Reston’s Founders Week continues on Wednesday with this seminar:
The Future of the American Suburb: Lessons from Reston by Patrick Phillips, CEO of Urban Land Institute (ULI) at RCC Lake Anne, 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 6. Free.
People who attend will hear about the impact Reston has had on suburban development. Phillips will discuss the special characteristics of Reston that have been influential in shaping other suburban communities across the U.S.
Organizers such as Reston Association, The Reston Historic Trust and Reston Community Center have expanded Reston’s traditional Founders Day into Founders Week for 2016. Reston founder Robert E. Simon died in September at age 101, and holding a whole week of tributes and events is a great way to honor him, organizers said.
Simon would have turned 102 on April 10.
See the entire Founders Week schedule.
Photo: Robert E. Simon/file photo
Fairfax County Police arrested a man and two women whom they say stole thousands of dollars worth of clothing from the Lord & Taylor store at Tysons Corner on Friday.
FCPD’s Tysons Urban Team (TUT) was called to the store about 8:30 p.m. after a store security official notified them of of suspicious activity.
Store security informed TUT that a male and two female suspects involved in a retail theft ring were currently in their store. The suspects exited the store and attempted to flee in a vehicle, but were detained in the parking lot, police said. In the car, officers found stolen merchandise along with tools geared to defeat the store security systems.
Police said more than $76,000 worth of property was seized from the retail theft ring. Arrested were:
Oleg Lazanovitch, 39, of Florida. Charged with grand larceny, possession of stolen property with intent to sell, and possession of a burglarious tool.
Iryna Karp, 28, of Florida. Charged with grand larceny, possession of stolen property with intent to sell, and possession of a burglarious tool.
Kateryna Nosul, 20, of Florida. Charged with providing false identify to law enforcement.
Photos: Some of the items stolen from Lord & Taylor/Credit: FCPD
Four cents means different things to different Fairfax County citizens and advocates.
For some, it’s another potential rise in property taxes by a county government set on wasteful spending. For others, it is the cheapest option to boost county coffers for the upcoming fiscal year — but not enough to fully fund Fairfax County Public Schools.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors heard from people on all sides of the issue (and many with speciality interests such as foreign language immersion programs, teacher raises and mental health services) on Tuesday at the first of three public hearings on the Fiscal Year 2017 budget.
The supervisors, who have advertised a tax rate hike of 4 cents per $100 of home value, will vote on the budget later this month. Hearings continue today and tomorrow at 1 p.m. at the Fairfax County Government Center.
Fairfax County Public Schools board chair Pat Hynes (Hunter Mill) said the county, which gives about half its $3.99 billion budget to the schools, and FCPS are still about $50 million apart in funding for 2017.
The supervisors put forth options to raise taxes 5 or 6 cents when it formulated the advertised tax rate last month. Those options did not pass.
“I urge you to fully fund Fairfax County Public Schools,” Hynes told the supervisors. She outlined some of the achievements of FCPS, including high test scores and national student awards in everything from science to the arts. She pointed out that the system is spending $1,000 less per pupil than it did in 2008 and teachers have not had a market-rate pay increase in five of the last seven years.
Merlot and Trefoils? — Boxwood Winery’s The Tasting Room at Reston Town Center is holding an event on April 21 that will show which wines go best with different flavors of Girl Scout cookies. [Boxwood Winery]
Camp Discount Deadline — Friday, April 8 is the last day to receive a registration discount for Fairfax County Public Schools Summer Enrichment Institutes. [FCPS]
Go, GoCanvas — Reston tech company GoCanvas is in the Final Four of DC Inno Tech’s March Madness competition. Each year, peers and other companies vote for which tech companies are worthy of respect. Cast your vote; winner will be announced Thursday. [DC Tech Inno].
Photo: Tulips by Lake Audubon/Credit: Joy Every
The Executive Director of the Reston Town Center Association recently said the town center is “an elite destination.”
A new lunch special at Morton’s The Steakhouse reflects that. Morton’s is making a “Million Dollar Burger,” and you can get it through April 12.
For $39, patrons get a burger and a glass of wine. The Million Dollar Burger features Morton’s Prime Burger topped with foie gras, black truffle butter, and braised short ribs. It’s accompanied by a glass of Anatomy Cabernet Sauvignon.
Morton’s Reston location is located at 11956 Market St.
Reston author Kwame Alexander’s latest work, Booked, is being released on Tuesday, April 5.
Booked is a followup to the teen novel The Crossover, which earned Alexander the prestigious Newbery Award in 2015. The Crossover is a basketball story written in hip-hop style free verse.
Booked is written in the same way, but this book takes on soccer.
From press materials:
Nick Hall lives and breathes soccer. But when he’s sidelined by an injury, his word-loving father takes the opportunity to try to instill a love of reading into his reluctant son. Nick’s mother leaves for a job out of state, he and his best friend hit the skids, he’s dealing with a bully, and on top of all of that, he has to navigate the highs and lows of a first crush.
With an impressive array of poetry styles — free verse, acrostics, haiku — and the pacing of a soccer match–at times leisurely and thoughtful, at others frenetic and heart-stopping — Booked is both poetry for Lionel Messi fanatics and a sports novel for those more likely to memorize a sonnet than kick a soccer ball.
Kwame Alexander once again uses his signature blend of fast-paced verse, combined with sports lingo and rhythmic raps, to create an accessible mix of drama and poetry.
Alexander says he is a former reluctant reader as well, and he hopes his books will show young readers, in particular African-American boys, that books can be as exciting and fun as sports or video games.
He also says he never really played soccer — but the themes are universal.
“I used to play a lot of basketball,” he said in an interview. “I was average. Tennis was my sport. I was one of the top players in the state of Virginia when I was in high school. Now, I just do Zumba, which I know you’re probably thinking, ‘that’s not a sport,’ which is exactly what I thought until I took my wife’s Thursday night Zumba class and I felt like I’d run 10 miles and did 100 squats. But, it was fun too. Also, I play a mean game of ping pong.”
Alexander also says that the biggest change in his life since winning the Newbery Award is the ability to bring more poetry to the people.
“Seriously, the biggest change in my life is I get to travel to a lot more schools and libraries and conferences to share my love of poetry and reading with young people and teachers and librarians,” he said. “That’s a pretty awesome responsibility and a lot of fun (and frequent flyer miles).”
Alexander will make several book signing appearances in the DC area in upcoming days. See the schedule on Kwamealexander.com. He will also do private events at Lake Anne and Terraset Elementary Schools in Reston tomorrow.
Photos courtesy Kwame Alexander.com
Ben & Jerry’s is getting closer to returning to Reston Town Center.
The previous store, a longtime Market Street tenant, closed its doors in September with the promise to return in a few months.
The store is moving down the street to 11916 Market St. Its former location is going to be a Madewell store, which should be opening soon.
No word on when Ben & Jerry’s is scheduled to open, but it is well through the permitting and build-out process — and a shiny, modernized sign has been installed.
That probably puts the opening sometime after ice cream weather returns but before paid parking comes to RTC in August.
Reston Now will keep you updated.
Restonians will be honoring Reston founder Robert E. Simon with activities all this week.
Here is today’s featured event:
Documentary Screening: Levitated Mass By Doug Pray at RCC Hunters Woods, 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 5. Free. This is the story of how a work of public art captivated Los Angeles in 2012. IPAR developed this documentary film. Check out this summary on Reston Community Center’s website to learn more.
See the entire Founders Week schedule.
Meanwhile, have you seen the “Wooden Horse” public art at Lake Anne Plaza? (See photo above).
The public artwork is a recreation of a piece that was built for the plaza in the 1960s.
It was removed years ago due to deterioration, but this recreation was done by South Lakes High School art teacher and Reston native Marco Rando. It’s a recreation of “Wooden Horse,” which was created for the Plaza in 1965 but eventually deteriorated. Visitors are welcome to climb on the new piece.
The public art is located at the far end of Washington Plaza West (past Heron House).
Two drivers racing one another early on Saturday in Reston ended with a police chase, a crash, fleeing on foot and charges.
Police said two vehicles were observed racing at Leesburg Pike and Bishopsgate Way about 1:49 a.m. on Saturday, April 2.
An officer from Fairfax County Police’s Reston District Station attempted to stop one car, but the driver failed to yield and sped away from the officer.
A brief traffic pursuit ensued, police said. The pursuit ended when the suspect lost control of his vehicle, drove into a yard and struck a tree.
The driver fled from the vehicle on foot. Three other passengers attempted to flee on foot but two were apprehended. Rebecca A. Shires, 23, of Springfield, and Aaron M. Chew, 23, of Burke, were transported to jail and charged with drunk in public.
The officer obtained two warrants for the driver, Corey A. Gonzalez, 25, of Springfield; he turned himself in the following day and was charged with reckless driving and driving on a revoked operator’s license.
In other weekend crime news:
LARCENIES
- 9700 block of Days Farm Drive, cash and credit cards from vehicle
- 1600 block of Fremont Lane, wallet from vehicle
- 1600 block of Wainwright Drive, kayak from residence
Is Fairfax County Fraying — The Washington Post outlines while once very prosperous county is starting to show its age. [Washington Post]
Design Review Guide — Here’s a good story on how to navigate Reston Association’s Design Review process. [Modern Reston]
Nearby: Accidental Herndon House Fire — A home at 10630 Runaway Lane suffered $180,000 of damage in a house fire on Sunday. Units responded to the alarm about 6:55 p.m. Two adults and two children have been displaced but were uninjured. Investigators say the cause of the fire was a malfunctioning ice maker in a refrigerator.
Sinatra, Sondheim, Streisand.
The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington celebrates all three of those legends in one evening with soloist performances at Herndon’s NextStop Theatre April 22.
The one-night-only performance of “The S* Show” will feature craft beer and featured wines while you take in classics such as “Marry Me A Little,” “Funny Girl,: and “New York, New York.”
Here is what you need to know:
Advance Tickets Recommended: $25. Tickets are available for purchase online or by phone through OvationTix at: 866-811-4111
Called “one of the world’s best male choruses” by The Washington Post, The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington DC (GMCW), led by Artistic Director Thea Kano, is currently in its 35th season.
The Gay Men’s Chorus has performed at presidential inaugurations, Symphony Hall in Boston, Carnegie Hall in New York City and the Kennedy Center Honors. Last summer, members of GMCW embarked on an historic first-ever tour by a gay chorus to Cuba.
The chorus’ outreach programs perform over 70 times a year to champion equality, and the organization now boasts the creation of the region’s first LGBTQ Youth Chorus. Learn more at www.GMCW.org.
Photo courtesy Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington DC.
Fairfax County is facing potential cuts to services and the public schools as the Board of Supervisors prepares to vote on the Fiscal Year 2017 Budget.
But the public has several chances to speak up on what is important as the supervisors will hold public hearings on the advertised tax rate rise and the budget in general on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week.
The supervisors are preparing to vote on the budget on April 19. The 2016 budget remains in effect until June 30.
They will also discuss the county’s third quarter package, which contains savings and spending requirements such as additional costs related to snow removal and savings related to current fuel costs that result in no net General Fund impact.
County Executive Ed Long has recommended $20.5 million in previous one-time balances be used to increase reserve levels and to be utilized by the Board. Long’s recommendations for use of these funds:
- $10.25 million to continue to build the county’s budget reserves.
- $10.25 million available for the Board to consider allocating to one-time uses, which could include: Making additional contributions to reserves.
Putting funds aside for future development opportunities. - Continuing to address the backlog of county infrastructure needs.
- Meeting one-time capital requirements at various facilities.
As far as the 2017 budget, Long recommended and the supervisors approved an advertised tax rate rise of 4 cents per $100 of home value for Fairfax’s $3.99 billion budget.
That means the average Fairfax County homeowner will see a rise of about $303 on their tax bill as they will be taxed $1.13 per $100 of home value. That will give the county an extra $23 million in FY 2017.
That still might not be enough to fully fund Fairfax County Public Schools, though. Superintendent Karen Garza has asked for a 6.7 percent rise over last year’s county transfer in order to give staff raises, keep elementary school classes below 30 students and keep extracurricular and special academic programs intact.
The schools annually receive about 52 percent of the county’s $3.99 billion budget. The county has offered a 3-percent increase (to about $2 billion) for the schools, which leaves a gap of over $67 million.
Have something to say about the budget. Here is the public hearing schedule:
- April 5, 4 p.m. (following 3 p.m. public hearing on tax rate)
- April 6, 1 p.m.
- April 7, 1 p.m.
Hearings take place at the Fairfax County Government Center, 12000 Government Center Parkway in Fairfax. They will also be shown live on Fairfax County Government Channel 16.
Reston’s Founders Day has expanded to be Founders Week in 2016 — and it begins today.
The Reston Historic Trust, the Initiative for Public Art Reston, Reston Community Center are teaming up to properly honor Reston founder Robert E. Simon, who died in September at age 101. His 102nd birthday would have been April 10, 2016.
The celebrations will be a combo of art exhibits, films, and the traditional party on the plaza.
The community Founders Day celebration on April 9 will feature a little (and a big) something extra — the addition of a ferris wheel and a recreation of a historical piece of Reston public art.
Read this previous Reston Now story to see the full slate of events running from April 3 to 10. There will still be a big Founders Day celebration — featuring a 50-foot ferris wheel — at Lake Anne Plaza on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Meanwhile, here is Monday’s special event:
Reston: From New Town to Metro at Greater Reston Arts Center, 12001 Market Street at Reston Town Center at at 7:30 p.m.
Join Roger K. Lewis for a lecture and champagne/dessert reception from Red Velvet Cupcakery. $10 suggested donation.
Lewis, architect and professor emeritus of architecture at the University of Maryland, will deliver a lecture exploring Reston’s place in the New Town movement.
Due to station improvement work at the Reston Town Center Transit Station, bus stops will be temporarily relocated to Bluemont Way.
During Phase 1 (Monday, April 4 – Wednesday, April 27), Route 605, 950, RIBS 1, and RIBS 4 will be relocated.
During Phase 2 (Thursday, April 28 – Friday, May 20), Route 505, RIBS 2, RIBS 3, and RIBS 5 will be relocated.
The Connector Store will remain open during construction.
Visit Fairfax County Connector online to see more information about the Reston Transit Center and bus routes.
Youth Art On Display — Check out this art exhibit celebrating youth art month at Greater Reston Arts Center though the end of this week. [Fairfax Times]
Final Report on FCPD In-Custody Death — Fairfax County Police say the final word on an in-custody death last fall: accidental. [Fairfax County Police]
FCPS Honors — Fairfax County Public Schools have been named one of the 2016 top 10 Digital Districts in the Center for Digital Education’s and National School Boards Association’s annual Digital School Districts Survey. [FCPS]
Arts Party Tix Available — Tickets are now on sale for the Friday, May 20, launch party of the 2016 Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival. The party is a preview of the arts festival — as well as great food and a silent auction — at Reston Town Center. Tickets are $100. [Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival]
