July 30, 2020

Dear Neighbor,

With the all-virtual start planned for the 2020-2021 school year, we know that families are struggling to develop childcare plans. That's why Fairfax County is working to create additional options for working parents.

First, we have extended Camp Fairfax, our in-person summer camp for children whose parents or guardians are working. Click here to learn more.

Our Office for Children is working closely with private childcare providers to ensure that they have the information and resources they need to operate safely. We are also offering assistance in accessing grants and financial assistance. Click here to learn more.

Finally, we anticipate bringing back a modified School Aged Child Care (SACC) program with smaller groups and social distancing in the Fall. More details will be provided in early August.

The Board of Supervisors met on Tuesday, July 28 and considered a number of important items. We voted to authorize a public hearing to enact an ordinance to prohibit the carrying of firearms in our rec centers, government buildings, and parks, voted to accelerate the county's purchase of electric vehicles, and established an Affordable Housing Preservation Task Force. You can review the full Board Package here and watch video of the meeting here.

Please mark your calendars for our Virtual Summer Entertainment Series that kicks off at 7:30 PM tonight and our August 3rd virtual community meeting to discuss updates to the Braddock Road Improvement Project! Details on both are included below.

Continue reading for more information on:

Supervisor James Walkinshaw

P.S. Forward this message to your neighbors in Braddock District! Residents can click here or email [email protected] to subscribe to the monthly Braddock Beacon newsletter and Advisories like this.

Sadly, we had to cancel this year's in-person concerts due to public safety concerns. However, this year's new Virtual Summer Entertainment Series is jam packed with talented artists and family favorites.

Concerts will be broadcast live via Facebook each Thursday through Sunday evening at 7:30 PM Arts in the Parks children’s shows will be live streamed Saturday mornings at 10:00 AM.

Today's concert is presented in partnership with Mount Vernon Supervisor Dan Storck, featuring Jay Ungar and Molly Mason beginning at 7:30 PM. Watch from the comfort of your home and enjoy with your family!

Click here to access today's concert and the entire artist lineup!

Openings are available for Camp Fairfax, which has been extended through Friday, August 14. This five-week summer program is for rising first- through sixth-grade children of working families and runs from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Camp Fairfax is available at 18 locations across the county, including seven Neighborhood and Community Services Community Centers and 11 Fairfax County Public Schools. A sliding fee scale is available.

Camp Fairfax is staffed by Fairfax County children’s program team members who create a safe, nurturing environment. Current CDC health and safety guidelines are followed.

Click here to learn more.

Fairfax County and Franconia-Springfield Parkways Study Meetings

The Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) will hold its third and final round of community meetings for the Fairfax County and Franconia-Springfield Parkways Alternatives Analysis and Long-Term Planning Study this summer. Meetings have been set across two weeks in late July and early August to accommodate residents’ schedules, and the online option was chosen to ensure the Study could continue moving forward while ensuring safe social distancing practices remotely. The final two meetings will be held:

Registration is required. In order to facilitate the online meeting experience, FCDOT has put together a    step-by-step process    for registration, logging in and participating in the meeting.

Click   here  to learn more.

Virtual Community Meeting for Braddock Road Multimodal Improvements Set for Aug. 3, 2020

The   Fairfax County Department of Transportation   (FCDOT)   and Braddock Supervisor James Walkinshaw will host a   virtual community meeting   for the   Braddock Road Multimodal Improvement Project   on Monday, Aug. 3, 2020, from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. FCDOT staff will provide design updates for intersection and corridor improvements focused on changes to previously approved plans for the segment between I-495 to Wakefield Chapel Road and Danbury Forest Drive.

Attendees must register with WebEx prior to the meeting using the    link    provided. The online meeting will feature a presentation about the changes to the previously approved plan with time for questions and answers from participants. In order to facilitate the online meeting experience, FCDOT has put together a    step-by-step process for registration  , logging in and participating in the meeting.

If you are unable to participate in the virtual community input meetings, the meeting will be recorded and posted on the Braddock Road Multimodal Improvement Project webpage . The PowerPoint presentation also will be available on the website before the meeting.

An online survey will be available from August 3-10, 2020. 

Recently, communities across the country have been experiencing a concerning increase in new cases of COVID-19. And while we haven’t experienced that here in the Fairfax Health District, we must continue to take the necessary steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Keep it up: if we all continue to do our part and follow some basic actions, we can box in COVID-19, keep our community safe and remain in phase three of reopening.

Here are four critical actions you can continue to keep up to keep our positive case numbers down:

Fairfax County households that have not yet filled out their 2020 Census may be visited by census takers over the next few weeks as the U.S. Census Bureau begins enumeration activities nationwide. The county has already received responses from more than 76% of its residents, but hopes to be near a 100% response rate before the final Census deadline of Oct. 31. The Census takers will be visiting households that have not yet responded to help collect Census information in a fast, safe and confidential way. Residents in low-response areas may also receive emails asking them to complete the 2020 Census.

Census takers will be following Health Department guidelines by wearing masks and practicing social distancing. Click here to learn more on what to expect.

Earlier this week, Governor Ralph Northam announced a $70 million grant program for small businesses and nonprofit organizations whose normal operations were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Businesses and nonprofits that are approved for a Rebuild VA grant may receive up to 3 times their average monthly eligible expenses up to a maximum of $10,000.

Click here to learn more. Applications will be available starting August 10.

There have been reports that some Braddock District residents have received unsolicited packages of seeds which appear to originate from China. Please do not plant these seeds. The types of seeds in the packages are unknown at this time and may be invasive plant species.

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) encourages anyone who has received unsolicited seeds in the mail to contact the Office of Plant Industry Services (OPIS) through the [email protected] email.

Click here to read the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' press release.

The ever popular Solarize Fairfax County program is back once again, providing county residents and businesses the chance to install solar arrays at a discount. The Solarize program offers participants a streamlined process for exploring and pursuing solar power for their residences and places of business. Through August 31, Solarize reduced rates will be available through a pre-qualified solar installer, Solar Energy World.

All county residents and business owners are eligible for a free, remote assessment to evaluate if solar is appropriate for their home or commercial building. Additionally, residential Solarize 2020 participants are eligible for a complimentary, virtual home energy assessment to help improve their home energy performance holistically. Solarize participants can also bundle electric vehicle charging stations with their solar system purchase to realize additional savings.

If you are curious about Solarize, join an upcoming virtual info session .

Individuals or organizations may be nominated for various tree related projects or programs. The individuals or organizations must have demonstrated outstanding conservation-based actions in preserving, protecting or planting trees. The following types of projects or programs may be nominated:

Click here to access a nomination form. Awards are presented in the fall.

NV Rides, a program of the Pozez Jewish Community Center and Fairfax County, is actively recruiting volunteer drivers to assist older and/or vulnerable adults in our community. NV Rides supports a network of volunteer driver programs who make transportation for seniors possible in the Northern Virginia area. NV Rides’ goal is to increase capacity for existing volunteer driver programs and to expand volunteer transportation options throughout Northern Virginia. During the COVID-19 pandemic, NV rides require all volunteer drivers and riders to wear masks and observe physical distancing protocols.

In August, NV rides will hold four virtual driver information sessions for potential volunteers. The Zoom sessions will be brief, informative, and easy to attend.

Register for one of the following sessions below:

Click here to learn more about NV Rides.

Today, July 30, NASA successfully launched the Perseverance rover to Mars. This rover was named by Lake Braddock Secondary School's very own, Alex Mather. After competing in a student "Name the Rover" essay competition, Alex's submission was selected out of 28,000 entries! According to NASA's associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate, Thomas Zurbuchen, "Alex's entry captured the spirit of exploration".

Click here to watch the launch which begins at minute 48:00.

Alex Mather shook hands with NASA's Associate Administrator of Science Mission Directorate, Thomas Zurbuchen, at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Va.

Aubrey Gemignani/AP Photo