Changes in store for iconic Annandale newsstand

Nothing says “Annandale” around here as much as Anna N’ Dales, the newsstand at 7025 Columbia Pike. It’s become sort of rundown in recent years and there’s hardly any customers, except for a few regulars, but there are indications that things could be changing for the better.

According to sources close to the property, the new owner of the building is looking for a new tenant, and has had several offers already, including people who want to open a food store, vitamin and supplement shop, and hair salon. The place needs to be cleaned up first—there’s a lot of trash inside—and it hasn’t been determined yet whether the building will be torn down or renovated.

Home invasion robbery in Mason District

3700 N. Rosser St., from Google Maps

Fairfax County police are investigating a home invasion robbery that occurred on Wednesday, May 22, at around 2 a.m., in the 3700 block of North Rosser Street in the Alexandria section of Fairfax County,

According to a police bulletin, a 24-year-old Maryland man told police he was sleeping in a bedroom when he was awoken by three men who demanded money. Two of the men had handguns. The suspects took an undisclosed amount of cash, jewelry, and electronics. There was also a 45-year-old Alexandria man in the house at the time. Neither victim was injured.

The suspects were all described as black, between 25 and 30 years old. They ranged in height from 5 feet 7 inches to 6 feet tall and weighed between 160 and 175 pounds. As the suspects fled, the younger victim reported hearing a female voice that appeared to be with them, but he did not see her. Detectives do not believe this is a random crime.     

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Solvers by phone, 866/411-TIPS/8477, or text “TIP187” plus your message to CRIMES/274637 or call the police non-emergency number, 703/691-2131.

Community meetings on East County Government Center to occur this summer

The proposed site for the East County Government Center now houses the temporary Bailey's Crossroads Fire Station.

When public outreach meetings on a proposal for county office building and apartments on Moncure Avenue in Bailey’s Crossroads happen this summer, the potential impact on school overcrowding and traffic are expected to be major concerns. The project would be a public/private partnership on land owned by Fairfax County and Weissberg Corp.

Elizabeth Haag, deputy director of the Fairfax County Office of Community Revitalization, gave an update on the proposed East County Government Center at a meeting of the Bailey’s Crossroads Revitalization Corporation (BCRC) May 21.

The 180,000-square foot office building would house the county programs that had relocated from a building on Route 7 in Seven Corners last August to temporary quarters in the Heritage Center in Annandale. The county wants the new building completed before the lease on the Annandale building expires in 2020, Hagg said. The county hired Noritake Associates in February to develop a master plan for the project.

Students honored for achieving IB Middle Years Program certificates

More than 320 high-achieving 10th-graders from Annandale, Mount Vernon, South Lakes, and JEB Stuart high schools were honored at a ceremony May 20 at Stuart for completing the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program (IBMYP).

The Annandale High School Strings Ensemble entertained visitors as they viewed displays of students’ projects. Principals presented certificates to 89 Annandale students and 56 Stuart students. Speakers encouraged the students to pursue the International Baccalaureate diploma in high school.
 

Man arrested in shooting, arson incident

Mehfar

Officers from the Franconia Police District arrested Matthew Mehfar, 30, of 5112 Observation Way, Alexandria (near Lincolnia Park) for shooting in public, arson, entering an alarmed building, damaging public property, and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.

Police officers and fire and rescue personnel responded to a vehicle fully engulfed in fire in the 5500 block of Cherokee Avenue on Saturday, May 18 at 11:19 p.m. The vehicle was parked in front of an office building that had apparent gunshot holes in the glass. A handgun and gas can were located near the burning vehicle. No one was injured. An investigation quickly led to Mehfar. He was transported to the Adult Detention Center.

Armed robbery in Annandale

A man was robbed at gunpoint as he took his toddler out of his vehicle at around 11:30 p.m. on Friday, May 17, in a parking lot in the 4500 block of Commons Drive in Annandale, according to a news release from the West Springfield Police District. The incident occurred near Braddock Elementary School.

Two men produced a weapon and ordered the victim to hand over his money, then fled. There were no injuries.

The suspects are described as black, between 18 and 25 years old. One man was tall with a muscular build with short hair and clean shaven. He wore a white T-shirt and blue jeans. The other man was thin with a short goatee and light complexion and was wearing a black T-shirt and blue jeans.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Solvers, 866-411-TIPS/8477, text “TIP187” plus your message to CRIMES/274637, or call Fairfax County Police, 703/691-2131.

More public involvement urged for Fairfax Forward

The shopping center on Annandale Road being developed by Bill Page Honda.

Fairfax County Planning and Zoning Department (DPZ) staff have agreed to strengthen provisions on community involvement and public outreach in Fairfax Forward, the proposed plan for overhauling the way changes are made in the county’s land use policy.

The county, however, is not expected to go along with recommendations calling for community groups with a stake in land use changes to appoint members to the committees that advise the county supervisors.

Fairfax Forward would replace the Area Plans Review (APR) process for updating the county’s Comprehensive Plan with a more holistic system. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has scheduled a public hearing, followed by a vote, on Fairfax Forward July 9.

Virginia Republicans select candidates for November ballot

Jackson

The Republican Party of Virginia selected an extremist, Tea Party slate of candidates for statewide offices May 18. In a surprising move, delegates to the GOP Convention in Richmond chose Bishop E.W. Jackson from Chesapeake, Va., as candidate for lieutenant governor over several better-known politicians.

Jackson was elected on the fourth ballot, beating six others for the nomination. Jeannemarie Davis of Fairfax, considered more of a moderate than the others, was knocked out in the first round. Prince William County Board of Supervisors chair Corey Stewart was eliminated in the third round, and Pete Snyder, a technology entrepreneur in Fairfax, lost in the final round.

Police investigating solicitors in Annandale

As a result of several complaints from residents of the Ravensworth-Bristow community in Annandale about door-to-door solicitors, officers from the West Springfield Police District have issued warnings to several unlicensed solicitors and told them to leave them the neighborhood.

The solicitors are associated with these companies: Power Home Remodeling (based in Chester, Pa.), E Enterprises Inc. (Lutherville, Md.), the Smart Circle International  (Plano, Texas), and Fast Trak Management (Falls Church).

When one resident asked to see a solicitor’s license when someone from Power Home Remodeling knocked on his door, the man ignored him and went to the house next door. The resident thought the solicitors might be connected with a series of day-time burglaries that have plagued the neighborhood.

Donation boxes increasingly under fire

Someone left a couple of sofas next to a Planet Aid donation box by the Annandale Kmart parking lot.

As communities like Annandale are increasingly becoming inundated with donation boxes, efforts are under way to fight back.  

At the request of Mason Supervisor Penny Gross, the Fairfax County Department of Planning and Zoning is exploring options for tightening the restrictions on the boxes or banning them outright. It’s a nationwide problem. In recent weeks, local governments in Lincoln, Neb., Schaumburg, Ill., amd Simi Valley, Calif., have taken steps to ban donation boxes.

Among the complaints: Some of the boxes are poorly maintained, and trash often accumulates around them. And while recycling is better than dumping unused goods in landfills, some of the boxes are deceptively labeled to give the impression that they support charities when, in fact, they are actually operated by for profit companies that sell the donated items to textile recycling companies. 

The textile recycling trade is profitable, and thus growing and increasingly competitive. A source within the industry describes incidents of companies raiding the bins of competitors and stealing or putting trash in competitors’ bins.

Goodwill of Greater Washington, which recently opened a store in Annandale, views the donation boxes as “our biggest threat” to collecting second-hand clothes for its retail outlets, said spokesperson Brendan Hurley.