Facade improvements proposed for Annandale
Could a few simple aesthetic fixes improve the appearance of central Annandale? That’s the idea behind the Fairfax County Office of Community Revitalization’s (OCR) proposed façade improvement pilot program. The program would encourage business owners to make improvements like landscaping, painting, awnings, flower boxes, planting trees, screening dumpsters, and installing more attractive signs. OCR planner … Continued
Landmark Mall slated for redevelopment
A preliminary sketch of the housing at Landmark. The redevelopment project on the site of Landmark Mall has been delayed but is still going forward. The Alexandria City Council had approved a redevelopment plan from the Howard Hughes Corp. in June 2013. The plan called for tearing most of Landmark Mall – except for Sears … Continued
Falls Church grad running for school board
Fateh Omar Fateh, a 2008 graduate of Falls Church High School, is running for an at-large seat on the Fairfax County School Board, he says, because he understands the issues faced by minority students and wants to close the achievement gap. Other issues he wants to focus on include strengthening community engagement and equitably managing … Continued
Dead body found near Annandale Road
The body was found in this wooded area on South Street between Holmes Run Road and Annandale Road. Two Falls Church residents discovered what appeared to be the body of an adult male lying in a wooded area near South Street and Holmes Run Road at about 10:30 a.m. on May 10. The Fairfax County … Continued
Noise ordinance would allow louder sounds in residential areas
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors will consider a more detailed noise ordinance May 12 that will in some cases allow louder sounds in residential neighborhoods. A public hearing on the proposal is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Fairfax County Government Center. [Update: the board deferred a decision until June 23.] One key change … Continued
School board seeks $310 million bond
Annandale Terrace The Fairfax County School Board has asked the Board of Supervisors to place a $310 million school bond referendum on the ballot for the general election on Nov. 3. The bond would fund just one school project in the Annandale/Mason area: planning for renovations at Annandale Terrace Elementary School. That school is celebrating … Continued
Trucks bring potential scouts to Mason District Park
Boys love trucks, so the Old Dominion District of Boy Scouts of America assembled a collection of trucks – fire trucks, a cement mixer, steam roller, recycling truck, and more – to attract families to Mason District Park Saturday to encourage them to sign up for scouting. This is the second Touch-a-Truck festival and the … Continued
Olde Forge neighborhood develops new playground
The community wanted to keep the turtle from the old playgound, so it will be refurbished and re-installed. A groundbreaking last week in the Olde Forge neighborhood capped a huge effort by local residents to develop a new playground. The groundbreaking. Joanne Elder mobilized her neighbors, worked with the Fairfax County Park Authority and the … Continued
Police seek vehicle in hit-and-run accident on Columbia Pike
Fairfax County Police are seeking a vehicle involved in a hit-and-run accident on Columbia Pike, near the Lake Barcroft dam, at around 2:50 a.m. on May 9. The victim, a 29-year-old man, was transported to Inova Fairfax Hospital with life-threatening injuries. According to police, he was walking east in the left westbound travel lane at … Continued
Bed race is Annandale tradition
Beds sponsored by Burke & Herbert Bank. the Arlington County Sheriff’s Office and Rep. Connolly/Beanetics take off on the starting line. The beds lined up in the parking lot of Magill’s restaurant in Annandale Saturday morning are for racing, not sleeping. About a dozen teams raced around the parking lot in the annual Hospital Bed … Continued
Planning Commission defers decision on Seven Corners redevelopment
There was lots of discussion at the Planning Commission hearing about the need to retain affordable housing. The Fairfax County Planning Commission deferred a decision on the Seven Corners Amendment to the county’s Comprehensive Plan to July 8. People who spoke at the Planning Commission’s public hearing May 7 were pretty much split among those … Continued
Girls soccer team advances to finals
The Annandale United Football Club’s girls’ under-16 Xtreme team qualified to compete in the finals of the Region 1 Champions League by beating a Braddock Road Youth Club team 6-1 on May 4. The Annandale United FC is the travel soccer arm of the Annandale Boys and Girls Club. The U16 girls will compete this … Continued
Police firearms training focuses on split-second decision-making
Ruck Can an effective firearms training program prevent police officers from shooting innocent civilians? The Fairfax County Police Department does the best it can, but 2nd Lt. Brian Ruck, an instructor at the Fairfax County Criminal Justice Academy, acknowledged at a May 6 meeting of the Mason Police District’s Citizen Advisory Committee that “police officers … Continued
Discrimination suit against Bailey’s principal ‘dismissed with prejudice’
Lemmon The lawsuit filed by four employees of Bailey’s Elementary School against Principal Marie Lemmon charging her with discrimination and harassment has been “dismissed with prejudice.” The suit, filed in federal court in September by former assistant principal Rachel Charlton, former teachers Yolanda Calhoun and Shyrone Stith, and former student J.C. Calhoun, claimed Lemmon and … Continued
Scene around A-Town: Foxes!
The two babies in their den. Michael Thomas, a resident of Broyhill Crest in Annandale, took these photos and video of a fox family, with a mother and two kits, in his backyard. “They seem healthy and happy,” he says. Baby foxes are born with dark fur, which lightens as they mature. The kits in … Continued