Former Columbia ES student returns as principal

When Michael Astudillo started his new job as principal of Columbia Elementary School in Annandale earlier this summer, he had a sense of déjà vu, reports News4 Washington, the local NBC affiliate. 

That’s because Astudillo was a student at Columbia. On a tour of the school with News4’s Northern Virginia Bureau Chief Julie Carey, he recalled walking down the same hallways. 

Evaluations underway on Lake Accotink dredging project options

Lake Accotink is filling up with sediment.

Options under consideration for drying out the sediment dredged out of Lake Accotink have been narrowed down to Wakefield Park near the maintenance facility, the Dominion Energy right of way, the upper lake settling basin, and the lake island.  

Several alternative sites – Howrey Park, the Wakefield Park ballfields, and the Vulcan concrete plant – have been eliminated. 

This week's crimes: concealed weapon, robbery, drunk in public

The Fairfax County Police Department reports the following recent crimes in the Annandale Mason District area:

There was an incident involving a juvenile with a concealed weapon July 29 shortly before 11 p.m. on Leesburg Pike at Peace Valley Lane in Seven Corners. 

Supervisors schedule public hearing on eminent domain for sewer project in Seven Corners

The new sewer is shown in red, temporary construction easements and grading agreements are in yellow, and affected properties are outlined in blue. 

The Board of Supervisors on July 27 agreed to hold a public hearing on the need to use quick-take eminent domain powers for a sewer project in Seven Corners.

The hearing is scheduled for Sept. 14.

New grant program will aid childcare centers, community organizations hurt by COVID

The Fairfax County Government Center.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a new $10 million grant program to help certain small businesses and community-based organizations hurt by the COVID-19 public health emergency. 

The program will be launched in late August.

Fairfax County schools adopt universal mask mandate

Students will have to wear masks in the classroom. [FCPS]

Faced with a national increase in COVID variant cases, Fairfax County Public Schools is requiring all students and staff to wear face masks indoors and on school buses, regardless of whether they have been vaccinated, the school system announced July 28. 

Masks are not required outside during recess, PE, or other activities or when eating. 

Supervisors support consolidation for storage facility expansion

The existing Public Storage facility is outlined in yellow.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on July 27 agreed to allow Public Storage at 4312 Ravensworth Road, in Annandale, to replace its existing building with a new, larger storage facility to include first-floor retail uses – but only if the property can be consolidated with the gas station next door.

That’s what the Planning Commission recommended in June.