Work is underway on the new George Mason High School ahead of construction on a����in Falls Church.

The City of Falls Church’s Planning Commissioned ��the first of two phases for constructing the new high school on Monday, Aug. 5.

While preconstruction has already started, the approval of the first phase will now let the developers obtain building permits.

The second phase, which involves a trapezoid area in front of the school, parking and stormwater management, is expected to go before the Planning Commission later this summer or fall.

The new high school spot will be right next to the current school, which will get converted into an ��mixed-use development known as��Little City Commons.

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The 1.3 million-square-foot development will occupy nearly 10 acres��at the current George Mason High School location at 7124 Leesburg Pike.��The development of Little City Commons will defray costs for the new school.

The school will serve grades 6-12 and have consolidated��athletic fields and a “good neighbor zone,” according to city staff.

“As far as the Planning Commission is concerned, this is a momentous day,”��Russell Wodiska, the chair of the Planning Commission, said at the meeting. “It’s a really exciting thing.”

Work on Little City Commons is slated to start in 2021 after��work on the George Mason High School is finished.

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In years past, various branches held individual challenges for adults, but after demand rose, the county designed a unified program, according to Mary Mulrenan, a spokesperson for FCPL.

“A small committee worked together to create a system-wide program that would provide a way for��all��library customers��to participate,” she said.

So far, participants have turned in��1,534 logs to the library — significantly more than they originally anticipated, according to��Mulrenan.��“We are surveying customers and to date, 73 people have completed our survey. Out of this number, 92% have rated it excellent or very good and 95% will participate again��next��summer.”

Anyone interested in participating can pick up reading logs at any local FCPL branch or print them out on the website. The nearest location is the�� (7584 Leesburg Pike).

To complete the challenge, participants must complete two , each consisting of a challenge to read or listen to four books and complete one other task,��like trying out the library’s research database or following FCPL’s social media accounts.

Participants who return one log will be given goodies such as free snacks, discounts, fine forgiveness at the library or free entry to a Fairfax County recreation center.

Upon completion of a second log, participants will receive a drawstring bag and be entered into a drawing at the end of the summer for a canvas bag filled with a Barnes and Noble gift card, a journal and a portable beach blanket. Individual branches may offer additional prizes, according to the county library website.

Anyone interested in��participating can still turn in reading logs until Aug. 31.

The library plans to offer more incentives next summer, due to this year’s high demand.

“It’s wonderful that we have exceeded that number and we still have time (one month) to gain more finishers. We also hope to encourage more businesses to sponsor coupons,”��Mulrenan said.

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This article was written ��ݮ��ý’s news partner, , and republished with permission.

With a new commercial center next door, Virginia Tech is ramping up its plans to its .

The Virginia Tech campus is just south of the West Falls Church Metro station, an area with in the pipeline for the next few years.

The will mix academic uses, commercial uses, and some residential facilities, according to the Washington Business Journal.

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The project will expand the existing academic program and a new national center for smart design and construction. A new mixed residential and commercial complex is also part of the school’s designs for the area. The project would also relocate Hitt Contracting Inc. to a new on-site headquarters.

During a with faculty and staff members, school officials said the programs for the expanded campus are still being developed with the goal of finding a distinct focus for the campus apart from the Virginia Tech locations in Arlington and Alexandria.

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The in Vienna, Virginia, may not be a , but it will have a bank of electric car chargers.

The Wawa will be located at 465 Maple Ave. W, formerly a Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage that has sat vacant for over a year.

The store will include eight 250 kilowatt Tesla charging posts and two 430 kilowatt Tesla charging cabinets, according to ��filed with Fairfax County.

The chargers will be the first Tesla chargers in Vienna. There are currently three in Tysons with a fourth listed as opening somewhere near the Greensboro Metro station sometime in 2019.

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Wawa also received permits for new signage around the building.

The new location is part of a of Wawas throughout the D.C. area, including locations in Columbia Heights, Tenleytown and Adams Morgan.

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The county needs more volunteers to help take community members to doctor appointments and on grocery-runs,��Angela Morlu, a spokesperson for the Department of Family Services, said.

The county’s Volunteer Solution’s webpage has eleven�� at the Lewinsville Center — six at the at 1609 Great Falls Street and five at the Lewinsville Adult Day Health Care Center () at 1611 Great Falls Street.

Open positions at the senior center and the ADHC include language and music instructors, bingo assistants, dance teachers, donation coordinators and certified fitness instructors.

The centers are also in need of general assignment volunteers who��can assist with front desk work, meal assistance or program facilitation.

Anyone interested in the fitness position must be certified in Fairfax County as a Stay Active & Independent for Life () instructor and willing to commit to the two required 12-week courses.

According to the Fairfax County website:

The next SAIL Instructor Training will likely be held in August or early September 2019 at Marymount University. If you are not already an approved volunteer with Volunteer Solutions, sign up now so you will be eligible for the course. It takes a few weeks to process new volunteers.

Most of the volunteer positions only require a one- or two-hour commitment each week.

The centers were both in June of this year. The senior center features a fitness room and tech access. It also serves as a gathering place for adults over 50. The adult day center helps the mental well-being of seniors and includes amenities such as a library, indoor walking path and garden.

All volunteers must be at least 18 years old and�� for a position through the county’s website.

In addition to the volunteer positions at the two centers,��Morlu also said there is “an urgent need” for volunteers with , an organization that tackles senior hunger.

The county is looking for a handful of volunteers for Meals on Wheels including a who speaks Vietnamese to pick up and deliver meals in the Falls Church area.

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A launched to help the����repair damage to its complex from Monday’s has already raised more than $20,000.

Started Wednesday, the fundraiser has raised about a quarter of its $75,000 goal.

“We have set up this fund to help cover the cost of repairs (given our location, we do not have flood insurance),” according to the GoFundMe.

Currently, the McLean Little League complex is .

Work to will include rebuilding two dugouts, repairing fencing on three of the four fields. and cleaning up the fields at the complex (1836 Westmoreland St.), McLean Little League President Jen Nance previously told Tysons Reporter.

The aim is to get the work done before the fall season starts.

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Around the Tysons area, work is underway to clean up and repair roads, parks and even a high school after yesterday.

“Nearly 5 inches of rain fell on Fairfax County Monday morning — nearly a month’s worth of rain in just a few hours, overwhelming numerous parts of our public infrastructure,” according to .

McLean High School had two hallways flooded along with the athletic locker rooms and coaches’ offices,��Ellen Reilly, the principal of the high school, told Tysons Reporter, adding that��Fairfax County Public Schools assessed the school today (July 9) to make sure that all of the areas were safe.

“Custodial staff worked throughout the day pumping out the water from the locker rooms and the carpets will be shampooed once everything dries out,” Reilly said.

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The staff received a shout out on the high school’s Twitter:

Thanks to our custodial staff for cleaning up after the flooding that occurred throughout our school yesterday. They are amazing!

— McLean Highlanders (@mcleanhigh)

Kirby Road will continue to be�� in McLean for several weeks as crews work to repair extensive damage.

The Fairfax County Park Authority said this morning that several parks in the Tysons area are as park teams assess the damage, including the west parking lot at Scott’s Run and bridge at Lewinsville Park.

Scotts Run Nature Preserve receives much of the runoff from Tysons rains. Even the slightest bit of rain can turn the serene stream into a raging river. Always use caution.

— Fairfax County Parks (@fairfaxparks)

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A proposed����in Tysons is�� to the��Fairfax County Board of Supervisors for a public hearing Tuesday.

The Mather, a two-story senior living complex, is a part of��Cityline Partners LLC’s Arbor Row project near Tysons Galleria, which includes the completed����residential building and��.

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The development would transform the back��of Tysons Galleria along Westpark Drive into a suite of mixed-use buildings.

The Fairfax County Planning Commission the senior living facility earlier this month despite concerns over the project’s height, size and open space.

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— a comic convention held at the Sheraton Tysons Hotel at 8661 Leesburg Pike — is coming back this weekend for its second year.

It’s not exactly Hall H of San Diego Comic-Con, but some big names are coming to town, and like last year, plenty of other activities are scheduled.

The convention is set for June 8 and 9. are $35 for a two-day pass or $99 for a pass with “front of the line privileges” and admission to an evening gala.

While many conventions today have swung more toward general pop culture, founder Michael McNutt told Tysons Reporter that All-Star very much goes back to the roots of comic conventions with a focus on comic books. Two of the biggest names at the convention this year are , a local who the Eisner Award last year for best writer; and , a writer with a long body of work at Marvel and DC comics.

“Last year, we tried to hit all points,” McNutt said. “You stretch yourself out and end up being a B-student because you spread out. We wanted to focus on comic books this year.”

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While there was a smattering of gaming aspects at the convention last year, McNutt said, he’s worked to double down on that this year and implement more gaming media into the convention.

If last year was any indication, cosplay will play a big part in this year’s convention, especially with Saturday night’s cosplay competition.

“We want people walking out of there embracing new fandoms,” McNutt said. “It’s all brand new to me. …��Cosplay was one thing in the last year I’ve gotten more and more into. I made my son an Iron Man helmet and arc reactor and made my other child a Kid Flash helmet.”

McNutt worked professionally in event directing for other companies and organizations, but eventually wanted to host his own event. The event is smaller than some other comic conventions across the country, but McNutt said the hotel setting gives it a more intimate and personal touch.

“I put together different types of events, but I wanted to put one together for me,” McNutt said. “I love movies and comics, so I wanted to put one of these together. You don’t have to be Scrooge McDuck sitting in a tank full of money; it just takes a lot of dedication.”

For McNutt, the ultimate goal is for the convention to become more of a social group than just an annual event. The group also hosts a book club featuring local authors and meet-ups at breweries and other regional conventions.

“A lot of people are going to sit there and talk about the celebs and fun things, but our thing really is the community created through this,” McNutt said. “I’ve received emails about this and people have pulled us to the side — people who tell me they haven’t had the best of luck making friends. … People who were like ‘I can’t find my place in this world’ now have a place.”

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Co-working area has a new Virginia location is coming to The Boro development later this year.

The Meridian Group, the developers behind The Boro, announced the newcomer today (May 30).

“Spaces specializes in building creative workspaces, and The Loft will be a perfect home for this dynamic company,”��Tom Boylan, the senior vice president of The Meridian Group, said in a press release.

Spaces will occupy the fourth and fifth floors in The Loft (1640 Boro Place), an industrial-style,��five-story-tall building with three floors of office space and two stories of retail. The c0-working company is leasing��about 50,000 square feet — 66 percent of the office space in The Loft, according to the press release.

Spaces is a��coworking brand that provides flexible workspaces under the parent company IWG, which has more than 50 U.S. locations.��Michael Beretta, the vice president on network development for IWG, has said that Spaces its number of locations this year.

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“The entire DC metro area has seen a meteoric rise in startups looking to call this area home base,” Beretta said in the press release. “As a result, we’ve seen an increase in demand from businesses of all sizes that are looking for flexible working solutions.”

Currently, Spaces has three spots in Virginia — Reston, Arlington and Alexandria — and an upcoming one totaling two in D.C.

“[Spaces’] new home in Tysons will be a perfect complement to our growing community,”��Boylan said.

Photo via and rendering courtesy The Meridian Group

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Fairfax County is investigating reports of missed trash pick-ups by��a solid waste and recycling collection company in preparation to take legal action.

During the county’s Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday (May 7), John Cook and Kathy Smith, the district supervisors for Braddock and Sully, respectively, presented a board matter prompting the investigation into whether ��has violated any consumer protection laws.

“For the last several weeks, American has failed to make many trash pick-ups in the county,” the board matter says. “Trash is left on street corners, or in overflowing HOA dumpsters. This open trash attracts rats and other vermin, it smells, and is ugly.”

Cook and Smith said that the trash collection’s failures are creating a “significant” health, safety and community enjoyment problems.

Inside NoVa that a spokesman for the��Solid Waste Management Program of the Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services (DPWES) received 143 missed-pickup complaints this year��as of May 1.

While��DPWES serves about 45,000 homes in the county, 22 private companies pick up trash for the remaining 400,000 homes, the article notes.

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Based in Manassas, American Disposal Services is the primary private trash service company for county residents, according to the board matter.

Kevin Edwards, the general manager of American Disposal Services, told Tysons Reporter that a nationwide problem recruiting truck drivers started causing delays in trash pick-ups for Fairfax County residents about six to eight months ago.

“This shortage we’ve been experiencing for the last few years, but we’ve been able to keep ahead of it,” Edwards said.��“The majority of what we have been doing has been delays instead of failed pick-ups.”

To address the shortage, Edwards said that the two-day trash service pick-up has been temporarily shifted to now once a week and on a different day, affecting about 10,000 of American Disposal Services’ roughly 100,000 Fairfax County customers.

While American Disposal Services tracks the number of failed pick-ups that get reported by customers, Edwards did not have information available to share on how many failed pick-ups have been reported in Fairfax County for the last six months or last few weeks.

Edwards said in response to the board matter “the level that is being described is not entirely accurate” and that public health shouldn’t be an issue because the company has been alerting residents via phone calls, texts and website updates��between one week to 24 hours in advance about changed schedules.

For a long-term solution, Edwards said the company has been “aggressively hiring and recruiting” for several months and trying to convert some customers over to a once-a-week schedule.

Trash schedules have been “back on track” this week and American Disposal Services is talking to the county, Edwards said.

Fairfax County decided on Tuesday to request the county attorney to prepare a briefing for the board for the closed session of the May 12 meeting.��The board matter says:

This briefing should include an analysis of all applicable consumer protection statutes, potential claims of fraud, or other legal issues potentially arising out of American’s failure to meet its commitments to our residents, and any options for the county to seek legal remedies. Fairfax County should continue to assist American in providing its promised services, but must also make clear that this is American’s problem, and we expect the company to solve it in the next two weeks, or else the County will be prepared to take whatever legal action may be available.

Staff from DPWES, Consumer Affairs and the Health Department have been working with American Disposal Services for the last few weeks on the issues and the county executive updated the Board of Supervisors on the county’s efforts on Monday, May 6, according to the board matter.

The American Trucking Association said in a that the shortage in 2014 totaled 38,000��truck drivers and that the shortage could spike to nearly 175,000 by 2024.

“All trash haulers in the country are facing challenges, but here in Fairfax, after the acquisition by Waste Connections, American’s problems are more acute,” the board matter says.

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Fairfax County’s Board of Supervisors wants more analysis of data that points to the disproportionate use-of-force against black individuals by county police.

Two years ago, the Fairfax County Police Department released a study that found that��40 percent of use-of-force cases in 2015 involved black individuals.

In response to the study’s release, the board directed Police Auditor Richard Schott “to review the statistical disparity between the level of African-American use-of-force incidents and the African American population in Fairfax County,” according to the county.

Completed last year, Schott’s study on the police department data didn’t satisfy the supervisors’ questions.

“The report did not yield any clear causes based upon race, but noted additional evaluation of use-of force data would be needed for the following years,” Chairman Sharon Bulova said yesterday reading from the motion. She added FCPD has new procedures and trainings that might provide more useful data on��use-of-force interactions.

Following the 2017 study,��Police Chief Edwin Roessler has been trying to find an academic partner to help with data analysis for further use-of-force studies, but hasn’t found a “suitable” partner yet, Bulova said.

In a joint effort, Bulova and Braddock District Supervisor John Cook presented a motion yesterday (May 7) to direct the police auditor to coordinate the search for an academic or researcher to review the disparity and then report findings and any recommendations to the board.

“As the Police Auditor has experience with compiling similar types of reports, I am in favor of the Police Auditor’s office overseeing the search for an academic partner and completion of the use-of-force study,” Bulova said.

Initially, the motion just focused on hiring an academic partner, but, at the suggestion of��Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity, was changed to also consider hiring a research partner.

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Herrity took issue with the comparison used to evaluate the disparity, saying that analysis should not compare use-of-force victims to the Fairfax County population, since they may not reside in the county.

“Almost half of the use-of-force against African Americans involved non-residents,” he said. “If we’re going to compare it to our population, we need to do an apples to apples.”

He later clarified his comments, saying,��“I agree it doesn’t matter if you’re a resident or nonresident. You should be treated fairly.”

Cook responded by saying that the 40 percent still indicates a racial disparity, regardless of residency.

Fairfax County isn’t the only place scrutinizing local police use-of-force data and looking to address police violence against minorities at disproportionate rates.

The mayor of Ithaca, New York�� into an incident between local police and a black man and woman, with some people criticizing the police on their use of force after videos of the incident were released.

A bill in California that would��make it easier ��against police officers who use lethal force when other options were available has received widespread support following the death of��Stephon Clark, an unarmed black man shot by police in Sacramento last March.

Over in Wyoming, all law enforcement officers now must ��every two years, which includes courses on when and how to use force.

A by researchers at the Boston University School of Public Health found that��the disparity between black and white individuals��who are not known to be armed and are shot by police increases as racism on the state level increases.

FCPD recently released its which��listed 500 uses-of-force incidents in 2018. The report does not provide a demographic breakdown for use-of-force incidents.

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Fairfax County’s violent crime rates slightly decreased this year compared to last year, according to a new report from the police department.

The new data comes from FCPD’s��,��which the department released today (Friday). The 64-page document reports a decrease in violent crime rates between 2017 and 2018 for homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault.

The report also provides comparisons between FCPD’s eight police districts for the number of driving while intoxicated (DWI) arrests, citations and dispatched calls.

The McLean District, which ��Merrifield, Dunn Loring, Falls Church, McLean, Tyson’s Corner and Great Falls, fell on the higher end for the number of DWI arrests with 251 last year.

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The report says that officers from the McLean District teamed up last year with Fairfax County Public Schools to support “” to��reduce traffic congestion and pollution near schools as the county grapples with transportation infrastructure challenges.

In addition to the crime statistics, the report also notes how many different types of complaints the Internal Affairs Bureau closed. A majority of internal complaints were closed — 129 out of 169. Out of the 129 external complaints, however, only 78 are closed and 51 are still open.

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Local chocolatier is planning a in Tysons Galleria to offer a less-healthy alternative to the adjacent Sweetgreen.

The pop-up is scheduled to run from Friday (May 3) through Sunday (May 5) on the first floor of the Galleria. According to the mall’s website:

Craving for Chocolate offers a wide variety of treats, such as sugared pistachios, marzipans, and Jordan almonds, and more exotic flavors such as rose water nougats and��bitter orange zest marzipan. ��All treats come beautifully wrapped and packaged.

This is the second pop-up in the Tysons Galleria for the chocolate retailer. Craving for Chocolate is also operating a pop-up store inside the nearby Ritz-Carlton Tysons (1700 Tysons Blvd) until May 31.

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The store’s milk chocolate selections are $40 per pound or $38 for dark chocolate. Other delicacies, like pistachio nougat or apricot fruit confections, are also available for $32.

The store also offers gift boxes for $28 to $78 or arrangements for weddings, baby showers or corporate events.

The Tysons Galleria pop-up will be open:

• Friday: 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
• Saturday: 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
• Sunday: noon-6 p.m.

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The town of Vienna Ashburn Construction to install a new sidewalk, storm sewer, curb and gutter and driveway aprons on Church Street NE from the intersection of Glyndon Street to 344 Church St. NE. The contractor will also replace the speed hump in front of��342 Church St. NE.

The 300 block of Church Street will be closed from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays, and only residents who live in that block will be able to access the area, according to the town.��Vienna does not have any utility disruptions planned.

During construction, traffic on Church Street will get diverted onto Maple Avenue briefly before returning to Church Street.

Some people commented under Vienna’s that the street needs the improvements, but the work is ill-timed.

“Much needed agreed but wish it was to be done over summer when traffic is a bit less,” one commentator wrote under the post.

Another person wrote, “Much needed improvements …. very inconvenient. Sigh.”

Vienna is using the announcement about the road closure to encourage locals to sign up for the town’s .

Hey folks: The 300 block of Church Street between Glyndon and Beulah will be closed for approximately 4 weeks starting May 6 for sidewalk, curb, and gutter installation. ICYMI you can sign up for our alert system for up-to-date info:

— Town of Vienna, VA (@TownofViennaVA)

First image via Town of Vienna and second via

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