Theatre For Kids at Next Stop — Herndon’s Next Stop Theatre is presenting “Balloonacy,” by Barry Kornhauster, a live theatre show  for ages 1-5. The play explores the power of friendship — with a little imagination and acceptance, one lonely person discovers companionship with the help of a red balloon. The 45-minute show plays Saturdays and Sundays Sept. 17 trough Oct. 9. [Facebook]

Leaf Cleanup Plea — Fairfax County makes the case for using paper bags rather than plastic for fall cleanup this year. [Fairfax County]

Kudos, National Merit Semifinalists — Students from Herndon and South Lakes High Schools are among the more than 200 Fairfax County Public Schools students who are National Merit Scholarship semifinalists. Merit Scholarship winners will be announced in spring 2017. [FCPS]

Amazon has announced a new service available in Reston and other Northern Virginia areas beginning today. AmazonFresh will deliver fresh foods and items from local restaurants to homes and offices in the delivery area.

Prime customers in eligible zip codes can use AmazonFresh for a monthly fee of $14.99 as an add-on to their Prime membership.

Said Amazon in a press release:

With AmazonFresh, customers can combine grocery and other shopping into one seamless experience that easily fits into their routines and improves their busy lives.

Customers can order from a wide range of items including everything from fresh groceries and prepared meals to beauty products and household goods.

AmazonFresh offers the convenience of same-day and next day delivery to your doorstep, with the choice of attended and unattended two-hour delivery windows. Place a grocery order by 5 p.m. and have it that same evening, or order before going to bed and have items on your doorstep by breakfast.

Delivery is free on orders over $40. Customers can also easily shop AmazonFresh from anywhere they are using the Amazon Mobile Shopping app.

Among the selections are fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, seafood, baked goods, and dairy, as well as pet supplies, baby, health and beauty products.

AmazonFresh in Northern Virginia also includes a Local Market program, with items from Compass Coffee, Cake Love, Capital Kombucha, and Frontier Kitchen (a food incubator for Virginia’s culinary entrepreneurs).

Just last month, Amazon Prime Now was introduced in Reston.

To use AmazonFresh, Prime customers can simply go to www.amazon.com/amazonfresh and sign up for a free 30-day trial of the service.

After the free trial, Prime customers can continue to shop AmazonFresh for a monthly fee of $14.99 as an Add-on to their Prime membership.

Demolition began on Wednesday at 11690 Sunrise Valley Dr., where for more than 40 years stood Virginia’s only building designed by famed architect Marcel Breuer.

The building formerly housed the headquarters of the American Press Institute, but had been empty since API merged with another organization in 2012.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in July approved Sekas Homes’ application to build 34 townhouses and 10 condos on the site.

The proposal was approved after a late effort by historians, design experts and Reston citizens, who protested that the Brutalist building should be repurposed for another use rather than destroyed. The building had not been considered for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places because it is less than 50 years old.

The building owner and commercial real estate representatives said there was no interest from other businesses to relocate to the 45,000-square-foot building.

The demolition is expected to take about three weeks. Looking through some of the holes made Wednesday, it was visible that the tear-down was happening even as some of the Mid-Century modern furniture and other fixtures remained.

The Reston Historical Trust kicks off its fall lecture series Thursday with a look at what Tysons Corner was like before it became the edge city it is today.

Reston Historic Trust Chair Shelley Mastran will talk about the role of real estate speculation and the evolution of the Tysons landscape, as dairy farms, orchards, and gravel pits became shopping centers and high-tech office buildings.

The free program is at 7 p.m. at Reston Community Center at Lake Anne.

For more information, contact the Museum at 703-709-7700; e-mail [email protected] or visit www.restonmuseum.org.

Photo of Tysons Corner in the 1960s/Courtesy of Fairfax County Public Library Historical Archives

A London Underground station has been taken over by cats.

Well, pictures of cats, anyway. And among the now-famous felines is one Allie, a pet from Reston.

The photos of cats are a project of Citizens Advertising Takeover Service: C.A.T.S, which purchased up all the ad space at Clapham Common on London’s Underground. The cats will line the walls and entry gates for two weeks.

So how did Allie from Reston wind up on the wall?

Washington Post columnist John Kelly explains:

Allie’s owner, Randy Cepuch, saw info about the effort organized by Glimpse, an organization that promotes social consciousness in advertising, in a previous John Kelly column. C.A.T.S. was trying to raise $33,000 to replace every ad in the station with pictures of cats.

Cepuch was among the people who donated 100 pounds (about $140 U.S.) to have a small image of his cat included on a poster. Larger posters feature cats from two rescue charities, Battersea Dogs & Cats Home and Cats Protection.

“One thing I especially like about this project is that it features a number of homeless cats — and with luck they won’t be homeless much longer,” Cepuch told the Post. “Also, as I understand it the Glimpse people hope to use this experience to open the door for unusual efforts to help remedy more serious causes. Fortunately, it’s possible to try to take on serious stuff and do something on the lighter side!”

Project organizer James Turner of Glimpse said this:

“We tried to imagine a world where public spaces made you feel good. We hope people will enjoy being in the station and maybe think a bit differently about the world around them.

“Instead of asking you to buy something, we’re asking you to think about what’s really valuable in your life. It might not be cats, but it’s probably something you can’t find in the shops.”

A London tube rider takes a selfie with some of the cats. Among them is a feline from Reston/Credit: Catsnotads.org.

How To Spend Your Parking Money — Restonian has a guide with what to do with the extra $2 an hour you would be spending on Reston Town Center weekday parking, but will be saving as parking will remain free until January. [Restonian]

Grand Opening Party — Sponsored — Save the date for Bright Horizons at Commerce Metro Center’s Fall Festival Grand Opening Celebration on Oct. 1. Come and enjoy a puppet show, music and other free, family friendly fun from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. [Reston Now]

Happy Beer Birthday! — Herndon’s Aslin Beer Company is turning one and is celebrating on Sept. 24 with a series of birthday parties from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Participants will get special T-shirts, commemorative growlers, and, of course, beer. [Eventbrite]

The Fairfax County Planning Commission will review and make a decision on an amended plan for 54 townhomes at 11720 Sunrise Valley Dr. at its meeting on Wednesday.

There was a public hearing on the project in July, but the commission had some concerns with driveway size and delivery accessibility for Rooney Properties’ plans to convert an office building to a residential neighborhood.

The proposed project sits just across Roland Clarke Place where another Rooney property, the Marcel Breuer-designed former headquarters of the American Press Institute. That building was recently approved for demolition by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, clearing the way for 34 townhouses and 10 condos. Read More

First Lady Michelle Obama will hit the campaign trail this week, stumping for
Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine Friday, Sept. 16 at George Mason University in Fairfax.

Says the Clinton campaign: “At a public Democratic Party of Virginia organizing event, the First Lady will urge Virginians, especially young people, to support Clinton and Kaine in November and register to vote ahead of the October 17 deadline.”

The event begins at 3 p.m., with doors opening to the public at 1 p.m. (arrive early; lines tend to be long).

The speech will be at the Johnson Center, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax.

Interested in attending? RSVP on the Clinton campaign website.

Reston nonprofit Cornerstones has started two new endowment funds to honor Restonians’ impact on the community.

The new funds are part of Cornerstones’ new Legacy of Hope Society, “where members of the community can make a lasting difference today by making a charitable planned gift that offers stability, empowerment and hope for families now and in the future,” Cornerstones said in a release. 

The Stu Rakoff CornerstonesMemorial Fund remembers the former Cornerstones Board chair, who died in 2014 after battling ALS. Cornerstones says the the fund honors “a leader whose compassion for the human condition, love of Reston and its founding principles, and vision for Cornerstones’ future inspire us today.”

The Jennifer Steinbauer Early Childhood Education Scholarship Fund provides scholarships for the cost of child care for working families who do not qualify for a government subsidy but still need help with the costs of quality, affordable child care at Cornerstones’ Laurel Learning Center. The fund was established by longtime Reston residents Fran and Jane Steinbauer to honor their late daughter Jennifer, who had a love for working with young children.

Those interested in more information or gift options can email [email protected] or call Kelli Horton, Senior Director Annual Giving and Community Engagement, at 571-323-9566.

Cornerstones, formerly Reston Interfaith, has been active in Reston since 1970. Cornerstones works to promotes self-sufficiency by providing support and advocacy for those in need of food, shelter, affordable housing, quality childcare, and other human services.

It was a week ago – on the first day of the 2016-17 school year — that a passenger van crashed into a wall of Terraset Elementary School.

The crash damaged the wall outside the school’s new art room. There were no serious injuries.

Fairfax County Police said on Monday that the driver of the van — who was carrying children to afterschool care — may still be charged. No charges have been filed so far, and police have not identified the 55-year-old driver.

Over the weekend, crews worked to replace bricks and make other repairs to the hole in wall.

Last Tuesday was the first day in the fully renovated school after a more than two-year construction project.

Terraset Principal Lindsay Trout said the building suffered no structural damage after the crash.

Photos: Repaired wall damage, top; Van crashing into building on Sept. 6, bottom.

Fairfax County Fire and Rescue says a little yellow dot in a strategic place could help save your life. The department embarked on a new public safety initiative, the Yellow Dot Program, on Monday. The program offers a way to organize your medical information and make it accessible to rescuers in case of a car crash or other emergency.

“This free program is designed to help first responders provide life-saving medical attention during the “golden hour” after a vehicle crash or emergency,” fire and rescue officials said in a release. “Participants place a Yellow Dot decal in their vehicle’s rear window to alert first responders to check the vehicle’s glove compartment for vital medical information.”

Here is how to participate: visit your nearest Fairfax County fire station  (in and near Reston – 1820 Wiehle Avenue; 2610 Reston Parkway (Fox Mill Shopping Center) and 1117 Reston Ave. (North Point).

Ask personnel for a Yellow Dot Program kit. The Yellow Dot Program kit contains a personal information booklet and a Yellow Dot decal. Complete both sides of the booklet as fully as possible. Filling the booklet out in pencil will allow you to update the booklet as information changes. Attach a current photo of yourself and place the booklet in the glove compartment.

Place the Yellow Dot Program decal in the lower left corner of your rear windshield, no higher than three inches from the bottom.

How to ease traffic on Hunter Mill Road, a two-lane country road in the increasingly urban Reston-Vienna area, will be the subject of a community meeting this week.

The Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) meeting (Thursday, Sept. 15 at 7 p.m., at Aldrin Elementary School, 11375 Center Harbor Rd. in Reston), is actually the fifth on this topic since 2014.

FCDOT officials will talk about the project status and next steps.

At the most recent meeting in late June, transportation officials showed results of a new traffic impact study that showed installing roundabouts could result in fewer traffic backups.

Project manager Kristin Calkins said then that the project is still years away as the county continues to look at models and obtain citizen feedback. There also is no money set aside for the roundabouts as county transportation projects are planned and funded through 2020.

In any case, FCDOT is looking at what roundabouts would do at Sunrise Valley Drive and Hunter Mill Road, on Dulles Toll Road eastbound and westbound exit ramps at Hunter Mill, and at Sunset Hills Road and Crowell Drive, which would also be realigned to connect and further smooth traffic on Hunter Mill.

Some of those intersections/road areas are currently at an unacceptable level of service, said Calkins. Roundabouts would bring them up to an acceptable level when the county looks at the increased volume expected to be on the roads in 2030.

To see the several options FCDOT is studying, visit the Hunter Mill Road Study page. Here is FCDOT’s presentation from the June meeting.

In addition to the roundabouts, the county would like to upgrade the area on Hunter Mill from Sunrise Valley Drive to Route 7 that is served by a one-lane bridge.

 “It’s been found to be structurally deficient and functionally obsolete,” said Calkins. “Hunter Mill Road carries 7,900 vehicles a day. That warrants a two-lane bridge.”

Calkins said an acceptable amount of traffic for a road with a one-lane bridge is 400 cars per day.

 Graphic: Proposed roundabouts on Hunter Mill Road/Credit: FCDOT

New Slate at Cornerstones — Reston nonprofit Cornerstones has announced a new Board of Directors for 2017-18: Sara Leonard, Board Chair; Susan Jones, Vice Chair; John Thomas, Secretary; Lawrence Schwartz, Treasurer. Leonard has served on the Board since 2011 as a representative from Christ the Servant Lutheran Church. She has chaired the Board Governance Committee since 2013 and served as Vice Chair since 2014.

Shop And Help — Whole Foods Market Reston is donating 5 percent of every sale on Sept. 21 to the Terraset Elementary PTA in support of the school’s Outdoor Learning Center (OLC). As a two-year renovation of the school concludes, Terraset ES aims to expand the OLC to its vast green rooftop and launch a student gardening program.

Artist’s Talk — Award-winning sculptor Barbara Grygutis, who has created more than 75 large-scale public art works across the United States and Canada, including the Silver Line’s Spring Hill Metro station, will kick off the Initiative for Public Art-Reston’s (IPAR) Artist Talk Series on Wednesday, Sept. 21, at 7:30 p.m. at Reston Association (12001 Sunrise Valley Dr.) 

New SafeTrack Schedule Starts Sept. 15 — The ninth out of 15 Metro “Safety Surges” for expedited repairs begins this week and will affect Orange Line riders. [Fairfax County]

Land use, zoning and future Reston redevelopment projects — including Bozzuto’s proposal to double the size of St. Johns Wood Apartments — are all on the agenda for a special meeting of the Reston Association Board of Directors on Wednesday, Sept. 14.

This is an important time for RA as many redevelopment proposals are before the Fairfax County Planning Commission and the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. While RA’s Board has no final say in the plans, the board can wield influence as new residents will, in most cases, be RA members.

Says the Sept. 14 special meeting agenda:

The purposes of this Special Meeting are to provide the RA Board and members with an update and status regarding various Land Use/zoning matters affecting the Reston community and an opportunity for the Board to discuss those matters, including but not limited to:

The County’s and Reston Association’s Land Use/zoning application Review and community input processes;

Current and anticipated Land Use/zoning applications in Reston and, – A draft RA DRB policy related to member notification when the RA Design Review Board receives requests for courtesy review and/or DRB covenant required review of applications related to Fairfax County land use/zoning application projects.

The agenda includes:

Discussion of current & anticipated Land Use/Zoning Applications in Reston (John McBride, Esq., Odin Feldman Pittleman, RA’s land use attorney) Read More

Jimmy Sosinski of Haymarket was the top finisher at Sunday’s Reston Triathlon.

Sosinski, 34, finished the Olympic distance competition (1,500-meter swim in Lake Audubon; 40k bike ride; and 10k run) in 2:08:04. Last year’s winner, Nathan Rickman, 37, of Fairfax, finished second in 2:08:24.

The top women’s finisher was Claire Wolff, 17, an accomplished swimmer from McLean High School. Wolff finished in 2:25:28. Colleen LaFrance, 31, of Great Falls was second in 2:27:49.

See full results on the 2016 Reston Triathlon results page.

There were several Reston athletes who earned top age group honors. Among them:

• Matthew Stann, 16, second, men 15-19 (2:30:55 )
• Hazel Cimino, 20, first, women 20-24 (3:19:07 )
• Will Sickenberger, 23, first men 20-24 (2:27:14)
• Aaryn Scheid, 28, first, women 25-29 (2:54:50)
• Heather Detwieler, 28, third, women 25-29 (3:11:47)
• Teagan Miller, 25, second, men 25-29 (2:32:25 )
• Carolyn Argetsinger, 32, first, women 3034 (3:04:39)
• Ashley Didion,30, second, women 30-34 (3:08:33)
• Sean Pinkney, 32, first, men 30-34 (2:12:16)
• Sharon Adams, 41, first, women 40-44 (2:30:02)
• Chris Brown, 43, second, men 40-44 (2:23:05)
• Scott Baldwin, 45, first, men 45-49 (2:21:16 )
• Kevin Kunkel, 45, second men 45-49 (2:21:42)
• Sam Scoggin, 55, second, men 55-59 (2:29:14)
• Jeannie Johns, 56, third, women 55-59 (3:10:24)
• Justine Goodman, 62, second, women 60-64 (2:57:27)
• Marcy Foster, 62, third, women 60-64 (3:11:37)
• Paul Hartke, 62, second, men 60-64 (2:49:21)
• Dana Ann Scheurer, 66, first, women 65-69 (3:08:49)
• Patricia Daniellekay, 65, second, women 65-69 (4:22:07)
• Joseph O’Gorman, 68, first, men 65-69 (2:53:56)
• Michael Scheurer, 67, third, men 65-69 (3:48:03)
• David Breese, 70, second, men 70-74 (3:30:09)
• Manfred Boehringer, 70, third, men 70-74 (3:38:57 )
• Antonio Panizza, 77, first, men 75-79 (4:06:36)
• Bob Lambert, 77, second, men 75-79 (4:10:35)

Photo: Reston Triathlon 2016/Credit: Christin Photography for Reston Association.