Martin Luther King Jr. Day is Monday, Jan. 19. It is a federal holiday, which means no mail service and banks will be closed.

Here is a list of what is open and closed in Fairfax County on the holiday:

County Government – Closed.

Animal Shelter – Closed.

Courts – Closed. (Note: Also closed Friday, Jan. 16 for Lee Jackson Day).

Public Schools and School Offices – Closed.

Library – Closed.

Fairfax Connector – Routes with holiday weekday service operate according to the weekday schedule except routes 335, 394, 395, 432, 493, 494, 495, 585, 599, 724, 734 and 985, which will not operate.

Fastran – Not in service.

Park Authority – RECenters open on regular schedules. Nature centers, historic sites and Green Spring Gardens will be closed. Frying Pan Farm Park open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; visitor center open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Teen and Senior Centers – Closed.

Community Centers – Closed.

Reston Community Center Hunters Woods – Open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day events scheduled for Jan. 17-19.

Reston Community Center Lake Anne – Open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day events scheduled for Jan. 17-19.

County Trash and Recycling Collection – County residents should contact their trash and recycling collector directly for service schedule changes.

• Fairfax County Collection Customers: Trash and recyclables will be collected as scheduled on Monday, Jan. 19. Please have your materials to the curb no later than 6 a.m. to ensure collection. For more information, call the Customer Service Center at 703-802-3322, TTY 711.

Recycling and Disposal Centers

• I-66 Transfer Station – Open
• I-95 Landfill Complex – Open

Fairfax County is facing a $100 million shortfall for Fiscal Year 2016, Supervisor Chair Sharon Bulova said in her annual “State of the County” Address.

“Our economy has been very much affected by cutbacks in government contracting,” Bulova said in the speech, released on Wednesday “Despite our efforts to stimulate business growth, our pace of revenue growth has not returned to pre-2008 levels. We continue to be challenged by cutbacks in state and federal funding.”

Bulova said that county agencies have been asked to propose cutbacks and find efficiencies to close the budget gap.

The County Executive will release the proposed budget in February. There will be many upcoming changes for public input before the Supervisors approve the budget in the spring.

Other highlights of the speech:

Transportation milestones in 2014, such as the opening of the Silver Line and adoption of the Bicycle Master Plan..

“Since opening day on July 26, the Silver Line has been off to a solid start, carrying approximately 15,000 passengers per weekday and exceeding expectations. Wiehle-Reston East is already surpassing ridership projections and is one of busiest stations in the system,” Bulova said.

Fairfax County Public Schools continue to be a top-performing system in Virginia. FCPS, with 187,000 students, is now the 10th-largest system in the country. The Board of Supervisors invested $1.9 billion to FCPS — its largest expenditure, Bulova said. Implementing full-day Mondays and the later high school start time (planned for 2015-16) were important decisions in 2014, she said.

Click the video attached to this post to see the entire 30-minute speech.

Raise For Supervisors Takes Next Step — The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors took the next step in giving themselves a raise. [Fairfax Times]

Wine With Your Manicure? — A bill introduced in the Virginia General Assembly Session would allow the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to grant liquor licenses to salons and nail spas. [Washington Business Journal]

Hooping It Up — Meet Reston’s Caitlin Matanle, also known by her professional hooper name, Spinabell Lee. [Hill Now.com]

Keeping It Mod — Do you have one of Reston’s mid-Century modern homes? Modern Reston tells you the best places to furnish it with style. [Modern Reston]

A full day of school when the snow is falling and the driving is terrible. A day off when a few flakes fall. In between, a whole bunch of two-hour delays.

That’s been the story for Fairfax County Public Schools since Jan. 6.

First, about four inches of snow fell and the buses got stuck and Superintendent Karen Garza admitted “we made the wrong call” about remaining open.

In the six schools days since, there has been one full day of school. Today, school was cancelled. In Reston and this portion of the county, no more than a dusting fell.

Meanwhile, the Capital Weather Gang says to cut the schools a break on today’s decision. It was a tricky forecast.

Why can’t the county seem to get it right? Are they playing it too safe after the #CloseFCPS publicity of last week?

Photo of Jan. 6 snow near Langston Hughes Middle School. 

Red’s Table, the locally owned restaurant slated to open soon at South Lakes Village Center, is still busy working towards an opening this winter.

The restaurant, located in the former Lakeside Inn space, is an ambitious offering from Ryan, Pat and Matt Tracy, who grew up in Reston. The brothers own several Five Guys franchises, but this will be their first foray into sit-down dining.

Crews have been busy for months knocking the Lakeside Inn space down to the studs to renovate the Red’s Table space.

According to a craigslist help wanted ad, the Tracys have hired chef Adam Stein to oversee the kitchen. Stein formerly worked at D.C.’s The Queen Vic and at Alexandria’s Light Horse Tavern, which is owned by the Tracys’ cousin.

The posting also said the restaurant is hoping for a mid-March opening. Ryan Tracy had said last fall that he hoped to open in late January or early February.

But the owners still have big plans for good food and drinks at the new Reston spot. If the help wanted ad is any indication, expect excellent baked goods, sustainable fish, tattoos and a laid-back atmosphere:

Red’s Table is hiring for one Kick-Ass Baker/Pastry Chef to oversee our bread program and desserts. Savory experience is a plus, as this person will function in a hybrid position of AM Sous as well. (Mostly receiving and opening the doors for staff.) Five days a week with two consecutive days off. Tattoos and piercings are a bonus, but not required. We are hoping to open in the later half of March and are looking for people to help build our team. We will be open for Lunch and Dinner as well as Brunch on the weekends. Red’s will be a scratch kitchen paying close attention to region and seasonality. We will have our own bread program as well as a range of scratch pies and cakes. Focus will be on our large raw bar offerings as well as sustainable finfish and local proteins.

Chef Adam Stein is looking for strong, self-starters with experience who either wants to take a step up or are looking for a change of pace. No yellers, screamers, or plate throwers need apply. A warm, family atmosphere is the aim. If you’re looking for a serious, but relaxed, atmosphere to contribute to a hard working team, then please submit a Brief Cover Letter and Resume to Chef Adam Stein at the email above. Thanks!

Two groups leading the fight against development at Reston National Golf Course say 1971 development designations will be on their side when the Fairfax County Board of Zoning Appeals considers the case next week.

The BZA will consider the appeal of RN Golf, the owners of the 166-acre public course, at a hearing on Jan. 21 at 9 a.m. at the Fairfax County Government Center.

RN Golf, a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual Insurance, first asked the county in 2012 whether the course was considered residential. The county said it is designated permanent, open recreational space, and to change the designation would require a change to the Reston Master Plan.

RN Golf is appealing that decision, though the company postponed the hearing several times since 2012. However, the case will now be heard — and there is additional solid historical information than there was nearly three years ago.

Attorneys for Reston Association and grassroots advocacy group Rescue Reston have since located the 1971 documents that clarify the land use of the course at Colts Neck and Sunrise Valley Drives.

Randall T. Greehan, attorney for Rescue Reston, says in the letter to the BZA that the land use was approved in three rezoning applications in 1971 and is designated as “South Golf Course/PermanentOpen Space.”

Greehan points out that the original documents show future residential uses surrounding the golf course but not on the golf course. Those clusters, such as Indian Ridge and Golf Course Square, were built later in the 1970s.

“Because the three legislatively approved development plans do not show residential uses on the golf course property, amendments to them would be required before any residential use would be allowed there,’ Greehan writes. “The zoning ordinance in effect at the time of all three of these 1971 approvals required that all three RPC zoning applications ‘be in accordance with the comprehensive plan.’ ”

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Bulova’s New Year Reception Wednesday — Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chair Sharon Bulova will host her annual New Year Reception Wednesday 4:30 to 6 p.m. at the Fairfax County Government Center. Stop by to hear what’s in store here for 2015. [Fairfax Democrats]

Give Blood at RCC Today — The American Red Cross will be at Reston Community Center Hunters Woods from 3:30 to 8 p.m. Wednesday for a blood drive. The drive is the bat mitzvah project of Langston Hughes Middle School student Hannah Altman. [LHMS]

SLHS Track Kudos — Seniors Delaney Wickman, Claire Nieusma, junior Golden Kumi-Darfour and sophomore Nikayla Hoyte ran a state-meet qualifying time of 4:02.30 in the winning the girls 4×400 relay at the Flames Invitational High School track and field meet Jan. 9-10 at Liberty University in Lynchburg. The SLHS girls relay team beat out nationally-ranked Parklawn High School of Winston-Salem, N.C. in that race.

More winter weather is heading our way. The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory in Northern Virginia from 4 a.m. to noon on Wednesday. The precipitation will start as sleet and then turn into snow, forecasters said.

From the NWS:

* PRECIPITATION TYPE… SNOW.
* ACCUMULATIONS… AROUND ONE INCH.
* TIMING… ONSET AROUND 4 TO 6 AM… CONTINUING INTO THE LATE MORNING HOURS… BEFORE MIXING WITH PERIODS OF SLEET AND DISSIPATING BY EARLY AFTERNOON.
* TEMPERATURES… MIDDLE 20S DURING THE PREDAWN HOURS… INCREASING TO LOW 30S LATER IN THE MORNING.
* WINDS… NORTH AT 5 TO 10 MPH.
* IMPACTS… SNOW WILL LIKELY DEVELOP EARLY IN THE MORNING COMMUTE. THIS COUPLED WITH ROAD AND AIR TEMPERATURES WELL BELOW FREEZING WILL CAUSE ACCUMULATION OF SNOWFALL ON ROADWAYS. THIS WILL RESULT IN HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS.
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.

Reston Now will update this article if there are any school delays or closings on Wednesday.

Are you cleaning out your closets this winter?

Diva Central, the annual prom dress event at Reston Community Center, can use some of your most fabulous but no longer used items.

RCC is collecting items at RCC Hunters Woods through March 6. The items will be available to high school students to shop for a free prom dress and accessories at the Diva Central Event on April 25.

RCC is collecting the following for Diva Central:

• Formal Dresses
• Shoes
• Jewelry
• Handbags
• Scarves and Shawls
• Accessories

Donations are tax deductible and may be dropped off Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

RCC asks that donations are in good condition, no older than five years old (circa 2010), and dry cleaned before they are donated. If dry cleaning is not possible, please inform us at the time of drop off.

Dress donations will benefit students in Reston and surrounding areas.

Photo: Diva Central shoppers/Courtesy RCC

Reston’s Gap and GapKids will close on Jan. 26, a store employee confirmed on Tuesday.

The Gap has been a longtime tenant of 11924 Market St. at Reston Town Center. The store’s lease was not renewed by owner Boston Properties, said the employee, whose name is not being used as she is not authorized to speak on the subject.

Meanwhile, deep discounts are available for the next two weeks. All full priced merchandise has been moved to other nearby stores. What is remaining is 60 percent off for women’s items and 40 percent off for men’s and kid’s merchandise.

This is the second Reston Town Center store in a week to announce its closing. Last week, The Dandelion Patch at Reston Town Center also announced it would close at the end of the month. Le Shoppe salon also left RTC last month.

Photo via Gap RTC Facebook page.

More than 100 brave people will jump into Lake Anne at the annual Freezin’ for a Reason Virginia Polar Dip on Feb. 7.

The annual event — which attracts chilly participants in swimsuits as well as a wide variety of whacky costumes to the dock at Lake Anne Plaza — raises money for Camp Sunshine, a Maine summer overnight experience for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families.

The event warmup begins at noon. The dip begins at 2 p.m. Last year’s Virginia Polar Dip raised more than $85,000.

The Virginia Polar Dip was started in 2008 by the Toth family of Oakton. They first attended Camp Sunshine as a participating family in 1996,  when their then-3-year-old daughter Jennifer was a cancer patient at age 3.

After Jennifer participated in a Camp Sunshine Polar Dip in New Jersey, her family decided to bring the event to Virginia in order to help more local families. Since 2008, 931 people have participated in the Virginia Polar Dip, raising over $395,000 for the camp.

The event will be emceed for the fifth year in a row by 97.1 WASH-FM morning show radio personality Chilli Amar.

This year’s goal is to raise $100,000, which will allow 50 families from the Mid-Atlantic area to attend Camp Sunshine.

Each participant will raise a minimum of $100 for the “opportunity” to plunge into the chilly Lake Anne, which some years needs a crew to break through the ice for the event.

The event is sponsored by Lake Anne Plaza, Whole Foods Market Reston, Reston Lifestyle Magazine, Tropical Smoothie Cafe, David Madison Photography, Reston Association, Reston Community Center, Spotted MP (Marketing + Public Relations), Kalypso’s Sports Tavern, Fairfax Christian School, 97.1 WASH-FM, Salon Khouri, Fusion 360, Small Change Consignment, and the Sheraton Reston Hotel.

For more information about the event or to register to participate, visit the event’s home page. Spectators are welcome free of charge.

Photo: Freezin’ for a Reason 2014/file photo

Fairfax County is getting closer to its final plan for Reston’s neighborhoods and village centers.

Fairfax County officials say the the current comprehensive plan, last updated in 1989, requires revision because Reston no longer has a master developer to update the plan for Reston; the plan for Reston has outdated elements; and with population expected to grow with the arrival of Metro, Reston is evolving as a community.

After nearly four years of committee work and revisions, the county Board of Supervisors in early 2014 approved Phase I of the Master Plan, which provides a framework for development in the areas surrounding Reston’s transit stations.

The county has been working on Phase 2 since last summer, holding several community meetings to obtain feedback. It is expected to get to the approval process in the next few months.

Key points of the latest draft:

Reston’s two golf courses are to remain as golf courses. This is good news for proponents of open space as the owners of Reston National Golf Course, the 166-acre public course in South Reston, head to a Fairfax County Board of Zoning Appeals hearing on Jan. 21. Owners RN Golf have inquired as to whether their zoning can be considered residential rather than recreational open space. Reston’s other course is the private Hidden Creek Country Club near Lake Anne.

The updated land use map includes areas clearly marked as open space and recreational space.

Residential land use categories have been expanded from their current three broad categories (low, medium, and high density) to five categories to more closely reflect what has been built in the community, with the desired result of maintaining established neighborhoods.

The Reston neighborhoods section provides guidance to maintain the established residential neighborhoods. In the event of residential neighborhood redevelopment requests, more stringent redevelopment criteria have been established that go beyond the County criteria.

The village centers shall remain village centers. However, should a village center want to rezone and rebuild as something else, there is also specific criteria for that. That is good news for the ailing Tall Oaks Village Center, which was purchased by an apartment developer last month.

Environmental stewardship shall remain a key focus in Reston planning.

To see the entire draft, visit the Fairfax County website.

The county will have a public meeting/presentation on the draft on 7 p.m. on Jan. 29 at Reston Community Center Lake Anne.

Photo: Hunters Woods Village Center/file photo

Drop In VA College Students — New report says enrollment is down at half of Virginia colleges and universities. [NBC4]

Real Estate High — Home sales in the DC Metro area in 2014 were at the highest point since pre-recession levels. [Real Estate Business Intelligence]

“Stuff The Bus” Returns — The Fairfax County “Stuff the Bus” food drive returns this week. It will be at the Fox Mill Giant on Saturday, among other places. [Fairfax County]

Make your reservations now — Winter Restaurant Week in the D.C. area begins Jan. 19.

Three Reston restaurants will be among the more than 200 participating in the event sponsored by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington (RAMW). Restaurant Week runs through Jan. 25.

Click the links to see special menus at:

The Melting Pot, 11730 Plaza America Dr.
PassionFish, 11960 Democracy Dr.
Vinifera Wine Bar and Bistro, 11750 Sunrise Valley Dr.

Participating restaurants are offering a three-course prix-fixe dinner ($35.15) and/or three-course prix-fixe lunch ($20.15) menu.

RAMW is also sponsoring a Restaurant Week social media contest. Diners are encouraged to snap and post pictures to their Instagram accounts while out at participating restaurants. Diners who follow RAMW on Instagram (@RAMWdc), use the hashtag #DMVRW and tag the participating restaurant will automatically be eligible to win prizes including roller derby tickets, brunch gift certificates, cookbooks and a grand prize of two tickets to the 33rd annual RAMMY Awards and Gala.

To see a list of all Restaurant Week participants, visit the RAMW website.

Photo: PassionFish at Reston Town Center/file photo