On Saturday at 10:00 a.m., we will have the first-ever Arts in the Park children's performance at Wakefield Park (behind Audrey Moore RECenter). This week's performance is Blue Sky Puppet Theatre, a touring children's theatre dedicated to excellence in theatre, art, and fun. Bring a blanket, snacks, and plenty of water! Our Arts in the Park performances will continue every Saturday at 10:00 a.m. through August 14.

Thanks to high vaccination rates, Fairfax County is currently seeing some of the lowest levels of COVID-19 transmission since the beginning of the pandemic. That said, the Delta Variant is currently spreading throughout the United States and poses a risk for those who are unvaccinated, including children under 12 years old. For those who are eligible, the vaccine is still the best way to protect yourself, loved ones, and neighbors from COVID-19, including the Delta Variant.

The Board of Supervisors will meet next Tuesday, July 13 and the full agenda is available. As always, I appreciate hearing your input.

The grant program is called “PIVOT” and it will provide grants to local businesses in the hotel, food service, retail and services, and arts and culture industries. PIVOT will use $25 million provided through the Federal American Rescue Plan Act to provide targeted assistance to the most hard-hit sectors of the Fairfax County economy. The goal of the program is to help those businesses continue their recovery by providing needed capital for ongoing operations and to sustain business sectors.

The grant portal will be open until tomorrow, Friday, July 9. Funds will be disbursed via four programs: 

Businesses must be located in Fairfax County, including the Towns of Clifton, Herndon and Vienna, and have a have a commercial storefront (no online only or home-based businesses will be eligible for awards). Businesses must be open or temporarily closed, planning to reopen by August 31, 2021, and have a valid Business and Professional License (BPOL). Grant award amounts, eligibility criteria and other requirements are available on the Fairfax County website.

Public Safety recruiters will be at the Burke Community Church (9900 Old Keene Mill Rd, Burke, VA) this Saturday, July 10, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

If you are curious about working as a uniformed police officer, come and talk to a recruiter.

Do you have a student leaving for college soon? The West Springfield Station Crime Prevention Unit will be hosting a presentation on Personal Safety & Situational Awareness and Active Violence Awareness on Saturday, July 17 from 9:00 a.m. through 12:00 p.m. at the West Springfield District Station Community Room (6140 Rolling Road, West Springfield, VA 22152).

This event consists of two presentations.

You can attend both presentations, or just one of them. If you have further questions, contact the Crime Prevention Office of the West Springfield Station at (703) 644-7377. Please register for the event.

Police Officers from the West Springfield District Station will be hosting Neighborhood Watch training on Tuesday, July 20, 2021 at 6:30 p.m. This training is required (one time only) before you may participate in your Neighborhood Watch Program. The meeting will be held via Zoom. You will need to sign up through the Eventbrite link below to obtain the Zoom information. If you have any questions, contact PFC Tony Capizzi at (703) 277-2363.

National Night Out (NNO) will be Tuesday, August 3. The Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD) strongly supports NNO as an opportunity to improve police and community communication. Whether it's a simple ice cream party, or an all-out festival, NNO is an opportunity to gather with your neighbors, get better acquainted, and talk about issues of common concern.

Register your community’s event today!

Please note, if you register using a different link, FCPD will not receive notice of your event.

Fairfax County's recently upgraded online Planning Land Use System (PLUS) adds more than 25 planning and land use applications and related information to the online platform.

Please visit the PLUS Support Center website to get all the information about the applications included in this release. If you need help learning how to use and navigate PLUS, several trainings are scheduled throughout the month of July.

Training details and dates are available on the PLUS Support Center website along with video tutorials, user guides, and more.

Interested in learning more about the new Zoning Ordinance? Join DPD staff for a series of lunch and learn sessions and a community meeting on a variety of topics, including navigating the new Ordinance, accessory living units, and home-based businesses. The meeting information is listed below and on our zMOD Outreach Page.

Tenant Checklists and Landlord Checklists are available in multiple languages including Arabic, Amharic, Chinese, Farsi, Korean, Spanish, Urdu and Vietnamese. Each case is assessed individually, and assistance is provided based on eligibility requirements.

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In late May, wildlife managers in Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky began receiving reports of sick and dying birds with eye swelling and crusty discharge, as well as neurological signs. While the majority of affected birds are reported to be fledgling common grackles, blue jays, European starlings, and American robins, other species of songbirds have been reported as well. No definitive cause(s) of illness or death have been determined at this time.

The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) has been monitoring the extent of the event in the Commonwealth since late May. The Virginia areas affected by the mortality event include the following counties and cities: Alexandria, Arlington, Clarke, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fauquier, Frederick, Loudoun, Manassas, Prince William, Shenandoah, Warren, and Winchester. Between May 23 and June 30, the DWR received over 1,400 reports of sick or dying birds from the affected areas. Approximately 450 of the reported cases described eye issues and/or neurological signs.

Birds congregating at bird feeders and bird baths can transmit diseases to one another. Professionals recommend the following standard precautions:

If you encounter sick or dead birds, in Virginia, please submit an event report. To dispose of dead birds, place in a plastic bag, seal and discard with household trash or alternatively bury them deeply.