Thursday, May 2, 2013
This week: As summer approaches, what residents need to know about holding a neighborhood bash.
After a brief hiatus, it's back: "Ask the Town" is a weekly series that features Vienna Public Information Officer Kirstyn Barr answering reader questions about anything and everything Vienna. Have a question? Leave it in the comments below; we'll answer it next week. Today’s beautiful spring weather gets me excited for the fun activities that spring and summer have to offer like barbeques, days at the pool, local festivals – well, pretty much anything outdoors! One of the things that is great about Vienna is that so many local residents take advantage of the warmer months and organize block parties in their neighborhoods to mingle with neighbors, discover shared interests and just have fun! If you’re thinking about organizing a block …
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
This week, watch candidates discuss town issues ahead of the 2013 elections.
The Vienna Town Council elections, the town's first contested race since 2011, are less than a week away. Incumbents Laurie DiRocco, Carey Sienicki and Howard Springsteen are all running again, along with newcomer Ryan Thomas, a 32-year-old Certified Public Accountant who has lived in town since 2012. Where do the candidates stand on the issues? All candidates fielded two hours worth of questions from residents last week at a forum put on by the Northeast Vienna Citizens Association (NEVCA). This week, Patch will run video clips of the candidates talking about local issues, from bus lines and political leanings to Tysons development and road maintenance. Today: Tysons was the chief resident concern of the night — specifically, how the …
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Annual ceremony marks Vienna's 12th year as a Tree City USA.
This year, the town's new golden weeping willow is just an infant, guided by two wooden stakes in a small square of dirt near the Old Caboose. But in 10 years time the top of the branches will reach 35 feet, stretching toward Church Street and the W&OD Trail to form a canopy of shade for residents and passerbys enjoying one of the town's most popular green spaces. That was the vision shared by officials and residents who planted the tree on Friday during the town's annual Arbor Day Ceremony — part of what helped it earn the title of "Tree City USA" for the 12th consecutive year. The title is given by the Arbor Day Foundation, along with the National Association of State Foresters and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service, "to…
Monday, April 8, 2013
In dedication ceremony, officials say Civil War-era infirmary and general store is a connection to Vienna, Virginia's past and future.
Vienna's Freeman Store and Museum is known for its role in the region's past, as a polling place for 1861's secession vote and, as the conflict began, a Civil War infirmary and living quarters for troops. But as the building was dedicated as a national historic place Saturday, officials also urged residents and volunteers to also see the structure — which would go on to become an iconic general store before transforming into a museum — as an important connection to the future. "Without this building being here today, we wouldn't have that connection to the future. We wouldn't have the little league kids that come by and say, 'This is our town, this is where memories are made' ... this is a town that has given us so many generations of …
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Eateries, music venues worry about customer base as Congress struggles to make a deal.
What's clear as Virginia and the nation count down toward a March 1 sequestration deadline is that cuts are real and appear, at the moment, to be coming. But how the cuts will change the way people do business in Vienna and throughout Northern Virginia is harder to define—and for that reason owners are worried, not just for their own bottom line but for the customers they serve. "I am concerned, but far more for my customers than for me," said Michael Amouri, who owns local coffee shop Caffe Amouri on Church Street. "Several have talked about their concerns and worries. They have families, and lives, that are being affected." Thursday, residents and businesses remained frustrated at what they called a lack of leadership in Congress. …
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Applications are now available for Vienna's annual photo contest and exhibit.
Did you catch a perfect sunset, or happen to capture a fleeting wildlife moment at Northside Park? Now is your chance to enter that photo into the town's annual photo contestand exhibit. Applications for the event, assisted by the Vienna Photographic Society, are available at the Vienna Community Center. Photographers can enter their photographs for the show from 5 to 8:30 p.m. March 14 and noon to 3:45 p.m. March 15 at the Vienna Community Center, 120 Cherry Street SE. Residents can win in a number of categories — from animals, nature, pictoral and scenic, to architecture, digital, photojournalism and portraiture. The exhibit runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 16 and noon to 3:30 p.m. March 17. Have lots of photos to share? Upload them …
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Vienna is in the heart of the booming Tysons-Merrifield corridor, but Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova warns sequestration is making business owners delay decisions.
The Town of Vienna may be its own jursidiction, but through the borders and businesses it shares with greater Vienna and Tysons Corner, it is part of the revitalization and development that will drive Fairfax County's economy in 2013 and beyond, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chair Sharon Bulova said in her annual state of the county address Wednesday. Talking to members of the media Wednesday morning, Bulova said massive development projects in Tysons, Merrifield and Springfield will create "bright days and years ahead" — but the threat of sequestration was also making business owners hesitant to commit to a relocation or expansion in the county. “Fairfax County’s future is in development,” Bulova said in her statement. “Aging …
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Mayor M. Jane Seeman seeks names for 12th annual volunteer recognition day.
Know someone who has made a difference in Vienna? Now is your chance to put their name forward for Mayor Jane Seeman's 12th annual volunteer recognition day. The deadline is March 1. Seeman started the awards when she became mayor in 2000. Since then, hundreds of residents have been recognized, from those that give time to local organizations and nonprofit leaders to local business owners or neighbors making a difference in their corner of Vienna. You can see honorees from 2012 here. Award winners from 2011 can be found here. To nominate someone you know (perhaps someone on this list of possible Vienna Residents of the Year), fill out the nomination form on the town's website here. Need more information? Call (703) 255-6304 or email the …
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Like Fairfax County, the town has its own license tag requirements. Those for 2013 must be displayed by Thursday.
If you're a dog owner, this week is the time to make sure Fido is up to date with the Town of Vienna. All dogs four months or older living in the town must be licensed annually and vaccinated against rabies. (Dogs living in unincorporated parts of Vienna, under Fairfax County jurisdiction, must apply for separate licenses). Each dog tag, which costs $10 annually, can be obtained by presenting a vaccination certificate from a licensed vet. They must be "securely attached to a collar and worn whenever the dog is off the owner's property. The annual tags expire Dec. 31 of each year, and new ones must be displayed by Jan. 31. There are some exceptions. Among them: service, guide and hearing dogs. Have a cat? While the pets must be inoculated …
Friday, January 25, 2013
A look at what's canceled, rescheduled Friday as winter weather advisory goes into effect.
Several school and government services and community activities are being canceled Friday in anticipation of afternoon snow. The Capital Weather Gang anticipates 1 to 2 inches of snow will fall between 2 and 5 p.m. Friday. A winter weather advisory from the National Weather Service is in place from 2 to 9 p.m. for Vienna and surrounding cities and counties. The service predicts "snow will begin during the mid-afternoon and taper off in the evening. Snow may be moderate to locally heavy at times during the late afternoon and early evening." Roads will become snow covered and slippery, the service says, "resulting in hazardous travel during the afternoon and evening commute." The following services and activities in and around Vienna are …
Navid Roshan
11:37 am on Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Terry Sienicki is spot on. The Tysons plan is not only happening, but if Vienna plans appropriately for it, could be beneficial for the town. See examples of residential zones around other commercial business districts that have flourished because of the proximity to jobs (Lyons Village locally). The smartest thing Vienna could do is to, 1) oppose widening of maple avenue, which really isnt … more ›