Noise Ordinance Goes To Fourth Public Hearing; Residents Seek VDOT Waiver

A section of Vienna's noise ordinance is still on the table a, as the dozen or more residents who came to speak to Town Council made one thing clear: they don't want contractors working on Sunday, regardless of the time.

"Having that one day of quiet to enjoy our property is very important to myself and the residents of Vienna," resident Stephen Kozlowski said.

The draft of the noise ordinance presented in the public hearing Monday night would have given contractors the ability to work on buildings between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Sundays and federal holidays if approved for adoption. It is currently illegal for contractors to work on Sundays under the town's current noise ordinance, which has been .

Town Council extended Monday's public hearing about the ordinance to March 7, which will mark  the fourth public hearing on the issue. In addition to reconsidering Sunday as a working day for contractors, the town also will consider outlining specific federal holidays on which work is not allowed, instead of banning work on all of them, and adjusting the hours on Saturday morning to ban noise until 9 a.m., instead of allowing work to start at 7 a.m, among other changes.

NEWS

The Fairfax County Planning Commission delayed its vote on an Old Courthouse Road subdivision for the second time last night, giving residents more time to secure a Virginia Department of Transportation waiver that would exempt developers from building a cut-through to Palm Springs Road.

was in December. At that point, the commission shelved a decision to allow for more resident input. Since then, residents of the Tysons Crest neighborhood have worked with Sekas Homes, the developers for the proposed six-home subdivision, to request a waiver for the required cut-through, which residents say  would worsen an already traffic-choked area.

Fairfax County police are investigating a series of burglaries that began Nov. 13 and have continued through Jan. 29. Detectives are exploring a possible link among 20 burglaries in McLean, West Springfield and Mason district stations,

Route 7, Leesburg Pike, from Tysons Corner to Reston thanks to $10 million in funding from the state of Virginia.

Fairfax County settled into middle age during the past 10 years, becoming a stable but increasingly diverse suburb as its younger neighboring counties burgeoned, according

During a town hall meeting in Vienna on Saturday morning, Virginia with constituents.

You may be dreaming of warmer weather, but like it or not, winter — and flu season — are still in full swing. That's why the Virginia Department of Health is urging people who have not received influenza vaccinations this season . Health officials pointed to a rise in flu cases in recent weeks.

Fairfax County to continue making modifications to improve accessibility for the disabled. The agreement was reached under Project Civic Access (PCA), an initiative by the Justice Department to ensure cities and county governments comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The PCA has audited more than 180 communities nationwide.

A Senate committee has killed two bills that would have brought Virginia up to speed with national DUI standards. With little debate, The bill would have changed the administrative license suspension period for DUI offenders from seven days to 60 days – still below the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s recommended 90-day suspension. In the house, Del. Mark Keam, who represents Vienna and Oakton, supported both of the bills that would have brought the state up to national standards.

Just over four years into his first term, U.S. Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) has announced he will not seek re-election in 2012,

We rounded up news from Patches across Northern Virginia on our PatchCasts for

• Feb. 7:
• Feb. 8:

• Feb. 9:

• Feb. 10: PatchCast: China Meets Hylton, Rt. 7 Widening, Waste-to-Energy Plant Controversy
• Feb. 11

ARTS/COMMUNITY

The Vienna Patch will help lead discussions on parenting issues and parenting in Vienna and the surrounding community.Each week on Wednesday at 2 p.m. we’ll post about an issue relevant to the parenting community. Our council members will help start and drive the discussion on the topic and we invite our readers will weigh in as well.

Our first Moms talk was about Full Day Kindergarten. Join in the conversation.

, says our biking columnist Tim Fricker.

With Valentine’s Day coming Monday, Patch has picked these five restaurants for you in this the second edition of

Have your heart set on a new home? Take a look at what's on the market this Valentine's weekend in Vienna with

who performed on Sunday at The Community Center.

SCHOOLS/SPORTS

We are always on the prowl in our communities for great photos and local stories. This week we captured Madison High School's robotics team in

Alex Harris, a former player at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, N.Y. who went on to play a little pro ball overseas,  runs Evolution Basketball Training, a private basketball gym in the Merrifield neighborhood of on the border of Falls Church, Fairfax and Vienna.

The Marshall Statesmen played themselves out of contention in the first half of Tuesday night’s game against the Thomas Jefferson Colonials, and then did everything they could to try and get back into it. After scoring only 20 points in the first three quarters,

The Marshall Statesmen defeated the visiting Jefferson Colonials 50-40 on Tuesday night,

Robinson's Head Football Coach Mark Bendorf, a Marshall High grad, somewhat unexpectedly , effective at the end of the school year -- his 30th in Fairfax County Public Schools. Bendorf was a running back on the Marshall High School football team, graduating in 1974. He began his coaching career as an assistant at Mount Vernon in 1981 and moved to Chantilly in 1989, before joining the staff at Robinson.

The Madison Warhawks girls varsity basketball team will head into next week’s Liberty District tournament riding a three-game win streak after defeating the Jefferson Colonials 50-39 Friday night. Free throws sealed the win for Madison Boys Basketball in the final seconds of the fourth quarter on Friday night, giving the Warhawks a 33-30 victory on their senior night.

Madison's Albert Schultz and Robert Dooley took second and third, and Marshall's Zack Brooks and James Cusak each placed fifth at Saturday's Northern Region Wrestling Championship.