A woman walking to her car at Woodland Park Crossing shopping center off of Sunrise Valley Drive told police she was held up at knifepoint Thursday afternoon.
Fairfax County Police said the woman was walking to her car in the center’s garage in the 12900 block of Highland Crossing Drive in unincorporated Herndon about 3 p.m.when she was approached by a man.
The suspect displayed a knife, demanded money and then told the victim to drive him to an ATM. The victim did not have a bank card with her. The suspect then took cash and property and fled on foot.
Police say the suspect is described as Hispanic, about 50 years of age, wavy hair, wearing a light blue shirt and light brown pants.
In other crime news reported by Fairfax County Police:
BURGLARY, 1400 block of Northgate Square, June 13. A resident reported someone entered the residence and took property.
INDECENT EXPOSURE WITH APPREHENSION/ASSAULT ON LAW ENFORCEMENT, 2500 block of Fallon Drive, Oak Hill, June 6, 5:22 p.m. A woman was in her home and saw a man standing in her backyard. The suspect exposed himself to the victim then fled. Officers located the suspect and attempted to take him into custody.
During the arrest, the suspect resisted and assaulted one of the officers. An officer deployed the conducted energy weapon and the suspect was arrested after a short foot pursuit. Neither the officers nor the suspect required medical attention.
Edgar Zelaya Ayala, 19, no fixed address, was charged with assault on trespassing, masturbating in a public place, assault on law enforcement and resisting arrest.
LARCENIES
13100 block of Parcher Avenue, beverage from business.
1500 block of Powells Tavern Place, property from school.
2700 block of West Ox Road, property from park.
Woodland Park Crossing/file photo
Eliminate Advanced Academic Centers, elementary band and strings programs and speech therapists; go back to mini-Mondays; charge tuition for language immersion programs; and cut back the number of custodians and make kids clean the school.
Those are just a few of the dozens of citizen ideas on how Fairfax County Public Schools can save money.
The school system, which serves more than 180,000 students, put out the call for cost-saving ideas to residents last week.
Superintendent Karen Garza says FCPS will have a deficit of more than $100 million by 2016-17 if drastic measures are not taken.
“Without additional funding, FCPS will need to have some difficult and emotional conversations with the community to determine which programs to eliminate,” FCPS says. “If revenues do not increase, to balance the budget FCPS may have to eliminate and/or redesign programs and services for the 2016-17 school year.”
“These reductions may affect all academic programming, including limiting elective choices, reducing career and technical programs, impacting advanced offerings, and raising class sizes at all levels.”
The FCPS Board approved a $2.6 billion budget for 2015-16. The board still needed to cut $7 million from the budget in order to cover such items as earlier high school start times (going into effect in the fall), the expense of full-day Mondays for elementary schools, and staff pay increases.
In 2014, the school system eliminated more than 700 staff positions as Garza said FCPS was facing a $130 million deficit for 2015.
In addition to resident suggestions, FCPS is establishing a Budget Task Force, comprised of community and employee stakeholders to advise Garza in developing the FY 2017 budget. Read More
Ken Plum Fundraiser — Del. Ken Plum will host his State of the Commonwealth Breakfast June 22 at American Tap Room at Reston Town Center. The program is also a fundraiser for Plum’s re-election campaign. Tickets start at $35. [Act Blue]
Online High School — The Virginia Department of Education is launching a pilot program that will allow students to earn a high school diploma online. [WTOP]
Graduation Day — Herndon High’s graduation is Wednesday, 2 p.m. at GMU’s Patriot Center. South Lakes will hold graduation Thursday, 9:30 a.m. at Patriot Center. [FCPS]
County May Ban Dog Tethering — The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is considering making it illegal (misdemeanor) to tie up a dog outside for more than an hour. [Fairfax Times]
A large tree fell on Hunter Mill Road near Hunter Station Road early Tuesday, breaking two power poles and blocking traffic on Hunter Mill.
Fairfax County officials have closed Hunter Mill between Lawyers Road and Hunter Station as of 6:30 a.m. Tuesday.
The road may be closed for eight hours, county officials said.
Crews from Dominion Virginia Power are also on the scene working to restore power to customers in the area.
Tall Oaks Village Center owners Jefferson Apartment Group (JAG) will present a revised look at plans for the space on June 22.
JAG, along with Fairfax County Supervisor Cathy Hudgins, is hosting and open house at 7 p.m. at Reston Community Center at Lake Anne, 1609-A Washington Plaza.
JAG, which purchased Tall Oaks for $14 million last December, held two community meetings in Reston in April. Representatives showed plans to replace the increasingly vacant shopping center with 154 residential units (townhomes and condos) and a small amount of retail.
The proposal was not well received by Tall Oaks-area residents, who would prefer the village center be preserved as a retail center, including a grocery store anchor. There is an online petition asking JAG to keep Tall Oaks retail.
The 25,000-square-foot grocery store space — formerly a Giant and then two different international groceries — has been vacant for nearly five years.
Land use attorney Mark Looney said at the previous meetings that there was almost no interest in Tall Oaks among retailers.
Looney predicts Tall Oaks, which had a nearly 90-percent occupancy rate in 2007 and currently has a 13-percent occupancy rate, will be 6 percent occupied by early 2016.
Meanwhile, Reston Master Plan Phase 2, recently approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, says developers do not have to get a Comprehensive Plan Amendment in order to redevelop Tall Oaks as residential.
Rendering of new Tall Oaks residences/Courtesy Jefferson Apartment Group
Thousands of police and fire personnel will descend on Fairfax County when the World Police & Fire Games open June 26.
The biennial event (2013’s Games were held in Belfast, Northern Ireland) will feature competition in more than 60 events. Tickets are free.
The action will take place from DC (opening ceremonies at RFK Stadium) to Loudoun County’s equestrian fields. Most of the events will be held at Fairfax stadiums, fields and high school facilities and at George Mason University.
Several events will be here in Reston. Here is what you need to know:
- Honor Guard — Hyatt Regency Reston, June 27 and 28.
- Ice Hockey — Reston Skatequest, June 27 to July 3
- Police Service Dogs — Lake Fairfax Park, June 27 and 28
- Rowing — Hyatt Regency Reston, July 3 and 4
- Half Marathon — Reston Town Center, July 5
- Open Water Swim — Lake Audubon, June 28
- Triathlon — Lake Audubon/South Lakes High School, July 3
- Cross Country Running — Lake Fairfax Park, June 30
- Wrist Wrestling — Reston Town Center, Hyatt Regency Reston, July 3
For complete schedule, visit the Fairfax 2015 website.
Tickets are free.
Reston Town Center will also be the site of the Athletes Village. There will be entertainment, vendors and other fun nightly in several locations at town center. See this previous Reston Now article for more details.
After nearly a year re-imagining, Reston Association’s Pony Barn working group has formed its final conceptual plans for the renovation of the recreational area.
RA last year set aside $30,000 for the renovation of the area at Steeplechase Drive and Triple Crown Road.
The park, once home to an actual pony barn, is mainly a picnic pavilion, open grassy space and small play area. RA sought community feedback last summer, where ideas from a memorial garden of reflection to an archery range were suggested.
In December, the group nixed those ideas in favor improvements to existing facilities and the addition of a butterfly garden.
The final plan calls for an improved pavilion area with upgrades to the play areas, picnic tables and new barbecue grills. The proposal also calls for new fencing and landscaping.
The proposal will be presented to RA’s Board on July 30. If approved, the plan then will go to the RA Design Review Board on Aug. 18.
Photos: Top, final concept renderings for Pony Barn/Courtesy RA; Bottom, Pony Barn Rec Area/file photo
The family of Marco Reyes-Sanchez is not giving up hope of finding the 21-year-old Reston man who went missing while swimming in the Potomac River nearly two weeks ago.
Reyes-Sanchez was visiting Great Falls National Park with his family June 3. Reyes-Sanchez and a friend both jumped in the Potomac, where swimming is forbidden. The other man emerged, but Reyes Sanchez was carried away by the current and is presumed drowned.
Reyes-Sanchez was wearing cargo pants and a long-sleeved shirt, which may have weighed him down while trying to swim, family members told TV station WJLA. Friends shared video of Reyes-Sanchez being carried downstream with WJLA (see video above).
Crews from Montgomery County Fire & Rescue and the National Park Police searched for the former South Lakes High School student for nearly a week. Formal search efforts have been called off, MCFR spokesman Pete Piringer said last week.
However, Reyes-Sanchez’s family says it has been on the banks of the Potomac at Great Falls daily in hopes of finding him.
“We’re looking on the riverside,” Antonio Quintoro, a friend, told WJLA. “We’re hoping to find him, or someone to tell us he’s alive.”
Reyes-Sanchez, who worked as a cook at an area restaurant, considered himself a good swimmer, his friends said.
Reyes-Sanchez’s family members have missed many days of work as the search continues. There has been a Go Fund Me page set up to help them.
“Please help the Reyes-Sanchez family,” the page message reads. “They are searching for their beloved son, and brother, Marco Reyes Sanchez. He went missing June 3 while swimming in the Potomac River.”
“The family has been searching for him every day in hopes to find him soon. Since they are out looking they are unable to work, and therefore not receiving income. They need all the love and support they can get during this crisis. Every dollar counts and any help is very much appreciated. This is a family in great need.”
The family also held a fundraising cookout on Sunday, according to the We Are With You, Marco Reyes Facebook page.
Photo: Marco Reyes-Sanchez/Go Fund Me
Metro’s Silver Line will take a big step toward the future on Monday when Fairfax County Officials will break ground at Innovation Center South, a 1.6-million-square-foot mixed use development in Herndon.
The development will be located adjacent to the Innovation Center Metro Station and the 2,100-space parking garage built by the county at Route 28 and the Dulles Toll Road.
Phase 2 of the Silver Line will run from Reston’s Wiehle Avenue to Loudoun County, with stops at Reston Town Center, Herndon, Innovation Center, Dulles International Airport and Ashburn. It is expected to be completed in 2019.
This groundbreaking will make the start of construction on common infrastructure at the 15-acre site, including stormwater management, new roads, street lights, and landscaping.
When complete, the development will include a 190-room hotel; 104,000 square feet of retail; 501,000 square feet of office; and about 1,005 apartments spread across seven buildings.
In July of 2014, shortly after Phase 1 of the Silver Line opened, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a contract for the $57 million garage.
Fairfax County committed to building the garage as part of the agreement reached three years ago to pay for the Silver Line’s second phase. In November, the county approved a $115 million bond sale that will help pay for the garage, as well as parking at the Herndon station.
Innovation Center is being built as part of a partnership between Rock Engineering Company and Nugget Joint Venture.
The land for Innovation Center is currently undeveloped. The county agreed to share the cost for common infrastructure needed on the 14.68-acre site, along with a pocket park and a one-acre, landscaped plaza surrounding the entrance to the Metro station. The pocket park will be used to filter and retain stormwater from the entire site.
Rendering: Innovation Center South/Fairfax County
Surprise Attack — A woman says a man smashed her car window with an unknown object as she waited at the light Hunter Mill Road and Sunset Hills Road at 9:30 p.m. on Thursday. [NBC 4]
Help The World Police & Fire Games — The open water swim and triathlon portions of the World Police and Fire Games will be on Lake Audubon. Reston Association is seeking experienced paddlers to volunteer for the triathlon event to accompany lifeguards in canoes on the lake. Boats, paddles and floatation devices will be provided. If interested, please contact [email protected].
Baseball Kudos — South Lakes High School Second Baseman Matthew Wojciechowski was named second-team All-Met by The Washington Post. [Washington Post]
Big Deal For Bechtel — Reston-based Bechtel Corporation is leading a joint $1.5 billion contract delivering test operations and sustainment for an Air Force flight test facility. [Washington Business Journal]
Photo: Chalk on the Water 2015/Credit: Ken Knueven
Officers from Fairfax County Police’s Reston District Station are investigating two burglaries that took place in the last week.
The first incident was in the 9700 block of Leesburg Pike on last Friday. A resident reported someone entered the residence and took property.
The second burglary was reported on Monday when a resident in the 1500 block of Cameron Crescent Drive reported someone entered the residence and took property.
Police did not say what was stolen or whether the doors to the homes were locked.
In other crime news this week:
LARCENIES
- 2100 block of Glen Course Lane, cash from vehicle.
- 1400 block of Lake Fairfax Drive, phone from park.
- 1800 block of Michael Faraday Court, cash from business.
- 2600 block of Quincy Adams Drive, merchandise from business.
- 12800 block of Bexhill Court, phone from school.
- 1800 block of Fountain Drive, property from business.
- 2400 block of Fox Mill Road, materials from construction site.
- 1200 block of Gilman Court, wallet from vehicle.
- 11600 block of Gilman Lane, purse from vehicle.
- 2300 block of Hunters Woods Plaza, merchandise from business.
- 1800 block of Jonathan Way, phone from business.
- 1000 block of Preserve Court, property from vehicle.
On the hunt for a new home? Check out these open houses this weekend. For complete real estate information and more listings, visit Reston Now’s Real Estate page.
1588 Woodcrest Drive
2 BR, 1.5 BA TH
$333,000
Open Sunday 1 to 3 p.m.
1566 Old Eaton Lane
5 BR, 3.5 BA SFH
$789,000
Open Sunday 1 to 4 p.m.
2619 Fox Mill Road
5 BR, 4 BA SFH
$739,990
Open Sunday 12 to 3 p.m.
2384 Generation Drive
3 BR, 2 FB, 2 HB TH
$415,000
Open Sunday 1 to 4 p.m.
11513 Catalpa Court
4 BR, 3BA SFH
$650,000
Open Sunday 1 to 4 p.m.
1710 Abercromby Court
2 BR, 2 BA Condo
$284,900
Open Sunday 1 to 4 p.m.
Lake Anne Plaza’s outdoor summer film festival begins Sunday.
Come to the plaza to watch My Big Fat Greek Wedding Sunday at dusk (about 8:30 p.m.).
Admission is free, just bring a chair or blanket and a picnic. Come early to get a good seat. Lake Anne restaurants are also open for a before-movie meal or to get takeout.
The movies on the plaza will air monthly. Here is the full 2015 schedule:
June 14 – My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)
July 12 – E.T. (1982)
Aug 9 – West Side Story (1961)
Aug 30 – Jazz on a Summer’s Day (1960)
Free yoga will happen at Reston Town Center all day Sunday as the Love Your Body Yoga Festival returns for its seventh year.
The festival, organized by Reston’s Beloved Yoga, runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with yoga classes, wellness information, food samples and more.
The event is free, but donations for some classes will benefit Cornerstones and the Brad Kaminsky Foundation.
The pavilion will be the site of the main stage, where teachers from local studios Beloved Yoga, Health Advantage, Sun and Moon, Lifetime Athletic and others will lead a variety of classes.
Here is the main stage schedule:
- 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m., Opening Flow with Amir Tahami (Sun and Moon Yoga); Susan Van Nuys (Health Advantage); Stair Calhoun (Little River Yoga)l and Maryam Ovissi (Beloved Yoga)
- 11:35 a.m. – noon, Spark Yoga
- 12:05 p.m. – 12:30 p.m., LifeTime Fitness Life Power Yoga
- 12:35 p.m. – 1:00 p.m., Dancing Mind
- 1:05 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. , Easy Day Yoga
- 1:35 p.m. – 2:00 p.m., Pure OM
- 2:05 p.m. – 2:30 p.m., JourneYoga
- 2:35 p.m. – 3:00 p.m., Life Wellness Centre
- 3:05 p.m. – 3:30 p.m., Inner Power Yoga
- 3:35 p.m. – 4:00 p.m., Kundalini Yoga (Raj Yoga Center)
- 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m., Community Kirtan & Closing Synergy Circle with Guruganesha and Band, Lobo Marino, Gita & the Metropolitan Bhaktis.
There will be a kids tent with short, child-friendly yoga classes, a tent with a live kirtan (music and chanting) and yoga for healing special groups such as addiction recovery, special needs children and adults, and people with other health challenges.
To see the full schedule, visit Love Your Body Festival’s website.
RCC Annual Meeting — Want to know what Reston Community Center has planned and where the money is going? Attend the annual meeting Monday, June 15 at 6:30 p.m. at RCC Hunters Woods. The public is welcome to comment during the public hearing portion of the meeting.
Sobriety Checkpoint Tonight — Fairfax County Police will conduct a sobriety checkpoint somewhere in the Reston District Friday night.
Plans For Hunter Mill Bridge — The Virginia Department of Transportation is planning a new bridge in Hunter Mill Road over Difficult Run in Vienna. Find out plan and attended a public hearing on June 17. [VDOT]
