Silver Line extends Metro to Tysons Corner and Reston
The Silver Line pulls into the Whiele-Reston East Metro Station on opening day. “Hallelujah, this day has come,” said Rep. Gerry Connolly at a ceremony July 26 marking the opening of the first phase of Metrorail’s Silver Line. That statement described the attitude of many of the local, state, and federal officials who gathered at … Continued
School board approves school schedule
The Fairfax County School Board approved a master calendar for the 2014-15 school year at its July 24 meeting that reduces the number of school days from 183 to 180. Last month the school board eliminated early Monday dismissal for elementary school students. Additional changes in the calendar allow FCPS to comply with the state … Continued
Cell tower proposed for Stuart HS
The arrow shows the location of the proposed cell tower as seen from Nevius Street. [Photo by Milestone Communications] Plans are moving forward for a cell tower at JEB Stuart High School in Falls Church. AT&T and Milestone Communications have filed an application with the Fairfax County Department of Planning and Zoning, and the Fairfax … Continued
Flying Muskrat Theatre run by former Falls Church HS students
Ben Peter and Caity Brown in “Gruesome Playground Injuries.” [Photo by Rich Stanage and Meg Christensen] When drama students at Falls Church High School hit a snag with school authorities three years ago and a one-act play festival was cancelled, they arranged to stage the show at the theater in the James Lee Community Center … Continued
Mason land use committee endorses Markham Street apartments
An illustration showing the new site design for the Markham project. The Mason District Land Use Committee unanimously endorsed a rezoning application July 22 for a 12-story, 308 unit apartment building on the site of the AMF Annandale Lanes bowling alley on Markham Street in Annandale. The project is a joint venture of Southern Management, … Continued
Land use committee calls for changes in Bailey’s Crossroads retail center plan
The site of a proposed shopping center on Route 7. The Mason District Land Use Committee (MDLUC) July 22 called for Fairfax County planning staff to revise the proposal for a shopping center on Leesburg Pike between Charles Street and Washington Drive to prohibit drive-through fast food restaurants. Angela Valis, a Courtland Park resident who … Continued
Concerts in the park: comedy to country
The Capitol Steps drew a large crowd to a free Spotlight by Starlight show at Mason District Park July 20. The video above, shot by Bob Kovacs and posted on AnnandaleArts, is “I Don’t Know How to Log In,” about the Obamacare problems, to the tune of “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” from … Continued
Seven Corners bank robbed
The Capital One Bank in the Seven Corners Shopping Center was robbed on July 21, Fairfax County Police reports. A man entered the bank at 5:20 p.m., handed a teller a note announcing a robbery, and implied he had a weapon. The suspect took cash and fled. There were no injuries. The suspect was described … Continued
Annandale Blog readers select Silverado as best local restaurant
This is the fifth piece in a series of profiles of the winners of the Annandale Blog’s 2014 Annie Awards, presented to local businesses at Blogapalooza on June 28. The winners were selected by Annandale Blog readers in an open-ended survey. Silverado, the popular Southwestern-theme restaurant at 7052 Columbia Pike, was selected by Annandale Blog … Continued
After 66 years, JVs is expanding
Sign over JV’s bar. JV Restaurant, the small bar and live music venue that’s been at 6666 Arlington Blvd., in Falls Church for the past 66 years, is going to double in size. The small pharmacy that’s been next door for some 28 years moved to Annandale, so JV is expanding into that space. JV … Continued
School board split on accelerating Falls Church HS renovations
A sink in a FCHS science lab. The Fairfax County School Board spent an hour at a work session last week talking about the possibility of renovating Falls Church High School sooner than scheduled. But there wasn’t enough support to do that, so the school is still slated for the 2019 school bond, which means … Continued
Blog readers select Collector’s World as one of area’s best gift shops
The Annandale Blog presented 2014 Annie Awards to six local businesses during our fifth-year anniversary party, Blogapalooza, on June 28. The winners were chosen by Annandale Blog readers in an open-ended online survey. Collector’s World and AnnSandra, which was profiled July 10, got the same number of votes in the best gift shop category, so … Continued
Planning Commission defers vote on Bailey’s Crossroads shopping center
Washington Drive, looking toward Leesburg Pike. The shopping center would be at the left. [Google Maps] The Fairfax County Planning Commission deferred a decision on a shopping center proposal for Leesburg Pike in Bailey’s Crossroads until July 30, primarily because commissioners felt there was not enough information on a plan to align Charles Street with … Continued
Annandale real estate market in the doldrums
This house in the Brook Hill Estates community is on the market for $1.475 million. The housing market in Annandale was pretty flat in June, reports real estate contributor Vivianne Couts of Coldwell Banker. The average price of a home sold in Annandale (zip code 22003) last month was $508,564, down 4 percent from June … Continued
Tenant sought for former bookstore building
This building is available for lease. Bandi Books, the Korean bookstore at 4305 Markham Street, Annandale, closed a couple of weeks ago for the same reason that bookstores everywhere are shutting down. It’s too hard to compete against online book sellers and there’s so much free information available on the internet, says property owner Gary … Continued