Fairfax County Park Authority

Fairfax County Supervisor Jimmy Bierman, pictured here with Fairfax Parks Director Jai Cole at Fairfax County Park Authority’s Turner Farm Park Observatory in Great Falls, joined others gathered to watch the solar eclipse. Bierman posted: “Watching the eclipse at Turner Farm Park with @fairfaxparks Director Jai Cole was out of this world!”

The eastern North American moist woodlands and river flood plains are home to Virginia bluebells. The early-spring blooming ephemeral perennial thrives at Riverbend Park in Great Falls.

The Fairfax County Park Authority's Bend Festival at Riverbend Park on April 6 draws families and friends to see the Bluebells. From left, McLean’s Max, 3, his mom Nikke, and friend Tim get down to better see the bluebells without stepping on them.

 Land fishing at the Bluebells at the Bend Festival at Riverbend Park in Great Falls.

McLean

On April 3, the McLean Citizens Association voted on high school boundary statement drafts.

U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D), Rep. Don Beyer (D-8), and Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-11) join Mitre to open its new lab for discovering and managing risks in AI-enabled systems at its facility in McLean.

Town of Vienna

 Town of Vienna: The Vienna Business Association’s Get Healthy Vienna Expo returns for its second year on April 6, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Vienna Community Center, 120 Cherry St. 

Town of Herndon

Days after an open door caused it to deflate and partially collapse, the falling lighting damaged the court, and the Town of Herndon reinflated the tennis court bubble. The bubble is unusable and will not reopen this season.

The Herndon Council Chambers is the site of public hearings on the 2024-2025 Town Budget. 

Great Falls

 Great Falls Citizens Association (GFCA) president Chris Rich resigned on April 4 due to an increased workload in his professional career, and vice president John Halacy became president. GFCA’s Transportation Committee Task Force voiced concerns about the approved Georgetown Pike Great Falls Library Crosswalk Project. According to Fairfax County, the proposed tentative scope is to install a refugee and ramps near Bucks Lane on the west side of the Tex Mex driveway. The Transportation Committee reported a representative of the Fairfax County Department of Transportation “stated no safety study was conducted, nor is one planned in connection with the library crosswalk project.” 

The GFCA Schools Task Force is drafting a position paper on school facility issues and FCPS Policy 8130 revisions. The Fairfax County School Board proposes new boundaries for Langley, McLean, and Herndon high schools. The recently approved Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) forecasts capacity utilization for McLean HS at 104 percent (119 percent without modular classrooms), Langley HS at 98 percent, and Herndon HS at 71 percent in school year five of the forecast period. 

Town of Herndon

 The Herndon Town Council approved the 2024–2029 Strategic Plan on March 26, 2024. Its new vision statement is "Herndon is an integrated, sustainable, safe, and equitable town built on accessible development and an engaged community. One of its core values is “to be a thriving community with few physical, socioeconomic, and cultural barriers.”

Herndon Town Manager Bill Ashton proposes a $74,632,184 FY 2025 budget, up 19.9 percent from FY 2024. The most significant increases are the sewer service rate, which went from $8.27 in FY 2024 to $8.93 per 1,000 gallons of water consumed in FY 2025, and the water service rate. It increased from $3.47 in FY 2024 to $4.08 per 1,000 gallons of water consumption in FY 2025. Budget public hearings are scheduled for April 9 and 23 at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers.

The Herndon tennis bubble deflated after a door was left open, causing some lighting to crash to the floor, break, and damage the court. It will remain closed for the rest of the season.

McLean 

During the McLean Citizens Association Board of Directors meeting on Wednesday, April 3, in a vote of 16–13, the board approved that “MCA urges the School Board to refrain from constructing Dunn Loring ES during FY 2026, FY 2027, and FY 2028 unless and until FCPS provides data showing that Dunn Loring ES is necessary to address a demonstrated capacity deficit in that area. The MCA urges the school board to justify constructing the Dunn Loring ES. If the School Board cannot provide adequate data justifying the construction of the Dunn Loring ES, it should refrain from constructing it.”

On March 25, U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D), Rep. Don Beyer (D-8), and Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-11) joined MITRE at its headquarters in McLean to open its lab for discovering and managing risks in AI-enabled systems. “We need to have an all-hands-on-deck approach to studying and unleashing the potential of AI, and I look forward to seeing the discoveries and progress the lab will be able to make in this critical field,” said Warner. According to Connolly, MITRE’s AI Assurance and Discovery Lab will be invaluable to our efforts across the government. Beyer added, “As federal agencies leverage the utility of AI to help fulfill their missions, I’m thrilled to see Northern Virginia continue to lead the way on tech innovation.” The new lab is based at MITRE’s McLean, Virginia, headquarters.

Fairfax County Park Authority

On April 6, the Fairfax County Park Authority celebrated the Virginia Bluebells at the Bend at Riverbend Park in Great Falls. “Next to the cherry blossoms, the blooming of the bluebells is the next amazing natural floral phenomenon to hit our area every year, and it really draws a crowd at Riverbend Park,” said Jai Cole, executive director of the Fairfax County Park Authority. 

The partial solar eclipse on April 8 was visible along a narrow path. Local eclipse chasers gathered at Turner Farm Park Observatory in Great Falls, confident they would see something. Fairfax County Supervisor Jimmy Bierman joined in. Appropriately, International Dark Sky Week kicked off on April 2 and ended on April 8, the day of the partial eclipse. Dark skies are the natural state of nature, and light pollution affects both humans and wildlife. The Fairfax County Park Authority and Fairfax County Public Library teamed up to create the Light Pollution Monitoring Kit, an initiative to combat light pollution. Get yours: https://bit.ly/4aiV69i and learn more about Dark Skies at https://bit.ly/3J2gK5S.