Rainy Walk Raises More Than $30K — Despite heavy rain, Mayflowers Floral Studio’s annual Walk to Help the Homeless raised more than $30,000 for Cornerstones last week.
Police collect Nearly 2,000 Pounds of Unwanted Meds — Fairfax County Police collected leftover and unused prescription meds at police substations on Sept. 26. Citizens turned in 1,900 lbs. of drugs, which were disposed of properly, police said. [Fairfax County Police]
Red’s Table For Lunch — New South Lakes Village Center dining spot Red’s Table will be open at 11 a.m. for lunch beginning today. The restaurant will also serve weekend brunch (Saturdays at 11 a.m.; Sundays at 10 a.m.)
SLHS Football is 4-1 — The Seahawks topped Washington-Lee 28-2 on Friday. [Reston Connection]
Photo: Mayflowers Walk/Credit: Chip McCrea
Prieto Executed Thursday — Alfredo Prieto, convicted in 2010 for a 1988 rape and double murder near Reston, died by lethal injection at Virginia’s Greenville Corrections Center. There was a last-minute restraining order to investigate the drugs used in the execution, but it was lifted by a judge Thursday evening. Prieto was also on death row in California and accused of as many as 10 murders. [Washington Post]
One Woman Show — Herndon’s NextStop Theatre is presenting No Spring Chicken, a one-woman show about being pregnant at 40. The production, written and performed by Ginna Hoben, is art of the Women’s Voices Theater Festival. [Washington Post]
Big Kids Sale — United Christian Parish Preschool, 11508 North Shore Drive, will be holding its annual Children’s Yard Sale, Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. to help fund the school’s scholarship fund. Lots of toys, clothes and other kid items.
Beware of Paving Scam — Fairfax County Police warning residents to beware of hiring two companies for paving work. [Fairfax County]
Light The Night Still On For Saturday — Officials from theLeukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Light The Night walk Saturday at Reston Town Center says the walk is on, rain or shine. Participants have already raised close to $545,000. [Light The Night]
Reston Regional Is 30 — Reston Regional Library is celebrating its 30th anniversary Saturday with a family friendly celebration, including music, a balloon artist and face painting. [Reston Now]
Songs of Freedom, Faith, Friendship — More than 165 singers from three choruses will join voices at “Wade in the Water: Songs of Freedom, Faith and Friendship” on Oct. 10, 4:30 p.m., at Reston Community Center Hunters Woods. Participants from Mosaic Harmony, The Reston Chorale and the Senior Choir of Shiloh Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. are dedicating the performance to the late Reston founder Bob Simon and his “commitment to establishing Reston as an integrated community created the beautiful place we call home.” [Reston Community Center]
Absentee Balloting Now Open — Fairfax County absentee voting is now underway by mail or in person. [Fairfax County]
Report: Actually, Suburban Office Parks Are Fine — A new Boyd Co. report bucks the trends that say suburban office parks are a thing of the past [Washington Business Journal]
Car Taxes Due Oct. 5 — It’s that time of year again. Virginia car taxes are due. Pay online by following this link. [Fairfax County]
Reston 2020: County Should Pull Back on Proposed Density Increases — Advocacy group Reston 2020 says that proposed Fairfax County density guidelines “offer the Board of Supervisors essentially unchecked authority to increase density to FAR 5.0 in these districts, including all the County’s transit station areas and several other categories of planning and zoning areas.” [Reston 2020]
Shrek: The Musical Coming Soon — Meet the cast of the Reston Community Players Production, which opens on Oct. 16. [DC Metro Theatre Arts]
Terraset ES Creates Monarch Way Station — Check out this hands-on outdoor learning project in Reston. [You Tube]
Silver Line Phase 2 Construction To Impact Centreville Road — Construction of the next phase of Metro will impact Centreville Road in Herndon 15-20 nights over the next eight weeks. [Washington Post]
Help Wanted at GRACE — Greater Reston Arts Center needs a weekend gallery assistant [GRACE]
Step Up To The Barre — Modern Reston checked out classes at Pure Barre Reston. [Modern Reston]
ID Issue — Virginia driver’s licenses alone may not get you through airport security next year. [WTOP]
More HHS Tributes — Bands from high schools in Stafford County paid tribute to the three Herndon High Class of 2014 grads (and former marching band members) who were killed in an August car crash in Texas. [Herndon Patch]
Free Bus Rides Today — Taking Fairfax Connector Tuesday? It’s the bus service’s 30th birthday and rides are free. [Fairfax Connector]
Remembering Former Herndon Band Members — A fundraiser was held at Woody’s Golf Range in memoriam of the three former Herndon High band members — Holly Novak, Kyle Mathers and Dale Neibauer — who were killed in a car crash in Texas in August. Proceeds benefitted a new HHS scholarship in their names. [Herndon Connection]
Walk To Help Homeless People — Mayflowers Floral Studio at Reston Town Center will host its fourth annual lunchtime walk to benefit Cornerstones this Thursday. [Cornerstones]
FCPD Investigation — Fairfax County Police are investigating an officer’s use of a stun gun during an arrest last week. The incident took place in the Alexandria area of Fairfax County. [Washington Post]
Kudos For Reston Companies — Three Reston-based companies, Dimension Data, Knight Point Systems, and Ventera Corporation, were among 13 area firms selected as 2015 CARE (“Companies As Responsive Employers”) Award winners by the Northern Virginia Family Service. Companies are awarded for family friendly policies, benefits and community involvement.
Shutdown Looming? — Fairfax County leaders talk about what a government shutdown may mean for Fairfax County. [Washington Business Journal]
Football Friday — South Lakes (2-1)is home against McLean. Herndon (2-1) hosts Chantilly. Games begin at 7 p.m.
Artificial Turf Getting A Second Look, But Not In Fairfax — Crumb rubber turf fields are getting some backlash for potential cancer connection, but Fairfax officials say fields will stay as is until more research is done. [Washington Post]
Get On The Bus — To celebrate its 30th birthday, Fairfax Connector is offering free bus rides on Tuesday, Sept. 29. Connector officials say they want to encourage more residents to take the bus instead of driving. [Fairfax County]
Photo: Morning sky in Reston/Credit: Ken Plum
SLHS Golf Kudos — South Lakes High School sophomore Kurtis Grant won the Liberty Conference Golf tournament at Herndon Centennial Golf Course on Monday and Tuesday. Grant shot a 71 and a 70 to move on to the Northern Region tournament Oct. 6 7. Senior Nick Kim also placed as a medalist and will participate in Regionals. The Seahawks finished third overall.
County Names New CFO — Fairfax County has a new Chief Financial Officer. Joe Mondoro was appointed CFO and director of the Department of Management and Budget (DMB) by the Board of Supervisors at Tuesday’s meeting. Mondoro had been the acting CFO and director of DMB since April and prior to that was deputy director of DMB since 2004. He has worked for the county since 1995.
Library Sale Underway — The Reston Friends Semi-Annual Book Sale starts today and runs through Sunday. Come to Reston Regional to browse thousands of great books in great condition covering all genres. Proceeds benefit Friends of Reston Regional, which sponsors library programs. Hours: Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m.to 5 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Sunday, Noon-3:30 p.m.
Candlelight Vigil for Robert Simon- A candlelight vigil in memory of Reston founder Bob Simon will be held at Lake Anne Plaza on Friday at 6:45 p.m. The first 300 people to attend will receive a vigil candle. Members of the Reston community have also created a website to share pictures and memories of Simon. [Reston Now, Will Marlow]
A Prayer for the Metro- A change.org petition is circulating around the D.C. Metro area asking Pope Francis to bless the Metro. The transit system has been struggling with issues all year, including a derailment earlier this summer. [Change.org]
More Delays for Metro?- Speed restrictions on the Blue, Orange and Silver Lines may cause delays for Reston commuters. These delays will coincide with the Pope’s arrival in D.C., which may cause Metro backups due to the amount of people entering the District to see the head of the Catholic Church. [Twitter]
Fairfax Leaders Voice Concerns Over I-66 Tolls- The Board of Supervisors plans to send a letter to Virginia Secretary of Transportation Aubrey Layne with their concerns about tolls on I-66 during rush hour. One of the questions is how the tolls will affect traffic by Dulles Airport and on local roads. [WTOP]
Reston Says Goodbye to Bob Simon- Reston founder Robert E. Simon passed away at his home on Monday. He was 101. People have already started to lay flowers at his statue in Lake Anne Plaza, despite evening rain. Rep. Gerry Connolly and Sen. Tim Kaine issued statements offering their condolences. [RestonNow, Facebook, Twitter]
Plane Pull Rakes in Donations- Over 80 teams participated in the 23rd annual plane pull at Dulles Airport, raising $290,000 for Special Olympic Virginia. The winning team pulled a 12-ton FedEx cargo plane 12 feet in under five seconds. [InsideNova]
Absentee Voting Started This Week- Fairfax residents can turn in an absentee ballots at the Fairfax government center (12000 Government Center Parkway) until Oct. 31. Mailed absentees ballots must be received by the Office of Elections by Oct. 27 at 5 p.m. [Fairfax County]
Reston and Sequestration – If the federal government has to undergo automative budget cuts, there will be large effects on Fairfax County said Board of Supervisors Chair Sharon Bulova. [Washington Business Journal]
FCPS Sets Free and Reduced Meal Policy- Fairfax County Public Schools announced its free and reduced meal policy last Friday, Sept. 18. Families can apply for free and reduced meals through applications sent home with students. FCPS will determine eligibility based on household income and size. [FCPS]
Virginia Unemployment Rate Decreases- The Virginia unemployment rate decreased for the second month in a row. The rate in August was 4.5 percent, 0.3 percent lower than in July. [Office of the Governor]
FCPS Must Invest in Kids — In an op-ed, Fairfax County Public Schools Board Chair Pat Hynes (Hunter Mill) and Mason District rep Sandy Evans say the county needs to properly fund schools to do the right thing for students and the community needs to speak up. [Washington Post]
Crystal Ball Commute — Transportation experts look at the area commute in 2040. [Washington Post]
Free Breakfast Friday — McDonald’s restaurants in the Washington D.C. area are offering free Egg McMuffins to kids in Kindergarten through eighth grade today. Students must be accompanied by an adult to participate and the offer is valid in-restaurant only. Reston’s McDonald’s is at 11265 Roger Bacon Drive.
Photo: Bald eagle on Reston electric wires in Reston/Charlie Bobbish via Twitter
Uber, Lyft Get New Rules At Dulles — Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority says it will allow services to operate at D.C.-area airports, with MWAA-issued permits. [Washington Business Journal]
GoFundMe For Reston Trash Founder — Friends and customers of John Hasle, the longtime owner of Reston Trash who announced this week he is closing his business for health reasons, have started a fund to help with his expenses. [GoFundMe]
Teeny, Tiny Park — Fairfax County Park Authority will turn a parking spot at its headquarters into the county’s smallest park for one day on Friday as park of PARK (ing) Day, a global initiative. [Fairfax County Park Authority]
Amar Speaks Out on Ovarian Cancer — Chilli Amar, on-air personality at 97.1 radio and emcee of the annual Virginia Polar Dip at Lake Anne, shares her story of upcoming surgery to prevent hereditary ovarian cancer. [Washington Post]
Kiddie Kudos — Julie Julius, Director at the Kiddie Academy of Reston, was recently honored as New Director of the Year award by Kiddie Academy, a national childcare and education company. Kiddie Academy says “parents consistently share that Julie’s warmth and respectful interactions with them and their children makes them truly feel valued and a part of the Kiddie Academy community.”
What’s Killing These Area Fish? — A Reston resident calls in authorities after discovering a fishkill near Lake Fairfax Park. [Fairfax Times]
Nearby: Plane Pull is Saturday — The annual Dulles Day Plane Pull and Family Day is Saturday. The event — teams try and pull an Airbus 12 feet — raises money for Special Olympics. Registration is still open. [Dulles Day]
‘Bird in the Hand’ Movie — There will be a screening tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Bow Tie Cinema of Bird in the Hand, a movie by Reston filmmaker Rebekah Wingert-Jabi about sculptor Patrick Dougherty, who created the public art of the same name at Reston Town Square Park. A talk with Doughtery and Wingert-Jabi follows the film.
Park Results Are In — Fairfax County Park Authority recently conducted a user survey, which showed, among other info, that 87 percent of county residents report regular park use. The system earned lower marks in patron satisfaction. [Fairfax County Park Authority]
Local National Merit Semifinalists — Four from Herndon High School and two from South Lakes High School are among Fairfax County’s National Merit Semifinalists. [FCPS]
66 Goes High Tech — New sensor, camera and computer system goes into effect on Wednesday to help manage traffic inside and outside the Beltway. [Washington Post]
Fairfax Times Has New Website — Weekly paper’s site was offline for a few weeks to undergo a makeover. [Fairfax Times]
ChalkFest’s Best — Check out the winning murals from the weekend’s ChalkFest at Reston Town Center. [Facebook]
ChalkFest 2015 photo by Chip McRea
