Effective, safe mosquito control requires more brains than brawn
Yard signs from mosquito control companies. [photo by Friends of Accotink Creek] By Elizabeth Kirchner A yard sign advertisement shows a muscular cartoon warrior wielding a backpack sprayer blasting a towering spear-stingered mosquito: Insecticide “fogging” to control mosquitoes in summertime backyards seems powerful and effective, but specialists—even representatives of insect-control industries, Fairfax County, and the … Continued
Annandale Boys & Girls Club donates $70,000 for turf field at Annandale HS
Photos from ABGC The Annandale Boys & Girls Club has donated $70,000 to Annandale High School’s campaign to bring a synthetic turf field to the school’s Bolding Stadium. “This $70,000 donation will ensure AHS meets the minimum commitment for Fairfax County to bring turf to Annandale,” says Julie Germain Thompson of ABGC. “We’re proud of … Continued
Rep. Connolly and Beanetics win Annandale Bed Race
The Connolly-Beanetics team in action. [Photos by George Burke] It took six years of trying and training, but the team sponsored by Congressman Gerry Connolly (11th District) and powered by Beanetics Coffee Roasters finally won the Annandale Bed Race, reports Connolly’s spokesperson George Burke. The bed race teams. The annual event, sponsored by the Annandale … Continued
Barricade situation disrupts neighborhood around Falls Church High School
The house appears to be extensively damaged. Several streets were blocked off near Falls Church High School May 14 while police negotiated with a man holed up inside a house at 3246 Kenney Drive. Students reported hearing what sounded like three bombs going off in the area. In an email to parents, Falls Church Principal … Continued
Housing development proposed for Sears site in Seven Corners
There’s a plan in the works to build a large housing development in Seven Corners along Leesburg Pike between Juniper Lane and the office building being converted to Bailey’s Upper Elementary School. The Sears store and two office buildings on that site would be demolished. The 847,000 square-foot project would include 748 apartments and … Continued
Repairs underway at Tollhouse Park
The park is on Little River Turnpike between Annandale Road and Columbia Pike. Tollhouse Park, the centerpiece of the Annandale revitalization area, has gotten a little shabby in recent months, but efforts to fix it are under way. The broken lights and the clock, which is about six hours off, will be repaired soon, says … Continued
No carnival in Annandale this year
Fun times at the 2013 Annandale carnival. There won’t be a carnival in Annandale this spring because the Sears Holdings Corp., the company that owns Kmart, won’t give approval to allow the event to take place in the Kmart parking lot. That decision is not due to any particular problems with the carnival—it’s more about … Continued
Bethany House offers a safe haven to women escaping domestic abuse
Bethany House Executive Director Catherine Hassinger (left) and Gayan Peart, family assistance program manager. When Alexandra [not her real name] decided she could no longer live with her abusive boyfriend after he beat her and threatened her with a gun, she landed in a shelter. But after her time there was up, she had nowhere … Continued
Annandale Fire Department hosts community yard sale
By Tammy B The Annandale Volunteer Fire Department hosted the second annual community yard sale May 10 in the fire station parking lot on Columbia Pike. Several independent consultants participated, as well as people selling things they no longer need. Domino’s Pizza provided free food for shoppers at the AVFD canteen. Che Champ, an … Continued
Fairfax County restores Wakefield Run
The newly restored Wakefield Run. The Wakefield Run restoration project is just about complete, except for some additional replanting that will be done by the contractor and volunteers. The stream is supposed to direct high water out onto the floodplain, and it has done so during a couple of rainstorms that occurred since it was … Continued
The Rongs of Spring: This season offers plenty to gripe about
A rabbit enjoys the tall grass in this Annandale backyard. By Annandale humorist Robert Schwaninger Now that Spring has sprung and pollen hangs in the air like a green fog that covers cars, cats, and nasal passages with dusty abandon, we can look forward to the blossoming of flowers, the buzz of bees, and our … Continued
Court affirms zoning board’s rejection of Parklawn cell tower
The 19th Judicial Circuit Court of Virginia on May 7 affirmed a decision by the Fairfax Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) last July to reject a proposal for a cell tower on land owned by the Parklawn Recreation Association. “We are appreciative of the court’s thorough review of the case and its decision to uphold … Continued
Local swimmers mourn loss of popular coach Clayton Joyner
Coach CJ with the Holmes Run swim team. More than 200 people, many of them members of the Falls Church High School and Holmes Run swim teams, gathered at the Holmes Run pool May 6 for a candlelight vigil to honor and remember swim coach Clayton Joyner. Joyner, just 29 years old, died May 5 … Continued
Planning Commission approves TD Bank at Pinecrest Plaza
The Pinecrest Exxon station features a mural facing Braddock Road. The Fairfax County Planning Commission approved a request for a zoning special exception May 7 allowing the construction of a TD Bank branch at 6566 Little River Turnpike in the Pinecrest Plaza shopping center. An Exxon gas station and auto service center on that 0.68-acre … Continued
Home repair scammers target the elderly
Keep an eye on your elderly neighbors, especially those at risk of being victimized by an unscrupulous home improvement contractors, Detective Ryan Young advised the public at the May 6 meeting of the Mason Police District’s Citizen Advisory Committee. In many cases, these solicitors, known as “woodchucks,” knock on doors and tell homeowners they can … Continued