This is a promoted post from the Neurology Center of Fairfax.

Busy medical practice, located next to Reston Hospital seeks FT patient care assistant to assist doctors in managing care of patients.

Direct patient contact responsibilities, requires strong computer skills for EMR responsibilities, ability to multitask and must have outstanding English language skills.  Job requires full and independent mobility, and ability to stand for long periods of time.  Work day shifts, Monday through Friday. Excellent salary and benefits.

Email cover letter and resume to: [email protected] or fax to 703-940-1497.

This is a sponsored post by Eve Thompson of Reston Real Estate.

Here’s a look at homes that sold in Reston in the last week. Want an analysis of what’s sold recently in your neighborhood. Contact me through Reston Real Estate.

1536 Moorings Drive #1A. 1 BR, 1.5 BA Condo. Sold price: $187,000

11717 Karbon Hill Court #712B. 2 BR, 1 BA Condo. Sold price: $470,000

11743 Ledura Court #T4. 3 BR, 2 BA Condo. Sold price: $262,000

11733 Ledura Court #102. 2 BR, 2 BA Condo. Sold price: $220,000

1855 Stratford Park Place #402. 2 BR, 2BA Condo. Sold price: $363,500

1591 Regatta Lane. 3 BR, 3.5 BA SFH. Sold price: $740,000

11204 Beaver Trail Court. 1 BR, 1 BA Condo. Sold price: $218,000

This is sponsored post from Becky’s Pet Care.

This week’s Reston Pets of the Week are Laverne and Shirley, two kittens who are almost ready to go to a forever home, hopefully together.

Here is what the people at Fancy Cats Rescue have to say:

Laverne and Shirley were born on June 17, 2016. They will be ready to be adopted on Aug. 12, but we are accepting applications now.

They came into Fancy Cats care together, with just the two of them. They love each other very much and need to be adopted together.

We believe them to be Siamese mix kittens. Laverne is what we call Siamese on the inside. Even though she does not look Siamese, she sure acts like it.

She loves to be held and petted and carried around. She loves to eat. When she wants either, she comes to your feet, plops herself down on her hindquarters, throws her head back and MEEEEEOOOOOOOOWS!!!!

She meows so big that it seems her eyes disappear and her whole head is taken up by her open mouth. She keeps meowing until you give her what she wants. She does like to play, but she is not super high energy when compared to other kittens.

Shirley, however, LOVES to play. We call her the Siamese-on-the-outside kitten. She looks Siamese, complete with the beautiful ice blue eyes. She plays and plays and plays. When you pick her up and rub her just right, she will reward your efforts with a really big purr, but she doesn’t demand to be held and carried like Laverne. She does however prefer to sleep on you, rather than the boring old couch, so be prepared to be needed by some sweet little kitties.

Please note that it is Fancy Cats policy that kittens be adopted in pairs or have an age-appropriate playmate in the home already. We also do not adopt kittens to families with children under six years old without seeing appropriate history/experience with cats.

If interested in adopting, please fill out an adoption questionnaire.

Are you and these kitties a match? If so, let us know and our sponsor, Becky’s Pet Care, will send you $100 in Becky’s Bucks, as well as some treats.

Want your pet to be considered for the Reston Pet of the Week?

Email [email protected] with a 2-3 paragraph bio and at least 3-4 horizontally-oriented photos of your pet.

Each week’s winner receives a sample of dog or cat treats from our sponsor, Becky’s Pet Care, along with $100 in Becky’s Bucks.

Becky’s Pet Care, the winner of three Angie’s List Super Service Awards and the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters’ 2013 Business of the Year, provides professional dog walking and pet sitting services in Reston and Northern Virginia.

This is a sponsored post by Eve Thompson of Reston Real Estate. 

North Reston’s SummerRidge Condominiums are not only beautiful inside, the Contemporary exterior design has charming cross gabled roofs — the front facing gables are above a column of recessed balconies.

The meticulously landscaped common areas are a lovely and peaceful view from those balconies. Even with parking in front of the buildings, this just doesn’t feel like a condo community.

SummerRidge is located off Lake Newport Road just west of Reston Parkway. It’s just a few blocks from North Point Village Center, so you can walk to the grocery store and restaurants.

Reston Town Center is less than two miles away, and is easily walkable if you feel inclined. Also within walking distance of SummerRidge is the Lake Newport Recreation Area with Reston’s only Olympic size pool, or Autumnwood pool. Both are great after a summer walk along the Reston Association paths!

The neighborhood consists of about 170 units built between 1987 and 1988. The neighborhood is laid out with 17 two- and three-story buildings looping around Summerchase Circle and Summerchase Court.

The condo development features three different models, all of which are modern and feel spacious, despite their modest footprints. Want an open floor plan? They’ve got it, along with large picture windows or glass sliding doors opening up to a back patio or balcony. The fabulous design makes you feel like you’re in a much larger space than you are.

Here are the different floorplans:

• June Model — 665 square feet with one bedroom and one bath
• July Model — 952 square feet with two bedrooms and one and a half baths
• August Model — 1,042 square feet with two bedrooms and two baths.

These condos are great for singles looking for a beautiful, but smaller space away from Reston Town Center, but still accessible to everything.

This is a sponsored column by attorneys John Berry and Kimberly Berry of Berry & Berry, PLLC, an employment and labor law firm located in Plaza America that specializes in federal employee, security clearance, retirement, and private sector employee matters.

Many federal employees have a limited understanding of the purpose of the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). The MSPB is an independent federal agency that functions as a quasi-judicial court system protecting certain rights of federal employees. This article provides a brief overview of the MSPB process.

Types of MSPB Cases

The MSPB is tasked, in large part, with the following types of federal employee appeals:

1. Removals (terminations) or demotions (discipline or for performance)
2. Disciplinary suspensions of more than 14 days
3. Federal retirement related to OPM actions
4. Whistleblower
5. Denials of within-grade salary increases
6. Reduction-in-Force (RIF)
7. Discrimination based on military service (USERRA)

The MSPB also has jurisdiction over other types of federal employee appeals, but the ones listed above are the most common.

What Happens During an MSPB Appeal?

Once a federal employee files an initial MSPB appeal, an administrative judge is assigned to hear the case, which is similar to a regular civil Read More

This is a sponsored post by Eve Thompson of Reston Real Estate.

Restonians love walking, even in the summer heat. Of course, lately I’ve noticed they’re doing it very early in the morning before the heat index gets too high.

One of the best features of Reston is the 55 miles of pathways that Reston Association maintains. You can get anywhere in Reston by foot — the path may not always be straight, but if you want to, you can go wherever you want. And you won’t have to cross very many streets to do it.

Reston Association has a comprehensive map of all the trails online, or you can go to the RA offices and get a printed version of it. The Fairfax County trail buddy is an interactive map of all the streets and paths, and provides a great way to plan a route before you head out in the heat.

Read More

Meet Raschka, a Husky mix currently in a foster home. She is searching for her forever home.

Here is what the people at New Love Animal Rescue have to say about her:

Meet Rashcka! Raschka is a 2 1/2 year old Husky mix. She loves to snuggle and lounge around the house.

Raschka is great with other dogs and cats as well. She loves to greet you when you get home and it’s usually her most excited part of the day. She loves getting brushed and petted — anything as long as someone is touching her! She also enjoys wrestling with other household pets.

Like most shelter dogs, Raschka may need a refresher on housetraining. Raschka is spayed.

Raschka’s adoption fee is $380. If you are interested, please fill out an adoption application.

Are you and Raschka a match? If so, let us know and our sponsor, Becky’s Pet Care, will send you $100 in Becky’s Bucks, as well as some treats.

Want your pet to be considered for the Reston Pet of the Week?

Email [email protected] with a 2-3 paragraph bio and at least 3-4 horizontally-oriented photos of your pet.

Each week’s winner receives a sample of dog or cat treats from our sponsor, Becky’s Pet Care, along with $100 in Becky’s Bucks.

Becky’s Pet Care, the winner of three Angie’s List Super Service Awards and the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters’ 2013 Business of the Year, provides professional dog walking and pet sitting services in Reston and Northern Virginia.

This is sponsored post by Eve Thompson of Reston Real Estate.

Here is a look at some of the homes that changed hands in the last week of July. Want a more detailed look at what’s selling in your Reston neighborhood? Contact me for a free analysis.

11733 Ledura Court #102, 2 BR, 2 BA Condo. Sold price: $227,000

11204 Beaver Trail Court, 1 BR , 1 BA Condo. Sold price: $218,000

1311 Garden Wall Court #804, 2 BR, 2 BA Condo. Sold price: $300,000

11531 Hickory Cluster, 3 BR, 1.5 BA TH. Sold price: $399,000

10891 Hunter Gate Way, 4 BR, 3.5 BA SFH. Sold price: $850,000

11340 Headlands Court, 2 BR, 1.5 BA TH. Sold price: $325,000

11922 Redtree Way, 2 BR, 2.5 BA TH. Sold price: $319,000

This is a sponsored post by Anna Gibson, owner of AKG Design Studio and an award-winning, certified kitchen and bathroom designer. AKG Design Studio is a boutique design firm specializing in kitchen, bathroom designs and cabinetry sales. Contact her at 571-989-2541 or [email protected], and check out her work on Houzz; Pinterest; Facebook; and Twitter.

The Fairlington community in Arlington was built in 1940s, and the small kitchens in these models reflect what was popular at the time. As you can see from the before pictures, this kitchen had a small footprint and was closed off to the rest of the house; pretty much the exact opposite of what we are looking for in our kitchens today!

With this remodel, we focused on giving the client, who is a budding chef, the space she needs within a design she loves.

With many small townhouses in Reston, we can use some of the lessons here.

Footprint

The footprint of your kitchen doesn’t have to change dramatically for your space to expand.

In this kitchen, by removing a wall we were able to push the boundaries of the kitchen out in two directions, creating a larger footprint.

Additionally, we replaced the 30″ cabinets with 42″ high ones that go all the way to the ceiling, maximizing her storage capacity in every direction.

Layout

Removing those walls not only gave us a larger footprint but also provided us the opportunity to create a large island work space to better fit the homeowner’s lifestyle. Read More

This is a sponsored post by Eve Thompson of Reston Real Estate.

Craft breweries — the American version of a neighborhood pub — are as hot as coffee shops, and I’m thrilled to have a new one at Lake Anne Plaza in Reston.

The Lake Anne Brew House embodies everything that is romantic and wonderful about a small business. It has a product the community has been craving: it has committed owners who want to create the best brew house possible while fostering community. It is also located in a place that needs more of both of those things.

What they do: Lake Anne Brew House sells its small-batch, handcrafted beers directly to customers from a nanobrewery taproom. You won’t find this (delicious) beer anywhere else … unless you take a growler home with you.

Since the day the the business opened in April, Restonians have made sure they have a difficult time keeping the brews in stock.

The owners are a husband and wife team, Jason and Melissa Romano. Jason as a longtime homebrewer before making the leap into the beer business. Opening the Brew House was a a way to scale production to meet the demands of a growing craft beer drinking market.

Melissa is an architect and designer, and that is obvious the minute you walk through the front doors.

The space is beautiful, incorporating bits of Lake Anne Plaza’s history and design, as well as pops of orange color, into the space on Washington Plaza.

Jason and Melissa have a shared goal: to provide an inviting location for the community to gather and appreciate a hand-crafted selection of exceptional beers. Read More

This is a sponsored post by Becky’s Pet Care.

This week’s Reston Pet of the Week Big Boy, an American Staffordshire Terrier mix who is being sponsored by Safe Haven Puppy Rescue and is available for adoption.

Here is what his people at Safe Haven have to say about Big Boy:

Big Boy is a truly amazing dog who wants NOTHING more than to worship the ground his person walks on. This is a dog who will be by your side, give you hugs, play with you when you want to be silly and be quiet and mellow when you want to just veg.

He loves, loves, loves to share a bed, if allowed, or is happy to lie next to you on a dog bed. Big Boy knows a repertoire of tricks, including sit, stay, come, shake, and sit pretty. He is quiet — not a barker. At this point, he remains at the shelter in South Carolina and has been a shelter dog for three years. At present, there is no foster home for him, but he is available for adoption to an approved adopter.

Big Boy gets along well with female dogs of similar size, and some male dogs who are not dominant or in his face. Or, he is more than happy to be an only dog.

He loves to go for car rides, and is even a good rider on a golf cart. Big Boy is about 5-6 years old, and about 60 lbs.

If you feel you have the perfect home for this very special boy, please email: [email protected].

His adoption fee is $200.

Are you and Big Boy a match? If so, let us know and our sponsor, Becky’s Pet Care, will send you $100 in Becky’s Bucks, as well as some treats.

Want your pet to be considered for the Reston Pet of the Week?

Email [email protected] with a 2-3 paragraph bio and at least 3-4 horizontally-oriented photos of your pet.

Each week’s winner receives a sample of dog or cat treats from our sponsor, Becky’s Pet Care, along with $100 in Becky’s Bucks.

Becky’s Pet Care, the winner of three Angie’s List Super Service Awards and the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters’ 2013 Business of the Year, provides professional dog walking and pet sitting services in Reston and Northern Virginia.

This is a sponsored post by Eve Thompson of Reston Real Estate.

Here is a look at homes that changed hands in Reston last week. Want a more detailed analysis of what is happening in your neighborhood? Contact me.

11922 Redtree Way. 2 BR, 2.5 BA TH. Sold price: $319,00

1556 Scandia Circle. 3 BR, 2.5 BA TH. Sold price: $430,000

2315 Harleyford Court. 3 BR, 2.5 BA TH. Sold price: $385,000

1636 Purple Sage Dr. 2 BR, 2 BA TH. Sold price: $335,665

11623 Vantage Hill Road #C. 3 BR, 2 BA Condo. Sold price: $217,500

10901 Lawyer Road. 4 BR, 3.5 BA SFH. Sold price $932,000

This is a sponsored column by attorneys John Berry and Kimberly Berry of Berry & Berry, PLLC, an employment and labor law firm located in Plaza America that specializes in federal employee, security clearance, retirement, and private sector employee matters.

As noted in our earlier article, financial issues are the most common issues that can result in the loss of, or inability to obtain, a security clearance. In security clearance cases, financial issues are generally referred to as Guideline F cases. In Guideline F cases, the government’s concern is generally how a person has handled his or her finances and/or his or her vulnerability to financial manipulation given a pattern of overspending or debt. Read More

This is a sponsored post by Becky’s Pet Care.

This week’s Reston Pet of the Week is Hope, a 4-year-old Terrier/American Staffordshire mix who needs a forever home. Here is what her people at the Fairfax County Animal Shelter have to say about her:

Hope [noun]: is defined as a feeling that something good will happen or be true. Hope’s new family is in for something REALLY good!

She is a bit quiet and shy with new people, but once she gets to know and trust you, she is a gentle, happy girl who wants nothing more than to be near her people.

Some of her favorite things include playing hide-and-seek, napping in the sunlight, keeping watch at the windows, and carrying her favorite toys with her wherever she goes.

She is housebroken, will quietly sleep on her dog bed (although she’d prefer being next to you in the human bed), and is a great walking companion. She still needs some work building her confidence and being comfortable with new situations and people, but she will be the perfect addition to a patient, calm, and loving home.

If you’d like to see Hope in action, check out some of her YouTube videos at

Hope is currently staying with a foster family who says she has captured their hearts! If you are interested in meeting this sweet girl, please email us as [email protected] for more information.

Thanks to a sponsor, Hope’s adoption is free.

Are you and Hope a match? If so, let us know and our sponsor, Becky’s Pet Care, will send you $100 in Becky’s Bucks, as well as some treats.

Want your pet to be considered for the Reston Pet of the Week?

Email [email protected] with a 2-3 paragraph bio and at least 3-4 horizontally-oriented photos of your pet.

Each week’s winner receives a sample of dog or cat treats from our sponsor, Becky’s Pet Care, along with $100 in Becky’s Bucks.

Becky’s Pet Care, the winner of three Angie’s List Super Service Awards and the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters’ 2013 Business of the Year, provides professional dog walking and pet sitting services in Reston and Northern Virginia.