Voter Registration Drives Underway At GMU, NOVA-Annandale
The Fairfax County Democratic Committee has announced that voter registration drives are underway now at two college campuses nearest to the City of Falls Church, and is welcoming volunteers to join the effort.
George Mason University and the Annandale campus of the Northern Virginia Community College are the targeted sites. The deadline for voting in the November 8 midterm election (and early voting is currently underway) is end of the day of Monday, Oct. 17. Persons are eligible to vote in this election who turn 18 by election day.
New Meridian Sports Hall Of Famers Feted Oct. 7 — 8
The Meridian High School Athletic Hall of Fame will be celebrating the achievements of its most recent class the weekend of October 7-8. On Friday night at the Homecoming football game, honorees will be recognized between the first and second quarters. On Saturday, there will be a reception at Meridian High School with beverages and light hors d’oeuvres beginning at 5:30 p.m. in the third floor Learning Stairs. Inductions will then follow at 6:15 pm. Admission is free.
Honorees include Coaches Tom Horn, Jenn Parsons Fees, and LaBryan Thomas, the 2014-16 boys’ soccer team, Kan Tagami, Kim Kenny, Claire Trevisan, Elliot Mercado, D’Montae Noble, Robert Tartt, and Lindy Hockenberry.
New Plans Filed for Virginia Tech Site at West End
A developer has officially filed new plans with Fairfax County to bring housing, retail, and new office and academic facilities to Virginia Tech’s campus adjacent the City of Falls Church’s 10-acre site currently under development at the Haycock Road/Route 7 intersection.
As a joint entity named Converge West Falls LLC, Rushmark Properties in combination with HITT Contracting are now proposing to replace the 283,000 square foot existing Northern Virginia Center at 7054 Haycock Road, built in the 1990s, with a combination 283,000 square foot office building, up to 440 residential units and a 2,000 square foot retail pavilion.
The new submission (filed Sept. 22) advances on an agreement between the development group and the City of Falls Church, owner of the 7.6 acre plot of land that intends to sell to the developer group.
The project will “serve as a logical connection” between the 10-acre West Falls development on what was the site of Falls Church’s former high school and is now under active development, and a planned redevelopment by WMATA at its West Falls Church Metrorail station, according to a statement by F.C. land use attorney and Chamber of Commerce board member Andrew Painter.
Converge’s Northern Virginia Center proposal features roughly 820,000 square feet of development. Proposed components include a 283,000-square-foot office and education facility that will house HITT’s corporate headquarters and a 40,000-square-foot laboratory space for Virginia Tech, called the National Center for Smart Construction (NCSC).
A second building will consist of up to 440 units and approximately 16,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. It will have a maximum height of 15 stories and 145 feet, providing parking in a 2.5-story underground garage.
A third building will be a 2,000-square foot one-story retail kiosk/pavilion.
If approved, the project would link the 10-acre “West Falls” development and the WMATA developments with a central, public West Falls Station Boulevard running through the center all three properties linking Route 7 to the West Falls Church Metrorail station.
“When constructed, this new neighborhood will function as one larger transit-oriented neighborhood,” Painter wrote. “The proposed NCSC facility will serve as a hub for research and testing of emerging construction methods, materials and technology that will inform Northern Virginia’s construction and real estate industries. Further, the proposal will attract individuals who think creatively, share ideas, and drive daytime demand.
Progress on Alzheimer’s Research Hailed With New Study Result
This week, the Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation (GAP) applauded and welcomed Phase 3 study results on “lecanemab” for treating Alzheimer’s disease, marking an enormous milestone for millions of people living with Alzheimer’s disease.
The positive trial results, released by Eisai Tuesday night, show that the novel drug helped slow cognitive decline by 27 percent after 18 months in people who are in the early stages of the illness by targeting amyloid plaque buildup in the brain. These results are significant.
“This study met all its endpoints, unprecedented in Alzheimer’s; it’s a landmark day,” said John Dwyer, GAP president. “The millions-strong Alzheimer’s community deserves access to treatments that improve their lives and slow progression of this insidious disease—now we have a great candidate.”
“These results will change the lives of those with Alzheimer’s, and I am proud that GAP and GAP-Net clinical research trial sites were integral in conducting this groundbreaking study,” Dwyer added.
The study results were based on 1,795 patients, 25 percent of whom were Hispanic and African American. This is in stark contrast to the typical rate of one to three percent for minority involvement in clinical trials, and a step forward to ensure that treatments work for everyone.
Channel Drive at I-395 Intersection Work to Begin
State and local partners broke ground yesterday on improvements along Boundary Channel Drive at the I-395 interchange in Arlington County that will improve safety and traffic flow and provide new options for bicyclists and pedestrians in one of the region’s busiest corridors.
The project includes reducing underutilized roadway capacity on Boundary Channel Drive in order to construct a 12-foot-wide westbound shared-use path and an eight-foot-wide eastbound sidewalk. The half-mile shared-use path will create a new link between the Mount Vernon Trail to the Pentagon and Long Bridge Park by tying in to the existing path that parallels the southbound George Washington Memorial Parkway ramp to southbound I-395.
Other project improvements include installing roundabouts on Boundary Channel Drive just east and west of I-395, reconfiguring the ramps between I-395, Boundary Channel Drive and Long Bridge Drive, and adding crosswalks along Boundary Channel Drive and Long Bridge Drive. This project demonstrates the ongoing collaboration it takes to alleviate traffic congestion and improve mobility in Northern Virginia and beyond.