Outfitting Kids A Major Operation — Go behind the scenes with Kids R First, which has to organize a whole warehouse-sized stock of school supplies to help thousands of area needy kids. [Modern Reston]
Spraying For Zika — Virginia will get $560,000 in federal money to fight the mosquitoes that carry the potentially dangerous virus. The funds, provided by the Centers for Disease Control, will serve as a stopgap measure to help Virginia and other vulnerable areas respond to this emerging public health threat, the office of Sen. Mark Warner (D) said. As of July 28, 2016, the Virginia Department of Health has reported 50 cases of the Zika virus in the Commonwealth.
This Breuer Building Will Stay — Last week, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors ruled developers can tear down the Marcel Breuer-designed former American Press Institute building to make way for residential development. At the same time in Atlanta, authorities ruled another Breuer building, the Central Library, will be renovated and leased. [Archdaily.com]
Teachers Mentoring Teachers — Fairfax County Public Schools are looking for retired teachers interested in being paid collaborators with current FCPS teachers. There is an introductory meeting Aug. 16. [FCPS]
The sixth annual Reston Kids Triathlon is taking place this Sunday, and Reston residents should be aware of blocked lanes on roads — as well as young athletes’ safety — if they are near the course.
The event is organized by Reston Association and the YMCA Fairfax County Reston. Proceeds benefit both nonprofit organizations. Volunteers are still needed for the event.
The event begins at 8 a.m. at Ridge Heights Pool, 11400 Ridge Heights Rd. Parking will not be available at the pool as the parking lot is being used for the bike transition area.
After the swim, the bike course will affect nearby streets:
The 6-8 year olds will ride down Ridge Heights Road from the Ridge Heights Pool to Seahawk Drive and then back to the pool.
Older kids will leave Ridge Heights Pool and head east to South Lakes Drive, west to Soapstone Drive to right on Ridge Heights Road in a two-mile loop (9-11 year olds will do one loop; 12-14 year olds will do two loops).
Roads will not be closed, but lanes will be blocked for race safety.
The run portion will take place on paths around Langston Hughes Middle School, South Lakes High School and Terraset Elementary School. Visit the race web page to see exact details by age group.
Registration for the event is full.
Photo: 2015 Reston Kids Triathlon/Courtesy Reston Association
Lane Bryant, the plus size women’s clothing store, has quietly closed its location in Reston.
The store, part of a national chain, had been operating at 1815 Spectrum Center for about 20 years.
The windows are completely papered over and the sign is gone as of Wednesday.
If you are a Lane Bryant shopper, there are nearby locations at Dulles Town Crossing and Fair Lakes Center.
No permits have been filed for the space.
This could be the start of vacancies at Spectrum as the shopping center prepares for a major redevelopment. The Spectrum was planned as a strip mall as a temporary measure and was always intended by developer Lerner to be a high-density, mixed-use center eventually.
While no start date for redevelopment has been set, land use-watchers have said as leases expires, watch for stores to remain vacant to prepare for redevelopment.
In early 2013, the Board of Supervisors approved changes to the plans for the Spectrum to include 774,879 square feet of non-residential use; 1,422 multifamily residential units in seven new residential buildings; underground parking; and new streets and bike trails.
Read more about plans for Spectrum on this previous Reston Now story.
Federal authorities have arrested a Fairfax man who works as a Metro police officer on charges of attempting to aid ISIS.
Nicholas Young, 36, was arrested Tuesday on charges of attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. His most recent alleged transgression was purchasing $245 in phone gift cards to help ISIS recruiters, FBI investigators said.
Young will have an initial appearance this afternoon in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Theresa C. Buchanan at U.S. District Court in Alexandria.
Metro Transit Police initiated the investigation and continues to work collaboratively with the FBI Washington Field Office Joint Terrorism Task Force on the case, authorities said in a news release.
Young has been terminated from Metro, a Metro spokesman said.
According to the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, Young has been employed as a police officer with the Metro Transit Police Department since 2003. Law enforcement first interviewed Young in September 2010 in connection with his acquaintance, Zachary Chesser, who one month later pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists.
Over the next several years Young had numerous interactions with undercover law enforcement officers and a cooperating witness regarding Young’s knowledge or interest of terrorist related activity, many of which were recorded. Law enforcement also interviewed Young’s family and co-workers.
Several meetings Young had with an undercover law enforcement officer in 2011 included another of Young’s acquaintances, Amine El Khalifi, who later pleaded guilty to charges relating to attempting a suicide bombing at the U.S. Capitol Building in 2012, authorities said.
According to the affidavit, Young told FBI agents that he traveled to Libya twice in 2011 and he had been with rebels attempting to overthrow the Muammar Qaddafi regime. Baggage searches revealed that Young traveled with body armor, a kevlar helmet, and several other military-style items. Read More
Reston Association’s Pony Barn Working Group has spent about two years brainstorming ideas to transform the small recreational area off of Triple Crown Road.
Money has been allocated by RA, an engineering firm has been working on concepts and the site plan was estimated to have been submitted to Fairfax County this summer.
That is, until the working group recently got the call to stop.
In late June, RA CEO Cate Fulkerson told representatives of the Pony Barn group, as well as principals working on renovations for RA’s Central Services Facility to stop work until an independent review of the Lake House project could be conducted.
RA purchased the Lake House for $2.6 million in July of 2015 with plans to renovate and repurpose the former Reston Visitors Center into a building for community use. The renovations are complete — but came in at $430,000 over estimates. RA has formed a citizens group to hire an auditing firm to determine exactly what went wrong. That review, which will cost the association more money, is expected to be done this fall.
But that is not sitting well with the Pony Barn volunteers, who says stopping their own project “sends the wrong message.”
“Our members are very disillusioned,” Triple Crown resident and Pony Barn group member Renette Oklekwicz told the board at the RA Board meeting last week. “I have heard some say ‘I don’t trust RA. Are there any surprises here? They are never going to let us finish this project.’ ”
The Pony Barn project itself morphed from a $30,000 upgrade (for a new roof and flooring for the picnic pavilion) to a $350,000 overhaul, though RA approved $350,000 last year — before any major work started. Read More
The new Aperature Apartments have sprung up quickly across Metro Center Drive from the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station.
The latest word on the development from The Bozzuto Group is it will begin leasing in “early 2017.”
The Aperture will feature 421 apartments in a seven-story building, and has been approved for 10,000 square feet of ground-floor retail.
No retail tenants have been announced yet. Residents will be members of Reston Association.
The apartments sit on the site of the former Reston Mini-Storage facility, and construction has been going on for less than a year.
Here are some of the amenities planned for the building:
- Clubroom with entertainment kitchen, communal table, fireplace, lounge seating, HDTVs, and courtyard views
- Direct outdoor connection from the clubroom with flowing courtyard entryway
- Pool with outdoor kitchen, firepits, and lounge seating
- Outdoor amphitheater and movie screening area
- Bike repair station with convenient bike storage space
- Pet play zone
- Library space for reading or working
- Three adjacent fitness spaces with stretching and group fitness rooms, weights and cardio spaces, and an active outdoor yoga space
- WiFi Lounge with Computers
- Underground Parking Garage
- 24-Hour Concierge
- Resident Storage Space Available
Photos: Top, Aperture, August 2016; Bottom, Rendering of final product/Courtesy Bozzuto
Local Beer Shoutout — Herndon’s Aslin Beer Company gets a mention in Washingtonian’s “25 Area Breweries You Need to Know About.” [Washingtonian]
Standup Segment – The Stand Up Paddleboarding segment that was filmed at Lake Anne Plaza a few weeks ago, will finally air on WUSA9’s Great Day Washington on Friday at 9 a.m.
JBG Merger Off — The proposed $8.4B merger between The JBG Cos., which is developing several major projects (RTC West, Reston Heights) in Reston, and New York REIT will not go through. NYRT announced the sides will terminate the deal, effective immediately. [Bisnow]
DWI Patrol in Reston — Fairfax County Police say there will be concentrated DWI patrols along the Fairfax County Parkway Reston District from 11:30 p.m. Saturday to 2:30 a.m. Sunday.
Coming this weekend: Virginia’s sales tax holiday.
Virginia used to have several sales tax holidays, but legislation passed in the Commonwealth in 2015 has combined them into one weekend, Aug. 5 to 7 this year.
So, if you are in the market for school supplies, clothes, appliances or emergency preparedness items, you will save.
Here is what you need to know:
Consumers can purchase qualifying school supplies ($20 or less per item); clothing and footwear ($100 or less per item); hurricane and emergency preparedness products ($60 or less per item)l and Energy Star and WaterSense appliances ($2,500 or less per item) without paying sales tax.
Clothing and school supplies: Items such as backpacks, calculators, lunch boxes, disinfectant wipes and tissues are exempt. So are shoes, belts, bathing suits and diapers. See this extensive list from the Virginia Department of Taxation for what is and is not included.
Qualifying Energy Star™ Items: dishwashers, clothes washers, air conditioners, ceiling fans, light bulbs, dehumidifiers, and refrigerators are tax exempt. WaterSense items include bathroom sink faucets, faucet accessories such as aerators and shower heads, toilets, urinals, and landscape irrigation controllers. See this list of what is and is not included.
Emergency and Hurricane Preparedness: Qualifying items include portable generators ($1,000 or less per item: gas-powered chainsaws ($350 or less per item); chainsaw accessories ($60 or less per item). Other items for $60 or less include batteries, smoke detectors, duct tape, bottled water and first aid kits. See a list of items.
Brown Bag, a local chainlet of fast casual restaurants, has opened its newest location at 11692 Plaza America in Reston.
This is the eighth store (and second in Virginia) for the company, which prides itself on using local ingredients when possible, serving hormone-free dairy products and making food from scratch.
Several of the DC locations of Brown Bag are only open for breakfast and lunch to cater to an office crowd. The Reston location will be open Monday through Saturday until 9 p.m. to offer its options for dinner as well.
Here’s what is on the menu:
Breakfast:
Locally roasted coffee, omelets, breakfast sandwiches.
Lunch/dinner:
Sandwiches, both grilled (i.e. panini style) or stuffed. Sandwich options are in the $7.95-$8.95 range.
House made soups and chili
Salads — both speciality and made to order. The specialty salads are about $9.
Noodles — Both speciality bowls (i.e. Pad Thai, pomodoro, curry) or build your own with different pasta (whole wheat, quinoa and rice noodles too) and proteins.
See the full menu on Brown Bag’s website.
Brown Bag Reston is open Monday to Saturday, 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday, 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
National Night Out, the annual nationwide event where police and the community come together in the spirit of cooperation and friendship, kicked off in Reston mid-day on Tuesday.
The Hunters Woods Neighborhood Coalition and Reston Community Center Hunters Woods hosted Fairfax County Police officers, Fire and Rescue personnel, as well as neighborhood kids and residents of the Hunters Woods Fellowship House for a few hours of games, food and getting to know one another.
Later on Tuesday, police officers will visit Reston neighborhoods, where residents are encouraged to stay outside and get to know their neighbors.
“National Night Out send a message to criminals that crime is not welcome here,” said Reston District Station Crime Prevention Officer Katy Defoe.
Added Capt. Ron Manzo of the Reston District Station:
“National Night Out has special meaning. It gives us an opportunity to meet up, reach out and be engaged with the community. I have always been about community engagement.”
Coming soon to a mailbox near you: The Fairfax County official information sheet on the upcoming meals tax referendum.
In June, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved the referendum for the Nov. 8 election, saying then they were prepared for a battle on the issue.
Ultimately, it will be up to Fairfax County voters to decide whether the county will get a 4-percent meals tax, similar to what is already in place in the towns of Herndon and Vienna; Fairfax City; and Arlington and Alexandria.
The addition of a meals tax has been discussed for years, but was last put to referendum in 1992, where it failed.
But with the county and its school system continually in a budget crunch, Hunter Mill Supervisor Cathy Hudgins motioned last spring to revisit the issue.
The tax would raise about $100 million annually, 70 percent of which would go to Fairfax County Public Schools. About $3 million would go back to the restaurants themselves to offset the cost of the tax to the businesses.
Meanwhile, take a look at the details from the county in the document below.
2016 Meals Tax Referendum Pamphlet by Karen Goldberg Goff on Scribd
Photo: Not Your Average Joe’s Reston/file photo
A rail tie issue was the probable cause for last week’s Orange/Silver Line derailment, Metro said on Monday.
The derailment of a train bound for Wiehle-Reston East occurred Friday morning near the East Falls Church station. Parts of the line remained closed through Sunday, but reopened on Monday.
Those rail ties had not yet been replaced under Metro’s SafeTrack program.
While the investigation is ongoing, Metro released the following preliminary findings:
Metro’s safety department has made a preliminary assessment that the causal factor in the derailment is a track condition, specifically a condition where the two rails on which trains run were too wide as a result of deteriorated rail ties.
Other possible contributing causal factors, including car equipment, weather, temperature and other factors remain under review.
At this time there is no evidence of train operator error.
Metro General Manager/CEO Wiedefeld today ordered a special supervisory inspection of all tracks.
“While Metro and the outside experts continue their review, we are requiring supervisors to conduct a specialized track inspection to look for any other similar conditions that must be immediately addressed,” said Wiedefeld.
Metro has taken additional corrective actions, including: pre-inspecting interlockings (NoMa-Gallaudet, Silver Spring & Takoma) used on the Red Line prior to this morning’s implementation of SafeTrack Surge #6; requiring a supervisory pre-inspection of all interlockings that are required to be used to facilitate SafeTrack closures; and quality assurance audits of all these inspections.
Deer Management Season Approaching — Fairfax County’s Deer Management Season (i.e., managed hunting to cull deer population) begins Sept. 10. Attend upcoming meetings for more information. [Fairfax County]
Help Feed The Hungry — A Simple Gesture, a food pickup service, will be in Reston on Saturday, Aug. 6. A Simple Gesture is a nonprofit that brings a green bag to your house. Six times a year, you fill it with non-perishables that will be delivered by the organization to area food pantries. [A Simple Gesture]
New Police Policy — New police procedure outlines citizens’ rights to record police activity. [Fairfax County Police]
Name Change For Nonprofit — Our Daily Bread, a Fairfax County organization serving the needy, is now called Britepaths. [Connection]
Trump Rally In Loudoun Today — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will be at Briar Woods High in Ashburn beginning at 11 a.m. (doors open at 9). [DonaldJTrump.com]
Tuesday, Aug. 2 is National Night Out, the annual neighborhood-based crime and drug prevention event.
It’s an opportunity to show neighborhood spirit and strengthen partnerships with local police.
Fairfax County Police will be out in Reston neighborhoods, meeting citizens as part of the effort. They encourage residents to turn on outside lights and spend the evening outside together to get to know one another and talk about common concerns between 6 and 9 p.m.
Reston Community Center will have a kickoff event from noon to 2 p.m. on the plaza in front of the Hunter Woods location.
Over in Herndon, Herndon Police have lots of activities planned too. There are gatherings planned in about 15 neighborhoods, as well as at Haley Smith Park. See this list on Herndon Police’s Facebook page.
Coming soon at RTC West: a couple of restaurants. Coming in a few years (maybe): more than 700 apartments, one million square feet more of office space and much more retail.
Developer JBG Companies says that the plans for RTC West — the project that is turning several office buildings on Sunset Hills Road near Town Center Parkway into more than 40,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space — is just a “phase one” plan.
The developer has said there is the potential of more than 1 million square feet of development for RTC West. Washington Business Journal recently gave a peek into what the eventual project could be — and found JBG’s proposal calls for the addition of two residential buildings and two office towers
The 13.77-acre property already has two four-story parking garages, one of which would get a six-story, 125,000-square-foot office addition, JBG said.
The nearly 500,000-square-foot office park would grow by roughly 1.35 million square feet — 675,000 square feet of residential and 675,000 square feet of office.
In the end, expect plans for 702 multifamily units; about 1 million square feet of office space; 91,950 square feet of retail; and more than 3,100 parking spaces.
JBG proposes to construct the new office buildings on the southern side of the property along Sunset Hill Road, for maximum visibility from the Dulles Toll Road, and the residential towers to the northeast, closer to the W&OD and Town Center Parkway, WBJ reports.
RTC West is less than a quarter mile from the future Reston Town Center Metro station, which is scheduled to open in 202o. It also essentially extends development from the station through RTC West and into the existing Reston Town Center.
RTC’s first phase is under construction. The second phase has not yet gone through Fairfax County Planning process.
The first phase of RTC West already has leases signed or a nearly 10,000-square-foot Cooper’s Hawk Winery, Nando’s Peri-Peri and Mezeh Mediterranean Grill. It is expected to open some time in 2017.
RTC West rendering/JBG
