Loudoun County police arrested and charged a Herndon man with public intoxication yesterday (Dec.10).

Deputies arrived at SpringHill Suites at the 22000 block of Shaw Road in Sterling at 10:07 p.m. in response to reports that a man had struck a woman and was refusing to leave the premises, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies arrested 23-year-old Muhammad Aatif of Herndon. Aatif was released from the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center on an unsecured bond.

The Fairfax County Police Department’s Reston District Station reported the following incidents in recent days:

LARECENIES:

2100 block of Astoria Circle, property from vehicle

1800 block of Cameron Glen Drive, cell phone from location

2400 block of Centreville Road, liquor from business

13300 block of Cleeve Hill Court, license plate from vehicle

2500 block of Cornelia Road, tires from vehicle

2500 block of James Madison Circle, license plate from vehicle

1400 block of Kingsvale Circle, property from vehicle

11500 block of Leesburg Pike, merchandise from business

13100 block of Parcher Avenue, merchandise from business

11700 block of Sunset Hills Road, merchandise from business

12800 block of Tournament Drive, property from residence

STOLEN VEHICLES:

2200 block of Cocquina Drive, 2016 Honda CRV

File photo

Chad Thompson, a public affairs consultant who lives in Herndon, announced today (Dec. 11) that he will vie for the Virginia House of Delegates seat representing the 86th District, which includes Herndon.

Del. Jennifer Boysko, who currently represents the 86th District, announced last month plans to run for the State Senate seat to replace Congresswoman-elect Jennifer Wexton. The special election for that seat will take place on Jan. 8.

Thompson and his wife Elizabeth, a pre-school teacher at Floris United Methodist Church, live in the Floris community of Herndon with their four kids, aged 8 to 12.

Thompson points to education, transportation and the environment as a few of the reasons why he decided to seek the Democratic nomination in the Firehouse Primary.

“I got into this race because as a parent I care about the type of community we build for our children,” Thompson said in a press release. “Investing in our children, finding real transportation solutions and building Virginia’s renewable energy future are the foundation for growing our community and our economy.”

Currently, the senior director at Five Corners Strategies, a D.C.-based grassroots advocacy firm, Thompson advises companies in the real estate, waste and energy sectors on public affairs issues.

Thompson faces other Democratic contenders for the seat, including Kofi Annan and Ibraheem Samirah.

Annan, who has lived in Herndon since 2012 with his wife and two teenage sons, is the president of the Fairfax County NAACP.

Annan and his wife started a rental property business in 2009 and founded the Veteran Career Counseling Services LLC, which remained in operation from 2012 to late 2018, to help more than 700 veterans find employment after transitioning out of the military, according to a fundraising page.

Samirah is a first-generation Muslim American who is the son of Palestinian refugees. He was separated from his father in middle school when his father was barred from re-entering the U.S., according to his campaign website.

Samirah is currently a dentist at District Smiles, according to his LinkedIn profile.

The general election will be held on Nov. 5, 2019.

Photos via Chad Thompson campaign, Samirah for Delegate/Facebook and crowdpac.com. 

Elden Street Tea Shop plans to celebrate its grand opening at a permanent spot in Herndon this weekend.

Rachel Eisenfeld, the tea shop’s owner, told Reston Now that the shop moved into its space at 714 Pine Street on Nov. 28 after one year as a pop-up open every Saturday at ArtSpace Herndon (750 Center Street).

The tea shop is named after the historic street in Herndon that it initially planned to move to. But after the tea shop decided to switch its permanent location to Pine Street, Eisenfeld decided to not change the name as a way to pay homage to the popular Elden Street.

Eisenfeld described the Pine Street location as a cute and charming house that is part of Herndon’s historic district. “It fits a tea shop,” she said.

More than 60 varieties of loose leaf tea from across the world and locally are available at Elden Street Tea Shop, along with processed tea and “tea-to-go.” Customers can also purchase snack food made by local bakeries.

“We really want to be involved in the community,” Eisenfeld said. Part of that involvement includes donations.

Every quarter, Elden Street Tea Shop picks a handful of new charities or organizations in the Herndon community.

Customers can choose which ones they would like to donate to when they check out at the shop or online, along with nominating a charity for consideration. At the end of the quarter, a portion of the profits goes to the selected places.

The grand opening will take place from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday (Dec. 15) with all-day events, a ribbon-cutting at 2 p.m. and special offers.

Eisenfeld said the tea shop will start hosting afternoon tea events in February and will continue to offer board games — Scrabble, chess, checkers, Risk and more — from its pop-up days with weekend game time.

Photo via Elden Street Tea Shop/Facebook

A man sleeping on his couch was assaulted last week by a person he knows, according to the Herndon Police Department.

The suspect entered the house on the 700 block of Cordell Way last Monday (Nov. 26), woke up the sleeping man and began assaulting him, the report said.

The victim was transported to Reston Hospital.

The Herndon Police Department is currently investigating the case.

Map via Google Maps

Herndon resident Crys Matthews will perform her songs at the 34th annual Reston Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration.

The Reston Community Center recently added the singer-songwriter to its lineup of artists for the three-day event, which takes place from Jan. 19 to Jan. 21.

Matthews has gained national acclaim for her music, which blends Americana, folk, jazz, blues, bluegrass and funk. In 2017, she was the grand-prize winner in the NewSong Music Competition and won the People’s Music Network’s Social Justice Songs contest at the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance.

“Crys Matthews is an important voice of her generation and will be an excellent addition to our weekend lineup,” Paul Douglas Michnewicz, the arts and events director for Reston Community Center, said in a statement. “Her perspective reminds us that our similarities are far more important than our differences.”

Matthews is scheduled to perform at 2 p.m. on Jan. 20 at CenterStage. Tickets cost $15 for Reston residents.

She also plans to conduct a workshop for students at Langston Hughes Middle School and South Lakes High School as an artist-in-residence in Reston.

Photo via Fairfax County

(Editor’s note: This story was updated at 1:30 p.m. to include more information about the selection process for “Tech 100.”)

More than a quarter of companies selected for the Northern Virginia Technology Council’s inaugural “Tech 100” call Reston or Herndon home.

The companies span a variety of categories — cyber, software, IT services, artificial intelligence, genomics, health IT — in order to represent growing sectors in the region’s technology corridor.

“The NVTC Tech 100 is composed of companies and individuals who are driving tech innovation, implementing new solutions for their customers and leading growth in the greater Washington region,” Eileen Filler-Corn, a member of the Virginia House of Delegates representing Fairfax County, tweeted today.

The nomination period ran from Sept. 19 to Oct. 19, with the requirement that nominees must have a location in the Northern Virginia region, according to Allison Gilmore, vice president of NVTC’s Communications and Strategic Initiatives. An independent panel of judges reviewed and selected the nominations.

Out of the 85 companies chosen, 17 have headquarters in Reston and six are based in Herndon.

The Reston-based companies are the following:

• Altum, Inc.
• Confident Governance
• Fractal Industries
• GoCanvas
• LookingGlass Cyber Solutions
• Octo
• Patrocinium Systems
• Qlarion
• Resonate
• SAIC
• ScienceLogic
• ScientiaMobile
• Simulyze
• SOC Telemed
• ThreatQuotient
• Transaction Network Services (TNS)
• Virid

Companies headquartered in Herndon include:

• All Traffic Solutions
• B3 Group
• Compass
• ViON
• Deltek
• Peraton

The roundup included companies that have locations in Reston, including ArdentMC, Decisiv and Digital Realty. Forcepoint, which has an office in Herndon, also made the list.

“Tech 100” also featured more than a dozen executives. Judy Bjornaas from Herndon-based ManTech, Matthew Calkins from Appian in Reston and Stu Shea from Peraton made the cut.

A party at the Ritz-Carlton in Tysons Corner at 6 p.m. tonight will celebrate the Tech 100.

Images via the Northern Virginia Technology Council

This story has been updated

An environment-focused nonprofit has raked in funding for long-awaited community garden plots at Bruin Park.

The Fairfax County Park Authority Board approved a funding request from the Herndon Environmental Network (HEN) for $20,000 at its Nov. 14 meeting.

HEN will use the grant money to help develop 40 garden plots on the west side of the tennis courts at the park, which is located at 415 Van Buren Street. The plan also includes adding fencing to protect the plots and accessible trails, according to a county press release.

The project’s budget totals $42,496.22 — a combination of the grant money with a $7,966.06 cash contribution and $14,530.16 of in-kind donations from HEN.

Plans for the community garden sprouted several years ago.

The Master Plan for Bruin Park was amended in January 2014 to allow for community garden plots. In April 2017, an agreement between HEN, the Town of Herndon — which owns the park — and the Park Authority authorized HEN to develop, manage and maintain community garden plots at the park, according to the press release.

HEN is set to celebrate the grant award at the monthly Bruin Park Community Garden planning meeting — free and open to the public — at 7 p.m. on Dec. 13 at the Herndon Fortnightly Library.

Photo via Herndon Community Garden at Bruin Park/Facebook

A construction worker from Herndon died the day before Thanksgiving after succumbing to injuries from a fall in the Ashburn area, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office.

At 10:20 a.m. last Wednesday (Nov. 21), deputies discovered Jose Escalante, 49, had fallen between 10 to 29 feet to the ground from a ladder. He had been doing construction work at a residence on the 22000 block of Dolomite Hills Drive, police said.

“All indications are this was an accident,” a spokesman for the sheriff’s office told Reston Now.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration also responded to the scene, according to police.

Escalante succumbed to his injuries after being taken to a local hospital, police said.

Map via Google Maps

(Updated at 10:28 a.m.) Police arrested Osman Osman, a 37-year-old resident of Herndon, in Manhattan Beach, New York yesterday (Nov. 27) in connection with the assault and abduction of his wife and child, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.

“Osman was arrested in [New York] for charges related to the assault and abduction,” FCPD 2nd Lieutenant John Lieb told Reston Now. “NYPD will need to be contacted for clarification on any local charges he may face there.”

Detectives from the FCPD’s Major Crimes Bureau worked with the New York City Police Department and the United States Marshal’s Task Force to locate Osman and take him into custody, the report said.

Osman is currently awaiting extradition to Fairfax County.

FCPD sought the public’s help in March to help find Osman, who was wanted at the time for two counts of abduction, the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, two counts of assault on a family member, a protective order violation and transporting a firearm while subject to a protective order.

Detectives had said they believed Osman headed to New York after the assault and temporary abduction, which happened on March 24 in Chantilly.

Photo via FCPD

A fire broke out in a Herndon house early Thanksgiving morning, leaving four residents temporarily without a home for the holiday.

The fire broke out in an attic above the garage, shortly after 3:30 a.m. this past Thursday, according to Fairfax County Fire and Rescue. Investigators determined that it was sparked by a malfunctioning box fan.

Firefighters worked to “aggressively” extinguish the flames, but because of the damage the four residents — along with two guests — were not able to stay in the house.

More from a fire department press release:

On Thursday, November 22, at approximately 3:38 a.m., units responded to a reported house fire in the 600 block of Stuart Court in the Town of Herndon.

Units arrived on scene of a two-story, single-family home with no visible sign of smoke or fire. Crews quickly located a fire in the attic space above the garage. Firefighters worked aggressively to extinguish the fire. No civilian or firefighter injuries were reported.

A total of four occupants and two visitors were present at the time of the fire. One of the occupants awoke to flickering lights and an odor of smoke. The occupant alerted the others and called 9-1-1. The six occupants self-evacuated prior to fire department arrival. Working smoke alarms were installed but did not activate due to location of the fire.

Fire Investigators determined that the fire was accidental in nature and started in the attic space over the garage. The cause of the fire was a malfunctioning box fan located in the attic.

Four residents of the home were displaced because of the fire. Red Cross assistance was offered and accepted. Damages as a result of the fire were approximately $75,000.

Map via Google Maps

Updated 10:45 a.m. – Ramen and Rice will be opening in Herndon (482 Elden St) early next year.

Sirinda Liw, owner of Ramen and Rice, said despite the company name being Oki Bowl of Herndon the restaurant shares no connection to the chain located in Washington, D.C.

“It’s going to be fusion ramen,” said Liw, “much tastier than regular ramen.”

Ramen and Rice will be located in Herndon Centre between The Deli and the Nail Villa. Additionally, the ABC permit in the window indicates the location will be serving wine and beer.

Liw said the construction process is still in discussion with a planned opening in January or beginning February. The interior is still vacant and decorated as Tipicos Gloria, a closed Central American eatery.

Town of Herndon residents will be asked to select candidates for the Herndon Town Council on the ballot tomorrow. But language on the ballot states that voters are only required to select up to six candidates, leaving voters with the option to select candidates they feel particularly passionate about without filling out all available slots.

The option, which has garnered questions from voters, prompted Town of Herndon Mayor Lisa Merkel to address the issue earlier today. Merkel, who is running unopposed, is backing only four candidates: Jennifer Baker, Bill McKenna, Grace Wolf Cunningham and Joseph Plummer.

There are several ways to look at that. Voting for just the candidates you believe in may make sense in this kind of election when the top six vote getters are the winners. Recent elections have been very close. (Even the Virginia House of Delegates was essentially decided by one vote in one house district!) At times in the past Council seats have been decided by as few as 4 votes. What if you voted for the four or five candidates you really believe in, but then felt like you had to use up your last vote or two, and cast votes for candidates that you weren’t 100% behind? And then one of the “second choices” manages to beat one of your top choices by a vote or two? In essence you contributed to your favorite actually losing the seat. Sounds crazy, but it could happen. Food for thought, I guess.

Town of Herndon residents, take the following poll to indicate how you plan to handle the issue on Election Day. 

A cow’s lunchtime stroll raised some eyebrows last week when the Black Angus cow, named Hokie, sped off onto a Route 28 exit ramp from her new home in Frying Pan Farm Park in Herndon.

The 1,200-pound heifer, which had been purchased by the park from Virginia Tech just two days before the incident, was under routine quarantine at the farm when she suddenly jumped over a 3.5-foot tall wagon during stall cleaning and bolted through the Herndon area, surprising onlookers as she jumped over guard rails and jersey walls to evade capture.

According to the Fairfax County Park Authority, the help of some “agile” drivers resulted in the capture of the cow on an exit ramp roughly 2.5 miles from the park. Drivers used their cars to help emergency personnel corner the cow on the ramp, with one driver raising his hands on the opposite side of the ramp to prevent Hokie from jumping over the wall.

Help was also lassoed in from the Fairfax County Police Department and the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department, who promptly joined in the hot pursuit.

The Fairfax County Park Authority offered the following thanks in a Facebook post following the incident:

“Thanks to the entire community for coming together to ensure the safe return of our newest cow. Farm staff is working to acclimate Hokie to her new home and have increased security measures to prevent the surprisingly nimble cow from escaping again. 

Photos via Fairfax County Park Authority

Another local business is leaving Elden Street.

Herndon Auto Care, which offers auto and light truck repair and maintenance services, will move from its current location at 1131 Elden Street to its sister shop in Sterling, the Dulles Shell Service Center. The address of the new location is 45410 Holiday Drive.

A business representative told Reston Now that the move was prompted by lease expiration.

“In the new lease, the landlord was asking for a substantial increase in monthly rent, which we could not accommodate,” the representative said. “The property has been listed for rent with a real estate company for other use[s].”

Photo via Herndon Auto Care