This is a sponsored post by Eve Thompson of Reston Real Estate.

Here is a look at some of the homes that sold in Reston in the last week. Want a through analysis of how sales are going in your neighborhood? Contact me through my website.

11811 Grey Birch Place. 4 BR, 3.5 BA SFH. Sold price: $710,000

2516 Freetown Drive. 5 BR, 2.5 BA. Sold price: $590,000

1673 Cedar Hollow Way. 4 BR, 3.5 BA SFH. Sold price: $600,000

12723 Hitchcock Court. 4 BR, 3.5 BA SFH. Sold price: $656,000

2202 Stirrup Iron Way. 5 BR, 3.5 BA SFH. Sold price: $570,00

11304 Geddys Court. 3 BR, 2 BA SFH. Sold price: $434,900

Now is the time to stock your children’s home library (or pick up a few volumes to donate to the classroom).

The Friends of Reston Regional Library’s Children and Teen Book Sale runs Thursday through Sunday at the library, 11925 Bowman Towne Dr.

The Friends have gathered thousands of books and materials that will be for sale for bargain prices.

Here are the sale hours:

• Thursday, August 18 — 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
• Friday, August 19 — 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
• Saturday, August 20 — 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
• Sunday, August 21 — 1 – 3:30 p.m.

All proceeds benefit the Reston Regional Library and the Fairfax County Public Library system.

This is a commentary by Del. Ken Plum (D), who represents Reston in Virginia’s House of Delegates. It does not reflect the opinion of Reston Now.

The 2010 US Census recorded slightly more than 8 million people living in Virginia. That means that the legislature drawing boundaries for the 100-member House of Delegates had to divide the state into districts that each included 80,000 persons, give or take a percentage or two.

Legislative districts may be geographically small in urban and suburban communities, but several counties large in rural areas. The intent of the constitutional requirement for redistricting is to make districts as equal as possible in the number of persons residing in them without regard to the land mass on which they live.

The process of redistricting becomes complicated and very political, however, as incumbent legislators attempt to draw lines around those persons most supportive of them; that process is commonly referred to as “gerrymandering.” I and others have attempted to take politics out of the process to create fairer districts through formation of a commission that would draw lines independent of any consideration of where incumbent legislators live.

With a neutral party drawing lines, “voters would pick their legislator rather than legislators picking their voters,” as advocates of redistricting reform maintain. The effort toward a fairer process will continue in federal courts and in the legislature.

Persons who live in districts are referred to as constituents of the district’s legislator. On average, about half of constituents are registered to vote. Some people are too young, not yet a citizen, or have not bothered to register to vote, but they are represented in the legislature. Legislators vary in opinions and attitude as to whether they represent all the persons in their district, those who register to vote, or those who actually vote. I believe I have a responsibility to represent all the people who live in my district as best as I can.

Constituencies however can go beyond legislative boundaries. My passion for education issues, for example, results in people from throughout the Commonwealth asking me for support and assistance. Read More

SOL Scores — Fairfax County Public Schools students continued to score above state averages on this year’s Virginia Standards of Learning tests. [Washington Post]

Brew House Kudos — Lake Anne Brew House earned several honors in this week’s 5th annual Virginia Craft Brewers’ Cup. The Brew House, which opened in April, took third place in the American Amber Ale category with its Reston Red and second place in the British Bitter area for its Lord Fairfax English Pale Ale. [Virginia Craft Beer]

Beyond The Job Description — A customer is praising Cafesano’s excellent customer service after an employee sifted through the garbage to help the man find his lost wedding ring. [WUSA9]

SafeTrack Changes On The Way — Metro has announced adjustments to the SafeTrack work schedule, but they do not affect Silver Line riders. [Metro]

It’s been a little more than two years since Metro’s Silver Line opened. It hasn’t exactly been a smooth transition — track work, delays, expense for users and a frustrating layout at the Wiehle-Reston East parking garage among the issues.

But developers say those factors are not only out of their control (and users’ control), they are short-term problems in a longterm plan.

Speaking at Bisnow’s “Fairfax County the State of the Market” event Wednesday at the Marriott Fairview Park, Boston Properties Senior Vice President Pete Otteni says he does not see Silver Line problems dampening commercial development in Reston.

“It has the potential to be transformational in the longterm,” said Otteni, whose company owns Reston Town Center. “But transit isn’t a panacea and isn’t THE thing that drives retail growth. It’s a meaningful contributor to where people want to live, work and play, but not THE thing.”

Sonny Small, CEO of Renaissance Centro (The Harrison) said if not for Metro, then “we wouldn’t be having this conversation” about major development in Reston and Tysons.

“There are still issues,” he said. “But over time, [transit] will be an important ingredient.”

Small and Otteni, along with Greg Trimmer of The JBG Companies (Reston Heights, RTC West), pointed out that Reston already has an advantage when compared with Tysons.

While Tysons will likely be the “edge city” developers envision in about 20 more years, Reston is quickly heading that way because it already is a place where people live and has a specifically designed master plan, the panel said. Read More

The National Weather Service has issued a Flash Flood Watch for Reston, Northern Virginia and most of the DC area for Wednesday.

The watch goes into effect at 4 p.m. and will remain in effect through the evening

The NWS says thunderstorms will increase in late afternoon and early evening and their is the potential for rainfall rates of 1-2 inches per hour in some areas.

From the NWS:

LOCALLY EXCESSIVE RAINFALL COULD CAUSE RAPID FLOODING OF SMALL STREAMS AS WELL AS LOW-LYING AND URBAN AREAS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A FLASH FLOOD WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS MAY DEVELOP THAT LEAD TO FLASH FLOODING. FLASH FLOODING IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION.

YOU SHOULD MONITOR LATER FORECASTS AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION SHOULD FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS BE ISSUED.

A Reston teen is facing several charges after police said she poured gasoline into a wheelbarrow and lit it on fire at the home of an acquaintance.

The incident happened Aug. 10 in the 1300 block of Monroe Street, Herndon Police said.

The girl, 16, entered the home of a man she knew without his permission.

After a physical altercation, “the suspect exited the home, picked up a gas can, poured gasoline under the deck and onto a wheelbarrow,” and then “ignited the wheelbarrow,” according to the police report.

The fire was extinguished and caused less than $200 in damage.

The teen was charged with unlawful entry, assault, threat to burn and unlawfully setting a fire. She is being held at the Fairfax Juvenile Detention Center.

Updated: The public hearing has been moved to Sept. 28 (it was originally reported to be Sept. 15

The plan to build a cell phone tower disguised as a tree at Crossfield Elementary School in Oak Hill will go before the Fairfax County Planning Commission in September.

Verizon Wireless is seeking to build the tower at the Fairfax County Public Schools’ elementary school at 2791 Fox Mill Rd. on the Reston/Oak Hill line in order to improve cell phone coverage in the area.

Verizon is working with local firm Milestone Communications to get approval to build the 138-foot tower and improve cell phone reception in the area.

The request to build the pole comes about three years after a similar proposal fell apart in the application process. T-Mobile and Milestone filed an application in November of 2013 seeking to build at Crossfield. The request was postponed indefinitely. Read More

Data center provider CoreSite has entered into a deal to purchase four office buildings on Sunrise Valley Drive near the Fairfax County Parkway.

CoreSite announced last week it will spend $60 million to acquire the 22-acre Sunrise Technology Park in the 12300 block of Sunrise Valley Drive, the Washington Business Journal reported.

Sunrise Technology Park, currently owned by Brookfield Office Properties, is a complex of four low-rise office buildings, totaling 315,000 square feet.

CoreSite says it could build more than 660,000 square feet of new data center capacity across the parcel. It currently has about 400,000 square feet of space in Reston.

CoreSite said in a release it expects to spend $90 million more on the first phase of the new development. Initial work will include the conversion of one 48,000-square-foot building into a data center, and the construction of two, 92,000-square-foot buildings — one data center shell, and one structure to house “centralized infrastructure.”

After the deal closes in December, CoreSite expects to start construction during summer 2017. It estimates it may spend as much as $500 million building out the site over many years and multiple phases.

“This planned expansion to our Reston campus is designed to meaningfully scale our colocation offering in the important Northern Virginia market, leveraging off of the installed network-and-cloud capabilities already deployed at the campus,” CoreSite president and CEO Tom Ray said in a statement.

Help Wanted — Reston Community Center is looking for aquatics help. [RCC]

New Addition To Fire Station 25 — Fairfax County Fire and Rescue’s Station 25 (Wiehle Avenue and Sunset Hills) has a new addition to the fire family: A Tiller Truck with a 100-foot ladder. [Fairfax County Fire and Rescue]

End-Of-Summer Pool Party Friday — Join Reston Association for an End-of-the Summer bash at Dogwood Pool on Friday from 4 to 7 p.m.  The free event, co-sponsored with Reston Community Center, will have food, entertainment and fun for the whole family. [Reston Association]

Metro’s Still Safer Than Driving — Even with maintenance and safety issues, says this Reston Connection editorial. [Connection]

If you are traveling on the Dulles Toll Road near Washington Dulles International Airport on Friday, be advised of some potential backups and closures due to America’s 9/11 Ride.

There will be lane closures between 2 and 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 19 to accommodate the large procession of motorcycles through the region, says the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority.

The America’s 9/11 Ride is expecting about 1,500 motorcyclists to participate in a ride from Shanksville, Pa., to the Pentagon then to New York City.

On Friday, the group plans to travel eastbound from Leesburg along the Dulles Greenway, the Dulles Toll Road, the Dulles Airport Access Highway and Interstate 66 at the beginning of the afternoon commute.

Traffic procedures during the motorcycle procession will include:

Eastbound traffic leaving Dulles International Airport will have unimpeded access to the eastbound Dulles Airport Access Highway (all the way to I-495 and I-66) and Route 28 north and south, but not to the eastbound Dulles Toll Road. Access Highway traffic will share the road with the motorcycle procession east of Hunter Mill Road.

NOTE: local exits prior to Route 7 in Tysons will not be available from the Access Highway. Route 28 or Route 7 are the recommended alternates.

Traffic on Route 28 will not be able to exit to the eastbound Dulles Toll Road. Ramps to Dulles Airport and the Dulles Greenway will remain open.

Eastbound Traffic from the Dulles Greenway will merge to one lane to join the eastbound Dulles Toll Road. The motorcycle procession will occupy the closed lane.

The eastbound Dulles Toll Road will be divided in the center by cones. The two left lanes will be reserved for the motorcycle procession, while the two right lanes will be for local traffic.

All westbound lanes and ramps of the Dulles Access Highway and Dulles Toll Road will operate normally.

The motorcycle procession will come from the Dulles Greenway and travel the left side of the eastbound Dulles Toll Road for several miles. It will then cross to the right lane of the Dulles Access Highway and continue inside the beltway to I-66. The Virginia State Police will facilitate the movement of the procession from there.

The airport authority says all eastbound traffic in the Dulles corridor should plan extra travel time and expect delays.

Meanwhile, this is the last year of the ride after a clash between the event’s organizer and state governments, ARLnow.com reports.

PR Races will kick off its fall racing season with the South Lakes 10K on Aug. 28.

Registration is now open for the fifth-annual race that will benefit SLHS’ cross country team.

Registration is available online. Cost: $40 ($45 if you want until packet pickup or race day).

The course will mostly take place on nearby roads and will end on the SLHS track. See the course map on PR Races website.

The man who was shot and killed by a Fairfax County Sheriff’s Deputy on Monday night near Inova Fairfax Hospital appeared to be in a mental health crisis as he pulled a metal signpost out of the ground, striking a security officer and lunging at other authorities, Fairfax County Police Chief Edwin Roesller said.

The Sheriff’s Deputy who shot the man had tried to negotiate with him to put the sign post down, Roessler said at a Tuesday media briefing. When he was unable to diffuse the situation, he shot the man.

The man was immediately given first aid by officers at the scene. Fairfax County Fire Rescue personnel arrived and transported the man back to the hospital, where he died from his injuries about 4 a.m.

“This is a tragic loss of life and includes an event where someone else was injured,” Roessler said. “This is an active situation.”

Police have not identified the man, pending notification of next of kin. Roessler said he was a 29-year-old Hispanic man.

Here is what happened, according to police.

The man was released from Inova Fairfax Hospital, where he was being treated for an undisclosed issue, shortly before 10 p.m. Monday. He was escorted by security staff to a bus stop near the complex’s green garage. Read More

Defense contractor General Dynamics, which plans to construct a new headquarters in Reston, has a Fairfax County Planning Commission public hearing scheduled for Sept. 14.

The company announced in January it hopes to build a 190,000-square-foot building on a parcel off Sunset Hills Road between Wiehle Avenue and Hunter Mill Road and bordered on one edge by the W&OD Trail.

The plan itself was generally well received at a community meeting in January. What GD plans to build is actually well below what was long-ago approved for the parcel. GD plans one five-story building for about 200 employees.

The site was approved by Fairfax County in 1999 for nearly 358,000 square feet of space spread over three buildings, as well as nearly 1,200 parking spaces.

The current footprint is much smaller, but does allow for a 30,000-square-foot-addition to the building in the future. GD plans 300 mostly underground parking spaces to go with the first phase of the plan.

Because of the secure nature of GD’s operations, the company plans an interior road, no public access, a guard gate and security fencing. It also plans to keep most of the forested area for a natural privacy shield and sound barrier. Read More