The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for Wednesday in Northern Virginia as an Alberta Clipper will move through the area.
The NWS says one to three inches of snow could fall in Reston. The Capital Weather Gang says it expects a low-impact event as temperatures will be too warm for much accumulation.
From the NWS:
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM TO 6 PM EST WEDNESDAY…
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON HAS ISSUED A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW… WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM TO 6 PM EST WEDNESDAY.
* PRECIPITATION TYPE… SNOW.
* ACCUMULATIONS… 1 TO 3 INCHES. LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE.
* TIMING… SNOW IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING… AND CONTINUE THROUGH THE DAYTIME ON WEDNESDAY. THE HEAVIEST SNOW IS EXPECTED FROM LATE MORNING THROUGH MID AFTERNOON.
* TEMPERATURES… IN THE LOWER TO MID 30S.
* WINDS… EAST 5 TO 10 MPH.
* IMPACTS… TEMPERATURES WILL LIKELY BE BELOW FREEZING WEDNESDAY MORNING… ALLOWING SNOW TO ACCUMULATE ON ROADWAYS AND OTHER SURFACES. THIS WILL RESULT IN HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS DURING THE MORNING COMMUTE. SLIPPERY CONDITIONS COULD PERSIST INTO THE LATE AFTERNOON.PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW WILL CAUSE PRIMARILY TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SNOW COVERED ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES… AND USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING.
Dozens of Restonians turned out to help on Saturday as Reston Association and Reston Community Center sponsored a Day of Service in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday.
Participants bagged lunches for clients at the Embry Rucker Community Shelter; sorted clothing donations for The Closet in Herndon; Created art with inspirational quotes; and helped paint and fix things at the Southgate Community Center.
Other weekend activities included the Voices of Inspiration concert, the community march from Lake Anne to Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation, a community lunch and a performance by playwright/actress Anne Deveare Smith.
Photos courtesy of Volunteer Reston and Reston Community Center
Advocacy group Rescue Reston is hoping to fill the auditorium with residents at the Fairfax County Government Center at Reston National’s Board of Zoning Appeals Hearing on Wednesday.
The BZA will consider the appeal of RN Golf, the owners of the 166-acre public course in south Reston, at the 9 a.m. hearing.
RN Golf, a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual Insurance, has been asking the county since 2010 whether the course was considered residential. The county said in 2012 that the course is designated permanent, open recreational space, and to change the designation would require a change to the Reston Master Plan.
RN Golf appealed that decision, and then deferred the hearing several times. But Wednesday’s sessions is on, and Rescue Reston leader Connie Hartke said the BZA is likely to have a decision on the appeal the same day.
What Rescue Reston wants you to know if you are going to go:
- Be inside the auditorium at 8:45 for photographs of the “bright yellow sea of support” for County Zoning.
- Rescue Reston is encouraging everyone to wear their bright yellow/green Rescue Reston T-shirt or other similarly colored clothing, and to bring Rescue Reston yard signs (without the stakes).
- If you are scheduled to make a comment to the BZA, the public comment period is at the start of the hearing. You have the right to speak at the hearing and voice your opinion. However, if a number of people have spoken and your points have already been covered, it is perfectly fine just to say that you “agree with” or “support” the previous comments, says Hartke.
The government center is located at 12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax.
For more information, including car pool sign ups, visit Rescue Reston’s website.
Read more on the subject:
Reston National Owners Ask Again For Zoning Appeal
Staff Report on Reston National Stays the Course
Residents Rally to Save Open Space
Development Foes Say History on Their Side
Anne Arundel County(Md.) fire officials said Tuesday that fire continues to smolder in the lower level of the 16,000-square-foot home belonging to Donald Pyle, Chief Operating Officer of Reston’s ScienceLogic.
Pyle, 55, his wife and four grandchildren remain missing after the blaze completely destroyed the $6.2-million mansion near Annapolis early on Monday. More than 85 firefighters were called to the four-alarm fire.
Anne Arundel County fire investigator Robert Howarth said the six will remain classified as “missing and unaccounted for” until investigators see evidence that they were killed in the fire.
Investigators have not yet been able to enter the home to look for victims due to the active fire and the lack of necessary machinery to lift giant support beams that fell into the basement, Howarth said.
“They are officially missing,” he said at a news conference Tuesday morning. “We do not declare anyone deceased until we know for sure and recover evidence. … There are six people unaccounted for — and we still do not have 100 percent proof they are in the house. But the house is where we will focus [the investigation].’
Howarth said the fire is being investigated as a crime scene, mainly because there are no witnesses as to how to fire started.
Officials said there are unique challenges in searching a 16,000-square-foot home and that the investigation is more like a commercial fire investigation. They will be bringing in heavy equipment on Tuesday that will enable crews to remove and inspect debris, as well as search for victims. The investigation could take several days, department spokesman Russ Davies said.
Donald Pyle was hired last fall as chief operating officer at ScienceLogic, a cybersecurity company that monitors networks for private and government clients, including the Department of Defense.
Firefighters at the remains of home belonging to Reston-based exec Donald Pyle/Credit: NBC News via Twitter
Fairfax County has taken the pledge to end veteran homelessness this year.
In late December, Supervisor Chair Sharon Bulova and the county joined the Mayors Challenge.
The Mayors Challenge is an effort of First Lady Michelle Obama and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, as well as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness and the National League of Cities.
The Mayors Challenge calls for mayors (and other jurisdiction leaders) to make a commitment to ending veteran homelessness in their communities in 2015.
Bulova said that honoring and taking care of veterans is “one of the most important things we can do as a nation, and Fairfax County will certainly do our part in making this goal a reality.”
“I am honored to partner with the Obama administration, nonprofit organizations, neighboring jurisdictions and the private sector to end veteran homelessness in the United States by the end of 2015,” she said.
During the 2014 Point-in-Time Count of homeless persons in Fairfax County, 8 percent of all single adults who were homeless (45 individuals) identified themselves as veterans. Additionally, the 2014 count found six veterans living in families with children.
Nationally, the number of veterans experiencing homelessness has decreased by about 33 percent since Opening Doors launched in 2010, the county says.
The Mayors Challenge is part of the federal Opening Doors initiative to end homelessness. As outlined by the program, ending veteran homelessness means reaching the point where there are no veterans sleeping on the streets and every veteran has access to permanent housing.
Also, the initiative will work to provide systems so that should veterans become homeless or be at-risk of becoming homeless, communities will have the capacity to quickly connect them to the help they need to achieve housing stability.
During the 2014 Point-in-Time Count on Jan. 29, 2014, there were 1,225 people who were homeless in the Fairfax-Falls Church community. This represents a 9 percent reduction from the number counted in January 2013, or 125 fewer people.
Since 2008, the county has decreased the homeless population 33 percent. Adoption of housing first and rapid rehousing models, heightened prevention efforts, prioritizing housing for the longest and most vulnerable homeless through the 100,000 Homes campaign, additional VASH vouchers, dedication of new housing options to the chronically homeless, and the opening of Mondloch Place have assisted in this significant reduction, Fairfax County officials said.
The Chief Operating Officer of a Reston cybersecurity firm and his family are among the missing people after a four-alarm fire at his Anne Arundel County home on Monday morning.
Firefighters responded to a 3:30 a.m. alarm at the 16,000-square-foot home on Childs Point Road in Annapolis, The Washington Post reported. It took 85 firefighters several hours to control the blaze.
The $6.2 million home was purchased by Donald and Sandra Pyle in 2005, the Post reported that property records show.
Donald Pyle was hired last fall as chief operating officer at ScienceLogic, a Reston-based cybersecurity company that monitors networks for private and government clients, including the Department of Defense.
The family of six was still unaccounted for Monday evening, investigators said. Pyle was believed to have been at home with his wife and four grandchildren, WJLA reported.
Yama Habibzai, a spokesman for ScienceLogic, which is located at 10700 Parkridge Blvd. in Reston, confirmed in an email to The Associated Press that there was a fire at Pyle’s home early Monday and the case is under investigation. He said the company had no further comment.
By Monday evening, crews had to suspend the search, The Baltimore Sun reported. Crews will return to the scene Tuesday with special equipment.
The Sun also reported that fire officials said there is a chance Pyle and his family may be out of town, however they have gotten no response when trying to reach them via cell phone.
Photo: Firefighters at blaze at home of Reston-based ScienceLogic CEO Donald Pyle/Credit: AP /Capital Gazette, Glenn A. Miller
New at GRACE — The exhibit, BEAD is now open at Greater Reston Arts Center. Thw exhibit includes two- and three- dimensional pieces that incorporate beads, often in surprising ways. BEAD. [Modern Reston]
Kudos for Edlin School — Middle schoolers from Reston’s Edlin School won first place in the Future City competition is sponsored by DiscoverE, an engineering advocacy organization at the Baltimore Museum of Industry. [Baltimore Sun]
Connector Changes — Several Reston routes are among the changes for Fairfax Connector beginning Jan. 24. [Fairfax Connector]
Ending Human Trafficking — Fairfax County is holding a forum Jan. 28 to discuss human trafficking, how to spot it and how to end it. [Fairfax County]
Photo: Winter on Lake Audubon/Credit: Joy Every
Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Reston Now is off, and hopefully so are you. We will be back tomorrow.
Meanwhile, here is a list of what is open and closed today.
And here is a rundown of events at Reston Community Center to honor MLK.
The Reston Community Players’ new production of the whodunit Rehearsal for Murder opens Friday at Reston Community’s Center’s CenterStage.
Rehearsal for Murder is the story of Alex Dennison, a successful playwright who, one year earlier, lost his fiancé, Monica Wells, a movie-star turned Broadway leading lady, in what police ruled as a suicide. Convinced it was actually murder, Dennison invites five acquaintances from the original production to read scenes from his new play. These scenes reveal surprising connections to the original death.
The play is produced by Jay Stein, who also plays Lloyd Andrews, the director of Alex Dennison’s ill-fated play, Chamber Music.
“The most interesting thing about being in a whodunit is being part of the process of confounding the audience, yet also knowing there are enough clues for them to figure it out if they are paying attention,” Stein said in a release.
Rehearsal for Murder is directed by Jessie Roberts. Producers are Jocelyn Steiner and Jay Stein. The cast includes Ian Brown (Alex Dennison), Kathy Ohlhaber (Monica Wells), Kevin Walker (David Matthews), Jay Stein (Lloyd Andrew), Joan Zeigler (Bella Lamb), Wilson Paine (Leo Gibbs), Christine Carter (Karen Daniels), Heather Miska (Sally Bean), Steven Palkovitz (Mr. Santoro), Matthew Wise (Policeman), Wayne Jacques (Frank Heller), Meg Miller (Policewoman), Carol Watson (Loretta), and Matt Cederholm (Ernie/Lt. McElroy). D.D.
Rehearsal for Murder is based upon the teleplay by Richard Levinson and William Link for the 1982 film featuring Robert Preston and Lynn Redgrave.
Rehearsal for Murder runs weekends, Jan. 16-31, 2015. All performances are at 8 p.m. with the exception of a 2 p.m. matinee on Jan. 25.
Tickets are $20 ($17 for seniors and students) and can be purchased through www.restonplayers.org or by calling the CenterStage box office at 703-476-4500 x 3.
Photo: Christine Carter as Karen Daniels, Kathy Ohlhaber as Monica Welles, and Wilson Paine as Leo Gibbs in Reston Community Players’ Rehearsal for Murder/ Credit: Traci J Brooks Studios
The Silver Line is experiencing delays of about 30 minutes this morning after smoke was reported in the Metro tunnel in Arlington between the Ballston and Virginia Square Stations.
Metro says trains are single tracking in that area as a result.
The large emergency response comes after Monday’s fatal Metro incident outside the L’Enfant Metro station, in which smoke filled a disabled Metro train in a tunnel.
Keep up with the situation on ARLnow.com.
Reston Community Center will not send the idea of a new indoor recreational facility to a community referendum in 2015, RCC Executive Director Leila Gordon said.
RCC’s Board of Governors has been discussing since February 2013 the idea of adding a new recreation center with a 50-meter indoor pool.
RCC’s current indoor pool, at Hunters Woods, is more than 35 years old and need of modernization, the board of governors says.
The pros and cons have been debated at a series of sometimes contentious community meetings. A feasibility study by Brailsford & Dunlavey, completed in 2013, said the facility would cost about $30-40 million if RCC built it on land donated by the Fairfax County Park Authority at Baron Cameron Park.
Last June, the park authority approved changes to the Baron Cameron Park Master Plan, incorporating the rec center as a future option at the 68-acre park.
The board is also considering the area known as Town Center North as a potential site.
RCC is not in position to have a referendum this year, Gordon said, because county planning for Town Center North has not been completed.
“The RCC Board of Governors affirmed in its meetings on Jan. 9 and 10 that we continue to pursue the best options for the community to realize both of our facility priorities: an indoor rec center/aquatics facility and a performing arts venue,” said Gordon. “We established with the community and with the county our studies’ outcomes that the only two suitable locations at present to pursue for indoor recreation are Reston Town Center North and Baron Cameron Park.”
“Given that the County’s planning for Reston Town Center North hasn’t concluded yet, we won’t be in a position to put any type of bond referendum question related to either facility on a November, 2015 ballot,” she said.
Gordon also said RCC will “aggressively seek other contributions” to get the facilities built. That money would likely come from developer proffers and partnerships.
The cost of the proposed rec center and concern that residents of Small Tax District 5 (Reston) would have to foot the bill have been among the biggest concerns from residents. Many who live in the Baron Cameron Park area are also concerned about traffic and noise.
It will cost RCC $75,000 to conduct the referendum, which would determine if the community is in favor of building the new facility.
Reston Community Center is sponsoring a full weekend of cultural and volunteer opportunities as a way to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Day is Monday, Jan. 19 and is considered by many to be a day of service. RCC has a number of ways residents of all ages can take part.
Here is the full lineup of events in Reston:
Saturday, Jan. 17
9:00 a.m. — Community Service Projects at Southgate Community Center.
Take part in a variety of projects, including sorting donations at The Closet, making meals for Embry Rucker Community Shelter, and cleaning up outdoor areas. Reston Community Center is partnering with Reston Association, Southgate Community Center, Cornerstones, and The Closet on community service projects. Registration is required through Reston Association.
4:00 p.m. — Musical Salute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at RCC Hunters Woods
Maestro Dingwall Fleary will lead the Reston Community Orchestra in the ninth annual musical salute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Concert will feature the works of African-American composers, as well as works inspired by the civil rights movement for which Dr. King gave his life. New this year is an inspiring performance of Dr. King’s “I Have A Dream” speech by students from Reston’s Al Fatih Academy. The performance is free for all ages, and donations are appreciated.
7:00 p.m. — Kosher Gospel Concert, Congregation Beth Emeth, 12523 Lawyers Rd.
Enjoy a special evening of Kosher Gospel featuring the Prince of Kosher Gospel Joshua Nelson. Nelson fuses Jewish lyrics with the soulful sounds of American gospel music. Sponsored by Congregation Beth Emeth of Herndon. Tickets are $25 per adults, $18 per child.
Sunday, Jan. 18
1:30 p.m. — Art Reception, RCC Hunters Woods
Reston children have created works with themes centered on the history of King and the civil rights movement, art will be on display from early January through the end of the month.
3 p.m. — Community March — Lake Anne Plaza
Community members will assemble at Lake Anne Plaza, where Rev. David North will teach a brief history of songs used in the civil rights movement and then lead everyone marching and singing songs to Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation. A shuttle bus will run between the two sites from 2:30 p.m. until after the Voices of Inspiration program concludes.
4 p.m. — Voices of Inspiration Program at Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation, 1441 Wiehle Ave.
All ages are welcome to the free program. This is the 25th Anniversary program honoring Dr. King, which is sponsored by the Martin Luther King, Jr. Christian Church.
8 p.m. – “Snapshots: Portrait of a World In Transition,” at CenterStage
Acclaimed actress and playwright Anna Deavere Smith performs her one woman show, “Snapshots: Portrait of a World In Transition,” at CenterStage at the Reston Community Center Hunters Woods. Smith slips in and out of character recreating a diversity of emotions and points of view on controversial issues. Tickets are $25 for Reston residents and employees, and $50 for non Reston, and are available through the CenterStage box office.
Monday, Jan. 19
11:30 a.m. — Children’s Activities at RCC Hunters Woods
Children in first through sixth grades are invited to take part in a series of activities based on the history of King and the civil rights movement.
Noon — Anna Deavere Smith’s Keynote Address, “Reclaiming Grace in the Face of Adversity” at CenterStage
A Community Lunch immediately follows. Tickets are $5 for Reston residents and employees, and $10 for others.
To register for volunteer opportunities, visit RCC’s website.
Photo of past MLK Day march in Reston/Credit: Reston Community Center
Four From Reston Earn Eagle Scout — Four teens from Reston earned Eagle Scout, the Boy Scouts’ highest honor. [Reston Connection]
New on MWAA Board — A. Bradley Mims has been appointed to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Board of Directors. Mims has served as a transportation expert in government and the private sector for more than 35 year. C He is an appointee of the Governor of Maryland.
New Owners — Bognet Construction has purchased 1821 Michael Faraday Drive in Reston, a four-story, 58,000 sq. ft., office building off Sunset Hills Road within one-quarter mile of the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station.
Photo: Frozen Lake Audubon/Credit: Joy Every
An Arlington man was charged with unlawful entry and felony destruction of property at Reston Town Center early on Thursday, Fairfax County Police said.
Officers said Darren J. White, 42, of Arlington M & S Grill, 11901 Democracy Drive. at 2:19 a.m. — after closing time — and caused damage to the place.
Police spokesman Lucy Caldwell said the suspect broke a glass window.
A staff report issued by the Fairfax County Department of Zoning Administration requests that the Board of Zoning Appeals uphold the Zoning Administrator’s determination of June 20, 2012 in next week’s BZA hearing on Reston National Golf Course.
The BZA will consider the appeal of RN Golf, the owners of the 166-acre public course in south Reston, at a hearing on Jan. 21 at 9 a.m. at the Fairfax County Government Center.
RN Golf, a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual Insurance, has been asking the county since 2010 whether the course was considered residential. The county said in 2012 that the course is designated permanent, open recreational space, and to change the designation would require a change to the Reston Master Plan.
RN Golf disagrees and would like to bypass the amendment change process.
According to the Jan. 13 staff report, the zoning staff previously confirmed to RN Golf that the existing zoning is “Planned Residential Community District without any proffered condition, restriction, limitation, or prohibition.”
From the report:
[RN Golf] further asserts that no other conditions, restrictions, limitations, or prohibitions are set forth in the Ordinances and none have been found in the County records that would prohibit, restrict, or proscribe the use of the Subject Property for residential.”
Even prior to locating copies of the approved development plans for RZ C-l35, RZ C-203, and RZ C-281 at the time of response to [attorney] Mark Looney’s inquiry letter of April 20, 2012, it was clear through staff reports, legal notices, and other relevant documentation that the three parcels making up the subject property had been designated on the development plans as golf course and open space only.
The zoning appeal hearing was postponed three times in 2012 and 2013 to give time to locate the original 1971 documents that designate the golf course as open space. The staff report says RN Golf has been notified of the confirmation of the plan, but is proceeding anyway.
Subsequent to the submission of this appeal application the development plan copies were located, and the appellant was provided with copies of these development plans, which occurred prior to the initially scheduled public hearing date(s) in 2012.
Staff has clearly demonstrated through the current (and prior) Zoning Ordinance language how these approved development plans, which designate the property as “South Golf Course Permanent Open Space,” “South Golf Course” and “South Golf Course Permanent Open Space” and “South Golf Course Permanent Open Space,” respectively, are binding to the property irrespective of the absence of proffers or development conditions, and must be amended to propose alternative development from the current use of a golf course or continued use as open space.
Meanwhile. grassroots advocacy group Rescue Reston is trying to rally as many people as possible to attend the hearing to voice their opposition to potential development.
