Busy week? Catch up on Vienna Patch's top headlines Nov. 26 to Dec. 1. Police/Government Police Log: Man Wields Knife During Parking Lot Confrontation Gas Tax, Higher Tolls Could Fund State Transportation: Virginia's gas tax is a flat rate tax, but leaders are beginning to explore other options. Report: Wages in Virginia Fell in 2011: Commonwealth Institute says median household income in 2011 down 4.2 percent from 2007. Bolling Drops Out of 2013 Race for Governor Virginia's lieutenant governor made the announcement Wednesday morning. Supervisors, School Board Grapple with Budget Shortfalls …

Though the area was spared of Hurricane Sandy's worst, news of the super storm — before, during and after — captured the attention of Vienna Patch readers. Click here to take a look at all our Hurricane Sandy coverage. Vienna Patch readers sent in their photos of Sandy's aftermath. Click here to flip through the photo gallery. The Unified Prevention Coalition of Fairfax County earned a federal grant of nearly $200,000 last week to continue its mission of preventing and reducing underage drinking. A crop failure caused Holtorf Pumpkin Carvers to cancel its annual pumpkin art display for the …

Dr. Neal Peckens, an animal surgeon often based out of The Hope Center in Vienna, went missing last week in Glacier National Park in Montana. Rescue crews found him and his hiking partner, Jason Hiser, uninjured Monday. Vienna resident and best-selling author David Baldacci and his wife, Michelle, were honored at the Fairfax County Library Foundation's fourth annual Library Jubilee for their efforts to promote literacy in the U.S. Readers submitted questions for the candidates of the 11th congressional district race, and they answered. Click here for links to the answers from Col. Chris …

After an investigation into a suspicious item shut down Center Street South and other nearby streets, police determined the item — a bath ball with the word 'BOMB' written on top — poses no threat to the community, police said. David Wei, 65, of Echols Street, was charged with reckless driving after he lost control of his vehicle while driving down his street, hitting a house and gas line, temporarily closing the street to traffic. A fuel leak caused a fire while a man worked on a restored vehicle in his garage on the 1700 block of Prelude Drive on Oct. 8, fire officials said. Three 16-year-…

A car drove into a house on Echols Street on Friday night, hitting a gas line and temporarily shutting down the road. A proposed Church Street parking garage has undergone several changes based on feedback it received at public meetings last month, including a reduced height, more adjacent green space and fewer curb cuts. Fairfax County Public Schools has joined the effort to help find a missing Woodson High student, sending out an alert to the schools community Thursday asking anyone with information to contact police. Photo Gallery: Thousands of Northern Virginians celebrated Oktoberfest in…

The Town of Vienna will receive all of its water from Fairfax Water by 2015, according to an agreement Town Council approved with the water utility at its Monday meeting. Though the Vienna Tysons Regional Chamber of Commerce has recently dropped Vienna from its name to become the Tysons Regional Chamber of Commerce, chamber president Lisa Huffman says the organization will better serve small businesses in Vienna moving forward. Vienna Police arrested two men and a woman Tuesday afternoon after allegedly witnessing a drug deal in the parking lot behind Outback Steakhouse. Vienna Police charged…

A man attempted to disarm a Vienna Police officer after being arrested for prescription fraud Aug. 26. Saying they felt they had not yet had a "full, robust" discussion on the makeup of a committee charged with reviewing the system's discipline policies, Fairfax County School Board members delayed a vote Thursday that would have established the 29-member group. Madison High School faculty and students have spent the past week kicking off the school year with a bang, hosting a back to school festival and planning activities Tuesday around the first day of the school year. Vienna Police Logs: …

Police chased a D.C. man through three major commuter roadways at the end of rush hour Wednesday. Charles R. Lawton, of Washington, D.C., ignored police signals to pull over for traffic violation and was arrested and charged with driving on a revoked licesnse, habitual offender, and failure to obey law enforcement officer's command to stop at the end of the chase. Crews began work Wednesday on a 0.3 mile stretch of Cottage Street, between Walker and Patrick streets, for new sidewalk, curb and gutter, entrances, drainage, utilities, sign replacement, asphalt pavement and pavement markings. The…

Vienna Town Council voted Monday night in favor of height adjustment that would allow municipal parking garages to stand at 50 feet rather than 35 feet. Letter to the Editor: Resident Andrew Kerr sees no need for a parking garage on Church Street.   Cunningham Park Elementary School students who walk to school each day came one step closer to having a safer path Monday as the Vienna Town Council awarded a contract for a Safe Routes to Schools (SRTS) sidewalk project along Harmony Drive and Lullaby Lane. Former Vienna Mayor Joe Spriggs died Aug. 15 at the age of 79. Ask the Town: Will sodium …

The Town of Vienna hosted three public meetings this week about the proposed Church Street parking garage. The first meeting was held with Church Street merchants on the proposed site; the second and third were with members of the community.  Town officials secured $800,000 in federal funds to build sidewalks in the first blocks of side streets off Maple Avenue in support of the Walk to Downtown initiative.  Police responded to an incident between a cyclist and a driver, who argued while in motion on Maple Avenue on Thursday evening. The case is under investigation. Fairfax County Police have…

Ten months after a Fairfax woman was convicted of murdering her 2-year-old granddaughter, a Virginia Court of Appeals judge has denied an appeal filed by her attorney. Stephanie Lynn Schwab, known across the area as the "Blond Bandit," was sentenced to 11 years in prison Thursday for a series of crimes in Virginia. Fairfax County police charged a Merrifield man with murdering another man inside his apartment in the 9100 block of Barrick Street. Jose Ivan Lopez Castro, 20, allegedly stabbed Oscar Rivera, 38, to death inside a bathroom in an apartment the two men were staying in. A cyclist was …

From Maple Avenue, it looked like business as usual at Vienna's Stalcup Hardware on Thursday, the store's flagship old-fashioned red pickup truck still parked in the first spot of Glyndon Shopping Center. But drivers that pulled up to the shop around noon found half-empty stacks of firewood, an abandoned stove and locked doors; a look inside revealed a disarray of scattered furniture and former merchandise and in the center, a lone scarecrow propped up to face the windows. On Thursday morning, the Fairfax County Sheriff's office served a formal eviction to the store's owners, Lt. Steve Elbert…

Wolf Trap is suing a community arts center in Berryville, Va. for using "The Barns" — also the name of Wolf Trap's indoor performance space — in its name. The federal trademark infringement lawsuit, filed Dec. 14 but served last week, claims the name was used intentionally to make patrons believe Wolf Trap had expanded to a second location, the Washington Post reports. It asks the Clarke County center to stop using "The Barns of Rose Hill" in its name as well as in its website address and also pay Wolf Trap for damages and lawyers fees. It also asks the group to surrender all signs, labels, …

More than 700 Fairfax County Public Schools teaching positions would be added next year under Superintendent Jack Dale’s $2.4 billion budget proposal, a plan 9 percent larger than last year’s budget to accommodate the teaching needs of an estimated increase of nearly 4,000 more students. The increase, which amounts to $202.3 million more than in fiscal year 2012, includes a 2 percent market-scale adjustment for all employees, along with step increase for eligible employees. It also includes a salary adjustment for custodial positions, the only group of school employees whose compensation is …

Carmela dela Rosa, convicted of throwing her granddaughter to her death from a Tysons Corner walkway in November 2010, received a 35-year prison sentence on Friday. The sentencing from Circuit Court Judge Bruce White upholds the recommendation from the jury. White said he considered the nature of dela Rosa's crime, the vulnerability of the victim, 2-year-old Angelyn Ogdoc, and dela Rosa's prior criminal record in his ruling. Since immigrating to the U.S., dela Rosa has only received one traffic violation. "That a grandmother would do something like this to her grandchild is almost …

Despite a late effort by some members to delay a vote on video surveillance inside its high schools, the Fairfax County School Board moved forward with the policy at its Thursday meeting, calling it another tool to deter theft and bullying and help schools make better use of its resources. The policy, which passed 8-4, was first brought before the school board in September, will allow cameras to be installed in "hot spots" like cafeterias and lobbies on a school by school basis. "This leaves [the decision] up to them," Elizabeth Bradsher (Springfield) said. "That's all this policy is asking. …

Viewing and funeral services have been set for Sam Savia, a longtime resident perhaps most well known for his 70 years of service with the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department. Savia died Friday night at his home in Vienna, just down the road from the Center Street department he began to volunteer with when he was 15 years old. Savia was president of the department from 1966 to 1967 and again from 1981 to 1985. He remained active up until his death, most recently helping to run the department's weekly Sunday bingo fundraiser. A viewing will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at …

NEWS Police Seek Witnesses In Hit And Run Car with Maryland plates hit youth rider Sept. 29 and drove away, police say Police Log: Police Investigate String Of Thefts From Vehicles The following arrest information was supplied by the Vienna Police Department. It does not indicate a conviction. Made In Vienna: Wardrobe Rescue Vienna native and former nurse practitioner opens women's consignment boutique on Maple Avenue Dunkin Donuts: Back In Business Location on Maple Avenue reopens Tuesday, offers free small coffee to all customers Man Struck At Clarendon Station Tuesday, Causing Travel …

A 51-year-old grandmother was found guilty of first-degree murder by a Fairfax County Circuit Court jury on Thursday.  The jury gave dela Rosa 35 years in prison.There will be a sentencing hearing on Jan. 6, 2012, when a judge can decrease that sentence if he or she chooses but cannot increase it. Carmela dela Rosa was arrested Nov. 29, 2010, after she tossed her 2-year-old granddaughter, Angelyn Ogdoc, off a 44-foot pedestrian bridge at the Tysons Corner Center mall. The child died from her injuries in Fairfax Hospital less than 12 hours after the fall. Her grandmother was charged with the …

The trial for Carmela Dela Rosa, the 51-year-old woman accused of throwing her 2-year-old granddaughter over a Tysons Corner Center walkway last November, is set to continue this week. Last week, friends, family and medical experts testified for both the prosecution and defense teams. Dela Rosa pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity; her defense team argues she unable to distinguish right from wrong at the time of the crime. To read about dela Rosa, click here. A recap of last week's trial: Grandmother Pleads Insanity In Death Of 2-Year-Old. The jury was selected and opposing sides offered …