Reston-based security firm accused of smuggling, human trafficking in Iraq — A scathing Associated Press story that came out Wednesday accuses a Reston-based contractor of allowing some risky operations to take place while being paid hundreds of millions of dollars to provide security to an F-16 air base in Iraq, and then firing independent investigators that uncovered it. The investigators told the AP that U.S. security personnel “turned a blind eye” though they were fully aware of prostitutes and alcohol being smuggled into Baghdad and onto the base, as well as not interfering when they witnessed power generators being stolen off the base by local militia and driven away on huge flatbed trucks. [MSN.com/Associated Press]
Reston Chamber Seeks Nominations for Annual Business Awards – The Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce is seeking nominations for its annual ACE awards (Awards for Chamber Excellence). The awards recognize outstanding member businesses that demonstrate “excellence, innovation and community involvement” while supporting the Chamber’s mission. Categories include Small/Medium/Large Business of the Year, Volunteer of the Year and more. Nominations can be submitted online through May 12. Winners will be announced at the ACE Awards in June. [Greater Reston Chamber]
County to review policies after some rack up more than $100,000 in overtime pay — County supervisors are reviewing departmental staffing and pay policies after a review of the books revealed that more than 1,700 county employees earned more than $100,000 last year, in large part due to overtime pay. Several employees are said to have made more than $100,000 just in overtime pay alone, and some even doubled or tripled their salary. Supervisor Pat Herrity said especially with first responders, so much overtime presents safety concerns. A review is now being conducted to determine if hiring additional staff will reduce the need for so much overtime. [WTOP]
Teen arrested for shooting BB gun at occupied car in Herndon — A 19-year-old man was arrested after firing multiple shots from a BB gun at an occupied car in Herndon. The teen is being held in Fairfax County jail without bond. [Herndon Patch]
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]
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]
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]
Reston-Based Software Company Looking to Grow — Oracle is seeking new talent in the effort to outpace the competition in fields such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality. [Fairfax County EDA]
Crane Removal to Affect Toll Road Traffic — Eastbound traffic on the Dulles International Airport Access Highway will be detoured onto the Toll Road tonight through Monday morning as the tower crane at the future Herndon Metro station is disassembled and removed. [Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project]
Town of Herndon Adopts $51M Budget — The budget, approved this week by the Herndon Town Council, features no tax rate increases. It also includes resources to support development of a first-class arts facility to act as an economic driver for the downtown. [Town of Herndon]
Civil War Stories at Frying Pan Park — The Meeting House at Frying Pan Farm Park (2739 West Ox Road, Herndon) served as a field hospital, encampment and picket post during the Civil War. From 1-3 p.m. Sunday, re-enactors, exhibits and a special guest speaker will share information about the lives of those soldiers. [Fairfax County Park Authority]
Top Reston Volunteers to Be Honored — An awards ceremony to recognize individuals, families, groups and businesses who make a significant contribution to the Reston community through volunteer service will be held tonight from 6:30-9 p.m. at The Lake House (11450 Baron Cameron Ave.). [Reston Association]
Meeting on Glade Drive Bike Lanes Tonight — The Fairfax County Department of Transportation will host a community meeting tonight from 6:30-8 p.m. at Hunters Woods Elementary School (2401 Colts Neck Road) to discuss potential changes to Glade Drive, including the addition of bike lanes and sharrows. [Reston Now]
Fairfax Corner Art Festival (Sponsored) — Fairfax Corner will transform into an outdoor art showcase during the 2nd Annual Fairfax Corner Art Festival this weekend. Monument Corner Drive will feature more than 100 national and international artists, arranged in pop-up gallery style and filled with all mediums of fine art. Admission is free and it’s taking place this Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 4100 Monument Corner Drive, Fairfax. [Howard Alan Events]
Reston Couples Find Business Success with Mat — Gerald and Michelle Zingraf, along with Ben and Camille Arneberg, have made about 6,000 sales of their new product, TerraMat, since February. The ergonomic anti-fatigue desk mat is designed to provide exercise, stretching and therapeutic massage for the feet of those who spend hours at a time standing at a desk. [Fairfax County EDA]
Red’s Table Has New Top Chef — Adam Stein has left Red’s Table to open his own D.C. restaurant, The Eleanor. Kevin Ettenson, 28, is the new executive chef at Red’s Table (11150 South Lakes Drive). Among his plans are an emphasis on housemade pastas and an expanded late-night menu. [Northern Virginia Magazine]
Full-Scale Terror Response Exercise Today — Fairfax County is one of six sites in the DC Metro area participating in a drill today “designed to prepare for the possibility of a complex coordinated terror attack in the region.” The county’s exercise site is the former Lorton Reformatory prison site. [Fairfax County Emergency Information]
Amazon to Move Into Herndon Office Tower — One Dulles Tower (13200 Woodland Park Drive) will be leased out by Amazon Web Service, the Washington Business Journal first reported. That building is just across the Toll Road from Amazon’s facility on Worldgate Drive. [Bisnow]
BXP First-Quarter Earnings Down from 2016 — Boston Properties, owner of Reston Town Center, announced Tuesday that profits are down 8.9 percent from the first quarter of 2016. Revenue fell 5.1 percent. In addition to the DC region, BXP has properties in Boston, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco. [Nasdaq]
Seahawks Soccer Team Ranked in Region — The South Lakes High School boys’ soccer team, 6-2-2 so far on the season, is ranked No. 8 in the Washington Post’s Metro region Top 10. The team next plays Thursday night at Hayfield. [Washington Post]
Golf Tournament Will Benefit Families of Heroes — The 47th annual HEROES Inc. golf tournament will be July 13-14 at Twin Lakes Golf Course in Clifton. The event benefits the HEROES scholarship fund, which provides financial aid and professional counsel to the surviving family members of law enforcement officers and firefighters who have been killed in the line of duty. [Fairfax County Fire and Rescue]
J.McLaughlin Now Open at Reston Town Center — The new clothing store at 11932 Market St. opened to the public Monday. [Reston Town Center/Facebook]
Thermal Cameras Available for Home Inspections — Fairfax County residents can now reserve thermal imaging cameras for loan from any branch of the Fairfax County Public Library. The county says it is making the cameras available so that residents can inspect their home or business for hot and cold spots, which can indicate energy-saving opportunities. [Fairfax County]
SLHS Runner Takes Meet MVP Honors — Olivia Beckner (pictured) ran the 800 meters in 2 minutes, 16.03 seconds and the 1,600 meters in 5 minutes, 1.35 seconds on her way to winning the Most Valuable Female Track Athlete award at the recent Lake Braddock Hall of Fame Invitational. The SLHS track team next competes in the Penn Relays, Thursday through Saturday at the University of Pennsylvania. [Press Release]
Reston Man Up for Bowling Board — Adam Mitchell is one of four candidates for three seats on the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Board of Directors. Mitchell has been a board member for Nation’s Capital Area USBC since 2014, and is a current Virginia State Youth Director. The vote will be done this week during the group’s annual convention in Las Vegas. [USBC]
Photo of Olivia Beckner courtesy South Lakes High School track and field
Giving Back to Emergency Responders — Firefighters from Station 25 presented a certificate to a Reston woman who adopted a fire hydrant in her neighborhood. The woman was involved in a serious motorcycle crash in 1994 and credits emergency crews including fire units with saving her life, and she has loved and supported them ever since. [Fairfax County Fire and Rescue]
Guinea Pigs on Twitter Thanks to Local Students — At Ideaventions Academy, a specialized STEM school in Reston, students have built a computer and are using censors to get classroom pets to tweet out randomized messages. You can follow along @PepperNCaramel. [WUSA]
County Map Shows Youth Crash Locations — A map released Thursday by Fairfax County plots the locations of all 1,840 vehicle crashes involving youth drivers (ages 15-20) in 2016. In Reston, locations including Sunrise Valley Drive, the intersection of Wiehle Avenue and Sunset Hills Road, and the intersection of Reston Parkway and Route 7 had the most incidents. [Fairfax County]
Another Capital BikeShare Station Opens — An 11-dock Capital BikeShare location has opened on Town Center Parkway near Sunset Hills Road, at the RTC West complex. [Capital BikeShare/Twitter]
Map courtesy Fairfax County
More Info Released on Herndon Tornado — After detailed analysis, the National Weather Service says a tornado that touched down in Herndon on April 6 was one of seven in the area during that storm. It is now estimated the tornado first came to ground near the Dulles Greene and Capstone apartment complexes in Herndon and lasted about five minutes. It downed numerous trees, including one that was thrown into the window of an apartment building. [National Weather Service]
Reston Islamic School Spotlighted by NPR — Al Fatih Academy (12300 Pinecrest Road) was the subject of a segment on today’s Morning Edition on NPR. The academy’s goal is “to cultivate and nurture a thriving American Muslim identity that balances religious, academic and cultural knowledge and imparts the importance of civic involvement and charitable work.” [NPR]
Local College Student Fighting Pollution — Reston’s Elizabeth Merin, a junior biosystems engineering major at Virginia Tech, is part of a group of students working to scrutinize emissions at the Radford Army Ammunition Plant in Blacksburg, as well as pollution in the New River Valley. The students have started a chapter of the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, calling their group Citizens for Arsenal Accountability. [Roanoke Times]
Herndon Farmers Market Now Open, Rain and All — The opening day of the Herndon Farmers Market, which goes through 12:30 p.m. today, is on despite this morning’s rainy weather. It will take place each Thursday into November, in front of the caboose on Lynn Street. [Reston Now/Twitter]
Reston Network Analysis Community Meeting Planned — Following the creation of the Reston Transportation Service District, a community meeting on the project status, the results of the mid-buildout analysis, and roadway classifications for the grid of streets has been scheduled for Monday at the North County Governmental Center. [Fairfax County DOT]
Legendary DJ to Meet Fans, Sign Book — Cerphe Colwell will be at Vinafera Wine Bar and Bistro (11750 Sunrise Valley Drive) on Saturday from 3-5 p.m. to promote his new book, “Cerphe’s Up: A Musical Life with Bruce Springsteen, Little Feat, Frank Zappa, Tom Waits, CSNY, and Many More.” [Press Release]
Herndon to Celebrate Most Beautiful Yards — In June and July, the Town of Herndon will honor residents who contribute to community beauty through creatively landscaped and well-maintained yards. The program is part of the town’s Cultivating Community Initiative. Nominations are now open. [Town of Herndon]
Local Resident Part of Climate Reality Leadership Corps — Christina Blocksom, of Reston, is one of several area citizens who recently participated in Climate Reality Training in Denver. Former Vice President Al Gore founded the project. [Inside NOVA]
Red’s Table Has New Seasonal Cocktails — Rhubarb purée is a special ingredient in one of the spring drinks at the restaurant, located at the South Lakes Village Center. [DC Eater]
comScore Working With Facebook to Improve Digital Ads — The Reston-based company is introducing new demographic metrics to help provide advertisers with “transparent, uniform measurement across all platforms and devices.” [Yahoo! Finance]
‘Guys and Dolls’ Coming to Herndon HS Stage — The theater department at Herndon High School will present the musical comedy this weekend. There will be shows Friday and Saturday night, and a Sunday matinee. Tickets are $15. [Fairfax Times]
Reston Dad’s Idea Selling Around the World — Swipe and Feed is an attachment parents can put on their smartphone, allowing them to feed their babies at night while still comfortably holding the phone. Its creator, Reston’s Tim Causa, says he is selling to customers in multiple countries. [Northern Virginia Magazine]
Howell, Plum to Meet with Constituents — Sen. Janet Howell (D-Fairfax) will host a town-hall meeting tonight from 7:30-9 p.m. at Reston Community Center at Lake Anne (1609 Washington Plaza N.) along with Del. Ken Plum (D-Fairfax). [Sen. Janet Howell]
Campaign Starts for County Residents to Go Solar — The Solarize Fairfax County campaign begins tomorrow and goes through June 30. Fairfax County citizens are invited to sign up for a free solar assessment and to attend an information session to better understand pricing and financing options, as well as meet contractors. [Fairfax County]
Book-Signing Luncheon Slated — The Reston-Herndon Area Branch of American Association of University Women (AAUW) and the Reston/Herndon Section of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) are sponsoring a Mother-Daughter and Friends book-signing luncheon. The guest speaker will be Paula Young Shelton, author and daughter of civil rights activist, congressman and United Nations ambassador Andrew Young. The event takes place Saturday at Mon Ami Gabi (11950 Democracy Drive) in Reston Town Center. For more details, call 703-620-9873. [Reston-Herndon AAUW]
Reston Rotary Ball Set for April 22 — The annual “Blackbeard’s Ball” event next weekend at Hidden Creek Country Club will benefit the Lake Thoreau Project by the South Lakes High School STEAM team, as well as the nonprofit organization Stop Hunger Now. [Reston Rotary/Facebook]
Men Who Killed SLHS Grad in Israel Charged in US — Two Palestinian men already serving life sentences in an Israeli prison for killing Kristine Luken, a 1984 South Lakes High School graduate, in 2010 have now also been charged with murder by U.S. prosecutors. [Washington Post]
Seahawks Lacrosse Team Has Strong Start — There were no games this week because of Spring Break, but the lacrosse team at South Lakes High School will come back next week looking to improve on their 5-1 early-season record. [South Lakes Athletics]
Arrest Made in Anti-Semitic Graffiti Incidents in Fairfax County — A 20-year-old Annandale man has been charged with committing the vandalism, called “hate-motivated” by police, earlier this week. [Fairfax County Police Department]
Fine Arts Center Coming to Herndon? — A McLean-based investor group is proposing a $40 million afterschool fine arts facility at Centreville and West Ox roads, near Frying Pan Farm Park. The site could have up to 40,000 square feet of by-right commercial development in its future instead, the group’s land-use attorney said, which would not fit the “historic fabric of the property.” [Washington Business Journal]
Easter Event Schedule — Easter is this weekend, and no matter how you mark the holiday there are plenty of opportunities to do so around the area. [Connection Newspapers]
Registration for Reston Kids Triathlon Now Open — Signups for the event, scheduled for Aug. 6, began last night. Cost is $35. [Reston Kids Triathlon]
County DOT Seeking Data Gatherers — Volunteers are sought to help count non-motorized road and trail users as part of a national data-gathering project, to be conducted in September. Among the locations where counts are to be done are Town Center Parkway, New Dominion Parkway, Fairfax County Parkway and the W&OD Trail in Reston. [Connection Newspapers]
Parkway Advisory Committee Needs Members — The objectives of the Town of Herndon’s committee are to identify current and future transportation impacts in the three jurisdictions; develop a proposed policy for council consideration for the use of the Herndon Parkway; and coordinate a list of concerns and proposed solutions for representatives of each jurisdiction to take to their respective government bodies. [Town of Herndon]
