Cornerstones and Mayflowers are gearing up for the third annual Reston Town Center Help the Homeless Walk Thursday at noon.

Cornerstones says more than 300 participants have signed up for the walk, in which participants will walk from Mayflowers to Embry Rucker Community Shelter and back.

Several groups from Reston Town Center-based businesses such as Microsoft and Leidos will also participate. Two businesses making an impact: Primatics, which will present a $25,000 check at the event as well as well as Cooley, the law office that will give $25,100 that employees have raised to help the homeless.

Participants will walk for a family or individual housed through Cornerstones’ Rapid Re-Housing Challenge. Cornerstones’ goal for the project is to house 15 families and 25 individuals from July through September.

The first 200 people to check in will receive a floral umbrella from Mayflowers.

Want to walk? Here is what you need to know?

Entry fee is $25 ($20 for youth). Sponsorship of families in need is also available. Visit Cornerstones online to register.

Participants will gather at Mayflowers Floral Studio, 11959 Market St. in the Promenade, for opening remarks by organizers and Delegate Ken Plum and Supervisor Cathy Hudgins.

Photo: Mayflowers owner May Bernhardt with floral umbrellas to give away at walk on Thursday/Credit: Mayflowers

Fairfax County Police said report a burglary near Hunters Woods Village Center in Reston on Sept. 23.

Police said a resident in the 12000 block of Greywing Square resident reported someone entered the residence and took property.

A previous burglary took place in the 2400 block of Founders Way in Herndon on Sept. 22. A resident reported someone entered the residence and took property.

In other news from the Reston District Station this week:

INDECENT EXPOSURE, 2400 block of Masons Ferry Drive, Herndon, Sept. 21. A woman was in a parking lot when a man exposed himself. The suspect was described as black, in his 30’s and about 5 feet 11 inches tall.

ATTEMPTED ROBBERY, 1300 block of Mason Mill Court, Herndon, Sept. 20. 3:04 a.m. The victim was approached by a man while in the garage of his residence. The suspect produced a handgun and demanded money. The victim resisted and the suspect fled on foot.  The victim did not require rescue. The suspect was described as white, between 5 feet 10 and 6 feet 2 inches tall.

LARCENIES

• 11400 block of Isaac Newton Square, purse from vehicle.
• 11200 block of Chestnut Grove Square, briefcase from vehicle.
• 11800 block of Sunrise Valley Drive, beverages from residence.
• 9400 block of Oak Falls Court, jewelry from residence.
• 2300 block of Elm Tree Court, bicycles from residence.
• 2300 block of Hunters Woods Plaza, bicycle from business.
• 11800 block of Spectrum Center, beverages from business.
•  2300 block of Hunters Woods Plaza, beverages from business.
• 1800 block of Explorer Street, wallet from business.
• 900 block of Locust Street, phone from business.
• 1200 block of Rowland Drive, license plate from vehicle.

Residents of three clusters close to Cabots Point Recreation Area have said a planned bocce court there will bring trash, parking issues, and ruin the atmosphere of a child-friendly park.

At last week’s Reston Association Board meeting, one neighbor told the board — which approved South Lakes Director Richard Chew’s proposal for a 60-by-12-foot court last December — that the court would “ruin the lives” of children who play at Cabots Point.

Some Reston Residents are also peeved that the plan was approved without adequate notification to affected parties in South Bay, Cabots Point and Cedar Cover clusters.

It turns out bocce, Italian-style lawn bowling, has raised the blood pressure of residents in other communities too.

In 2012, a proposal for bocce in Arlington’s Bluemont neighborhood led to acrimonious emails, emergency meetings and the resignations of several board members of the Bluemont Civic Association.

The issues sound familiar to the ones voiced by Reston residents.

“There were and continue to be significant concerns from neighbors at large and adjacent to the sites” for the proposed court, Bluemont resident and bocce opponent Maura Quinn told ARLnow.com in 2012. 

“Parking, trash, noise, lack of restroom facilities, and proximity to homes were all brought up over many months at BCA meetings,” she said at the time. “Many also believe that a cinder Bocce Court will cause significant dust/grime issues and will be unsightly in what is now lovely green space. There are Bocce leagues that play on grass throughout Arlington County calling into question the need for tearing out green space and replacing it with cinder.”

The Arlington County Parks Department’s response was that parking wasn’t an issue because most players would walk to the 13-by-50-foot court; that restrooms would not be needed because the park would not have more than 150 visitors at a time; that litter increase would be minimal; and that a public park should be open to the public for a variety of activities.

In the end, though, the parks department shelved the idea for Bluemont Junction Park in May of 2103, when it was deemed other sites would be more suitable. The county also did not think enough money would cover the costs — a $15,000 grant was available, but estimates for the project came in at $17,600 and $25,500.

The Reston project is estimated to cost $2,500, to be paid for by the non-profit Friends of Reston.

Even without the Bluemont court, bocce is alive and well in Arlington, where two courts opened in September 2013 in Ballston and bocce is available in a multi-use space in the Courthouse area. There are also two turf courts at La Tagliatella restaurant in Clarendon and bocce courts at Mosaic Park on Pollard Street.

The latter is the site of the DC Bocce League’s Arlington Division, which opens its season Wednesday night.

Photo: Bocce court in Ballston section of Arlington/Credit: ARLnow.com

Peek inside some of Reston’s most special homes on Oct. 18 at the 13th Annual Reston Home Tour.

The self-guided tour, which benefits the Reston Historic Trust, runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Since Reston is celebrating its 50th birthday this year, the theme for the home tour is Reston@50 — Celebrating the Decades.

Tickets are $25 before Oct. 11; $30 after Oct. 11; $20 for group sales. Tickets are available online or at Reston Museum and Lake Anne Florist on Lake Anne Plaza; The Wine Cabinet at North Point; and Appalachian Spring and GRACE at Reston Town Center.

Exact addresses are part of the ticket package, but meanwhile, here is how event organizers describe what will be on the home tour in 2014:

Our 13th annual tour offers a look at Reston’s history with homes spanning the decades, beginning with a vintage, 1960s, Charles Goodman townhouse in Hickory Cluster. This Mid-Century modern home is the perfect example of the land-use innovation, design excellence and physical harmony of place that Bob Simon, our founder, brought to this residential community 50 years ago.

• A nine-month redesign and renovation, with many surprises and hiccups along the way, turned this 1990’s home overlooking Lake Newport into the very special property it is today.
• A home from the 1970’s highlights local artists, family heirlooms and a loft outpost for the grandchildren, complete with star-gazing skylights.
• Not your normal attic here! Come and experience a builder’s own creative expansion and renovation of his New England-style home, both inside and out.
• The “Design on a Dime” concept never looked so good! This home, from the 1980’s, highlights the owner’s careful, yet exciting, investment in updates and decor with an eye toward their resale value.
• The Avant, a truly inspired environment in Reston Town Center, will offer a look inside an exciting eighth-floor unit filled with a lifetime of collecting. The public spaces will also be available to view, and SLHS Culinary Arts Program will offer a tasting of the decades in the Great Room. The story is familiar. After forty years, three homes, two children, five grandchildren, millions of memories and decades spent collecting – it was time for a downsize.

Photo: “Design on a Dime” home from the 1980s on this year’s Reston Home Tour/Credit: Reston Home Tour

Rallying For A Cause — Reston Tennis’ annual Rally For a Cause Tournament Sept. 21 raised $3,700 for Cornerstones and the USTA Foundation.

Take Metro To The Playoffs — American University and Metro have teamed up get Washington Nationals fans to and from postseason games at Nationals Park. Nationals fans will have access to special late-night train service, as needed, following postseason games Sunday through Thursday nights that are still in play as of 10:30 p.m. In the event of a rain delay or extra innings, provisions are in place to extend service as late as 1:20 a.m., if necessary. [WMATA]

Tickets For Halloween Trail Wednesday — Tickets go on sale on Wednesday, Oct. 1 for Reston Association’s Halloween House and Trick & Treat Trail. This popular children’s event on Oct. 24 and 25 sells out quickly. Tickets are $10. [Reston Association]

Photo: Players at Reston Tennis’ Rally for a Cause/Credit: Sean Bahrami via RA Facebook

It is International Walk to School Day on Oct. 8, and all Reston elementary schools are encouraging participation in the annual event.

This is the third straight year Reston schools, plus Langston Hughes Middle School, have engaged in the friendly competition to see who can get the most kids to school on two feet.

Fairfax County Public Schools in general are encouraging students to participate “as an effort to promote physical activity and reduce traffic congestion and pollution near schools.”

The percentage of students walking and bicycling to school declined from 48 percent in1 969 to 13 percent in 2009, says the non-profit Safe Routes to School, which organizes the event. The increased number of Kiss & Ride users has clogged traffic conditions around many schools and has made it more difficult for student walkers and bicyclist to get to school, the group said.

Want to get involved at your school? Visit the Reston page on Walk to School Day’s website to see who is coordinating your neighborhood route.

Photo: Bike to School Day in Reston/file photo

The 343 Lake Anne homes that are bound by the Reston deed to use RELAC, the aging air-conditioning system, will get another chance at a member referendum early next year.

The Reston Association Board voted at its Thursday meeting to accept the petition of RELAC users who say they want a referendum on the issue and go forward with a referendum on the matter.

RELAC users are bound by the Reston deed to use the system, which was deemed as state-of-the-art and extra quiet when installed in the mid-1960s. RELAC uses water from Lake Anne to cool the air. However, these days it is viewed by many current users as outdated and inefficient.

The referendum would need two-thirds of RELAC townhouse users to vote in favor in order to pass. A 2008 referendum was defeated 130-100.

The petition was signed by 121 residents, many of whom have been working on getting a release from RELAC since last winter.

Current RELAC users are allowed to petition for a medical exemption (for example, if they have bad allergies). The medical exemption was the subject of its own debate among RA’s Board and RELAC users earlier this year.

Homeowners who have been granted the exemption say they have spent $4,000-6,000 on new HVAC systems — which must be disconnected when they sell the home.

The RA Board says it will formulate the referendum question this week. There will be a public hearing on Oct. 6, and the RA Board will have additional public hearings during their meetings on Oct. 23 and Nov. 20.

Ballots will be mailed in early January, with a Jan. 30 voting deadline.

Photo: Lake Anne/File photo

A longtime tenant of Tall Oaks Village Center has departed the mostly empty shopping center.

El Manantial Restaurant has cleared out its space and moved to 790 Station St. in Herndon, where it will reopen as “Europa.”

El Manantial owner Humberto Fuentes told Reston Now last spring that he would be closing in the next few months. The high-end Mediterranean restaurant, a 2003 Washingtonian Top 100 restaurant pick, had been a mainstay at Tall Oaks for 11 years.

Fuentes said he signed a five-year lease, rather than a 10-year lease, in 2009, knowing that Tall Oaks had lost much of its vibrancy.

“I realized this center is not going to get any better,” he said last March. “I want to operate in a better location.”

Fuentes will also rename the restaurant Europa, which better describes the menu, he said.

The departure of the popular restaurant is one of many businesses to recently close at Tall Oaks.

The stand-alone Burger King and the 25,000-square-foot anchor space have been empty for years. Curves gym, Total Care Chiropractic and Dominos Pizza have also closed in the last 18 months and no new tenants have taken their place.

Tall Oaks is just up Wiehle Avenue from the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station, but there are no current plans to rezone or redevelop the site.

Monday is International Coffee Day, and there are several places around Reston to celebrate.

Chick-Fil-A’s nationwide, including in Reston, are offering free coffee all  week.

Chick-Fil-A  is giving away either a free small hot coffee or a medium iced coffee with a meal to promote its “new specialty-grade THRIVE Farmers Coffee,” and for International Coffee Day, which is Monday, Sept. 29.

Other places in Reston are marking International Coffee Day Monday are McDonald’s at Wiehle and Sunset Hills and Dunkin’ Donuts at Hunters Woods Village Center. McDonald’s is giving away a small and Dunkin’ Donuts a medium).

Chick-Fil-A’s promotion goes until Saturday, Oct. 4, and is intended to raise awareness for their “farmer-direct” coffee, which is sourced from farms in Central America. The company says its coffee farmers are paid directly, up to 10 times more than farmers are paid via standard trade models.

Friends and relatives of Emma Clark will gather later this week to remember the South Lakes High School senior, who died suddenly last Wednesday.

Emma’s family will hold visitation at Adams-Green Funeral Home, 721 Elden St. in Herndon, Tuesday, Sept. 30, from 6 to 8 p.m.

Funeral services will be Wednesday, Oct. 1 at 11 a.m. at St. John Neumann Catholic Church, 11900 Lawyers Rd. in Reston.

To see more information or sign an online condolence book visit the Adams-Green website.

South Lakes students held a candlelight vigil for Emma, 17, on Friday night in her neighborhood, the Monroe Manor section of Oak Hill. Emma has been remembered by fellow students as a softball player and chorus member. She also held a part-time job at Life Time Athletic in Reston.

There has been an outpouring of support both from South Lakes students and teens from neighboring schools. The Seahawks football team dedicated its Friday night game vs. McLean to Emma, as did athletes from nearby schools.

Photo: Emma Clark/2014 SLHS Yearbook

Celebrating Many Cultures — Thousands flocked to Lake Anne Plaza Saturday for the annual Reston Multicultural Festival on Saturday. Modern Reston captured all the action in some great photos. [Modern Reston]

Reston’s Transit Neighborhoods — Several development representatives were on hand for the Reston Historic Trust’s panel discussion on the future of the Reston Station area. Couldn’t make it in person? The whole thing is on video for you to enjoy. [You Tube]

Park Authority Wants Your Thoughts — What amenities are lacking in the Fairfax County park system? The Park Authority is conducting a need assessment over the next 18 months. It will offer the opportunity for you to give feedback in person, online and in small group meetings. [Fairfax County Park Authority]

Supervisors Seek to Serve Aging Population — The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has outlined plans to better serve the county’s 50-and-over population. The supervisors say the number of residents over 70 will increase by 88 percent by 2030. [Fairfax Times]

Photo of Reston Town Center by Brendan Ross via Flickr

South Lakes High School’s Class of 2015 has banded together in the aftermath of the sudden death of their classmate, Emma Clark.

Emma, who lived in Oak Hill, unexpectedly died on Wednesday. The cause of death has not been released.

She had been a member of chorus groups and the South Lakes softball team, classmates said. She also held a part-time job at Life Time Athletic in Reston.

The Class of 2015 encouraged one another to wear green to school on Friday in memory of Emma. The students also signed a giant banner in Emma’s honor.

The class is planning a candlelight vigil Friday night near the Monroe Manor neighborhood where Emma lived.

Students from South Lakes and neighboring schools took to Twitter with messages with the hashtag #RIPEmma.

South Lakes received flowers and a note of support from Langley High School students. Two Langley students committed suicide the same week during the 2013-14 school year.

Music, dance, food and other activities from around the world will return to Lake Anne Plaza on Saturday at the Reston Multicultural Festival.

The Reston Multicultural Festival celebrates the diversity and community spirit of Reston, says Reston Community Center, which sponsors the annual event along with Reston Association and other local organizations and businesses.

The festival starts at 11 a.m. with a naturalization ceremony of new United States citizens and a release of doves.

Live entertainment begins at 1 p.m. on two stages. Admission is free.

World Stage 

1 p.m.
Elaine Hoffman Watts, National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellow, Klezmer Music

2 p.m.
Christylez Bacon-Washington Sound Museum with Wytold and Nitsha Raj, Cross-Cultural Collaborative Music Experience

2:55 p.m.
Angel Roman, Middle Eastern Dance

3:30 p.m.
Kalavaridhi Dance, Indian Classical Dance

4:10 p.m.
Khinezin Win, Burmese (Myanmar Dance)

5 p.m.
Elikeh, Afro-pop

Global Stage

12:15 p.m.
Tom Teasley,  UN Cultural Ambassador for Percussion

1:10 p.m.
Shaolin Temple, Chinese Martial Arts

1:45 p.m.
Jayamangala,  Indian Classical Dance

2:20 p.m.
Furia Flamenca, Flamenco Dance

3:00 p.m
Ta’Ta RoiRoi, Tahitian Dance and music

3:40 p.m
Born 2 Dance,  Capoeira, Bollywood, and Salsa

4:15 p.m
Nomad Dancers,  Dances from ancient Persia and Central Asia

5:15 p.m.
Ocho de Bastos,  Latin Pop Rock

Additionally, RCC’s Jo Ann Rose Gallery includes an indoor stage with storytelling, Irish music and dance, and Ukranian egg decorating, among other activities. Visit RCC’s website for the full schedule of events.

There will also be food and crafts from many cultures available for purchase. On the menu: Peruvian chicken, Thai food, tacos and more. See the list of arts and crafts vendors.

Photo: Reston Multicultural Festival/file photo

This is a sponsored post by veterinarian Elizabeth Arguelles, owner of Just Cats Clinic at Lake Anne Plaza. She writes weekly on Reston Now.

Feline leukemia virus (FeLV) is an infectious virus that affects cats around the world. While we hear a lot about feline leukemia, the prevalence in the United States is actually only approximately 2 to 3 percent. It tends to appear more frequently in cats who are very ill, who are still kittens or whose immune systems have been compromised. About 13 percent of those cats have FeLV.

What is feline leukemia?

As was mentioned above, FeLV is an infectious virus, not cancer as it names suggests. The name comes from the fact that when it was first discovered in cats, it was in the form of leukemia cells.

When the cat is infected, a retrovirus produces an enzyme called reverse transcriptase that allows the virus to insert copies of its own genetic material into the infected cells. Though FeLV is not cancer, the resulting changes to the cells can potentially make them cancerous. The cancer can occur in a variety of tissues, organs and body sites, depending on where in the body the infected cells are located.

They can also affect circulating white blood cells or other cells of the blood-forming tissues. The most common type of cancer associated with feline leukemia is lymphosarcoma or cancer of the lymphoid cells.

Although cancer can develop as a result of FeLV, the virus can lead to other conditions as well, such as a suppressed immune system, life-threatening anemia, severe enteritis, severe dental disease, neurological disorders and eye diseases. Read More