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MCLEAN, VA — Four teens earned Teen Character Awards from the McLean Citizens Association for their contributions to the community.

This year's four award winners were McLean High School junior Alex Abraham, Langley High School senior Sebastian Herbolsheimer, Potomac School sophomore Kasim Khapra and McLean High School junior Tatum King.

The awards were presented by Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust and the McLean Citizens Association's Scott Spitzer and Jim Beggs during McLean Day this past Saturday at Lewinsville Park.

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According to the association, the Teen Character Award honors "teens who have, on their own and without compensation, helped out in their neighborhood or community" and are en example to others.

Abraham was recognized for his volunteerism at the Share of McLean food bank for several years. According to the McLean Citizens Association, he helps stock the food pantry, delivers bread donations from Giant, supports the food pantry after major food drives, and helps during distribution days. His supervisors at Share of McLean said Abraham is "always on time, proactive, enthusiastic and hard working," and he often leads new volunteers.

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In addition to his volunteer work with the food bank, Abraham has also led an annual coat drive for the Virginia Hospital Center in the last two years. This year, his coat drive generated 250 new and used coats for all ages, and over 150 winter accessories for Virginia Hospital Center's pediatric unit.

Herbolsheimer was recognized for joining the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department as a volunteer EMT. He joined Vienna's volunteer personnel due to the McLean Volunteer Fire Department having no vacancies. Since volunteering, he has contributed an average 66 hours per month. Herbolsheimer is also an Eagle Scout and junior assistant Scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 1916. His nominators said his contributions show "caring, trustworthiness, responsibility, fairness, respect, and citizenship."

Khapra was recognized for founding MyPy Coding, which seeks to remove barriers to accessing computer science education. He started it during the COVID-19 pandemic when a family friend asked him to tutor her fourth grader on coding through Zoom. He expanded his tutoring to multiple students and recruited friends who could tutor.

Now, the nonprofit provides free online one-on-one coding lessons to students in second to eighth grades. Students who were taught in the program pay it forward by becoming tutors to teach younger students. According to the citizens association, the nonprofit is geared toward underprivileged students in Northern Virginia, DC and beyond and has a curriculum seeking to make coding approachable and fun.

King was recognized for volunteering over six years with the McLean Little League Challenger program, a baseball program offered to children with special needs. This year, she was a field manager, spending two hours each Saturday during spring and fall baseball explaining the game to her 11-12 year old group and how buddies work with players. King organizes players, ensure players with special needs are kept safe, and manages the game.

MCLEAN, VA — McLean Day 2023 will be held at Lewinsville Park on Saturday, May 20, carrying on a tradition that began almost 110 years ago as a community and school fundraiser.

The free, outdoor festival, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., hosted by the McLean Community Center, will offer a variety of attractions, including carnival rides, games and performances. McLean Day also will be the site of the McLean Community Center’s 2023 governing board election, which will be held at the park from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The carnival rides will be operating on Friday, May 19, from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. and then again on Saturday. The rides will be located in two areas of the park: the parking lot to the right of the entrance and toward the exit at the back of the park. Tickets can be purchased in advance from Cole Rides through a link on the McLean Community Center’s website, or onsite on Friday and Saturday.

The Kids’ Way area of the park also offers ticketed rides for younger children. Roaming costumed characters, including superheroes, will be available to interact with patrons and pose for photos. Other free activities will include a beachball corral, laser tag, Bubble Ball, two rock-climbing walls, balloon twisters, a magician and a petting zoo.

McLean Day will have a variety of American and international entrées, snacks and beverages. Gourmet food trucks will be on site in Lewinsville Park.

For the McLean Community Center election, 15 Dranesville Small District 1A residents are running for seats on the board. Five adults are vying for three vacant adult seats and 10 teens are vying for two vacant student seats (one for the Langley High School boundary area and one for the McLean High School boundary area). Only district residents are permitted to vote in the election.

McLean Day started in 1915 as a school and community fundraiser put on by the McLean School and Civic League at Franklin Sherman School. In the mid-1970s, the McLean Community Center began hosting the event and moved it to its current home at Lewinsville Park in 1988.

Free performances will be offered throughout the festival on the Community Stage, including:

A Jugglers’ Stage, located near the children’s ride area, will offer free performances throughout the event.

Parking will not be available at Lewinsville Park on the day of the festival. Patrons can take free Fairfax Connector shuttles from McLean Metrorail Station and three satellite locations to McLean Day. Free shuttle buses will run from the parking sites to the park starting at 10:25 a.m. and running through 6 p.m.

The three satellite locations are the Red route at McLean Baptist Church, 1367 Chain Bridge Road, the Yellow route at the McLean Community Center, 1234 Ingleside Ave., and the Blue route at the Redeemer Lutheran Church, 1545 Chain Bridge Rd.

Wheat’s Landscaping, Giant Food, Mars Inc., McLean Properties and Washington Fine Properties are among the sponsors of McLean Day 2023. The public can visit the McLean Community Center website for more information about the McLean Day festival.

A group of McLean residents lost their bid in federal court Friday to get work halted on the I-495 Express Lanes Northern Extension project.

|Updated Sun, Apr 9, 2023 at 7:36 am ET

MCLEAN, VA — A group of McLean residents lost their bid to get work halted on the I-495 Express Lanes Northern Extension project, when a federal judge ruled Friday in favor of road operator Transurban and the Virginia Department of Transportation.

At the hearing in federal court in Alexandria, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema said the group, the Northern Virginia Citizens Association, failed to show that the $660 million project would irreparably damage the area of McLean next to the George Washington Memorial Parkway interchange with Interstate 495, where many homes and a swim club are located.

Since breaking ground on the project, known as the 495 NEXT Project, about a year ago, the developers have removed hundreds of trees and created a huge stormwater basin at the interchange.

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In their motion for a preliminary injunction, the residents, many of whom filled the courtroom on Friday, argued that Transurban, an Australia-headquartered company, VDOT and the Federal Highway Administration had violated federal environmental law “by radically changing the approved May 2021 design without proper public notice, opportunity for comment, or assessment of the dramatically more severe environmental, health and safety impacts.”

But Brinkema said in her ruling at the end of the hour-long hearing on Friday, where she heard from lawyers representing both sides, that the “evidence is just not there” to support the residents’ contention that they would face irreparable harm if the project were allowed to proceed.

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Because Transurban and its subsidiary, Capital Beltway Express LLC, had already cut down many of the trees around the project area, the “irreparable harm has already happened,” Brinkema said.

READ ALSO: McLean Residents Sue To Stop Further Work On I-495 Toll Lanes Project

After the judge’s ruling in its favor, Transurban said it remains confident that the project, which is expected to be completed in 2025, is in compliance with all environmental regulations and associated requirements and approvals.

“Alongside our project partners, we continue to focus on minimizing impacts to communities as we work to deliver the expanded travel choices, environmental enhancements, and improved safety that the more than 230,000 daily travelers of this corridor are relying upon,” Tanya Sheres, director of corporate affairs and marketing for Transurban, said in a statement Friday.

In the coming weeks, Transurban said project work will include additional removal of old sound walls in preparation for widening of I-495 and pile driving work for the foundations of new bridges. Work will also continue at Live Oak Drive in the coming weeks and months, including construction of temporary drainage facilities, the placement of temporary pavement, and a minor traffic shift, according to the company.

"This work will allow for the required relocation of utility lines at Live Oak Drive," Transurban said. "Throughout this work, it continues to be a top priority to utilize industry best practices to reduce impacts for residents and travelers."

The Northern Virginia Citizens Association, formed in December 2020, has more than 150 members, including 75 members who live on Live Oak Drive, Green Oak Drive and Rivercrest Drive in McLean.

The association filed a lawsuit on March 16 asking the court to put a stop to further work on the 495 NEXT Project, until the developers complied with the National Environmental Policy Act. Instead of filing a lawsuit earlier in the project's life, the residents waited until March to file their complaint because they had hoped to reach an agreement with the developers in order to avoid litigation.

Once they filed the lawsuit, instead of waiting for the case to work its way through the court system, the residents then filed the motion for injunctive relief on March 31, with a request for it to be expedited.

On Tuesday, Brinkema granted the group's request to expedite consideration of the motion and set a hearing on the motion for April 7.

In her ruling in favor of Transurban on Friday, Brinkema suggested the company meet with the residents to see if their concerns could be addressed. But the judge did not issue an order that would enforce a discussion between Transurban and the members of the Northern Virginia Citizens Association.

After the hearing, Claudia O’Brien, a Northern Virginia Citizens Association member, said she was not surprised by the judge's ruling. But she wished the judge had taken into consideration her group's arguments that Transurban and VDOT had made significant changes to the project after completion of the environmental assessment required under federal law.

Among the changes were new cloverleaf flyover ramps and one wishbone-shaped ramp in the vicinity of Live Oak Drive at the George Washington Parkway interchange that expanded the footprint of the project deeper into the nearby community. The redesigned project also included the building of a large stormwater basin that would result in significantly greater environmental impacts than had been disclosed during the environmental process, the group said.

In the original project plan, a pond would be located in a small portion of the forested interchange between I-495 and the George Washington Parkway. The redesigned project plan, though, changed the small pond to a much larger stormwater basin that occupied the majority of the interchange.

"Defendants clear-cut the entire interchange, removed every tree, and built a massive, deep stormwater basin," the citizens group stated in its motion for a preliminary injunction.

At the hearing, a Transurban lawyer described the large stormwater basin as about 30 feet deep, as opposed to the originally planned 19 stormwater basins, which would have been much smaller and shallower.

Someone in the courtroom yelled that the basin was deeper than 30 feet. Brinkema then reminded the audience that no outbursts were permitted in the courtroom.

After the hearing, O’Brien said she believes Transurban decided to switch to a large basin because it was cheaper than building and maintaining several smaller stormwater basins that her group believes would be more environmentally friendly.

Also, rather than clear-cutting the interchange area where the stormwater basin is located, they could have protected more than 90 percent of the trees there, she said.

In their motion, the residents also noted that Transurban has withdrawn as contractor for the Maryland portion of the I-495 Express Lanes project and the state of Maryland has stated that it may not go forward with its plan to widen the American Legion Bridge and add toll lanes to I-495 and I-270 in Maryland.

"Maryland’s reconsideration suggests that this matter may present, in part, the proverbial bridge to nowhere," the residents said. "But far from reconsidering the revised project scope — or at a bare minimum, at least reanalyzing anticipated traffic flows in light of the changes on the Maryland side, Defendants instead are forging ahead as rapidly as possible to build this bridge to nowhere."

At Friday's hearing, a lawyer for Transurban said the company has no intention of stopping construction even if it decided to engage in discussions with the neighbors on the environmental effects of the project in the McLean area.

Brinkema responded that the developer would indeed need to stop construction if she ruled in favor of the motion for a preliminary injunction.

But the judge ultimately denied the motion for an injunction and said she believes Maryland's new governor, Wes Moore, will work to get the Maryland side of the project back on track.

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — The number of people experiencing homelessness in Fairfax County jumped by 10 percent in 2023 over the previous year, largely due to an increase in the number of homeless families with children, according to numbers released Thursday by Fairfax County.

The number of people in families with children experiencing homelessness in Fairfax County increased by 33 percent, or 188 people, between 2022 and 2023. Fairfax County attributed the rise primarily to the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on families in terms of health, employment and inflation, especially in housing.

“This increase aligns with a regional trend as the demand for shelter increased significantly throughout 2022, especially among families with children,” Fairfax County said.

Find out what's happening in McLeanwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Each January, Fairfax County’s Office to Prevent and End Homelessness partners with several nonprofit organizations to conduct an annual point-in-time count of people experiencing homelessness throughout the county. The annual count is required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

This year, the count showed a total of 1,310 people experiencing homelessness in Fairfax County as of Jan. 25, an increase of 119 people from 2022.

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While the number of families with children experiencing homelessness increased, the number of single adults experiencing homelessness decreased by 11 percent, or 71 people, in 2023 compared to 2022.

The count showed that 257 adults identified as experiencing chronic homelessness, accounting for 30 percent of the total number of adults.

In contrast to the point-in-time count, the number of people experiencing homelessness over a full year is higher. Fairfax County reported to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the fiscal year ending in September 2022 that the total number of sheltered homeless, not including domestic violence shelters, was 3,135 people.

After a steady reduction of the county's homeless population between 2008 and 2017, the number of people experiencing homelessness identified through the counts increased 27 percent, or 258 people, between 2017 and 2021 and then decreased 3 percent, or 31 people, in 2022, according to Fairfax County.

On the night of the 2023 point-in-time count, a disproportionate number of people identifying as Black or African American were counted as experiencing homelessness, according to Fairfax County.

While an estimated 10.8 percent of the general population of Fairfax County identifies as Black or African American, 48 percent of people experiencing homelessness on the night of the count identified as Black or African American. The imbalance slightly improved from the 2022 count, when 50 percent of people experiencing homelessness identified as Black or African American.

Among young adults between the ages of 18 and 24, 91 were identified during the 2022 point-in-time count, or 8 percent of the total number of adults experiencing homelessness, while 73 young adults, or 9 percent of all adults, were identified during the 2023 point-in-time count.

Nineteen people aged 70 and older were experiencing homelessness on the night of the 2023 point-in-time count, including a 97-year-old person in an emergency shelter, according to Fairfax County.

Fairfax County has 11 emergency shelters, which are operated by nonprofit organizations year-round with seasonal and other limited overflow capacity. There also are six transitional housing programs serving special populations, including victims of domestic violence and transition-aged youth ages 18 to 24.

MCLEAN, VA — A group of McLean residents filed a lawsuit accusing the Virginia Department of Transportation and the company behind the Interstate 495 toll lanes of violating federal environmental laws and harming the health of families who live near the project.

In the lawsuit, the Northern Virginia Citizens Association is asking the court to put a stop to further work on the I-495 Express Lanes Northern Extension, or I-495 NEXT Project, until the developers comply with the National Environmental Policy Act.

The I-495 NEXT Project will extend express toll lanes along about two miles of the Capital Beltway from their current northern terminus in the vicinity of the Old Dominion Drive overpass to the George Washington Memorial Parkway in the McLean area.

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As part of the project, private toll lanes operator Transurban has already stripped away about 10 acres of mature trees that previously shielded a McLean neighborhood from the Beltway in the area of the cloverleaf interchange between the George Washington Memorial Parkway and I-495, according to the lawsuit.

"The changes to the Project scope have harmed, and continue to harm, the health of NOVA’s members, as well as their recreational, aesthetic, and other interests," the NOVA Citizens Association states in the complaint. "NOVA and its members have reasonable concerns about their health and other interests because of Defendants' failure to conduct further environmental studies of material changes planned and performed after they obtained approval of the Project."

Find out what's happening in McLeanwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The lawsuit, which is seeking declaratory and injunctive relief, was filed on March 16 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. VDOT, Virginia Secretary of Transportation W. Sheppard Miller, the Federal Highway Administration, Transurban, and Transurban subsidiary Capital Beltway Express LLC are named as defendants in the lawsuit.

The NOVA Association, formed in December 2020, has more than 150 members, including 75 members who live on Live Oak Drive, Green Oak Drive and Rivercrest Drive in McLean in the area of planned flyover ramps that would connect the I-495 NEXT project to the Maryland Project on the Virginia side of the American Legion Bridge.

The I-495 Northern Extension project is adding toll lanes from the Tysons area past the George Washington Memorial Parkway in McLean. The George Washington Parkway interchange has been a point of concern for the NOVA Citizens Association, due to the work needed to accommodate planned ramps and stormwater management ponds.

The residents are seeking to prevent further work on portions of the I-495 NEXT Project that were not part of the original May 2021 environmental assessment.

A year after completion of the required National Environmental Policy Act review process and a few months after the statute of limitations had run out on the approved NEPA assessment, VDOT and Transurban made sweeping changes to the I-495 NEXT project, the NOVA Citizens Association contends in the lawsuit.

The National Environmental Policy Act requires that an agency — in this case, the Federal Highway Administration — must supplement its NEPA analysis when "substantial changes" are made to a "proposed action that are relevant to environmental concerns," the NOVA Citizens Association says in the lawsuit.

VDOT said it is aware of the lawsuit filed by the NOVA Citizens Association, but emphasized in a statement emailed to Patch that it places a priority on compliance with all environmental regulations and has "proven protocols in place to ensure environmental impacts are reviewed and existing approvals affirmed throughout the lifecycle of a project."

VDOT has complied with all applicable environmental requirements and followed its environmental review processes since the start of the I-495 NEXT project, the department said.

In its environmental assessment, the project received a "finding of no significant impact" from the FHWA and National Park Service in 2021. Since that time, VDOT and its partner, Capital Beltway Express LLC, have worked to ensure that the project remains compliant with the findings of the FHWA and National Park Service, the department said.

"We remain committed to working with local communities and stakeholders, as we continue to advance those goals with the 495 NEXT Project," VDOT said.

In a statement, Transurban said the lawsuit by McLean residents threatens to delay the congestion relief, environmental enhancements, and safety improvements that the I-495 NEXT Project would bring to Northern Virginia.

"Transurban's demonstrated engagement with local communities and stakeholders over the last 15 years has been essential to delivering transformative transportation solutions for Virginia," Amanda Baxter, senior vice president of Virginia market and operations for Transurban North American, said in a statement.

"We recognize the impacts that construction has on the communities within our corridors, still we are confident that the requirements to obtain approvals have been met or exceeded," Baxter said. "Our engagement to date reflects ongoing reductions of impacts to the neighborhoods along this corridor, and we continue to focus on working together to deliver this critical project for the region."

Among the changes to the I-495 NEXT Project made by the project developers after the environmental assessment was approved, according to the lawsuit, were eliminating 16 small stormwater retention ponds; expanding the number of lanes and flyover ramps, and the height of flyover ramps, in the vicinity of Live Oak Drive in McLean; moving an existing cell tower onto a residential property and directly next to a swim club; and completely deforesting close to 10 acres of mature trees.

The NOVA Citizens Association asserts these changes will expose thousands of McLean children to additional harmful air pollution and an increased potential for exposure to mosquito-borne diseases. Almost 1,900 Virginia students attend schools within a half-mile of the locus of the project’s scope change, and about 7,500 students attend school within two miles of the project, the plaintiffs contend.

Five McLean families have already been impacted by the project, according to the lawsuit.

One NOVA Citizens Association member’s son is severely disabled and has life-threatening asthma and requires specialized care in all aspects of life. By removing the trees and eliminating the sound walls, VDOT and Transurban have caused dirt, dust, air pollution, and particulates to cover the family’s windows and cars, the lawsuit contends.

Because of the actions by VDOT and Transurban, the family needed to revamp the home’s HVAC system and install a new medical-grade filtration system, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also contends that VDOT’s own analysis shows that until Maryland completes its Beltway expansion project, including building a new American Legion Bridge, the I-495 NEXT Project will slow commute times for anyone unwilling or unable to pay the Transurban tolls.

But Transurban, the company selected to build and operate the express lanes in both Virginia and Maryland, announced on March 9 that it was abandoning the Maryland portion of the project.

This decision casts “into serious doubt the future of that project and its physical connection to the I-495 NEXT Project,” the citizens association said.