A Lake Anne-area resident had a big surprise early Friday morning after he heard noises in his kitchen.
According to the Fairfax County Police Department, a man was in his bedroom at about 1:20 a.m. Friday when he heard the sounds in his home in the 1500 block of Northgate Square. When he investigated, he found a woman sitting on a counter. His refrigerator was open and a box of pizza was out on the table.
When the man said he was going to call the police, the woman left his home. Responding police officers, however, were able to locate her.
The suspect, 45-year-old Blanchee Smith, was arrested and faces a felony burglary charge.
Mugshot courtesy FCPD
A public hearing on redevelopment at 1831 Michael Faraday Drive will take place at this week’s Fairfax County Board of Supervisors meeting.
In July, the county’s Planning Commission voted to recommend to the Board that the 3.85-acre property be rezoned to residential, with an option for 10,000 square feet of non-residential uses. Rooney Properties has plans for the property include 13 single-family attached and 283 multi-family dwelling units. The property owners say the multi-family structure would have seven stories, approximately 85 feet in height. In addition to residential units and parking, the first floor of the multifamily building would include retail space, a bicycle storage room, and a loading area with two loading spaces. The attached parking structure would be designed with seven parking levels.
Rooney hopes to begin construction on the project in the first half of 2018.
The adjacent 11111 Sunset Hills Road property, which is also up for rezoning, would have mirrored townhouses and courtyards. In addition, it would include an extension of the open space at the southeast corner of the Michael Faraday site to create a “more extensive and coordinated park” on the southern portion of the properties. That site has a Planning Commission hearing scheduled for Nov. 16.
At the hearing on 1831 Michael Faraday Drive, scheduled for about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, the Board will discuss the recommendation from the Planning Commission that they approve the rezoning and the conceptual development plan. In addition, the Planning Commission has suggested the Board go along with waivers on the setback from the Dulles Toll Road, the requirement for 200-square foot privacy yards for single-family attached dwelling units, the barrier requirement and more.
The project is just one of many sets of redevelopment plans on the table for the Wiehle Avenue/Michael Faraday Drive area. Numerous developers are working together to turn the property east of the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station into what they call the “gateway to Reston.”
For the fourth year, Public Art Reston will present ChalkFest this weekend on Market Street in Reston Town Center.
Professional artists and sponsor will kick the weekend off, getting their work started from noon to 11 p.m. Friday. On Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., the event will be open to everyone.
Prizes will be given in several categories, and there will also be “Audience Choice Awards” given to the favorites of event visitors.
According to information provided by Public Art Reston, “the festival is one of the area’s most unique and fun events” and it “attracts a diverse and motivated audience and promotes public art in Reston”:
The festival draws a wide range of participants and even larger group of visitors to witness their amazing talent. In 2016, over 2,000 visitors participated in the festival’s programming, exceeding the expected visitor goals for the three-year-old festival. The festival”s visitor profile reflects highly desired market segments like: families, young professionals, community leaders and local government officials and the area’s growing “creative class.”
Categories for participants will be amateur ($15 registration fee), families and kids ($15), and professional ($20). Registration can be done online through Friday, or at the event Saturday morning.
For more information, email [email protected] or call 703-467-9797.
File photo from 2015 event courtesy Chip McCrea
Never Forget — Today is the 16th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks. Be sure to take a moment to reflect on those lost that day in Arlington, New York and western Pennsylvania.
Virginia Task Force Goes to Virgin Islands — After staging in Puerto Rico, responders from Fairfax County are in the Caribbean conducting search and rescue activities on the island of St. Thomas following Hurricanes Irma and Jose. [Fairfax Fire and Rescue]
Community Center Board Preference Poll Voting Open — Voting in the poll for three seats on the Reston Community Center Board of Governors is open through Sept. 29. All residents of Tax District 5 can vote. Three incumbents are all seeking re-appointment. Board seats are filled by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, with guidance from the results of the poll. Voting can be done by mail, in person or online. [Reston Community Center]
Political Protester Gets Married in Reston — In 2013, Mohammed Soltan was jailed in Cairo for political dissidence and went on a 16-month hunger strike while he was psychologically tortured. On Aug. 19, he and his bride were married at the Hyatt Regency in Reston. It wasn’t all happiness, though: Soltan’s still-jailed father could not attend, nor could a longtime friend who was recently released after two years in prison. [New York Times]
Dogs Splash at Water Mine — Check out photos and videos from the “Dog Daze” event Sunday at The Water Mine at Lake Fairfax Park. [Aimee Cho/Facebook]
Herndon Woman’s Photo Hangs in JFK Library — Yvonne Kauffman, 84, met soon-to-be President John F. Kennedy in 1960 while he was on the campaign trail in her hometown of York, Pennsylvania. She recently learned a picture of that encounter, taken by a Life magazine photographer, is on display at the Presidential Library and Museum in Boston. [Fairfax Times]
A trail of illuminated hand-carved pumpkins will welcome visitors to “THE GLOW: A Jack O’Lantern Experience” next month at Lake Fairfax Park.
Presented by Townsquare Live Events, the “enchanting Halloween wonderland” will feature a third-of-a-mile trail decorated with more than 5,000 pumpkins. There will also be jack o’lantern dinosaurs up to 16 feet tall, a 30-foot-long pirate ship filled with pumpkin pirates and skeletons, and a pumpkin graveyard complete with black cats, ghosts and gravestones.
In addition, pumpkin “look-a-likes” including politicians, musicians, movie stars, superheroes and princesses.
“We have a team of more than 15 artists, carvers and producers who’ve been working year-round to create this magical event sure to captivate audiences of all ages,” said Shannon Donnelly, Townsquare vice president, in the release.
According to the event’s website, many of the pumpkins are real, but some are molds created from real pumpkins. Every pumpkin, real or molded, is hand-carved by the event’s team.
The display will open Thursday, Oct. 5 at the park (1400 Lake Fairfax Park) and will run every Thursday-Sunday through the end of the month. There will be costume contests, pumpkin-painting classes and a face-painting station available, along with live pumpkin-carving demonstrations to show visitors how to create their own masterpieces.
Tickets, which are $16 for kids ages 3-12 and $22 for adults, are available online and must be purchased in advance. Children ages 2 and under can attend for free. (According to its website, the display is “not scary and [is] fun for all ages.”)
For more information about the event, visit its website or follow it on Facebook.
Images courtesy THE GLOW/Townsquare Live Events
Police were summoned to a South Reston neighborhood numerous times last weekend for reports of gunshots; however, they say nothing of interest was found.
A reader reported to Reston Now that the Fairfax County Police Department was called multiple times to her neighborhood, on Gunsmith Square, over Labor Day Weekend:
Thursday into Friday at midnight someone very close to my row of townhouses shot a gun twice. We back onto the woods where there are paths. It was unmistakably gunfire (we do get fireworks sometimes but this was not fireworks); I actually got out bed and called the police.
Very early [Monday] morning, approx. 1:15 AM, there were three shots (a little farther off) and 5 minutes later the police helicopter arrived. My husband says he thought the same thing happened Friday into Saturday.
The police have been very responsive every time, but I imagine it would be really difficult to find one person in the woods at night, especially since he probably didn’t stick around.
In response to a request for information, Pfc. Michael Crutchman of FCPD’s Media Relations Bureau confirmed that officers responded to the neighborhood on all those dates. However, he said, nothing credible was found on any visit.
According to Crutchman:
8/31: Officers responded out but did not find anything and the call was just a service call.
9/2: 2 calls for service, both for the same incident. A case was written, and the helicopter responded, but failed to find anything.
9/4: 6 calls for service, the first five were all in relation to one another around 1:50 a.m. Officers reported hearing fireworks in the area. The sixth call occurred around 1:58, and it was closed as unfounded as well.
‘Fill The Boot’ Campaign Sets All-Time Record — In its Labor Day Weekend campaign to raise money for the Greater Washington MDA and for Hurricane Harvey relief, Fairfax County Fire and Rescue raised $631,278.65. That is the highest total raised by any municipality in the history of the campaign. Half a million dollars from the drive will be donated to the Muscular Dystrophy Association, while the other $131,278.65 went to the disaster relief fund. [Fairfax County Fire and Rescue]
Pool Schedule Input Session is Sunday — The Reston Association Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee will be available on Sunday from 10 a.m. to noon during an open house at The Lake House (11450 Baron Cameron Avenue) to collect member input on the 2017 pool schedule, as well as thoughts and suggestions about what should be done in 2018. [Reston Now]
Inmate Dies After Medical Event in County Jail Cell — Detectives are investigating the death of a 53-year-old inmate who suffered a medical emergency in her cell on Aug. 31. The inmate died Thursday at a hospital in Fairfax. [Fairfax County Police Department]
Canned Food Will Be Connected at Football Game — At tonight’s high school football game between South Lakes and Oakton, being played at OHS (2900 Sutton Road), fans are encouraged to bring canned food to be donated to hurricane victims. [South Lakes Student Government Association]
Nuclear Fuel Developer Signs New Deal — Reston-based nuclear fuel developer Lightbridge Corp. has signed a binding agreement with a North Carolina company for a joint venture to commercialize and manufacture a new line of advanced metallic fuel for nuclear plants. [Washington Business Journal]
As the Reston Association Board of Directors continues to work on the 2018-19 budget, RA members are encouraged to participate in a budget-development community meeting next week hosted by RA’s treasurer.
Sridhar Ganesan, treasurer and RA Board at-large director, will facilitate the meeting Thursday, Sept. 14 from 7-9 p.m. at Reston Association headquarters (12001 Sunrise Valley Drive). According to information provided by Reston Association, members “are invited to share their thoughts and comments on issues related to next year’s budget.”
Two more budget work sessions, open to the public, are slated for Monday, Sept. 18, from noon-5 p.m. and from 7:30-10 p.m. Members will also have an opportunity to discuss the budget with the Board of Directors at the Oct. 15 Lake House open house.
The final draft of the 2018-19 budget is to be presented at the Board’s Sept. 28 meeting. There will then be a pair of public hearings on the budget in late October, as well as a community input opportunity at the Oct. 15 Lake House open house event. Approval of the operating and capital budgets, and the 2018 assessment rate, is scheduled to take place at the Board’s November meeting.
The 2018-2019 budget development process began in February with the adoption of the biennial budget development calendar.
Bonita Weinstein and her husband, Lowell, took over ownership of the Reston Farm Market (10800 Baron Cameron Ave.) on Aug. 1 and immediately realized they had a lot of work to do.
“When we took on this project, I just thought ‘Yeah, we’ll get in there and we can do it quickly,'” Weinstein said. “We’ve been working on this place for a month now.”
The full renovation project at the business near Leesburg Pike is still in progress, as crews could be seen on the site Thursday morning working to set the new patio and continuing to revamp the barn’s interior. Bonita said they are getting ready for a “soft opening” Tuesday, with a grand-opening celebration scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 23.
A website that celebrates the “original” Reston Farm Market gives some information about its history. It opened in 1976 and was under the guidance of its founder, Hall Kern, through 1997. It has been owned by several different people since, Weinstein said, and she and her husband are hopeful they will usher in its return to prominence.
“In recent years, the reviews weren’t so great,” she said. “It was run down, but my husband said, ‘We can make it nice [again].'”
The Weinsteins are owners of Seasonal Celebrations garden centers. They have nine locations in the region, including in the Fox Mill and Sugarland Crossing shopping plazas. Bonita said they have high hopes of bringing the success they’ve had with those stores to the Farm Market.
“When people come here, they’re going to be shocked that it’s totally different,” Weinstein said. “We’ve put a lot of money into revamping this place.”
The renovated market will sell fresh produce from local farmers, pies, dairy products, garden supplies and more. Fall decorating supplies including pumpkins and gourds will be available, as will mums and firewood. Christmas trees will be sold when the season arrives.
Kids’ favorites including train rides, moon bounces and an expanded petting zoo will also be on the premises. Parking for the property has been expanded, Weinstein said, and Hoggmeister BBQ will provide a food truck on the weekends.
“This place is going to be totally different from what it has ever been,” she said. “I think this place is going to be extraordinary, I really do.”
The grand-opening event Sept. 23 will include a DJ, face painting and more. Food trucks will provide items for purchase, including ice cream, Weinstein said.
The Reston Farm Market is scheduled to be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day beginning Tuesday. Weinstein said it will be open through December, and will reopen in March for the spring season.
For more information, call 703-759-0000.
The 34th annual Reston Triathlon is coming up Sunday morning, and volunteers are still needed to help make the event go smoothly.
According to information provided by event organizers:
We are looking for a few good men and women to be a part of our 34th annual Reston Triathlon race. So…join us, on September 10th, by volunteering at our local community race. Bring yourself and your spirit of volunteerism and enthusiasm to add to the excitement of the event!
Volunteers can sign up online to help in a variety of ways. Generally speaking, setup volunteers will start at about 5 a.m., swim volunteers will start around 6 a.m., bike volunteers will get to work around 7 a.m., and run volunteers will start at about 8 a.m. that morning. At the end of the event, around 11 a.m., volunteers will be needed for cleanup after the awards presentation.
Help is specifically needed along the bike course, an organizer tells Reston Now.
Registration to participate in the event is closed. Those taking part will swim 1,500 meters in Lake Audubon, bike 40 kilometers on area roadways and run 10 kilometers on Reston pathways, ending at the South Lakes High School stadium.
For more information about the event or how you can help, email [email protected].
File photo of 2016 event courtesy Christin Photography for Reston Association
Reston Association is asking members interested in taking over for Ray Wedell, who has vacated his seat on the RA Board of Directors, to put their names in the hat.
Anyone interested in serving out the remainder of the term of the at-large seat, which runs through April, is asked to submit a statement of candidacy by noon Friday, Sept. 22. Completed applications can be sent in by mail (12001 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, VA 20191-3404); by email to the board’s assistant secretary, Sabrina Tadele ([email protected]); or in-person at RA headquarters.
Certified candidates will meet with the board at its Thursday, Sept. 28 meeting to discuss interests and qualifications.
Wedell stepped down last week, citing in his statement that his “successes have been outweighed by the frustrations.” He had served on the board since 2015 and was also on the Board Operations Committee, which is responsible for reviewing and setting board agenda items each month.
RA is issuing the call for candidates after receiving “unanimous consent” from the Board of Directors to do so. The seat is one of four that will be up for vote in the 2018 election.
Virginia Task Force 1 on Heads Toward Irma — Just one day after returning from Hurricane Harvey rescue efforts, the crew left Wednesday for Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama to prepare to help those affected by Hurricane Irma. [Fairfax County Fire and Rescue]
Free Concert Tonight at Lake Anne — The “Take A Break” concert series at Lake Anne Plaza will continue tonight from 7-9 p.m. with a show from the The Barretones, a bluegrass group. [Lake Anne Plaza]
$3M Lottery Ticket Sold in Sterling Unclaimed — If you bought a Mega Millions ticket at the Giant in the Cascades Marketplace (21000 Southbank St., Sterling), make sure you look closely at it. A ticket that matched the first five numbers for Tuesday’s drawing (11-17-59-70-72), missing only the Mega Ball, was sold there and has not been claimed. Whoever holds the ticket also bought the Megaplier option, meaning it is worth a $3 million prize. [Virginia Lottery]
Alston’s Strong Play Earns Accolades — In its high school football notebook this week, the Washington Post sings the praises of South Lakes Seahawks running back Spencer Alston, who it says is the focal point of an offense that has scored 42 points in each of its first two games. [Washington Post]
Reston Town Center ‘Dog Days’ Re-Scheduled — After rain Wednesday didn’t allow the event to take place, Reston Town Center’s “Dog Days” is now being planned for Monday, Sept. 11, from 4-7 p.m. [Reston Town Center/Twitter]
As the southeast U.S. prepares for the onslaught of Hurricane Irma, the National Weather Service in DC/Baltimore says the Mid-Atlantic region should be paying attention as well.
While the storm will likely dwindle after weekend landfall, the NWS says it may still be able to pack a punch between Monday and Wednesday of next week if its track takes it up the Eastern Seaboard to our region. According to the NWS, if the storm tracks here, threats it will bring will include damaging winds, possible tornados and flooding brought on by rainfall. Tidal flooding is also a concern for coastal area.
“Families and businesses should ready their disaster plans and kits,” the NWS warns.
Residents are encouraged to monitor the National Weather Service in DC/Baltimore, as well as the National Hurricane Center, for updates on the track and power of the storm as it continues through the rest of this week and into the weekend.
The new track has a slight shift to the east. Irma set to impact southern Florida over the weekend as major category 4. Rains here Tue/Wed https://t.co/5lxRsi6KNc
— Amelia Draper (@amelia_draper) September 6, 2017
The remnants of Hurricane Harvey passed through our area last Friday and Saturday, bringing heavy rain at times and forcing the cancelation of events including the Lake Anne Jazz & Blues Festival.
Plans for a temporary home for Reston Fire and Rescue Station 25 will go before the Fairfax County Planning Commission next week for a public hearing.
The permanent fire station, located at 1820 Wiehle Ave., will be replaced in the next few years. During the work, there will be no room on that site for fire operations to be based.
The temporary home for the fire company at 1800 Cameron Glen Drive will be a 7,680-square foot, one-story pre-manufactured modular building containing living quarters and office space, along with three apparatus bays. Construction is expected to begin next summer.
The site was used by Reston Hospital Center as a temporary helipad in 2013. Two years later, it was used as a temporary surface parking lot for the Reston District Police Station during construction of its new station.
Project manager Lisa Goddard, of the Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services, previously told Reston Now that a full restoration of the temporary site, with removal of all improvements back to its original state of a grass lot, will take place once the fire company moves into its new permanent home on Wiehle Avenue. She said no trees will be removed in the implementation of the temporary fire station.
Reston Fire and Rescue was one of five fire stations approved for replacement and/or renovation under the county’s 2015 Public Safety Bond Referendum. The new fire station on Wiehle Avenue, according to the county’s Capital Improvement Plan, will cost about $13 million. It is needed due to “outdated infrastructure and critical operational space deficiencies.” The work on the new station is estimated to take place from spring 2019 through late 2020.
The Planning Commission hearing is scheduled to take place during the Thursday, Sept. 14 meeting, which begins at 8:15 p.m. at 12000 Government Center Parkway in Fairfax. The project is then slated to go before the Board of Supervisors for a public hearing at its Tuesday, Sept. 26 meeting at 3:30 p.m.
Map courtesy Fairfax County Planning Commission
Va. Transit Ridership Continues Downward Trend — Usage of the Metro’s Silver Line stations at Reston and Tysons is increasing, but that’s one of the few bright spots for public transportation ridership in the region. [WTOP]
Board to Determine Fate of Wedell’s Seat — Following Ray Wedell’s resignation from the Reston Association Board of Directors last week, remaining board members have a decision to make about whether to fill the seat and, if so, how. The term on the now-vacant seat runs through April. [Reston Association]
Reston Sisters Make Jewelry for Good Cause — A pair of local girls founded their own charity project, Rays of Hope, in 2012. They make jewelry out of shells they find on the beach in North Carolina’s Outer Banks and sell it to benefit CancerFree KIDS, a cause they became passionate about when their cousin was diagnosed with leukemia. [Connection Newspapers]
County Expands On-Scene Mental Health Work — The Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board recently added a second fully operational Mobile Crisis Unit, part of the county’s “Diversion First” initiative to offer alternatives to incarceration for people with mental illness and other disabilities who come into contact with the criminal justice system for low-level offenses. [Fairfax County]
