Kendale Woods pickleball courts to close
Pickleball players who gather at the Kendale Woods Park in Annandale are going to have to find a new location. The Fairfax County Park Authority plans to begin work soon to revert those courts to tennis-only courts. According to the Park Authority, that is being done because of complaints from neighbors about noise and because … Continued
Weekly crime report
The following recent crimes in the Annandale/Mason District area are from the Fairfax County Police Department as reported on CityProtect: May 1 April 30 April 29 April 28 April 27 April 26 April 25
School news roundup
A new principal – Holly Dowling, an administrator at Braddock Elementary School, has been named principal of Bailey’s Upper Elementary School, effective May 13. Dowling has been an assistant principal at Braddock for five years. Before joining FCPS, she was a teacher, instructional coach, and assistant principal at Mount Vernon Community School in Alexandria Public … Continued
Inova drops redevelopment plans
Inova Health System is not planning to proceed with a massive mixed-use development on its Merrifield campus, the Washington Business Journal reported on April 30. In 2018, Inova proposed redeveloping the 117-acre property that Inova acquired from Exxon Mobil with multifamily housing, retail, restaurants, a hotel, and additional medical facilities. The Fairfax County Board of … Continued
Man arrested for Culmore shooting
Police officers arrested a man for a shooting and attempted robbery that occurred April 12, at about 5 a.m., in the 3400 block of Lake Street in the Culmore area of Bailey’s Crossroads. Officers with the City of Alexandria Police Department arrested Abner Neftali Selen Barrera, 24, of Del Ray in Alexandria, on April 30. … Continued
Board approves 3-cent tax increase
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a marked-up budget package for FY 2025 on April 30 that raises the property tax rate by 3 cents – to $1.125 per $100 of assessed value. That is one cent less than the $1.135 rate in the advertised budget proposed in February. The 3-cent increase will add … Continued
FCPS: middle schools start too early
Fairfax County Public Schools is considering changing middle school start times to a more reasonable hour than the current 7:30 a.m. Research shows that having schools start a bit later in the morning has a positive impact on students’ health and wellbeing. FCPS kicked off a series of community engagement meetings on middle school start … Continued
Asiantque Market draws a large crowd
More than 500 people enjoyed Thai food at the Asiantque Market behind the Masonic lodge at 6911 Columbia Pike Sunday evening. This was the biggest crowd yet at the monthly food festivals, said organizer Nelson Figueroa Velez. There were 26 vendors, offering grilled squid, dumplings, giant shrimp, coconut balls, grilled chicken, mussel pancakes, sugar cane … Continued
Church volunteers fix up two group homes
Nine men with developmental disabilities living in two group homes in the North Springfield area got a nice surprise when they returned from outings Saturday evening. While they were gone, volunteers from several Annandale churches spent the day fixing up their homes. The annual event is carried out by a partnership of the Annandale Christian … Continued
The community celebrates Earth Day at Annandale’s Garnett Park
Dozens of representatives of public agencies and nonprofits shared information about their programs and services at the Earth Day celebration on April 27 at the Eileen Garnett Civic Space in Annandale. Volunteers with Hands On Harvests planted vegetables at the demonstration garden in the park, located at 7200 Columbia Pike, between the ACCA Child Development … Continued
Wonder Wagon takes nature on the road
The Fairfax County Park Authority has a new way to help residents experience nature in their communities and schools. The new Wonder Wagon is a mobile nature center that brings environmental and nature-based educational programs to underserved areas. The brightly painted Wonder Wagon van makes the rounds of afterschool programs, Head Start centers, and … Continued
Schools get new trees for Arbor Day
Two Annandale elementary schools celebrated Arbor Day by planting trees. On April 26, the Fairfax County Urban Forest Management Division helped students plant 12 trees at Annandale Terrace Elementary School. Supervisors Andres Jimenez (Mason) and James Walkinshaw (Braddock), Fairfax County Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid, and school board member Ryan McElveen (at-large) participated in the Arbor … Continued
Metro fares to increase 12.5 percent
Metro rail and bus fares will increase by at least 12.5 percent, according to a budget approved by the Metro Board of Directors on April 24. The base fare will increase from $2 to $2.25. The maximum rail fare will increase from $6 to $6.25. Late-night and weekend fares will rise from a flat $2 … Continued
New restrictions proposed for data centers
Draft guidelines proposed by Fairfax County staff tighten the requirements for data centers, as directed by the Board of Supervisors. The guidelines, part of a Zoning Ordinance amendment, would limit the locations for by-right data centers, require noise studies, and require generators to be enclosed. Applications for a zoning special exception require a public hearing; … Continued
Weekly crime report
The following recent crimes in the Annandale/Mason District area are from the Fairfax County Police Department as reported on CityProtect: April 24 April 23 April 22 April 21 April 20 April 19 April 18