Before you chow down on turkey, burn off the calories in advance.
An organized and family friendly bike ride will once again take place in Reston on Thanksgiving Day.
Here is what you need to know:
All ages are welcome. Meet at South Lakes Starbucks at 8:30 a.m. Thanksgiving morning.
Contact [email protected] or call 703-966-6182 for more information and to connect with a ride coordinator as there may be rides from other village centers if there is enough interest.
All rides will converge at Starbucks at Reston Town Center.
Reston Association’s Board of Directors is telling a member one report is enough when it comes to member voter records.
At its Thursday regular meeting, the board will likely vote to “deny and not give further consideration to Mr. Irwin Flashman’s request for an electronic copy of the 2014 Board of Director Election member voting record.”
RA president Ken Knueven said in the motion that the board will not give Flashman info it already gave him in hard copy.
In September, Flashman requested and RA released information on whether or not each of its 25,700 member households voted in the 2014 Board of Directors election. It also released members’ addresses, but omitted the substance of members’ votes and any other personal information. RA says it was obligated to release the information under its bylaws and Virginia law.
Flashman previously told Reston Now that he wanted the records so he could analyze and try to boost the number of locals who cast their ballots.
“I want to increase voter turnout,” he said. “Something has to be done, and I think before you start doing anything, you need to know what happened.”
Fewer than 15 percent of Reston households cast votes in most recent election in the 2014 election.
Knueven said earlier while the Association’s bylaws and Virginia law on property owners’ associations require the disclosure of the information, he believes “voter records are confidential and should remain such.”
“We released only information we felt was not confidential.”
Meanwhile, applications are being accepted through Jan. 30 for the 2015 RA Board of Directors election. Four seats — two at-large, North Point and South Lakes — are up for re-election.
Additionally, tonight’s board meeting will feature public hearings on a referendum for the RELAC system for 300+ Lake Anne Area homes and on the 2015 budget and assessments.
Photo: Reston Association Board meeting/Credit: RA
Renovations at TJ — New classrooms and labs are now open at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology as part of its $67 million renovation. [Fairfax Times]
Flipping Through Town Center — Ever see a couple of guys vaulting and twisting their way through Reston Town Center? Check out these amazing photos of the Parkour athletes. [Modern Reston]
Silver Line Costs To Rise? — New safety regulations, instilled after the 2009 fatal Metro crash, may cause Silver Line Phase II price tag to rise about $2.7 billion. [WAMU]
Kudos To Police Crime Prevention Program — The Fairfax County Police Department has been approved and re-certified by the Criminal Justice Services Board of the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services as a Crime Prevention Community, one of very few in the Commonwealth. [FCPD]
Curtain Up — South Lakes High School’s Theatre Arts Department presents its fall play, The Man Who Came To Dinner Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Tickets available online and at the door. [SLHS Theatre Arts]
Fairfax County may sell more than $100 million in revenue bonds to pay for garages along Phase II of Metrorail’s Silver Line.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved the $115 million bond sale.
The garages are planned for the Herndon and Innovation Center stations. The county would own the garages. The bonds would be repaid using parking fees from the two garages, not tax dollars, the supervisors said.
The move had been planned, but County Supervisor Sharon Bulova previously said the bond sale would not happen until Fairfax closes on its portion ($403 million) of the $1.9 million in federal transportation loans for the project, which it did earlier this year.
From the county:
In 2011, the county agreed to use its best efforts to seek funding for parking garages at the Herndon and Innovation Center Metrorail stations, which are part of rail line’s second leg. While the county plans to build these two garages, Fairfax will not sell revenue bonds until after it closes on its $403 million TIFIA loan with the U.S. Department of Transportation. The federal government approved the TIFIA loan earlier this year.
“I am pleased that Fairfax County will own and operate these garages and collect revenue from parking,” said Chairman Bulova. “This financing structure reduces the overall cost of Phase II of the Silver Line by using parking fees, instead of general fund tax dollars.”
The total estimated cost for constructing Herndon is $58 million, and the estimated cost for Innovation Center comes to $57 million.
Under the approved plan of finance, the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority would issue revenue bonds. The proceeds of these bonds will then be loaned to the County, which will repay the revenue bonds from parking fees that are expected to generate about $10 million a year.
Under an agreement with Metro, Fairfax will set and keep the fees charged at the three county-owned Silver Line garages: Wiehle-Reston East, Herdon and Innovation. Those parking fees will also be used to operate and maintain the county-owned garages.
In addition, under a program established in the late 80s as a way to help finance Metro parking garages, Metro will transfer to the county a portion of the parking revenue Metro collects at its five garages in Fairfax, plus the East Falls Church and Van Dorn station garages.
Wiehle-Reston East is the only one of the Silver Line’s Phase I station that has a parking garage. That garage, which has 2,300 county-owned spaces and and additional 1,000 owned by Comstock, was built as a public-private partnership with Comstock. Parking costs $4.85 a day.
The Innovation Center garage will have 2,100 spaces and a secure bike room, similar to the one at Wiehle-Reston East. Herndon currently has 1,950 spaces at its kiss-and-ride lot. When finished, there will be a total of 3,500 parking spots at Herndon Station.
Phase II is in early construction stages and it expected to open in 2018.
Photo: Rendering of Innovation Center garage/Credit: Fairfax County
The official Reston Farmers Market at Lake Anne Plaza has ended for the season, but a reorganized group will stay on Saturdays through Dec. 20 for fall and pre-holiday shopping.
The Fall Farmers Market is an offshoot of the Lake Anne Craft Market, which runs alongside the Fairfax County-sponsored farmers market from May to October.
Twenty-four vendors will stay through the late season, says craft market organizer Eve Thompson. The market opens at 9 a.m.
“Many of the regular favorites have stayed for the Fall Market, and we have new offerings like fresh pasta, olives, spices, and prepared foods, tacos, bbq, empanadas, and real dill pickles,” she said. “All are local vendor produced and or grown products.”
Among the vendors:
- Bees ‘n Blossoms
- Del Sur Baked Goods- Empanada
- Dimitri Olive Farms- Greek Olives
- Valentines Country Bakery & Meats
- The Farm at Sunnyside
- Penn Farm
- Reids Orchard
- J&W Valley View Farm
- Back to the Basiks Spices
- Uncle Fred’s BBQ
- Blue Ridge Dairy
- Glascock’s Orchard
- Grace’s Pastries
- Baguette Republic
- Smith Family Farms
- Chesley Vegetable Farms
- Joie de Vivre Fine Food
- Gunpowder Bison
- Oh Pickles
- Lake Anne Market
- Toigo Orchard
- Country Pride Cheese
- Grandma’s Relish Garden
- La Pasta fresh pasta
Whether it is a winter for the record books or a fairly mild season, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) says it is ready for snow removal in 2014-15 — even though the agency has budgeted less money than last year.
This year’s budget is $52 million, VDOT said at its annual Northern Virginia snow briefing on Tuesday. Last year, the budget was $63 million, but the agency spent nearly $152 million as 52 inches of show — more than double the average 22 inches — fell here.
VDOT maintenance engineer Branco Vlacich says that number doesn’t mean much as a new way of tracking state labor costs makes the figure lower, but the overall funds available for snow removal are about the same as last winter.
“Snow is an emergency, just as a tornado or hurricane would be an emergency,” he said. “The resources will be available.”
National Weather Service Meteorologist Chris Strong said this winter is expected to be fairly typical “but we will ensure readiness for a big storm.”
VDOT will be ready too, though Vlacich and Strong pointed out that last season’s snows were not from one big storm. They were from many small- to medium-sized snow events that happened well into March.
VDOT has more then 4,000 trucks; 340,000 tons of salt; 95,000 tons of sand; and 576,000 gallons of liquid ready to go, says Vlacich. In Northern Virginia (Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William Counties), VDOT is responsible for nearly 18,000 miles of road.
Also in the fleet: A jet-powered snow melter for Park-n-Ride lots where snow can block parking spaces; seven high-pressure flush trucks that will be used on I-495 Express lanes; a truck-mounted weather camera; two large front loaders to move snow during severe storms; and six-truck mounted cameras to show live road conditions.
“Our goal is to clear streets within 24 hours after 2 to 4 inches have fallen, and after 48 hours if 6 inches or more have fallen,” said Vlacich. “The key to making it all work is regional cooperation. Last winter, during snow events, schools, the government and Metro all shut down. That let us clear the roads in 24 hours. One particular challenge we have in Northern Virginia is many cul-de-sacs and subdivisions. Those take a long time.”
VDOT will be testing a no-salt area around Chantilly this winter. Those roads will be treated with brine. VDOT will measure the effectiveness of this method, which has been successful in some Western states. It could eventually reduce the need for salt.
VDOT will again have its live updates of street plowing status at www.vdotplows.org and citizens can communicate with them via Twitter @VaDOTNOVA.
Photo: VDOT truck at work/Courtesy of VDOT
Another Sports Letter of Intent — Herndon field hockey’s Sofia Palacios has committed to play at the University of Pennsylvania. Palacios has 24 goals and is top-ranked in the the area with with 30 assists. She joins several other area athletes who have committed to play NCAA sports. [Reston Now]
Wine Event To Support Women — Head to Kalypso’s at Lake Anne Wednesday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. for a wine event to benefit Artemis House, a local domestic abuse shelter. The event is being hosted by Mary Kay rep Leslie Kane, who will also have samples to try and items to order, with donations of cosmetics also going to the shelter.
Schools Shortfall — The Fairfax County School Board will meet with the Board of Supervisors next week to discuss the $117 million shortfall that will loom on next year’s budget. [Washington Post]
Line Works At GRACE — A new exhibit at Greater Reston Arts Center (GRACE) Lineworks: Drawing Redefeined explores lines in multimedia works by five artists. The show runs through early January. [GRACE]
(Editor’s Note: This article was edited April 25, 2017 to remove the name of the suspect in this case. The charges of abduction and unlawful entry were dropped, records show.)
A man who was banned from a Reston hotel was arrested by Fairfax County Police on Saturday after trespassing and holding a woman against her will, Fairfax County Police said.
Police said the 36-year-old man, who lives at no fixed address, entered the hotel lobby about 9:56 p.m. and was denied a room due to a trespass ban placed by the property owner at Extended Stay America.
The man then walked through the hotel at 12190 Sunset Hills Road and triggered several fire alarms and knocked on various doors, police said.
Police say the man then entered a guest’s room without consent, where he held a woman against her will.
The suspect was charged with abduction with intent to defile, trespassing, unlawful entry and falsely summoning emergency services, said police.
In other police news in the last week:
BURGLARY, 12700 block of Oak Farms Drive, Nov. 12. A resident reported someone entered the residence and took property.
BURGLARY, 2200 block of Farougi Court, Nov. 12. A resident reported someone entered the residence and took property. Read More
(Updated 11:30 a.m. Tuesday with specific injuries to victim)
Fairfax County Police are investigating a hit-and-run that took place Sunday night about 6:30 p.m. on Reston Parkway near the Spectrum Center.
Police Public Information Officer Lucy Caldwell said a woman was struck by a vehicle while she was crossing Reston Parkway with her teenage daughter.
Witnesses said the victims were not walking in a crosswalk. Groceries were spilled all over the road, which was briefly closed.
Police said they were looking for a red sedan that headed southbound on Reston Parkway.
The woman was transported to a hospital. Family members said the victim is in a induced coma after emergency surgery for organ damage, as well as a fractured right leg and broken and dislocated elbow. The child was not injured.
The Wells Fargo Branch at the International Center off of Sunrise Valley Drive closed its doors on Aug. 1, directing customers to the new branch at North Point Village Center. There is also a Wells Fargo Branch at Hunters Woods.
The building has been empty ever since. The space shares the parking lot with an eclectic mix — a 7-Eleven, Reston Kabob, Popeyes, the Reston International Center office building, and a little farther down, Chili’s.
The International Center area is expected to undergo major changes eventually. In 2013, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved the plans for a large mixed-use development there.
The plans will enhance the Reston Heights area built in the last several years. That area includes the Westin Reston Heights, the Mercer Condominium and office buildings.
The next phase will include 145,000 square feet of above-grade retail, 100,00 square feet of below-grade retail, 428,225 square feet of office and more than 400 residential units.
The new phase will potentially have a new grocery and neighborhood retail space and will be a pedestrian friendly, urban-type streetscape with mid-rise residential above, says JBG Companies, the project developers.
Some of the highlights of the design proposal from Cunningham Quill Architects and Olin, a landscape architecture firm:
- A design that “engages with the landscape,” particularly in its site across from open space at Reston National Golf Course.
- Connection with the Wiehle Reston-East Metro Station via a bike/foot path. Reston Heights is about one mile from the Silver Line station.
- Several six-story buildings and a retail plaza.
- Public art screening elements on parking garage facades.
- A retail plaza with restaurants, outdoor seating and a water feature and a mix of public spaces and private plazas for residents.
- Entrances off of Sunrise Valley Drive, as well as Reston Parkway.
RN Golf Management has been given a Board of Zoning Appeals hearing date of 9 a.m on Jan. 21 — and the president of Reston Citizens Association says it is hoping Restonians will support the organization as they fight to preserve open space in Reston.
RN Golf, owners of Reston National Golf Course, first asked for the zoning appeal two years ago, after its inquiry with the Fairfax County on whether the 166-acre parcel could be considered residential came back as “no.”
Fairfax County responded that the course is open recreational space, and if the owners wanted something different, they needed to seek a rezoning. RN Golf, which deferred its quest in the summer of 2013, wants to reclassify the space without going through the rezoning or comprehensive plan amendment process, according to county documents.
Attorneys for RN Golf, a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual, asked the county to reactivate the issue earlier this month.
RCA president Sridhar Ganesan says his organization will join Reston Association and Rescue Reston in opposing redevelopment of the public course.
“In response to RN Golf’s bid in Summer 2012 to explore rezoning of RNGC land for non-open space uses including residential development, RCA passed a resolution on August 27, 2012 rejecting the use of the land for anything other than its current use as open space, specifically its current use a golf course or as open space dedicated to parks and recreation,” Ganesan said.
RCA says that with additional development coming to Reston with the arrival of the Silver Line, “preserving open space dedicated to parks and recreation is critically important, and RNGC is integral to Reston’s longstanding vision and plan as a diverse planned community in which people are able to live, work and play.”
“Just as in 2012, Reston organizations such as Reston Association (RA), Rescue Reston (RR) and RCA are aligned in their opposition to any potential rezoning of the land,” Ganesan said. “Fairfax County Supervisor Cathy Hudgins, Hunter Mill District (which covers RNGC land), has also said that she continues to support the Fairfax County Zoning Administrator’s determination with regards to RNGC and RCA thanks her for publicly stating her support for the original zoning determination.”
RCA says it also supports RA’s willingness to consider purchasing the golf course, if needed, to continue to maintain it as a Reston recreational asset.
Bundle Up — The National Weather Service says the high on Tuesday will be 30 degrees — about 20 degrees less than Monday and way below the average for Nov. 18. Oh, and it will be windy, too, with wind chills making it feel like single digits and teens. [Capital Weather Gang]
Helping Out — Terraset Elementary’s Student Council led a schoolwide food drive last week to collect canned goods for the Herndon-Reston FISH. The students collected 1,215 cans of food to help support their local community. Want to make a similar donation? Cornerstones food drive continues through this week. [Cornerstones]
Alcohol Prices Rise — The Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Board approved three pricing adjustments Monday as part of Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s plan to plug a $2.4 billion gap in the two-year state budget. Prices will rise on miniature bottles, doubled the $1 case handling fee and agreed to round up the last digit of all prices to 9. The rise is expected to raise about $5 million this fiscal year and $9 million in fiscal year 2016. [WTOP]
A Long Silver Line Ride — A good number of Silver Line riders disembarking for jobs in Tysons Corner and Reston are taking it a long distance — from Prince George’s County and D.C. They say they are fine with the long commute and could not afford to live close to their jobs in Western Fairfax County anyway. [Washington Post]
The Fairfax County Department of Health is teaming with Fairfax County Public Schools and the Centers for Disease Control this week to combat teen suicide.
The organizations will be holding focus groups to examine risk factors associated with suicide among youth in Fairfax County, according to a memo from South Lakes High School Kim Retzer to the school community.
“The CDC will be facilitating parent focus groups to assist in the identification of risk factors, understand current suicide prevention strategies, and discuss next steps in the community,” the memo said.
Please contact [email protected] if you wish to participate.
The focus groups will take place:
- Nov 17, 7:00 p.m., Virginia Hills Center, 6520 Diane Lane, Alexandria
- Nov 18, 7:00 p.m., Leis Center, 7423 Camp Alger Ave., Falls Church
- Nov 19, 7:00 p.m., Mountain View Alternative High School, 5775 Spindle Court, Centreville
The South Lakes community was shocked and saddened after the apparent suicide of senior Emma Clark earlier this school year.
Two students at nearby Langley High School committed suicide last school year and six W.T. Woodson High School students have ended their lives in the past several years.
Lauren Anderson, co-founder and executive director of the Josh Anderson Foundation, says the dialogue between FCPS, county mental health officials and the CDC is a good thing. Lauren Anderson and her parents founded the nonprofit in 2010, after the suicide of 17-year-old Josh Anderson, who was attending South Lakes High School at the time.
“This shows all these parties are taking [suicide] seriously,” she said. “It shows the importance of suicide — talking about it and getting feedback. … With my brother, it shows suicide can happen to anyone. He wasn’t someone you would necessarily think was depressed.”
The CDC says suicide is a serious public health problem. For youth between the ages of 10 and 24, suicide is the third leading cause of death, resulting in about 4,600 deaths annually.
The CDC also says deaths from youth suicide are only part of the problem as many more young people survive suicide attempts than actually die.
A nationwide survey of youth in grades 9-12 in public and private schools in the United States found that 16 percent of students reported seriously considering suicide, 13 percent reported creating a plan, and 8 percent reporting trying to take their own life in the 12 months preceding the survey. Each year, approximately 157,000 youth between the ages of 10 and 24 receive medical care for self-inflicted injuries at Emergency Departments across the U.S., says the CDC.
Some of the top risk factors of suicide, according to the CDC:
- History of previous suicide attempts
- Family history of suicide
- History of depression or other mental illness
- Alcohol or drug abuse
- Stressful life event or loss
- Easy access to lethal methods
- Exposure to the suicidal behavior of others
- Incarceration
Former Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chair Katherine Hanley has been appointed to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Board.
Hanley, a Reston resident, was one of three new MWAA board appointees announced by Gov. Terry McAuliffe on Friday. Other new appointees include former Virginia House of Delegates member Charles Caputo of Herndon and Bruce Gates, an Alexandria resident who is Senior Vice President of External Affairs for Altria Client Services, Inc.
Hanley was the Providence District Supervisor from 1986 to 1995 and Board of Supervisors Chair from 1995 to 2003. She also served as the Secretary of the Commonwealth under then-Gov. Tim Kaine from 2006 to 2010 and has served on the Commonwealth Transportation Board.
MWAA is governed by the 13-member board with five members appointed by the governor of Virginia, three by the the mayor of DC, two by the governor of Maryland and three by the president. It oversees Dulles International Airport and Reagan National Airport, as well as the Dulles Toll Road and the construction of Metro’s Silver Line Phase II.
“I cannot think of a more qualified candidate to serve on the MWAA Board than Kate Hanley, who was my mentor and predecessor as Providence District Supervisor and Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors,” Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va 11) said in a statement.
“Kate Hanley has been involved in nearly every major regional transportation decision for the past three decades. As a resident of the Dulles corridor, she is intimately familiar with the relationship between the Airports Authority, the local community, toll road commuters, Silver Line riders, and the regional economy.”
As the owners of Reston National Golf Course prepare for a Board of Zoning Appeals hearing, Hunter Mill Supervisor Cathy Hudgins says she continues to support the Fairfax County Zoning Administrator’s determination that Reston National Golf Course is open recreational space.
That’s the same stance Hudgins, along with Reston Association, the Reston Citizens Association and Rescue Reston had two years ago, the last time golf course owners RN Golf tried to appeal the zoning determination.
RN Golf never actually got its case to the Board of Zoning Appeals. While it was on the docket and postponed several times in 2012 and 2013, it was deferred indefinitely in summer 2013.
RN Golf, a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual Insurance, asked the county in the spring of 2012 for clarification on the course’s status. Even though it was commercial/open space, the company cited complicated Plan Residential Community rules written in 1970 and 1993 as options for the 166-acre space being deemed residential.
Fairfax County then responded that the course is open recreational space, and if the owners wanted something different, they needed to seek a rezoning.
Hudgins said in a statement on Friday that any redevelopment of the property for uses other than a golf course or open space would require an amendment to the Reston Master Plan, which is part of the Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan, approval of a Development Plan Amendment and approval of a PRC plan from the Board of Supervisors. Read More
