GAINSWave Therapy in Annadale, VA

ANNADALE, Va. (DC News Now) — Fairfax County Public School students have been pushing their school board for years to put solar panels on the roofs of their school buildings. On Thursday, a breakthrough happened.

Annandale High School will be the first in the county to have solar panels on its roof, and Fairfax County school board members — and its superintendent — are giving kudos to students for making it happen.

Students have been at the forefront of this issue and their voices led to a milestone — the school board gave its unanimous support of solar panels on the roof of Annandale High School.

“To meet these goals we have to start now,” said Ariya Lee, an eighth grader at Rachel Carson Middle School.

She’s called on Superintendent Michelle Reid to take action on the school district’s plan to go green. She spoke to the school board ahead of its vote, urging them to address an issue she said is not going away.

“Every day that passes we lose time to take climate action,” she said. “You can change that.”

One of the sponsors of the proposal, Board Member Karl Frisch, commended the students’ actions — which he says took them from board meetings in the county to lawmakers in Richmond.

“They eloquently represent the moral imperative of combating climate change,” he said.

According to a document shared on the school board’s agenda, the total payments FCPS will make to the installation company, Ipsun Power Inc., is estimated at $2.15 million over the 25-year-term, “an amount representing energy cost savings estimated by Ipsun and [third-party engineering firm Energy Solutions Division of CMTA, Inc.] as ranging between $11,000 and $22,000 per year, on average, for this site.”

“While we celebrate, it is still a preliminary step,” said Board Member Ricardy Anderson.

Next up for the district is to finalize the contract and start construction, one that it hopes will get them a step closer to its goal of carbon neutrality for all its schools by 2040.

“To address the climate crisis every level of government must act,” Frisch said. “Tonight’s vote is further proof that our board is committed to doing its part.”

FCPS said the construction of the solar panels will happen mostly during winter, summer, and spring breaks so student learning is not disrupted.

According to the D.C.-based Environmental Working Group (EWG), Annandale zip code 22003 has the highest levels of toxic PFAS (per- and polyfluorakyl) chemicals in Fairfax County

The EWG tested tap water at 19 locations in Northern Virginia at private residences, commercial establishments, and parks.

The testing site in the 22003 zip code had the highest level in the county and the second-highest level of PFAS in Northern Virginia, with 57.56 parts per trillion (ppt). The highest level (62.4 ppt) was found in zip code 22025 in Prince William County. The EWG isn’t identifying the specific locations where the samples were taken.

PFAS are used in many kinds of products, including carpet, Teflon cookware, paint, cleaning products, and firefighting foam. They are used to make material water or stain resistant.

These chemicals are harmful to humans, and very small doses have been linked to cancer, increased cholesterol levels, thyroid problems, and low infant birth weights.

EWG calls PFAS “forever chemicals” because they build up in the body and never break down in the environment.

The Environmental Protection Agency doesn’t regulate PFAS but recommends PFAS levels in water should be below 70 ppt. The PFAS found in Northern Virginia are below that, but the EWG believes the threshold should be much lower – at 1 ppt. The Natural Resources Defense Council recommends 2 to 7 ppt.

“There is no monitoring, for the most part, required right now,” EWG analyst Sidney Evans told WUSA9. “There is no treatment required. That’s the drinking water we have; we need to protect it. This is going to continue to be an increasing problem.”

According to the EWG, higher PFAS levels were found in tap water from the Occoquan Reservoir than in drinking water originating in the Potomac River.

The EWG suggests residents concerned about forever chemicals in the water supply should use a reverse osmosis household water filter.

Fairfax Water insists “the quality of drinking water is excellent.” An email from Fairfax Water spokesperson Susan Miller states: “Fairfax Water prides itself on not just meeting but surpassing the drinking water standards set by both the Virginia Department of Health and the Environmental Protection Agency.”

Miller says the PFAS found in water samples from Northern Virginia are at very low levels, and “there is no immediate health concern due to the presence of these chemicals.”

“Research is ongoing at the state and federal level as to how and if these chemicals should be regulated in drinking water,” she says. “We will take necessary actions to meet future state and federal regulations when they are established.”

Testing by Fairfax Water didn’t find any PFAS, but that test only looked for six chemicals, while the EWG tested for 30.

A follow-up tweet from Fairfax Water says the Virginia Health Department is working on a statewide sampling plan for PFAS, and “we will follow their guidance once sampling plans are announced.”

If you never got to experience the thrill of a fraternity rush at the University of Northern Virginia, the electricity of a basketball game featuring the UNVA Fighting Commuters, or the silent satisfaction of having your F-1 visa application validated, your opportunities are gone. (If they were ever there.) The University of NoVa, operating out of the ground floor of an office building on Little River Turnpike in Annandale, has been ordered to cease and desist after 15 years of operation, due mostly to the fact that it has been unaccredited by any recognized group for five years now, and also because it failed four audits by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia which indicated failure to hire “qualified faculty” or use “appropriate curriculum content.” Which are key elements in any good university.

The school, not widely known to many who thought they knew Northern Virginia, has had problems with its ownership, its record-keeping, indications that its chancellor was “a suburban sex-dungeon master” and with allegations that it was simply a way for foreign nationals to obtain a U.S. visa. It was one of the subjects of an investigation by the Chronicle of Higher Education in March 2011 about small for-profit colleges exploiting visa loopholes to recruit foreign students for big dollars.

In that article, UNVA founder Daniel Ho told a reporter that the school “is very profitable. Very profitable.” He acknowledged that, “I can sell degrees. I can sell diplomas. But I won’t,” he said. “Who’s going to supervise me, control me? Myself.”

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Well, the folks at the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia, or SCHEV, had something to say about that. Beginning in 2007, it audited UNVA periodically, always finding “items of non-compliance” such as not documenting or reviewing its faculty or maintaining student records that show the requirements for admission. UNVA’s accreditation was revoked by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools in 2008, and the school never obtained approval from any other Department of Education-approved body again, as required by Virginia law.

David North, a fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, pointed out that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials raided UNVA in 2011, but then took no further action. North visited the Fighting Commuters campus last week, posing as a student’s “uncle,” reprising my own 2011 visit as a “reporter,” and counted four classrooms on site. “Somehow this tiny outfit managed to produce 189 alleged grads,” North said, “who got short term work permits (29 months) because of high-tech degrees from this place. They were the 18th largest university in the nation in this category.”

I called the university several times on Monday, but failed to get a human on the line. I also e-mailed the home of the Fighting Commuters (the mascot chosen in 2011 by the State of NoVa staff), in hopes of hearing from Ali Dastmalchi, the current chancellor and CEO, but have not heard back.

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The cease and desist order issued by the state higher education council was first reported by Bre Payton at Watchdog.org, who also noted the university will have to refund any fall tuition money it has already collected. This leaves an unknown number of students in limbo, some of whom may have legitimately been trying to obtain a degree, even if from an unaccredited four-room school in the basement of an Annandale office building.

The state council’s chronology of the shutdown of UNVA states that the school was established in 1998 and attained accreditation from the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools in April 2003. But four years later, that same group denied UNVA reaccreditation, finding that there was “insufficient evidence that the distance education faulty is reviewed by the administration” and “insufficient documentation that the institution follows its Satisfactory Academic Progress policy,” among other problems.

The state council conducted audits in both 2007 and 2008 which found problems, their chronology notes. Meanwhile, a dispute erupted in court over who owned the school. A new chancellor, David Lee, asked the state council to allow more time to obtain accreditation. But nothing happened, and Lee resigned in August 2011 when his online search for an “attractive submissive” to live in his basement “dungeon complete with bondage racks” became public. I am not making this up. This occurred at the same time as the ICE raid, so that was a really tough time for UNVA.

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The audits and the lack of accreditation continued, and in March 2012 the state council notified the university it was about to revoke its certification to operate in Virginia. UNVA entered an agreement by which it would at least be a candidate for accreditation by June 2013, and agreed to “extinguish Dr. Ho’s financial interest in the institution” and “ensure Dr. Ho relinquishes ownership and involvement in the administration.”

But still, according to the state council, the Fighting Commuters couldn’t get it done. The state council conducted another audit in October 2012 and found items missing from files. Dastmalchi reported that UNVA was seeking accreditation from the Distance Education and Training Council, which is a problem since F-1 foreign students must take classes at a brick and mortar location. However, according to the audit, “University of Northern Virginia has failed consistently to remain in compliance with such items as the hiring of qualified faculty, appropriate curriculum content and student disclosures regarding transferability of credits to other institutions.”

The state council’s audit concluded that UNVA “deliberately and continuously demonstrates its disregard for the requirements of Virginia law and regulation. The violations identified above are not merely technical in nature. They touch on the most fundamental provisions in [state law] related to minimal standards of academic quality and fair treatment of students.”

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The cease and desist letter sent July 17 orders UNVA to turn over a list of all students, their visa status (many are from India), their financial records and the location of their transcripts. The state council said it would notify students that the school is no longer legally authorized to operate in Virginia, confer with the Department of Homeland Security to determine viable options for foreign students and estimate claims for unearned tuition.

And so the University of Northern Virginia is gone. There were never any basketball games, or fraternities, or any of that trivial college stuff. But the name could be a good one, a prestigious one, representing a wealthy and well-educated part of the country, for someone who wants to launch a legitimate replacement. And the rights to the Fighting Commuter brand and intellectual property are, at last check, still available.

When Jonathan Lee opened Korean Bakery in Annandale in 1989, he even made his bean paste from scratch. He didn’t have a choice. “There was no supplier,” he says. “When I opened this business, it was the only Korean bakery in the Washington area.”

Twenty-nine years later, nearby shopping centers are home to countless Korean restaurants, and Annandale has become a must-visit dining destination not only for Fairfax County, and its dense Korean population, but also for patrons across the area. In fact, there are so many compelling places to try that you could literally spend an entire day bouncing among them.

Follow along with this chef-approved Korean dining itinerary stretching from morning until late night, which allots a few hours per stop, and you’ll understand what David Chang, the celebrity chef behind the Momofuku empire — and a Northern Virginia native — means when he names the biggest misconception about Korean food: “that it’s just barbecue and kimchi.”

Your Korean dining extravaganza begins with pastries, coffee and tea at this inviting two-level cafe (complete with outdoor dining upstairs). Wire baskets are provided for shoppers to load up on all sorts of baked goods — think sweet pumpkin cake rolls ($5.50), chestnut bread loaves ($4.50) and mocha buns ($1.99). Adorable animal cupcakes peer out from the glass pastry case. The cafe menu is wide-ranging: You can get a nitro coffee — and a bulgogi quesadilla with marinated beef and mozzarella. 4125 Hummer Rd. breezebakery.com.

Don’t miss the juk, a comforting Korean rice porridge, at Siroo. Chef Danny Lee — who owns Mandu, in Northwest Washington, along with his mother, Yesoon, and co-founded the buzzy Barracks Row destination ChiKo — is amazed by the varieties of juk offered, including ginseng chicken ($10.99), spicy kimchi — a side dish and staple of Korean cuisine, made with fermented cabbage and other vegetables ($8.99) — and abalone ($12.99). “They have 20 different versions of this juk that are all cooked in different broths, and all have different proteins and different produce in them,” Lee says. “It’s really a cool thing to see, and it’s delicious.” 4231 Markham St. siroousa.com.

Cheogajip Chicken, 1 p.m.

Bonchon is arguably the biggest name Washingtonians might know when it comes to Korean fried chicken but there’s another huge franchise from Korea making inroads in the Washington region. Cheogajip, which translates as “mother-in-law’s home,” slathers on spicy, soy garlic or sweet sauce on its fried chicken, all while keeping the drumsticks extra crispy (family size order, $16.85). Not in the mood for chicken? The small carryout also offers an intriguing pizza topped with yellow sweet potatoes. 4300 Evergreen Lane.

Bone-broth devotees need to try the soups and stews at Gom Ba Woo, says chef Rob Rubba. Rubba — whose wife, Deb Rubba, is Korean — often cooks Korean food at home and showcases the cuisine’s flavors at his globally inspired restaurant, Hazel, in Shaw. But when Rubba’s looking for a warming soup such as sulrung tang (a beef-bone broth with rice and noodles), he heads to this cozy spot. “The way they do [the bone broth] so slow with the marrow bone, it just looks like you’re eating a bowl of warm milk,” he says. “It’s just the best beef broth you’ve ever had.” Stir scallions and hot chile paste into your bowl ($7.95 at lunch) until you get the spice level just right. 7133 Columbia Pike. gombawoo.net.

You might not guess it from Tous Les Jours’ nondescript exterior, but the spacious Annandale outpost of this popular French Asian bakery chain is all soaring ceilings, polished concrete floors and exposed brick walls. Wooden display cases are stocked with such Parisian desserts as croissants stuffed with strawberries ($3.25), along with other specialties: kimchi croquettes ($2.75), soft milk bread buns ($2.50) and chewy, orblike doughnuts stuffed with a spoonful of sweet pumpkin filling ($1.75). Grab a lavender milk tea latte ($3.25) with a pastry, or cool down with a bingsoo, a Korean dessert stacked with toppings — ice cream, red beans and fresh fruit — on a mound of fluffy shaved ice. 7219 Columbia Pike. tljus.com.

To Sok Jip, 7 p.m.

It can be tough to get a table at this tiny restaurant, which excels in seafood stews such as daegu maeun tang, a spicy codfish soup ($15.99) and bo ssam, a build-it-yourself, seasoned-pork-belly dish with cabbage leaves, kimchi and seasoned radish. Also of note, a favorite of Rubba’s: budae jjigae ($31.99), or “army base stew,” a hearty red hot pot inspired by the surplus food from American military bases eaten during the Korean War. The portions are generous: The dish — bubbling with hot dogs, kimchi and dried instant ramen — could easily feed four. 7211 Columbia Pike. tosokjip.com.

David Chang may be one of the most famous chefs in the United States, but his dad still calls the shots when they’re dining out in Annandale. “He calls in the orders” in advance, Chang says. “I don’t recall ever looking at a menu in my life.” Their destination is often Choong Hwa Won, where they go for the jjajangmyun. An order of the Chinese-Korean dish brings a giant helping of fresh, chewy, wheat-based noodles with pork, vegetables and black bean curd sauce ($6.99 at dinner), which servers can cut with scissors for easier slurping. The no-frills restaurant stays open until midnight — and has a karaoke room, too. 4409 John Marr Dr. choonghwawon.com.

Order one of the all-you-can-eat options at Kogiya, and the meat will keep coming until you admit defeat. (Dinner starts at $23 per person.) Diners sit around an open flame grill while servers cook brisket, pork belly, short ribs and more before your eyes. The stainless-steel table will also be packed with banchan (an array of gratis side dishes that traditionally arrives with each meal, including kimchi, seasoned soybean sprouts or cucumber salad), rice, a steamed egg dish and soup. Don’t worry: Kogiya has a ventilation system above each table to keep the smoky meat aroma mostly contained. (For another classic Korean barbecue experience, there’s Honey Pig. The local institution has expanded with locations in Northern Virginia and Maryland, but its Annandale home base still packs in diners for kalbi beef rib grilled to the thumping beat of K-pop.) 4220-A Annandale Rd. kogiya.com.

At this after-hours haunt, where posters of throwback Korean musicians decorate the walls (hi, Cho Yong Pil) and bottle caps hang from the ceiling, the order is soju or makgeolli. The former, Korea’s most popular spirit, is often distilled from rice, and the latter is a sweet, traditional rice wine. Pair drinks with bar food fit for a crowd, such as the intensely fiery, cheese-covered crazy chicken ($20.95). 7118 Columbia Pike.

Yechon, 3 a.m.

The doors never close and the menu goes on for pages at Yechon, a dinerlike Korean and Japanese restaurant. Day or night, grab a table at the wood-paneled spot, and servers in traditional hanbok dresses will bring out sushi rolls (prices vary), mul naengmyeon (homemade buckwheat noodles, vegetables, beef and a boiled egg in a cold broth, $12.95) or kimchi dolsot bibimbap (the traditional Korean mixed-rice dish served in a hot stone bowl, topped with marinated beef and vegetables, $13.95). 4121 Hummer Rd.

To Soc Chon, 5 a.m.

The menu highlights at this 24-hour spot include dakdori tang (a steaming-hot, spicy stew with potatoes, carrots and chicken) and handmade, knife-cut noodles served in the broth of your choice (think clam or chicken, $12-$13). But To Soc Chon is best known for one dish, and it’s a big reason the restaurant is open at all hours. “They make sundae guk, which is like a stew or soup where the base is Korean blood sausage,” says Danny Lee, the chef. “It’s pretty much known as hangover soup.” Sounds like a necessity after a full day of kimchi, bulgogi and soju. 7031 Little River Tpk., Suite 21D.

In Maps to the Stars, Curbed DC maps the lives of the most notable figures in Washington, D.C. history through the places that were important to them.

Washington, D.C.'s punk scene in the late 1980's gave birth to artists that continue to influence the music scene today. One artist in particular, Dave Grohl, plans to return to the city that totally defined his musical style on July 4, 2015 to kick off his Sonic Highways tour. "The community, the support, the love that was here in the D.C. music scene has carried over into what I do now," he said in the HBO TV series, Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways. It was in Springfield, VA that Dave first began his musical journey when he started learning guitar at the age of 9. In high school, he moved on to playing concerts at the Lake Braddock Community Center in Burke, VA, getting him noticed by the Bailey's Crossroads-based punk band, Scream. At the age of 17, Dave was recruited as their drummer for a European tour that eventually led to his path down Nirvana. In fifth grade, Dave founded his first band, called the H.G. Hancock Band. Before eventually dropping out of high school, Dave played punk songs over Annandale's Thomas Jefferson High School's intercom as part of his role as the freshman class vice president. During this time, he played as a drummer in bands like Dain Bramage and Freak Baby. He also often made the trek to the Washington, D.C. concert venue, 9:30 Club, where he found some of his first musical influences like Fugazi and Minor Threat.

Before joining Scream in 1986, Dave had to lie about his age, telling them he was three years older than he really was. The band eventually broke up after four years, causing Dave to then reach out to Nirvana to become their drummer. Even after joining the band, though, Dave was hesitant to introduce his own songs to them. Instead, he decided to record a solo album, titled Pocketwatch, at the Laundry Room Studio in Arlington, VA. A year later, Nirvana's break-through album, Nevermind, was released, catapulting the band to success.

After Cobain's death in 1994, there were circulating rumors about what Dave's future would hold and what new band he would join. In 1995, Dave founded The Foo Fighters, releasing the band's first album with help from Nirvana guitarist Pat Smear. Soon after, Dave moved to Arlington to record the album version of "Walking After You" in WGNS Studios, performing the vocals and every instrumental part except for bass. In 1999, Dave made his own recording studio in the basement of his house in Alexandria, VA, recording various songs for the Foo Fighters' third album, There is Nothing Left to Lose.

Dave continues to speak about his Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. influences through music and documentaries. In songs like "Arlandria" and "The Feast and the Famine," Dave references different locations in Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. Additionally, in the Washington, D.C. documentary, "Salad Days," he describes the punk scene from 1980 to 1990 and how it influenced him. Nowadays, he's been focused on his newest album, Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways, as well as the Sonic Highways HBO TV series. In the map below, here is a guide to the schools, studios, and other locations that influenced Dave Grohl as a person and as a musician.

· Foo Fighters Get Awesomely Personal With Intimate Washington D.C. Show [Fuse]· Dave Grohl bio cites many Northern Va. historical landmarks for future Nirvana, Foo Fighters star [The Washington Post]· Exclusive: Dave Grohl Returns to D.C. Roots in 'Sonic Highways' Clip [Rolling Stone]· Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl teases 'Sonic Highways' television series with trailer - watchRead more at http://www.nme.com/news/foo-fighters/77632#bwsU3skiu3T6Fqmw.99 [NME]· Curbed Maps archive [Curbed DC]