday, April 7, at 7130 Little River Turnpike, Annandale…To celebrate the grand opening, the restaurant will surprise ‘100 local heroes making an impact in Annandale with free Chick-fil-A for a year.'” [Annandale Today]

Starkist HQ in Reston Now Open — Relocating from Pittsburgh, the tuna manufacturer opened its new corporate and administrative headquarters at 1875 Explorer Street in Reston Town Center on Tuesday (April 5). The office can accommodate more than 70 employees, and the company is marking its arrival with a community distribution event for the Reston-based nonprofit Feed the Children. [Starkist]

Countywide

Multiple Fairfax County restaurants named finalists for RAMMY Awards

By Angela Woolsey

Published April 6, 2022 at 3:45PM

Blend 111 in Vienna is a 2022 RAMMY Awards finalist for "Best Brunch of the Year" (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The finalists for the D.C.-area restaurant industry’s annual RAMMY Awards are out, and a few Fairfax County hotspots made the cut.

Organized by the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW), a regional trade and advocacy group, the 40th annual RAMMYs represent a shift toward normalcy after two years of slightly modified proceedings to reflect the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Morning Notes

By FFXnow.com

Published April 5, 2022 at 7:30AM

Waiting at McLean Metro station (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Defamation Trial Over Domestic Violence Op-Ed Starts Next Monday — “Johnny Depp, 58, and Amber Heard, 35, who were briefly married from 2015 to 2017, are set to begin their long-anticipated defamation trial with jury selection that day. The trial is expected to last through the end of May, and the case has drawn national and international attention.” [Inside NoVA]

D.C. Area TV News Anchor Dies — “For decades, Bruce Johnson’s voice could be heard emanating from TV sets around the Washington region, delivering the day’s news with both gravitas and humor. Johnson, who spent 44 years at local CBS affiliate WUSA9, died of heart failure Sunday morning, according to the station.” [DCist]

Countywide

Cunningham Park art teacher and students brighten school sidewalk with rainbow mural

By Angela Woolsey

Published April 4, 2022 at 3:00PM

Cunningham Park kindergarten student Connor Pollak says the replica road is his favorite part of the mural (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

When Cunningham Park Elementary School Principal Katherine Le asked if she would paint a mural for the school, Ellen Singletary responded as any job interviewee would: she said yes.

Singletary landed the job, becoming the art teacher for the Vienna school of roughly 400 students, but thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, it took more than two years for that proposed mural to materialize.

News

Vienna to build more sidewalks using Robinson Trust funds this spring

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 31, 2022 at 1:55PM

The north side of Adahi Road at the Park Street intersection, where Vienna plans to add sidewalk (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Vienna is dipping into its sidewalk trust funds again.

During its March 21 meeting, the Vienna Town Council approved spending $261,448 to build sidewalks along two residential streets using money from the Robinson Trust Sidewalk Initiative, which was established by the late councilmember Maud Robinson’s estate after her death in 2019.

News

New Mexican restaurant and bar ‘El Sabor Grill’ now open in Vienna

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 31, 2022 at 9:45AM

El Sabor Mexican Grill in Vienna includes a bar (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Vienna’s newest Mexican eatery serves up margaritas as well as tacos and fajitas.

El Sabor Grill is now open in the town’s Cedar Park Shopping Center (262 Cedar Lane), taking over the two suites that El Sol Restaurante & Tequileria vacated in January.