What are you doing for lunch today?

Starting Wednesday, June 25, Reston Town Square Park will host food trucks the last Wednesday of the month. The event will run through late October.

Here is who will be parked at Town Square Park (at Explorer and Market Streets and Town Square Park in Reston Town Center) from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. today: Doug the Food Dude, The Big Cheese, DC Empanadas, and That Cheesecake Truck.

Another popular food truck spot in Reston is on Business Center Drive off of Sunset Hills Road. A rotating group of three or four trucks is parked there daily.

Fairfax County is considering new zoning rules that will make it easier and less expensive for food trucks to do business here.

A rash of bicycle thefts, as well as a burglary, mark this week’s crime report from the Fairfax County Police’s Reston District Station.

The home burglary took place on Thursday, when a resident reported someone entered a residence in the 1700 block of Wainwright Drive and took property. Police did not elaborate on what was taken.

Meanwhile, there have been three bicycle thefts  reported in Reston in the last week.

Bikes were taken from homes in the 11500 block of Links Drive near Lake Anne, the 1600 block of Oak Spring Way near Tall Oaks and the 2200 block of Castle Rock Square in South Reston.

In other crime news for the week ending June 24:

LARCENIES

1600 block of Fieldthorn Drive, items from vehicle

900 block of Locust Street, cell phone from school 

2100 block of Astoria Circle, jewelry from residence

11900 block of Market Street, wallet from business

12600 block of Fantasia Drive, wallet from residence

300 block of Greenhill Street, wallet from business

2300 block of Hunters Woods Plaza, beer from business

With the Silver Line opening on July 26, Metro has unveiled three new television ads to spread the word about the 11-mile extension that will bring rail to Tysons Corner and Reston.

The 15-second commercials — that have a little sarcastic spin to them — will begin airing on local TV later this week, encourage residents to “look alive, good times are ahead. The three subjects are apparently very bored Northern Virginians who can look forward to life-changing good times and increased access to employment, entertainment, and shopping without the hassles of traffic or the expense of gas and parking with the Silver Line.

“Now that opening day is in sight, it’s time to get a little excited,” Lynn Bowersox, Metro Assistant General Manager, said in a statement. “These ads are intended to showcase the benefits of the Silver Line and get the word out about the opening date.”

From Metro:

Metro has been conducting outreach to educate current and prospective Silver Line riders across the region for several months, distributing more than 100,000 pieces of information at stations and community events, sporting venues and area festivals.  The information includes a Silver Line brochure and an updated Rider’s guide featuring the new system map.

A special website, silverlinemetro.com, has detailed information regarding the five new stations, parking and biking, fares, and points of local interest.

“The campaign moves us from ‘how to ride’ to ‘why to ride’,” said Bowersox.

In addition to the broadcast ads that will air on local television stations in English and Spanish, print ads will appear in July in five languages in community papers, business publications, and online news sites.  Movie theater and radio promotions will roll out later this summer, as will post cards mailed to homes near the new stations. Metro will also utilize transit advertising space in its stations and on its buses this summer to promote the Silver Line, Bowersox said.

The sounds of strings Lake Anne Plaza July 12 at the fifth annual Lake Anne Ukulele Festival.

The free festival features performances by several internationally known and local ukulele musicians, music demonstrations, as well as a public jam session, festival vendors, and other family friendly activities.

Workshops & Open Mic Sessions

9:45 – 10:40 a.m. — Community Showcase & Open Mic at Café Montmartre

10:45 – 11:4 a.m. — Beatles Workshop hosted by Stuart Fuchs at Café Montmartre

Performances:

12:00 – 12:30 p.m. — The Aloha Boys

12:45 – 1:20 p.m. — Sweater Set

1:55 – 2:30 p.m. — Kathy & Marv

2:50 – 3:50 p.m. — Stuart Fuchs

4:00 – 5:00 p.m. — Gerald Ross

5:15 – 6:15 p.m. — Swing Workshop hosted by Gerald Ross – Café Montmartre

The festival is hosted by the Lake Anne Merchants with support from the Reston Community Center, Friends of Lake Anne (FOLA), Northern Virginia Magazine and the Northern Virginia Ukulele Ensemble.

Photo: The Aloha Boys at the 2013 Lake Anne Ukulele Festival/File photo

Reston Association is considering allowing several homeowners on Sourwood Lane to conduct a controlled deer hunt on their properties.

The owners of 11624, 11626 and 11628 Sourwood Lane, located off of Glade Drive in a wooded area of South Reston, say they want to reduce the deer population near their homes as deer have destroyed vegetation and may harbor Lyme Disease-carrying ticks.

RA will take action on the request at its meeting this Thursday at RA headquarters, 12001 Sunrise Valley Drive. A public comment period will begin about 6:30 p.m.

“There is an urgent health-driven and environmental need to reduce the deer population in and around our properties,” Sourwood homeowner Larry Gsellman wrote in a letter to Reston Association.

“At last count there was a herd of at least 10 deer that pass through our property every day or two to graze on vegetation. … Lyme Disease as well as other tick-borne diseases is a constant concern. Although there have not been any cases in the neighborhood, there have been numerous cases reported in the Reston area.”

Gsellman, who is seeking clearance to hunt for three years, says the plant destruction will eventually cause soil erosion. He also said the homeowners have tried many ways to rid the properties of deer, including a liquid fence, rotten egg sprays, and Deer-Vic, a deer repellent paste smeared on fenceposts.

The deer hunt, using crossbows, would be conducted at owners’ expense on the three lots (totaling  1.45 acres), by Suburban Whitetail Management during the urban archery season that begins Sept. 7. The state of Virginia and Fairfax County both allow for hunts on private property, but in Reston, permission also must be obtained from RA.

RA has recently granted permission to other homeowners. Since 2010,  a resident of Buckthorn Lane — who said four family members were suffering from Lyme Disease — has had permission for Suburban Whitetail Management to hunt deer on his property.

While many neighbors wrote to RA in support of the hunting request, some are not in favor.
From a letter written to RA by one neighbor:

I (and the deer) are your neighbor here on Sourwood Lane. They have lived here for at least the 14 years I have lived here. … The same family, year after year, treks through my backyard, munches down on the weeds, helps control the ivy that strangles the trees and helps themselves to water in my little pond.

Yes, they eat my hosta and tomato plants — but who cares? … I greet the deer family with the joy they deserve for having survived the winter and bringing such pleasure into the lives of me and my family.

A RA staff report recommends that the bow hunt take place from treestands on weekdays at dawn; that the owners post signage alerting the neighborhood of the hunt; and that hunters will be oriented towards the center and rear of the lots to minimize the chances of an arrow going off the subject lots.  Staff also recommended that RA waive the condition that the proposed location of the hunter be held 75 yards away from any street.

Photo of deer on Reston trial/Credit: Linda Thomas via Flickr

Silver Line: The Saga — The Washington Post traces the history of Metro’s Silver Line — from its origins as a Kennedy-era idea to the reality of opening next month — and what would have happened around here and at Tysons Corner had Metro been built years ago. [Washington Post]

Bulova: Meals Tax Referendum Won’t Happen Soon — County Supervisor Chair Sharon Bulova says if there is a meals tax referendum for Fairfax County voters, it won’t be until Nov. 2016. A tax force recently completed a list of pros and cons for a meals tax, which could add more than $80 million a year to the county coffers. [Washington Post]

Read With the Fairfax County Public Library Summer Program — The county library system is offering its summer reading program for toddlers through teenagers. The program runs from June 20 to Aug. 30, and if participants turn in their reading log they can get a coupon book, prizes and will be entered into a drawing to win bigger prizes. [Fairfax County Public Library]

Bright Spot — The Virginia Department of Transportation is committed to keeping road markings bright. All 58,000 lane miles. [VDOT]

Two big glimpses into the future of the area’s two-wheeled transportation will happen in Reston on Wednesday.

Fairfax County officials, who are eying Reston as a possible location for the county’s first bikeshare program, will present the results of a feasibility study at Dogwood Elementary at 6:30 p.m.

Fairfax County recently contracted with Alta Planning + Design to determine if bikesharing would work as Reston prepares to become a transit oriented community with the opening of Metro’s Silver Line next month.

“I get calls from Westfield, Chantilly, asking when can we get a bikeshare,” Fairfax County bicycle coordinator Charlie Strunk told participants in a community bikeshare meeting at Lake Anne Elementary in January. “The easy answer, probably not. Those places don’t have the density. We picked Reston because we think Reston is the best choice. Tysons is a way off. Reston has fairly good density, mixed use, a mix of shopping, office and residential.”

The feasibility study was paid for with a grant from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. Main questions asked were who would use the bikeshare, where should stations be located, and would suburban residents use bicycles as a transportation alternative and not recreation.

Immediately after the bikeshare meeting the county will present the final draft of the Fairfax County Bicycle Master Plan from 7:30-9 p.m.

Fairfax County is developing a countywide bicycle master plan. The plan will determine what steps should be taken to improve the existing transportation system and make Fairfax County bicycle friendly.

Coming in the plan: recommendations for a network of both on-road and off-road facilities that will serve as a bicycle transportation network as well as ideas on how bicycle friendly design can be incorporated into future roadway projects and transit projects.

Photo: Capital Bikeshare station at Pentagon City/File photo

CVS opened its newest Reston location on Sunday, finally bringing a convenience and drugstore inside the Reston Town Center.

The new store is located at the corner of Town Square and St. Francis Streets, in the ground-floor space of The Avant residential building.

While Reston Town Center has seen much expansion in recent years, some of the residents who live at town center lamented lack of a store for basics there. They could get a new outfit or eat at any number of good restaurants, they said, but were without a place to quickly pick up pain reliever or paper towels without getting in a car or walking several blocks to Harris Teeter.

The store will be open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

Metro’s Silver Line will at long last begin service on Saturday, July 26, Metro officials said on Monday.

Metro General Manager and CEO Richard Sarles says he is satisfied with the progress contractor Bechtel has made in fixing remaining issues, and the 11-mile extension from East Falls Church to Reston’s Wiehle-Avenue will soon be open for business.

MWAA still needs to obtain Certificates of Occupancy from the commonwealth as well as some final test results, said Sarles. There will also be a public safety drill at the Spring Hill Station this weekend and a week of simulated service beginning July 20.

“There is an unlikely possibility that something can pop up between now and then,” Sarles said of the target date of July 26. “But would not be announcing this is a target date if I did not feel we were there. … We look forward to welcoming passengers.”

Metro will host an inaugural ceremony on July 26. All five stations will be open, and the first passengers will leave Wiehle-Reston East at noon that day, Metro officials said.

The wait has been a long one for area Metro riders. Work began on Phase 1 of the rail extension more than five years ago. This is Metro’s first new line since 1991.

While no official opening date was ever set, initial forecasts were for the Silver Line to open in late 2013 or January of 2014.

However, construction delays and issues have pushed it back more than six months. As recently as two weeks ago, Metro officials were saying they were disappointed in the progress that Dulles Transit Partners, the Bechtel division that built Phase 1, were making in completing a list of remaining fixes on the $2.9 billion Phase 1. Read More

Thousands of soccer fans lined Market Street and Fountain Square Sunday for a World Cup viewing party hosted by D.C. United.

We were there — and so were many of you — to watch as the U.S. Men’s National team tied with Portugal from Manaus, Brazil. The U.S. was leading 2-1 in the 95th minute and a victory would have vaulted them into the Round of 16. But Portugal’s goal in the final seconds of stoppage time means everything is on the line in Thursday’s noon match against Germany.

Alas, no plans for a giant Reston gathering like this one.

Many Reston Swim Team Association swimmers wore orange at Saturday’s meets in a show of solidarity for Dave Tremaine, the Hayfield Secondary School principal and Reston resident who died of cancer last week at age 49.

Tremaine, whose children are RSTA swimmers, had been with Fairfax County Schools since 1991 and Hayfield’s principal since 2010. In 2011, he was diagnosed with advanced colon cancer. He remained on the job through chemotherapy and radiation. He officially stepped down from his position in May, just weeks before his death.

Tremaine grew up in Rockville and graduated from the University of South Carolina. He is survived by his wife, Robyn, a teacher at Herndon Elementary School, and three children: Samantha, 19, Grant, 16, and Parker, 10.

Robyn Tremaine chronicled her husband’s struggle in a blog, “Embracing the Roller Coaster.” At Hayfield, where graduation was held the day after Dave Tremaine’s death, students held a candlelight vigil for the principal.

They remembered Tremaine as a large (he was 6-foot-5 and his nickname was “Tree”) presence at the school, usually wearing orange and white, the school’s colors. Dave Tremaine’s brother, Jeff, spoke at Hayfield’s graduation.

There is no funeral planned, as Dave Tremaine hated the idea, his wife wrote on her blog. However, several memorial and fundraising sites have been set up in his honor.

Hayfield Loves Mr. Tremaine is a Facebook page started by Hayfield students, several of whom have started donations to cancer research organizations. Students have also started a petition to have the school renamed in honor of Tremaine.

“He died the day before a special class of seniors graduated: they were the first seniors to have had him as a principal for all four years of their high school experience,” the petition organizers wrote. “He never gave up on any students no matter what, and he loved the school until the end. Mr. Tremaine would almost always wear an orange article of clothing (one of our school’s colors), and he brought so much spirit and enthusiasm wherever he went. We want him to live on in places other than memory.”

Neighbors of the Tremaines in the Deepwood section of Reston have started a YouCaring fundraising site to help the family.

From the YouCaring site:

On June 16, 2014, Dave Tremaine lost a three-year battle with colon cancer. He is remembered fondly for many things: the example he set as a wonderful husband and father, the heart and soul he put into his career as an educator, his athletic talent, his impressive height…and of course, his enthusiasm for sporting the color, orange. Over the past few years, it has been made abundantly clear that Dave doesn’t just have colleagues, friends and loved ones. He has fans. He has A VILLAGE.

This village would do anything to support Dave’s incredible wife, Robyn and their thee amazing children, Samantha, Grant and Parker. While a list of of specific areas where we can help is not yet available, please consider making a donation to this fund for the Tremaine family. Whether they use that money to put toward college savings or to just keep the refrigerator stocked, this is an opportunity to help remove as much financial stress as possible during a time when the Tremaines need to focus on healing.

Photos: Top, Glade Gators honor Tremaine at Saturday’s meet/Credit: Raba Letteri; Bottom: Tremaine showing his school spirit/Credit: YouCaring.com

New Fairfax Alerts Now Running — Fairfax County’s new emergency alert system is now open for registration. Even if you were formerly getting alerts in the old CEAN system, you should re-register and customize your alerts on the new site by Oct. 1. [Fairfax County]

$2 Bill Causes Kerfuffle on Toll Road — Officials at Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which operates the Dulles Toll Road, are looking into collection policies after a woman was told she could not use a $2 bill to pay her toll. [WTOP]

Governor To Sign Budget, With Vetoes — Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said he will sign the two-year state budget, avoiding a government shutdown, but will veto items that prevent expanding Medicaid to uninsured residents. Republicans are gearing up for a fight when the General Assembly reconvenes Monday [Fairfax Times]

Talking About Route 7 Widening — The Virginia Department of Transportation is holding a public hearing Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Forestville Elementary School (1085 Utterback Store Rd.)  about the proposed widening of Route 7 from between Reston Avenue and Jarrett Valley Drive.  The $300 million project will widen the road from four lanes to six. [VDOT]

Photo: Huge crowd at Reston Town Center Sunday for USA vs. Portugal in 2014 World Cup.

House hunting? Start with these open houses Saturday and Sunday.

2013 Sarazen Place
3 BR, 2.5 BA TH
$419,900
Open Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m.

12012 Creekbend Drive
4 BR, 3.5 BA SFH
$999,000
Open Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m.

2334 Antiqua Court
3 BR, 3.5 BA TH
$335,000
Open Sunday 1 to 4 p.m.

1679 Bayfield Way
3 BR, 2.5 BA TH
$379,900
Open Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m.

12150 Purple Sage Court
3 BR, 2.5 BA TH
$364,900
Open Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m.

2243 Castle Rock Square
2 BR, 2 BA Condo
$179,500
Open Saturday, 1 to 4 p.m.
Open Sunday, 13 to 3 p.m.

1808 Pepperidge Lane
4 BR, 3 BA SFH
$679,999
Open Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m.

11402 L Gate Hill Place
2 BR, 2 BA Condo
$359,000
Open Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m.

2200 Milburn Lane
4 BR, 2.5 BA SFH
$665,000
Open Sunday, 1 to 3 p.m.

2146 Cartwright Place
3 BR, 1 FB, 2 HB
$309,900
Open Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m.

2161 Cabots Point Lane
3 BR, 3 BA TH
$599,900
Open Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m.

For complete real estate info, visit Reston Now’s Real Estate section.

Reston’s first relay triathlon will race through North Reston on Sunday, so watch out for bikers, runners and spectators on the roads.

The Reston Relay Triathlon is a sprint-distance event for teams of competitors. It is sponsored by Reston Association and the YMCA. Proceeds will provide scholarships to support kids programs offered by The YMCA and by Reston Association, including summer camps and classes. Registration is full.

The race begins at 7 a.m. with a 400-meter swim in Lake Newport Pool. From there, the next teammate bikes three loops of a 3.50-mile course that ends back at the pool. The third teammate then runs a 5K on paths in North Reston.

The first teams should start finishing by 8 a.m. and the awards ceremonies start at Lake Newport about 10:20 a.m.

Streets on the course will not be closed, but lanes will be blocked off with cones. Police urge motorists and participants to pay attention. If you are planning to drive somewhere early Sunday, allow time for delays.

The biking course will affect Lake Newport Road to Reston Parkway to Wiehle Avenue to Baron Cameron Avenue and Reston Parkway again. See a course map on the Reston Relay Triathlon website.

The runners  will mainly be on Reston Association paths, but police will control traffic at the intersection of North Village and Center Harbor and at Center Harbor and Wiehle as the runners come through, race officials said.

Officials ask athletes and spectators to not park at Lake Newport Pool or on nearby residential streets. The best place to park is North Point Village Shopping Center.