Local LEGO Team Chosen For World Championships – Reston’s Academy of Christian Education (ACE) is officially the only team in Virginia to be invited to travel to St. Louis, Missouri this month to take part in the first ever LEGO League Championship, an invitation-only event in which 30,000 students from 38 countries present their LEGO projects to the world. ACE’s Junior LEGO League was selected after showing off their project at the World Festival Expo at the Verizon Center in March. Organizers challenged students with building a creation that demonstrates the symbiotic relationship between the Honey Guide Bird and the Honey Badger. ACE delivered that, and then some, even adding sound and motion to their creation. [RestonNow Press Releases]

Longtime County Exec Announces Retirement – County Administrator Edward L. Long announced his retirement Tuesday afternoon. Long has worked for the county government for 40 years, starting out as a budget analyst in 1977. He has served as the county’s administrative lead since April of 2012. Long has received several awards for excellence of service. Reps for the county say several stakeholder groups will be consulted as the county “recruits nationally” for Long’s replacement when his retirement goes into effect Sept. 15. [Fairfax County Government]

Find Your Perfect Four-Legged Match – This Saturday, the fountain at Reston Town Center (11900 Market St.) will be overrun with adorable dogs and puppies looking for a forever home. Lucky Dog Animal Rescue will be participating in the Pet Fiesta from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will be bringing around 50 animals that are available for adoption. Those interested can view photos and bios of all the animals coming to the event ahead of time. [RestonNow Events]

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Around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, a portion of Reston and the surrounding area lost power.

According to Dominion Power, roughly 1,793 customers along Reston Parkway lost power, stretching from near Hunters Woods Elementary all the way to the Dulles Toll Road.

The cause of the outage is still under investigation.

As of 4 p.m., Dominion’s website indicated crews had been dispatched, and estimated that power should be restored between 6 and 8 p.m.

Earlier in the day, some RestonNow readers reported flickering lights around the Lake Anne area.

Image via Dominion Power’s outage website

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors (BOS) officially adopted its budget for FY2018 on Tuesday, with a 2.79-percent increase in funding for schools and nearly $2 million in additional funding for assistance to those suffering from mental illnesses.

County supervisors also voted to keep real estate taxes at the same rate of $1.13 per $100 assessed value of a property.

In a statement released around 11 a.m. Tuesday, following the BOS meeting, Chairman Sharon Bulova said “few changes” were made to the proposed budget that was previously advertised.

Though it falls roughly $47 million short of what education advocates told the County they needed, the superviors approved a 2.79-percent increase in funding for schools, bringing Fairfax County Public Schools’ annual budget to $2.17 billion for the upcoming 2017-18 school year. The increase is equivalent to an additional $53.4 million over FY2017. Read More

Mother’s Day isn’t until May 14, but moms in Reston will be honored this weekend as well.

The MOMS Club of Reston will host a Mother’s Day celebration at Brown’s Chapel (1575 Browns Chapel Road) from 1-4 p.m. Saturday.

During the event, mothers are invited to enjoy a mimosa bar, hors d’oeuvres, shoulder massages, skin care samplings, raffle items and swag bags containing discounts and samples from local businesses.

“We are very excited to host this celebration for moms to enjoy a few hours of pampering and a fun presentation on fashion styling for their busy lifestyle,” said Sarah Brown-Burdick, MOMS Club of Reston’s president. “It’s important for moms to take some time for themselves away from the day-to-day demands, and we hope this event gives them an opportunity to do that.”

Tickets to the event are $5 and are available at the MOMS Club of Reston website.

MOMS Club of Reston is a local chapter of MOMS Club International, a volunteer-based organization with the goal to provide support, primarily for parents who choose to stay at home to raise their children.

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Reston District police are investigating an incident of indecent exposure that reportedly took place around 1:30 p.m. at Reston Town Center on Saturday.

According to Fairfax County police reports, a man saw a car blocking traffic near 11900 Market St. The man said he got out of his car to approach the car that was sitting in the through lane, and saw that the driver was exposing himself and touching himself inappropriately.

“He looked toward the driver’s line of sight and saw a group of young girls,” police wrote in the report.

The witness yelled at the man, who then drove away quickly.

In other crime news, police reports from the past week also indicated that firearms were stolen from a home in the 11100 block of Forest Edge Drive on Friday evening.

The residents of the home contacted police just before 8:30 that evening to report that sometime that day, an unknown burglar had entered the home through a basement window and had stolen firearms.

Police are investigating the alleged burglary.

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New Oracle Engineering Center Planned For Reston – Silicon Valley-based tech giant Oracle is planning a new department within the company that will focus on virtual reality and artificial intelligence. To house operations for this new division, Oracle is planning two new Oracle Solutions Engineering Centers, one of which will be in Reston, and the other in Denver, Colorado. Job postings on its website indicate Oracle plans to hire at least 50 new employees for this division in the areas of cloud computing, big data analytics, mobile computing, the “Internet of Things,” cybersecurity and more. [Bloomberg News]

Calling All Little Princesses – Hear ye, hear ye! If you’re the parent of a little princess, age 3 to 5 years old, Reston Association hopes your young royal will join in the kingdom’s festivities for the Pretty in Pink Princess Party, happening at the North Hills Pavilion, 1325 North Village Road in Reston, on May 16. Special activities and a royal tea party will be held during the event, and all are encouraged to dress up as their favorite princess. [Reston Association]

Reston Man Elected to U.S. Bowling Congress – Adam Mitchell of Reston was elected to one of three open spots on the U.S. Bowling Congress (USBC) this past weekend in Las Vegas. Mitchell said he has been bowling since he was just 10 years old, and has served as a board member for the Nation’s Capital Area chapter of the USBC since 2014. The president and CEO of a company he founded in 2013, Global Solutions Inc., Mitchell said he hopes to use his business expertise to further recognition of the sport and increase initiatives and opportunities for players. [Reston Patch]

The trendy American clothing store J. McLaughlin has officially opened its doors at Reston Town Center.

The new store, which was first announced around two months ago, is located at the former site of Origins at 11932 Market St.

The new Reston location is the fifth location in Virginia, and the 177th nationwide.

The spacious, 1,100-square-foot store is known for its bright, marine-inspired color palette, with a lot of blues and greens, accented by bamboo furniture and decor, which reps say is in good timing as locals start to get excited about summery wardrobes and spending time outdoors.

Reston Town Center proudly posted the photo above from inside the new J. McLaughlin store on Facebook last week, showing off racks of the classic, brightly-colored and patterned clothing.

Originally started by two brothers, Kevin and Jay McLaughlin, the retailer says they look forward to being “good neighbors” and getting active in the local community.

Image via Reston Town Center on Facebook

Summer isn’t here to stay just yet, say the folks at Capital Weather Gang.

There’s a 40 to 60-percent chance of thunderstorms today, starting around 6 p.m.–and we’d agree that the chance is likely given the gray clouds hanging over the Reston area right now, and how the winds started picking up around lunchtime.

Though Reston saw temps in the high 80s to lower 90s this past weekend, with abundant sunshine, the forecast is trending cooler through the rest of the week and even into the weekend, making it feel more like March, say the Gang.

Tuesday and Wednesday are looking to be the week’s  sole bright spots, with temps approaching the low 80s. Winds are likely to be rather gusty though, hitting 25mph at some points throughout the day Tuesday.

Expect it to be significantly chillier Tuesday night, when the lows will barely be in the 50s, but the sun is expected to return Wednesday morning, amid clear skies and temperatures in the breezy 70s for the rest of the day. Lows in the 50s will return Wednesday night, the Gang predicts.

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Many were shocked when WMATA announced late Friday that the next phase of SafeTrack work will mean the closing of several stations and shutdown of line segments, rather than the original plan of continuous single-tracking on certain Metro lines.

As WMATA announced on Friday, the final two SafeTrack surges set to begin this month will mostly affect the Orange and Red Lines, but as usual, the work on those lines will cause a ripple affect on other lines as well, including Reston’s Silver Line trains.

Commuters who regularly take the Orange and Red Lines may want to look into alternate modes of transportation, particularly since what was originally planned to be single-tracking of some segments will now be “line-segment shutdowns,” officials said Friday. In addition, several stations will be closed.

“In order to minimize the customer impact elsewhere on the system and to maximize productivity, the surges, which were originally planned as continuous single tracking, will instead be ‘line segment shutdowns,’ where buses will replace trains at selected stations,” officials said on WMATA’s website.

Restonians should be aware that all of this means there will be roughly half as many Silver Line trains operating during peak rush-hour than usual during this next SafeTrack surge, which is scheduled for Tuesday, May 16 to Thursday, June 15.

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Reston Community Center’s CenterStage (2310 Colts Neck Road) will close out its 2016-17 Professional Touring Artist Series season with Happenstance Theater’s production of “BrouHaHa.”

According to the Rockville-based group’s website, the show (trailer) is a “devised, clown-esque piece” about refugees fleeing on foot, in which the “troupe of eccentrics walks the precipice at the end of the world.” It will be performed at CenterStage on Wednesday, May 17 at 8 p.m.; tickets are $15 for Reston residents and $20 for non-residents.

Also at CenterStage this month, the Reston Community Players will close out their 50th season with a staging of “Private Lives” by Noël Coward (pictured). The show opens with shows this weekend at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday nights. Evening performances will take place each Friday and Saturday through May 20; in addition, there will be a matinee show Sunday, May 14, at 2 p.m.

In RCC’s Community Room on Sunday, May 21 at 4 p.m., Reston Community Orchestra will present its season finale performance. “Listen! Love! Laugh!” will consist of the tunes of Leroy Anderson, the longtime principal composer and arranger for the Boston Pops. The show is free, with donations welcome. In addition, limited seating at tables close to the staging area are available for $25 per person.

Memorial Day weekend, Ravel Dance Company will perform “Cinderella and Seasons” at CenterStage. Shows will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 26 and 2 p.m. Saturday, May 27. Tickets, which are $20, are available through Ravel Dance Company. Any additional seats will be sold at the CenterStage box office on the dates of the performances.

For information on future shows at CenterStage, watch its website.

Image at top via Happenstance Theater; image of “Private Lives” courtesy Reston Community Players

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Beginning this week, The Lake House (1145o Baron Cameron Ave.) is saying “namaste” to visitors through the efforts of a local yoga studio.

BelovedYoga is renting out the facility overlooking Lake Newport as a venue to offer yoga classes for the community. Classes are available for all ages.

Reston Association members who have never been to BelovedYoga are invited to take a class free during the month of May. A five-class pass can be purchased for $50.

Check out the class schedule on the studio’s website.

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Appian Going Public — Reston-based software developer Appian Corp. has filed for an IPO, making it the first DC-area company to do so in 2017. They are looking to raise up to $86.25 million. [Washington Business Journal]

Reston Expo Event Coming Up — Reston Association’s Home and Garden Expo is slated for Saturday, May 13. It will feature a variety of interior and exterior home improvement vendors and retailers; music, workshops and kids’ activities; and food trucks on site. [Reston Association]

Herndon PD Plans Another Coffee Meetup — HPD officers will meet informally with community members Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Guapo’s (1042 Elden St.). [Herndon Police/Twitter]

County Park Authority Readying for Eclipse — A solar eclipse Aug. 21 is expected to cover 80 percent of the sun in Fairfax County. County parks are partnering with schools and libraries to provide eclipse learning opportunities. [Fairfax County Park Authority]

Food left cooking on a stove ended up causing a fire that has four people out of a home in Herndon.

Fairfax County Fire and Rescue units responded before 2 a.m. Thursday to a reported townhouse fire in the 800 block of Sycamore Court. When they arrived, they found smoke showing from the front of the three-story, end-unit house. The fire was found in the first-floor kitchen and quickly extinguished, fire officials say.

The three adults and one child who were in the home at the time of the fire all were able to get out after smelling something burning. One was transported to a hospital for evaluation, and Red Cross assistance is being provided.

Damages as a result of the fire were approximately $25,000.

Fairfax County Fire and Rescue offers the following safety tips to help avoid kitchen fires and other calamities:

• Have a “kid-free zone” of at least three feet around the stove and areas where hot food or drink is prepared or carried.
• Wear short or tight-fitting sleeves when cooking. Long, loose sleeves are more likely to catch on fire or get caught on pot handles.
• Keep things that can catch fire such as dish towels, curtains or paper at least three feet away from the stove.
• Do not leave cooking food unattended. If you leave the kitchen, even for a short time, turn off the stove.
• Turn pot handles inward, facing the wall to prevent burns caused by overturning or spills.
• Pot holders or oven mitts prevent burns when handling hot dishes.
• Regularly clean your cooking equipment so that there are no cooking materials, food items or grease accumulation.
• Always keep an oven mitt and lid nearby when you are cooking. If a small grease fire starts in a pan, put on an oven mitt and smother the flames by carefully sliding the lid over the pan. Turn off the burner. Do not remove the lid until it is completely cool.
• If there is an oven fire, turn off the heat and keep the door closed to prevent flames from burning you and your clothing. Have the oven serviced before you use it again.