A Reston woman was among several arrested Thursday on charges of providing material support to al-Shabaab, a designated foreign terrorist organization that is conducting an insurgency campaign in Somalia, U.S. Department of Justice officials said.
Muna Osman Jama, 34, was arrested at her home in Reston, officials said.
Others arrested were Hinda Osman Dhirane, 44, of Kent, Wash.; and Farhia Hassan of the Netherlands. Warrants are also out for Fardowsa Jama Mohamed, a fugitive in Kenya, and Barira Hassan Abdullahi, a fugitive in Somalia.
From the Justice Department:
According to court records, defendants Muna Osman Jama and Hinda Osman Dhirane were the leaders of an al-Shabaab fundraising conspiracy operating in the United States, Kenya, the Netherlands, Somalia and elsewhere.
Jama and Dhirane allegedly directed a network composed primarily of women who provided monthly payments that were coordinated, facilitated and tracked by the defendants to their conduits in Kenya and Somalia. According to court records, Jama was principally responsible for sending money to Kenya through her conduit, defendant Fardowsa Jama Mohamed, while Dhirane was primarily responsible for sending money to Somalia through her conduit, defendant Barira Hassan Abdullahi.
According to court records, the defendants would refer to the money they sent overseas as “living expenses,” and they repeatedly used code words such as “orphans” and “brothers in the mountains” to refer to al-Shabaab fighters, and “camels” to refer to trucks needed by al-Shabaab. The money transfers often were broken down into small amounts as low as $50 or $100, and the funds were intended for use by al-Shabaab insurgents operating in Somalia.
A superseding indictment was issued on June 26, 2014, by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia, charging the defendants with one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and 20 counts of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization. The indictment was unsealed after the following arrest warrants were executed today:
If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison on each count in the indictment.
The Harakat Shabaab al-Mujahidin, commonly known as al-Shabaab, is a terrorist group conducting a violent insurgency campaign in Somalia. In 2008, the U.S. government designated al-Shabaab as a foreign terrorist organization, and in February 2012, the leaders of al-Shabaab and the terrorist group al-Qa’ida publicly announced the merger of the two groups.
Truland Was Seeking Restructure — Truland, the Reston-based electrical contractor that abruptly shut its doors Monday, had been trying to restructure itself the last three months in the hopes of selling to investors. [Washington Business Journal]
Crunching Commuter Fares — A Silver Line rider from Wiehle-Reston East will pay more to commute. A rush hour commute featuring a Fairfax Connector bus ride from Reston to West Falls Church and a Metro from there to D.C. currently costs $10.70 today but a similar route will cost $14.30 when commuters begin taking the Silver Line on Monday. [WAMU]
Silver Line Access Lagging — The Silver Line is set to open Saturday, but a large number of infrastructure and access projects around the Wiehle-Reston East Metro are not done. [Reston 2020]
Cookies For Commuters — On Monday, July 28, from 7:30 – 9:30 a.m., DoubleTree hotels will give away free chocolate chip cookies outside of Silver Line stations. DoubleTree will also conduct a special cookie delivery to the Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC).
Shop For A Cause — Reston Town Center’s Brighton Collectibles will be donating 20 percent of the proceeds of their private sale on Sunday, July 27 to the Greater Reston Arts Center’s art education programs for children. RSVP to [email protected] if you would like to take part.
Photo: Lake Newport’s Bridget Brennan competes in the final meet of the 2014 season/Credit: RSTA
The owners of Red’s Table, the restaurant that will go into the South Lakes Village Center space formerly occupied by the Lakeside Inn, hope to begin construction on the new place in August.
The waterfront space at South Lakes Village Center has been vacant since the Lakeside Inn closed last October after 22 years. Construction crews gutted the space about two months ago.
Ryan Tracy — a Red’s Table owner, along with his brothers Matt and Pat — said the Fairfax County permitting process is taking longer than anticipated.
“We hope to start construction in the month of August,” he said. “If that happens, we hope to be open by November/December.”
The Tracy brothers are planning “American cuisine with fresh, local products, oysters, good sandwiches, as well as local craft beer and local wines,” Ryan Tracy said earlier this year. There will be an open kitchen and additional outdoor seating, as well as floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Lake Thoreau.
Classic Reston is a biweekly feature sponsored by the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce that highlights businesses, places and people with deep roots in Reston.
It’s a big week for Reston with Saturday’s opening of its first Silver Line Metro stop.
Metrorail will connect Reston in a straight shot with Washington, D.C., making the community an attractive option for both residents who work in Arlington or D.C. and workers in Reston who live to the East.
This week’s Classic Reston takes a look at he community’s quirky public transportation link of the 1970s.
When Reston was founded, the “Live, Work and Play,” motto was in place, but in reality, the “work” part was a work in progress. Most Restonians worked in D.C., and it was a long commute with no Dulles Toll Road or Orange Line Metro to Vienna.
But Restonians saw the need for a commuter transit, so — in the true pioneer spirit of the place — they founded a service themselves. In the early 1970s, the Reston Community Association (RCA) and Reston developers Gulf Reston, created the Reston Community Bus Service (RCBS).
Some in Reston nicknamed the bus “the booze bus,” since there were free-flowing drinks onboard. Well, it was a long commute.
The drinks dried up in 1972 after a commuter threatened to complain to the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.
“We will inform our riders they are confined to Coke and potato chips unless we hear otherwise,” Reston Commuter Bus officer Howard Pearlstein told an Associated Press reporter in February of 1972.
The shuttle to D.C. lasted a few years, dying out by the late 1970s. Eventually, Reston minister Embry Rucker helped start the Reston Internal Bus System (RIBS), which took people to various parts of the growing community.
After that, if you wanted to get into D.C., you were on your own — until now.
Reston’s new era begins at noon on Saturday, when the first train pulls out of Wiehle-Reston East heading toward Tysons Corner, Arlington and Washington. Find schedules and fare information on Silverlinemetro.com.
And remember, no eating or drinking on Metro — and certainly no cocktails.
Photo: Riding Reston’s Commuter Bus in the 1970s/Credit: GMU Archives
This week’s Reston Pet of the Week is Flip, a Black Lab Mix. Here is what owners Kristin and Joe have to say about him:
One year ago, we rescued Flip through City Dogs Rescue, which had saved him from a kill shelter in North Carolina right as his time was running out. He is calm and well behaved in the house, but definitely has his “crazy dog” side and loves to run around the yard like a wild maniac. His favorite things to do are to eat, play with other dogs and sit right at (or on) our feet. He likes to hang out wherever we are.
Flip is a smart dog with a freckled tongue who knows many words. He’ll tilt his head when we speak to him, and you’d better be careful if you say anything that sounds like “Do you want to eat?” He will immediately lick his chops and bark at you. Mention the words “walk” or “car ride” and you are also in trouble. We love everything about his enthusiastic attitude! Adopting him has made us appreciate life so much more.
Want your pet to be considered for the Reston Pet of the Week? Email [email protected] with a 2-3 paragraph bio and at least 3-4 horizontally-oriented photos of your pet.
Each week’s winner receives a sample of dog or cat treats from our sponsor, Becky’s Pet Care, along with $100 in Becky’s Bucks. Becky’s Pet Care, the winner of three Angie’s List Super Service Awards and the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters’ 2013 Business of the Year, provides professional dog walking and pet sitting services in Reston and Northern Virginia.
Reston’s future begins Saturday at noon.
That’s when the first Metro Silver Line car leaves Wiehle-Reston East heading toward Tysons Corner, Arlington, Washington, D.C., and really, anywhere in the region that Metro goes.
It’s been a 50-year journey from Virginia cow pasture to major regional business center and a place nearly 60,000 people call home. While the opening of rail in Reston is a momentous day, it also will spark an era of development and growth here.
We asked some high profile Restonians what the Silver Line means to Reston. Here is what they had to say.
Del. Ken Plum, Reston’s representative in Richmond for more than 30 years and a founder of the Dulles Corridor Rail Association:
When the milestones of Reston are announced in the future, this will be a major milestone. The Silver Line connects us with the metropolitan region. It helps our workforce. It helps our community.
Now the key is how do you effectively use the stations? You need a feeder bus system. Fairfax County has been very good at putting that in place. You will also need rapid transit feeding the stations. Running the line is the first big step. Then you have got to move towards transit-oriented development. We’re doing that. Then we have to have alternative ways of moving people to the station. That’s when you really become a transit-oriented community.
My concern was would [rail] happen in my lifetime? I always thought when you look at where we are in the region, you would never build a road wide enough and have cars be the only source.
Mark Ingrao, President and CEO of the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce:
I think it means a tremendous amount to have the ability to bring people from East to West. A lot of people talk about West going East, but this is going to bring an opportunity to bring employees and employers from East to West. I think it is a game changer for Reston.
We are actually getting a lot of calls [from businesses looking to relocate to Reston]. We [the chamber] are actually looking for space closer to the Metro station. I get calls regularly from folks in Arlington, Maryland, DC. They want to come here. Rental rates here are much cheaper than inside the Beltway. You can come here, be located on the rail line, be able to get into the District if you need to, and still have a much cheaper rental rate for your property.
Reston founder Robert E. Simon. The 100-year-old plans to be one of the first Silver Line riders:
Am I excited? You betcha! Back in 1966, I was negotiating for light rail. That’s almost 50 years.
As you know, we still have to get out to airport. And for Reston itself: the [Reston Master Plan Special Study Task Force] spent four or five years planning and did not get very far. I think that so long as we get the Town Center North developed the way I hope, with a theater and a library, and get the so-called village centers made into village centers. I would like to see the village centers look like Lake Anne, with plazas surrounded by density. Density IS coming to Lake Anne now. It was planned that way. The NIMBYs prevented it from happening. Read More
Reston Man Wanted in D.C. Arrested At Dulles — A Reston man wanted for assault by D.C’s Metropolitan Police Department was arrested at Dulles International Airport last week after he disembarked from a flight from Spain. [US Customs and Border Patrol]
Pay County Taxes Online — Fairfax County Real Estate taxes are due July 28 (for those who do not pay them monthly as part of a mortgage payment). Fairfax County has instructions for paying online. [Fairfax County]
Longtime Reston-Based Firm Abruptly Closes — Truland Systems, a large Reston-based electrical contractor, has abruptly closed down, leaving hundreds of employees without jobs. Truland’s headquarters is located on Oracle Way. [WJLA]
FCPS May Expand Elementary Foreign Language Program — A proposal before FCPS officials could expand foreign language programs in elementary schools by increasing immersion programs and adding Language Through Content programs. [Fairfax Times]
Officers from Fairfax County’s Reston District Station report four burglaries in the last two days.
In the first, a resident of the 2400 block of Cloverfield Circle in unincorporated Herndon, told police someone entered the residence and took property on July 19.
The other three took place on July 20:
- 1700 block of Ascot Way, Reston. A resident reported someone entered the apartment and took property.
- 12800 block of Kettering Drive in Fox Mill. A resident reported someone entered the residence and took property.
- 2700 block of Viking Drive, Fox Mill. A resident reported someone entered the garage and took property.
In other crime news reported by the Fairfax County Police Reston District Station this week:
LARCENIES
- 1400 block of Northpoint Glen Court, laptop computer from residence
- 11100 block of Sunset Hills Road, cell phone from business
- 11800 block of Sunrise Valley Drive, catalytic converter from vehicle
- 11800 block of Sunrise Valley Drive, exhaust system from vehicle
- 13300 block of Apgar Place, license plate from vehicle
- 9900 block of Blackmore Vale Way, property from residence
- 2100 block of Cabots Point Lane, bicycles from residence
- 2400 block of Green Range Drive, clothing from business
- 2500 block of John Eppes Road, purse from vehicle
- 9800 block of Meadow Valley Drive, wallet from business
- 1600 block of Sadlers Wells Drive, money from vehicle
- 12100 block of Sunset Hills Road, money from business
- 2100 block of Westglade Court, license plates from vehicle
- 12000 block of Bowman Towne Drive, tools from vehicle
- 2300 block of Soapstone Drive, cell phone from business
- 10900 block of Knights Bridge Court, medication from residence
STOLEN VEHICLES
- 2200 block of Astoria Circle, Yamaha YZSR6 motorcycle
- 1600 block of Parkcrest Circle, 2006 Scion XB
Comstock has secured nearly $100 million in additional financing for construction of the 21-story luxury BLVD Apartments.
The BLVD apartments are currently under construction at Comstock’s Reston Station, located above the seven-level underground parking garage adjacent to the Wiehle-Reston East Silver Line Metro Station.
Comstock will get a $95 million, 48-month construction loan from Citizen Bank, Virginia Business reports.
The $900 million parking garage was built by a public-private partnership between Comstock and Fairfax County. It is the only parking among the five Silver Line stations in Tysons Corner and Reston. The Silver Line opens Saturday.
The county and Comstock agreed earlier this year that Comstock will pay the county $2.9 million annually in rent. Eventually, the plaza will be home to office, hotel and retail space as well.
Photo: BLVD apartments under construction at Reston Station/file photo
Four days until the Silver Line begins carrying passengers. Reston Now wants to know: Will it change your commute?
While the Silver Line will connect Reston and Tysons Corner each other and to points inside the Beltway, in D.C. and beyond, it is not the workday answer for everyone.
For instance, a large number of Reston-area workers travel within Reston or other areas of Fairfax County not served by Metro. Those who can now take Metro to Reston from Arlington or D.C. to get to work, still would have to find a way to get from Wiehle-Reston East to, say, offices in Reston Town Center.
And still others say parking at Wiehle-Reston East ($4.85 daily) combined with rush hour Metro fares ($11.80 round trip daily to Farragut North, for example) make carpooling and parking downtown a more attractive option.
Take our poll and tell us in the comments below where you go for work and whether how you get there will change.
Spurred in part by the fatal crash of a Reston teen on a mini bike earlier this year, Fairfax County Police are undergoing safety and law enforcement training about two-wheeled motorized vehicles.
Law enforcement officials say there were 600 crashes — 12 of them fatal — among riders of mopeds, mini-bikes and motorscooters in Virginia in 2013. Alcohol was a contributing factor in 20 percent of all accidents and 10 percent involved excessive speed, according to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.
The DMV says 1,967 people have been injured in 2,062 moped crashes over the past five years.
Fairfax County Police do not keep stats on mopeds, mini-bikes and other similar vehicles on county streets, they say they see anecdotal evidence of growing popularity. Warm weather and high gas prices may be possible contributors.
A new state law governing mopeds went into effect July 1 requiring owners to register with the DMV.
Virginia law requires moped drivers to be at least age 16; drivers and riders must wear a Virginia State Police-approved helmet. Drivers are also required to wear a face shield and add safety glasses or goggles if they are riding a moped that lacks a windshield.
State law also says that it is illegal to drive a moped if your driver’s license is suspended or revoked for convictions of DUI, underage consumption of alcohol, refusing a blood or breath test, or driving while on a suspended or revoked license for a DUI-related offense.
A bike is considered a motorcycle if it can go over 35 mph. Motorcycles are subject to a different set of regulations, including requiring a motorcycle endorsement on the driver’s operator license.
Mini-bikes, such as the one the Reston teen was driving in the May accident, have seat heights less than 24 inches high and are considered “motor-driven cycles.” They are not required to be registered with the state of have a license plate.
Those bikes are supposed to be for entertainment on private property and are not street-legal, Fairfax County Police said.
Officer Joseph Moore, instructor of the recent FCPS motorbike training, says that mini-bikes’ low line of sight — which may not be higher than the bumper of a car — make them especially dangerous on roadways.
“The best safety tip I can give you is be smart and be careful,” he said. “Keep in mind you are not as visible as you think you may be.”
Photo: Fairfax County Police undergo motorbike safety training/Credit: FCPD
See more information on new laws and safety tips in this FCPD video.
As Reston prepares to become a transit-oriented community, it is also preparing to for urban-style issues. Among them: The opportunity for crime.
Metro’s first five Silver Line stations, including Wiehle-Reston East, open on Saturday. Fairfax County Police
Chief Ed Roessler says that combining an increased population with urban-style gathering spots does increase the chances for crime. But it doesn’t mean it has to increase actual crime rates.
“The opportunity for crime is more prevalent when you open up a Metro station,” says Roessler. “What you see are breaking into cars late at night and more people traveling corridors from platform to garage and pedestrian pathways. That is what we are concerned about and we have taken action to prevent that.”
Roessler says FCPD has been planning for crime prevention around the new transit areas for many years — about as long as Metro’s five-year course of building the Silver Line.
The FCPD, boosted by additional funding from the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to add nine positions to the department, created the Tysons Urban Team in 2013. The police department’s five-year strategic plan calls for a similar unit in Reston, says Roessler.
However, officers at all stations have been undergoing urban police training for much longer, the chief said. Reston Town Center has always had bike and foot patrols — two of the core urban policing strategies. Additional bike and foot patrols are also in place at Hunters Woods Village Center, and will be at the Wiehle-Reston East Metro Station.
Crime around Metro stations is actually quite low in Virginia, says Metro. The transportation agency says there were 7.1 serious crimes per million riders overall in 2013, with far more in D.C. and parts of Maryland. The majority — 70 percent — were thefts, says Metro Police Chief Ron Pavlik. He said that the Virginia stations are some of the safest in the system.
“Typically, crime on Metro is reflective of crime rates in the surrounding communities,” he says. “We don’t see a lot of ‘Part I’ (violent) offenses in Virginia.”
Fairfax County saw a drop in every violent crime category in 2013. In the Reston District in 2013, there were 654 assaults (compared to 765 the previous year). There was a rise in robberies though, from 27 in 2012 to 37 in 2013.
Still, Metro’s 491 sworn officers are being prepared to prevent crime. The agency hired 26 officers and 15 civilian employees in advance of the Silver Line opening. Transit police have trained with county police. Reston District Station officers have also done safety seminars for students, said Lt. Ken Baine, Reston Assistant Commander.
Pavlik says riders will see a high police presence the first few weeks the Silver Line is open. But riders still need to be aware to stay safe. He offers these tips:
- Be aware of your surroundings. Put yourself close to other customers if you feel you are being followed.
- Put your cell phone away when not in use.
- If you see something, say something. You can text tips to Metro police dispatch at “MyMTPD” or 202-962-2121 or 911.
- Use the emergency call buttons located throughout each station. It will ring through to the station manager.
Reston’s Fairfax Hunt Club may eventually be home to a subdivision when Phase II of the Reston Master Plan Special Study is completed.
Phase II, which kicked off in May, offered an opportunity to submit property-specific land use proposals to be included in the draft “strawman” Comprehensive Plan text for Reston coming up later this year. Submissions were accepted from May 22 through July 11.
One of the proposals came from Robert Hostler, president of Fairfax Hunt Inc. He submitted a proposal to the Reston Master Plan Special Study group to rezone the hunt’s at 1321 Lake Fairfax Dr. from recreational to residential.
“The Owner, Fairfax Hunt Inc., is considering relocating its operations and desires to have the option for this property to be converted to residential as are the surrounding properties,” the online submission states.
The Fairfax Hunt has deep, if not active, roots in Reston. A. Smith Bowman — founder of the former Reston distillery bearing his name — also founded the Fairfax Hunt Club in 1928. He later gave part of his 4,000-acre property to the club, and the clubhouse, built in 1951, remains as a catering facility today. Eventually, much of the surrounding land was sold to build Reston and fox hunting moved farther into horse country.
The clubhouse contains part of a 200-year-old log house that was formerly located a few miles away in Vienna. The club’s still owns eight acres near Lake Fairfax Park to the south and housing subdivisions on the other sides.
Phase 1 of the Reston Master Plan Special Study was approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors earlier this year. Those plans set development standards in the areas within one-quarter mile of Reston’s future Metrorail stations. The first Reston such station, Wiehle-Reston East, opens Saturday.
Phase II is expected to be a shorter process that will look at specific land use projects and Reston’s village center areas, which may be redeveloped in the future.
Only three specific land use suggestions were sent to Fairfax County in the open period. One was not specific and was disqualified. The other was to add new apartments and increase density at Colvin Woods, a 1970s apartment complex on Becontree Drive.
Photo courtesy of Fairfax Hunt Club
Business Boom For NVR — Reston-based home builder NVR announced it had second-quarter net income of $68.2 million, or $15.17 per share. Earnings were up 34 percent from a year earlier and revenue rose 9 percent to $1.1 billion, even as new home contracts have fallen nationwide. [Washington Business Journal]
New Rules for Bar Crawls — Bar crawls in Arlington County may be changing after the Arlington County Board approved new event regulations at its meeting on Saturday. The new regulations will include fees charged to the organizers to recoup the cost of extra police and community resources required to deal with the nearly 5,000 people estimated to attend some of the crawls. The change comes, in part, after a Reston woman stripped naked at the police station after a St. Patrick’s Day crawl this year. [ARLnow.com]
Dr. Gridlock Rides Simulated Metro Service — Monday was the first day of the Silver Line’s simulated service. The Washington Post’s “Dr. Gridlock” rode the existing trains to see the impact of the Silver Line on crowds and wait time. [Washington Post]
Ask Silver Line Bus Questions — Fairfax County will hold a second online chat to answer questions about Silver Line bus service changes. The chat is Friday, July 25 from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. [Fairfax County]
The celebration of Reston’s 50th anniversary continues as Reston Community Center will hold a 10-day Reduced Shakespeare Company Extravaganza in September.
The festival will include eight performances by The Reduced Shakespeare Company, as well as a comedy boot camp and several opportunities to meet members of the well-known comedy ensemble.
The Reduced Shakespeare Company is a three-man comedy troupe that takes long subjects and reduces them to short, sharp comedies. The trio’s annual visit to RCC’s CenterStage has made them a favorite with Reston audiences, says RCC Executive Director Leila Gordon.
The “Bad Boys of Abridgement” have created nine stage shows, two television specials and many radio shows that have reached worldwide audiences.
“The Reduced Shakespeare Company has been part of the RCC arts family for more than two decades,” said RCC Executive Director Leila Gordon. “We can’t imagine any significant anniversary year in Reston that wouldn’t include sharing the hilarity they bring to the CenterStage and our community. In this extraordinary year, bringing back these shows and many original cast members is the ‘least’ we could do for their fans and fully in the spirit of ‘reducing’ us to helpless laughter.”
Tickets for the extravaganza, which begins Sept. 12, go on sale for the general public Aug. 8.
Click through for the lineup of events in Reston.
