Before we head off into 2018, let’s take a look back at the biggest stories on Reston Now in recent days.
Major crime incidents, which received hyperlocal and national attention, topped the list this week. Many details remain unknown about the murder of Reston couple last week and a car crash that sent seven people to the hospital, including five children, on Wednesday night.
The following articles were the five most-clicked links on Reston Now this past week.
- Lorton Teen Charged with Murder of Reston Couple
- Update: Couple Killed in Shooting Reston Home
- Longtime Business Leaves Reston Town Center
- New Details Surface in Murder of Reston Couple
- Police Pursuit and Crash in Herndon Sends Five Children, Two Adults to Hospital
Feel free to discuss these topics, your weekend plans anything else that’s happening locally. Have a great weekend and see you next year!
We’re counting down the top 20 most-read articles of 2017 this week. Here’s the final list of our top five stories.
5. The first lawsuit filed regarding Boston Properties’ paid parking system at Reston Town Center in late March had 10,970 views. The suit was initiated by Jackson’s Mighty Fine Food and Lucky Lounge (11927 Democracy Drive). Paid parking continues to challenge local businesses, according to several tenants. Just this week, Appalachian Spring, one of the first tenants of Reston Town Center, announced plans to shutter its Reston location partly due to limited foot traffic that a business representative believes decreased partly due to paid parking.
4. Continuing a similar theme, Boston Properties’ plans to modify its parking system five months after instituting paid parking drew 11,078 views. The company rescinded the payment requirements for users of RTC parking garages after 5 p.m. and also allow one hour of free garage parking for sessions that begin before 5 p.m.
3. An article about where to watch one of the most anticipated professional fights in history gained 14,374 page views. Undefeated box champion Floyd Mayweather went toe to toe with UFC superstar Conor McGregor.
2. The brutal killing of Nabra Hassanen, a 17-year-old Muslim girl who was killed as she walked to her mosque after night prayers during the month of fasting gained nationwide attention and sent reverberations locally. Darwin Martin-Torres, a 22-year-old, is accused of raping and sexual assaulting Hassanen. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. The article gained 15,575 views.
1. A rundown of where to spot Fourth of July fireworks took the top honors of the year with more than 16,000 page views. Turns out finding places to complete the American tradition was especially popular among readers.
It’s been quite a year and we look forward to bring you more stories in 2018.
Photo courtesy of Rick Collier
We continue to count down the top 20 most-read articles of 2017 this week. Here’s the breakdown for list #6-10.
10. Confirmation by the National Weather Service that a small tornado touched down in Herndon drew 8,688 views. The tornado was classified as the lowest level on the scale with a top wind speed of between 60 and 70 miles per hour.
9. The beginning of paid parking at Reston Town Center remains a hot topic, marking the first time the retail and residential complex, which opened in 1990, will require parking fees. ParkRTC began on January 3. Nearly 9,000 people signed a petition to stop new parking fees at RTC. The post drew 9,107 views.
8. Progress on phase 2 of the construction of Metro’s Silver Line drew 9,441 views. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority is overseeing construction of the 11.4-mile phase 2 extention of the Silver Line from Reston through Dulles Airport in Ashburn. As of March, the project is 56 percent complete.
7. An announcement about the opening of Willard’s BBQ at 11790 Baron Cameron Ave. had 10,117 views, continuing a theme of high-ranking stories about business closures and newcomers.
6. A report about an anti-Muslim exchange at Trader Joe’s in Reston received 10,934 views. The video, posted by comedian Jeremy McLellan, appeared to show a woman making anti-Muslim comment while in line at the store and attracted worldwide attention.
Look out for the final #1-5 list on the countdown tomorrow.
We’re counting down the top 20 most-read articles of 2017 this week. Here’s the breakdown for list #11-15.
15. The impending closure of Il Fornaio, a California-based Italian restaurant that opened its first East Coast location in Reston, brought in 7,546 views. The store was located in the Retail at Midtown block of Reston Town Center, which has a free parking lot for customers.
14. A story announcing Cava Mezze Grill’s plans to come to 1815 Fountain Drive drew 7,735 page views. The storefront near Best Buy was previously the home of a Lane Bryant clothing store before it closed last year.
13. A sponsored post on how to spot when a cat is in pain was popular among readers. The post by the owner of Just Cats Clinic in Lake Anne Plaza had 8,281 views.
12. The death of a pedestrian in late February who was hit by a car along Reston Parkway and South Lakes Drive had 8,468 page views. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
11. A small tornado touched down in Herndon in April. Although the tornado was classified as the lowest-impact tornado possible, it toppled trees in Reston and the surrounding area. The news attracted 8,688 page views.
Look out for the #6-10 on the countdown tomorrow.
We’re counting down the top 20 most-read articles of 2017 this week. Kicking off the list today is #16-20.
20. The rebranding of World of Beer brought in 7,498 page views. Signage was removed from Reston Town Center restaurant, ushering in a new full menu of American craft fare and drinks.
19. Paid parking at Reston Town Center continued to garner attention and fervor. A story about Jackson’s Mighty Fine Food and Lucky Lounge being granted a preliminary injunction against the ParkRTC system was a popular post with 7,433 page views.
18. An investigation about an attempted sexual assault near Tall Oaks also drew attention. Police said a man came out of the woods, approved a 22-year-old woman and attempted to remove her clothes. The article had 7,423 page views.
17. Wegmans’ announcement that it has signed a letter of intent to put an urban-format store near the future Reston Town Center Metro station gained 7,289 views. According to the Washington Business Journal, the store will be built in the future Reston Crescent development, a 36-acre plot of land in the northwest corner of the intersection of Reston Parkway and Sunrise Valley Drive.
16. Continuing the theme of things coming and going in the area, the closure of the Kmart on Elden Street in Herndon was a popular post with 7,214 page views. The 84,000-square foot store was purchased in August by Florida-based real estate-investment firm Sterling Organization at a cost of $7 million.
Look out for the #11-15 on the countdown tomorrow.
Before we head off into Christmas weekend, let’s take a look back at the biggest stories on Reston Now in recent days.
The following articles were the five most-clicked links on Reston Now this past week.
- Ann Taylor Announces Store Closure in Reston Town Center
- Major Mixed-Used Development Proposed Next to RTC Metro Station
- Reston Native Becomes First Black Woman to Make Olympics Speedskating Team
- Local EMS Technician Recognized for ‘Amazing Tact’
- Herndon Man Pleads Guilty After Shooting at Police Officer
Feel free to discuss these topics, your weekend plans anything else that’s happening locally. Have a great weekend and enjoy the holidays!
Reston Now is looking to diversify its coverage in order to increase the depth of stories and become more responsive to our readership.
We would love to learn more about what you would like to see us cover. We welcome suggestions and tips via email at [email protected].
This is a commentary from Del. Ken Plum (D-Fairfax), who represents Reston in Virginia’s House of Delegates. It does not reflect the opinion of Reston Now.
The editorial in the September 21, 1897 New York Sun, responding to a letter from eight-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon who had inquired about whether there was a Santa Claus, has become the most reprinted newspaper editorial, according to the Newseum (newseum.org/2014/12/22/). Virginia’s father had told her that if she read it in the Sun it was certain to be true. The editor wrote, “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy.”
Virginians, especially those around the capital city, have long believed in Santa Claus. The “Legendary Santa” has been meeting with boys and girls at Miller & Rhoads — first a department store and now an apartment building in Richmond — for more than 75 years. There is ample proof that he is the “real” Santa Claus for he is able with assistance from the Snow Queen and some technology to call every child by name. We go with our grandchildren to see him at his latest location at the Children’s Museum of Richmond. Read more about this Virginia tradition in Legendary Santa’s Stories from the Chair (Children’s Museum of Richmond, 2011, www.c-mor.org/santa/book). On page six is a photograph of young Jane Durham (now Plum) and her brother visiting Santa many years ago.
Throughout the capital there is a quickened pace of activity during the holiday season in anticipation of the General Assembly convening on January 10. There are wish lists from all the agencies and special interests. And, yes, Commonwealth, if there is a Santa Claus here is my wish list for the legislative session, essentially duplicating my list from the last several years.
Virginia should extend health insurance to nearly half its uninsured working poor by expanding Medicaid. Not only would more people have access to preventative care as well as treatment, but Virginians would get more of their federal tax dollars back and a boost to the economy with the health care jobs being created.
While I am wishing, I want the General Assembly to expand background checks for all gun purchases to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and violent people. Just this past week I attended a vigil on the fifth anniversary of the massacre of 20 children and 6 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School and yet commonsense gun safety laws have not been enacted. I also want the legislature to approve my bill to establish an independent redistricting commission that will fairly and objectively draw legislative boundaries. On my wish list we would outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation. And while we are at it, we need to get the state back to the position of being an equal partner in funding public schools.
None of these goals will be reached by simply wishing for them. Hard work, determination, and public pressure can make them reality. Just like in Santa’s workshop, there needs to be a lot of work done behind the scenes. Could this be the year I get what I want?
This is a commentary from Del. Ken Plum (D-Fairfax), who represents Reston in Virginia’s House of Delegates. It does not reflect the opinion of Reston Now.
Earlier last week there was a groundbreaking ceremony on the grounds of the State Capitol in Richmond for a memorial “recognizing the contributions of women across four centuries.” The first phase of the monument named “Voices from the Garden” will be an oval-shaped plaza that will contain 12 bronze statues depicting significant women in Virginia’s history. A glass Wall of Honor containing the names of several hundred additional women of note will surround the plaza. Supporters of the new monument claim it to be “the first of its kind on the grounds of a state capitol.” Certainly it is a step forward in recognizing the important place of women after English colonization and the transport of the first English women to the colony in 1619.
The grounds of the Capitol have been dominated by white men since Richmond became the capital of the Commonwealth in 1780. From the grand equestrian statue of George Washington that dominates the grounds to a lonely statue of senator and former governor Harry F. Byrd, only the Virginia Civil Rights Memorial opened in 2008 offers evidence of others than white men who contributed to Virginia’s history. The addition of the women’s memorial at a critically important time will help to fill in the blanks of history as will the Virginia Indian Tribute Memorial that is currently under construction.
Recognizing the historic contributions of women has become even more important at a time when the daily news brings information on the number of women having been sexually harassed by well-known political and entertainment figures. While those disclosures have brought attention to the situation, there needs to be recognition that we are only seeing the tip of a very great problem. Many women who are afraid, feel shame or powerlessness, or whose perpetrator is a relative, co-worker, or community member but who is not famous have had to suffer in silence. Now that the lid is sufficiently off, the issue will not be able to be swept away or ignored. The path forward is not entirely clear, but giving women the respect they have earned whether in history or as head of a family is an important step. A memorial on capitol grounds of a state that did not ratify until 1952 the Nineteenth Amendment giving women the right to vote in 1920 is an important step as well.
The greatest tribute to women in Virginia may have come with the outcome of the recent Virginia election. Pending final vote certification there will be 38 women in the Virginia General Assembly–27% versus the earlier 19%. The Democratic caucus in the House of Delegates will be nearly half women as it should be. Supporting these women candidates were thousands of women working to make a difference in numbers never before realized. Seeing these winning women candidates are thousands of young women who just witnessed a door opening for them. It is likely to be that Virginia will finally ratify the Equal Rights Amendment as I have supported my entire career.
Before we head off into the weekend, let’s take a look back at the biggest stories on Reston Now in recent days. The following articles were the five most-clicked links.
- Local Food Truck Opens New Restaurant in Reston
- Proposed Luxury Condominiums in Reston Raise Concerns About Affordable Housing
- Op-Ed: The Road from Nowhere
- New Residential Mid-rise Building Proposed for Reston Corner
- Proposed Assisted Living Facility on Sunrise Valley Drive Draws Opposition
Feel free to discuss these topics, your weekend plans or anything else that’s happening locally. As always, send story ideas and pitches to us at [email protected] or via Twitter. Have a great weekend!
This is a commentary from Del. Ken Plum (D-Fairfax), who represents Reston in Virginia’s House of Delegates. It does not reflect the opinion of Reston Now.
If there are any impartial observers left listening to the debate in Washington, D.C. on tax reform, they must be left scratching their heads over what they are hearing. When the wealthy have never had as much money as they have today, leadership in Congress is considering a tax bill that will cut the taxes of the very richest.
When income of the lowest to the middle classes has been stagnant or falling for decades, the latest tax reform proposals would raise their taxes. Under the guise of simplifying taxes, we are about to simply raise the taxes of those least able to pay and to enrich those who already have more money than they can spend in a century. Aren’t there enough sensible members of Congress left who have not sold out to the monied interests to put a stop to this craziness?
Members of Congress may tell me to tend to my own knitting at the state level, but actions at the federal level do impact state budgets. Virginia has been particularly dependent on federal spending even though there has been an effort to reduce that dependency in recent years. While Congress can approve an unbalanced budget like the one being discussed that will add more than $1.5 trillion to the national debt, states cannot afford that irresponsible luxury.
Virginia must pass a balanced biennium budget in 2018; the task will not be easy. A recent report by The Commonwealth Institute found that “Virginia’s current revenue system isn’t keeping up with changes and growth in the overall economy, and that’s putting the future prosperity of families and businesses at risk.” (The Commonwealth Institute, “A Tax System for Yesterday: Slow Revenue Growth amid Economic Change, November 13, 2017).
The Institute found that “the way the current revenue system works was designed decades ago, with provisions that no longer work for today’s economy…” For example, the shifts in consumer spending and growth in e-commerce nearly doubling in the last decade have contributed to a decline in state sales tax revenue relative to the total economy as internet sales mostly are not taxed. Likewise the shift of consumer spending from goods to services that are not taxed in Virginia added to the decline. There are opportunities in the tax code to update its corporate tax system to reduce opportunities for tax avoidance, according to The Institute.
The usual method of balancing the budget by simply dividing revenue among programs will no longer work in Virginia as the pace of growth of needs has out-stripped the growth in revenue. Some programs and services will once again be left under-funded. Shifting costs to local governments for things like public education has been resorted to in recent years, but that is a well that has largely dried up.
Virginia is going to need to do a serious accounting of its unmet needs with the public and the legislature deciding what we are going to seriously fund and what needs will go unmet. As the federal government plays with reforming the national tax structure, it is past time for Virginia to get serious about our own tax reform.
This is an op/ed submitted by Dennis Hays, president of the Reston Citizens Association. It does not reflect the opinions of Reston Now.
Good governance requires a bond of trust between citizens and their elected and appointed officials. This trust can best – in fact only – be achieved and maintained when citizens are confident officials have the community’s best interests at heart and all proposals and plans affecting the community are fully presented and discussed.
County officials are currently proposing to amend zoning ordinances to allow significantly more population density in Reston. They make their case by stating such amendments are required to fulfill the vision of the Reston Master Plan. More specifically, the Plan is the only justification given for proposals to add tens of thousands of new housing units without providing the basic infrastructure needed to support such growth.
So, is the Plan by itself enough to satisfy the need for transparency and to engender trust?
County officials will tell you the Plan was developed by the “community” through an exhaustive series of meetings held over six years. Sounds good, but the reality is something very different. First, membership in the working group was heavily weighted toward developers and their attorneys. Second, and equally troubling, the Plan has been amended after it was theoretically finalized, without community input. The following is one example why this should be of concern to everyone who lives, works or plays in Reston.
In mid-2015, after community involvement had concluded, an unmarked line representing a new road mysteriously appeared on revised maps associated with the Master Plan (Staff Report, Appendix B page 60). This new road would connect Isaac Newton Square and American Dream Way. The stated purpose is to “construct or improve {a} local or collector street.” What it actually does is cut through the full length of the fourth fairway and across the approach to the third green of the Hidden Creek Golf Course, thus destroying the integrity of Hidden Creek. As several observers have pointed out – there is no such thing as a 16 hole golf course.
The placement of this road directly violates the letter and spirit of sections of the Comprehensive Plan rarely mentioned by County officials – the sections which call for this area to perpetually be “open space, designated as a golf course.” And open space and recreational areas – along with roads, bridges, schools and public safety – are among the issues ignored or shortchanged in the density proposals.
So, where did this road come from? No one knows–or will admit to knowing. The Reston Association wrote to the County last January opposing this road and asking for an explanation of how it appeared. Eleven months later they continue to wait for a response.
Perhaps this was a mistake, quickly corrected? No, the road remains in the current edition of the Comprehensive Plan – no longer in an appendix, but now promoted to the main body of the report (page 137).
Does the addition of this road have anything to do with the recent sale of Hidden Creek to a development company? One can only speculate.
The County/citizen relationship is important enough to give the benefit of doubt as to how we got to this point. But this can’t be ignored any longer. County officials need to explain why this road appeared out of nowhere and why the County has refused to provide information on it, despite repeated requests. Although it is late, it isn’t too late for the County to respond. But there are only two possible explanations and courses of action:
First, the County acknowledges this was a mistake, perhaps just an overeager subordinate acting without proper review or authorization. If so, the road needs to be immediately removed from the Plan. Second, this was not a mistake and the County does want this road built and open space bulldozed. In that case, the County needs to take ownership of the proposal and try to justify the multiple violations of its own rules and planning guidelines.
It’s a matter of trust.
This is a commentary from Del. Ken Plum (D-Fairfax), who represents Reston in Virginia’s House of Delegates. It does not reflect the opinion of Reston Now.
What happens if a dog that chases vehicles catches one? What happens if a political party that struggles for nearly a decade to regain the majority in a political body realizes its goal? The question is not theoretical. Democrats in the House of Delegates have been working at a 34 to 66 seat disadvantage for the last several years.
In an election that produced results seemingly impossible, before recounts Democrats are down by one vote from being tied for control of the House. An even 50-50 or a one vote advantage are possible as soon as the official vote tallies in three elections are determined.
Regardless of the final number, the House of Delegates will have to operate more on consensus than on an absolute dominance of one party over the other. That is a good thing. Rather than either party having to play defense all the time, both parties will be responsible for the ultimate outcome of a legislative session. The new shift in the balance of power should be good for the Commonwealth.
There should be less bottling up tough bills in a committee or subcommittee without a hearing or vote. Legislators will be put on the spot to cast tough votes, but that is the way the legislative process should work. Some issues that have been side-stepped in recent years should reach the floor for a public vote.
For years members of the majority party of the House of Delegates have refused to allow a vote on health insurance for 400,000 of our most vulnerable citizens leaving more than 10 billion federal dollars on the table. I think the vote in the recent election reflected in part a disgust on the part of citizens for the legislators who refused to deal with a real public health issue. An early vote on agreeing to Medicaid expansion would send a signal to voters that their message has been received.
Election results also demonstrated the impact of gerry-rigging election district lines that has been going on for many years. Establishing a non-partisan redistricting commission as I have advocated for many years and as proposed by the OneVirginia2021 organization will reduce the politics in the redistricting process that will come again after the 2020 federal census. Voters will choose their representatives rather than having legislators choose their voters.
I believe that a newly constituted House of Delegates made up of members elected by the highest level of voter participation in decades will also be less prone to involve themselves in the personal lives and social issues of the times. Too much time has been expended in the recent past debating who someone should be able to love or marry or who should make health decisions for women.
Some incumbents may find difficulty adjusting to a wonderfully more diverse House membership or feel uncomfortable in a new power-sharing agreement with another party, but the outcome should be good for Virginia. What now? Great opportunities for moving Virginia forward!
This is a commentary from Del. Ken Plum (D-Fairfax), who represents Reston in Virginia’s House of Delegates. It does not reflect the opinion of Reston Now.
The recent election in Virginia brought about significant changes in the partisan composition of the House of Delegates. While the election of Dr. Ralph Northam as governor and attorney Justin Fairfax as lieutenant governor along with the re-election of Attorney General Mark Herring kept the executive branch of government in Democratic hands, election results in the 100 House of Delegates districts were dramatically different.
Republicans went into the election with a strong advantage controlling 66 of the 100 seats. It appears with some recounts to take place that they will end up with 51 seats or maybe even tied with Democrats at 50 seats each.
No one that I know predicted such a major shift; some refer to the outcome of the election as a political tsunami. It was not simply that Republicans lost 17 seats when the most optimistic prediction was that Democrats would gain maybe ten or so seats. The majority party went into the election with a 66 to 34 advantage; they ended the election with the possibility of only a one member advantage or depending on the recount of votes a tie with Democrats.
Beyond the number of seats lost, the majority party lost their caucus whip, chairs of three major committees and two members of the Appropriations Committee including one of its conferees. Their caucus chairman seemed to have lost until a transposition of numbers was discovered that allowed him to hang on by a thread.
I served during the term beginning in the year 2000 when a power sharing agreement was reached allowing an evenly split body to go forward with its business. I thought the system worked effectively as there was a process for working together. In such an arrangement there can be an emphasis on solving problems rather than simply getting credit.
Most encouraging during this election cycle was the gain in the number of people voting in the election. The experience over many decades was that about 75% of voters go to the polls in presidential election years and less than 50% in years when the governor is elected. That number increased to about 60% this year.Those people who decided to go to the polls made the difference especially in the House of Delegates races.
A further exciting outcome of this election was the dramatic diversification of the membership of the House that had been dominated by white men throughout its history. Most of the losses of incumbents came about by women candidates defeating them. Not only are there more women, there are two Latino and two Asian women, the first transgender woman, and a lesbian. There will be more diversity in the General Assembly than ever before in its history. The Commonwealth will be better for it.
The challenge will be to bring the new members quickly into the process and embrace the strengths that diversity brings. The institution can accommodate the changes that the bloodless revolution of 2017 brought about to the degree that the leadership will permit it.
This is a commentary from Del. Ken Plum (D-Fairfax), who represents Reston in Virginia’s House of Delegates. It does not reflect the opinion of Reston Now.
I am sure I will have some commentary on the outcome of the November 7 election in future columns, but as I write this column results are not yet known. No matter the outcome, I share the frustration experienced by many with the negativity that seems to inevitably overtake campaigns with high stakes. Political operatives who provide the advice upon which campaigns are planned continue to insist that negative advertising wins elections as it gets people’s attention and creates a fear or anger that moves voters to take part. I am not sure if anyone has measured how many people get turned off and decide not to vote because of the vicious ads.
Even more concerning to me than the half-truths and falsehoods that have slipped into campaigning is the cruelty that has moved into the operation of government. After years of complaining about the Affordable Care Act while in complete control of the Congress and now also the presidency, the Republicans have not been able to repeal and replace what they came to call Obamacare. The reason might simply be that provision of health care to all with coverage for pre-existing conditions in a developed nation is the right thing to do. Failing to achieve legislative success, the administration has set about trying to kill the program through administrative actions and neglect. That is where the cruelty sets in.
The first effort at killing the program came with an executive order to withhold subsidies which allowed insurance companies to keep premium increases to a minimum. With the loss of the subsidies, Anthem pulled out of Virginia in August leaving 60 jurisdictions with no insurer offering coverage; they reversed their action after intense efforts by Governor McAuliffe. The loss of federal support will be devastating in Virginia where 240,000 Virginians rely on subsidies to be able to afford insurance. There clearly must not be a lack of money in Washington with the huge tax cuts now being proposed for the very wealthy.
The cruelty does not end there. To reduce the program further the advertising budget to remind persons about open enrollment was slashed by 90 percent, and the time to enroll was reduced from 12 weeks to 6 weeks. The open enrollment started November 1 and will close on December 15. Tell anyone you know who might be eligible and spread the information through social media programs in which you participate that open enrollment ends on December 15.
A final crippling blow could be the administration announcement that it will not enforce the individual mandate that has been critical to keeping costs down by spreading the risk across a wide pool of participants. As though this is not enough, the Republican Congress and administration failed to reauthorize the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) that provided care to 65,000 children and 1,100 pregnant mothers in Virginia. We have a new insurance program in place in this country; it is called Trumpcare. It is a very cruel system!
