PetMAC at 11412 Washington Plaza West is slated to close within the next month, an employee told Reston Now today. The shop opened two years ago.
Owner Cindy Williams said in an email that she is no longer able to manage the store due to illness. Her landlord is helping her look for a new business to take over the space, allowing her to get out of her lease early.
Metro Board Member Suggests Canceling Silver Line Extension — Metro Board Member Corbett Price plans to pressure the agency to scrap the $5.8 billion Silver Line extension in an apparent attempt to push Virginia to pony up more money for the cash-strapped rail system. [Washington Post]
Reston Holiday Parade Coming in 5th in Nation — Reston Town Center’s annual Holiday Parade is heating up the charts in USA Today’s list of the best in the nation. Previously ranked sixth, the parade is now in the fifth spot, coming in only one slot behind Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Online voting is open through Monday at noon, and the winner will be announced Dec. 9. [USA Today]
The Hunter Mill District Land Use Committee voted 3-2 on Nov. 15 to turn down an application by Milestone Communication and Verizon Wireless to construct the tower 150 feet away from a playground on the school’s property at 2791 Fox Mill Road.
The new tower is necessary to fill in gaps in cell coverage in the areas off Lawyers Road, including Fox Mill Woods, according to Milestone.
The community center at 12125 Pinecrest Road is scheduled to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the opening of its new soccer area Tuesday at 4 p.m.
“We are very excited to celebrate the opening of our new outdoor soccer court,” said Richard Cabellos, director of the Southgate Community Center, in a statement. “This has been an outstanding example of county-community engagement and participation in turning what was once a little-used tennis court into a highly-popular and exciting activity facility for kids and teens in the area.”
Metro’s latest SafeTrack “surge” began today and is expected to last through at least Dec. 21. Reston residents who depend on Metro for their daily commute are likely to feel the pain.
Technical problems — like the decaying rail ties that led to the Silver Line derailment over the summer — have caused a number of issues along the Metrorail system in the past year.
Seahawks Win Regional Semi-Finals — The South Lakes High School Seahawks varsity football team beat top-seeded Lake Braddock Secondary School to win the Region 6A semi-finals on Saturday afternoon, sending the squad to the regional finals. Defending state champion Westfield High School is up next for South Lakes Saturday. The winner of that game will travel to Hampton for the state championships. [South Lakes Athletics]
Reston Resident Climbs to Top of Mt. Everest — Reston resident Olivia Feldman wrote on Reston Patch about how she took a year off of college at University of Virginia to travel and live in Nepal, and made it to the top of Mt. Everest. [Reston Patch]
Reston Company Could Gain From Trump Presidency — Reston-based Leidos Holdings could get a boost from new defense spending under the new administration. [Washington Business Journal]
Petition Asks Fairfax Police to Consider Food Donations for Tickets — A Reston-based online petition company is proposing an idea to the Fairfax County Police Department: Let people pay their parking tickets with donations of canned food. StandUnited.org, a conservative-leaning online petition platform, is soliciting signatures in support of the idea. [StandUnited]
The RA Board last night voted 5-3 in favor of a 2017 assessment of $692. The fees for 2016 were $657.
Months of board meetings and public hearings led up to Thursday’s vote. Several assessment options were considered, ranging from $630 to $792. Most recently, the board appeared to lean toward fees of $698.
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova and other local officials are slated to join in the groundbreaking ceremony at Herndon-Monroe Park and Ride Lot (12530 Sunrise Valley Drive) Wednesday, Nov. 30, at 1 p.m. Construction is expected to end by spring 2019.
“The 2,007-space parking facility is designed to assist in reducing congestion on Northern Virginia roadways by creating additional opportunities for ridesharing and the use of public transit,” county officials said in an announcement Tuesday.
South Lakes Student-Athletes Sign With Division I Schools — Two South Lakes High School seniors have signed letters of intent to play Division I sports in college, beginning in the fall. Taylor Newman-Farr will attend St. Joseph’s University in Pennsylvania, playing lacrosse. Stokes will go to Bucknell University in Pennsylvania, playing softball. [Herndon Patch]
Hunter Mill Road Project Meeting Set for Tonight — The Fairfax County Department of Transportation is scheduled to hold a public meeting in the cafeteria at Lake Anne Elementary (11510 North Shore Dr.) at 7 p.m. to discuss further alternatives to accommodate growing traffic congestion on Hunter Mill Road from Sunrise Valley Drive to the Colvin Run Bridge. The county will present its preferred option for road changes and welcome questions and feedback from residents. [Fairfax County]
(Updated on Nov. 17 at 8 p.m.) Someone drove their car off of Wiehle Avenue and ended up in Lake Anne late Wednesday afternoon, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.
The driver. a 45-year-old man, and one passenger, a 7-year-old girl, were able to escape the car with no injuries, thanks to the help of Good Samaritans walking by, but the car was completely submerged in the lake, police said.
Rubenstein Partners announced last week it purchased the five-story building at 11493 Sunset Hills Road for $18.6 million. Unisys Corp. recently vacated the building after more than 10 years.
Built around 1988, the property is close to the Reston Station neighborhood, which is just a short walk from the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station. It also is near the Dulles Toll Road, Reston Town Center and Plaza America.
Capt. Gery Morrison and his colleagues from Fire Station 42 (Wolf Trap) said the spot directly across from the firehouse, at Beulah Road and Route 7, has needed a covered bus stop for some time to help shelter people from inclement weather as they wait.
“The current stop is just a posted sign that sits in a ditch along the heavily traveled corridor of Route 7,” Capt. Rocco Alvaro said in a blog post yesterday. “Area residents line up in the morning without adequate shelter and are forced to take their chances waiting on the edge of Route 7 for the next scheduled bus.”
Ways to Give Back Locally This Holiday Season — Thousands of families across Fairfax County live in poverty. If you’re looking for ways to give back this holiday season, Reston Connection has a list of local agencies looking for everything from volunteers, to monetary gifts, to food and clothing donations. [Reston Connection]
Help Habitat Heroes Rid Reston of Invasive Plants — Join the local Habitat Heroes group in keeping Reston’s nature healthy. This Saturday, the group will work to remove an aggressive shrub known as the doublefile viburnum in order to prevent it from spreading through local woods and threatening healthy plants. Work will begin along Snakeden Branch Stream near the 7-Eleven on Soapstone Drive. RSVP in advance. [Habitat Heroes/SignupGenius]
A man assaulted his estranged wife and forced her into a vehicle in Sterling just before 7:30 p.m. Sunday night, a witness told deputies. A male accomplice then drove the kidnapper and the victim to Reston.
Authorities arrested 39-year-old Alex Munguia and his accomplice, 45-year-old Marlen Almendarez-Juarez, in connection with the abduction. The two men are being held at the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center without bond. (more…)
