Virginia officials are looking to ramp up COVID-19 testing efforts.

Gov. Ralph Northam has said that increasing testing capacity is key to determining when to walk back restrictions on businesses and large gatherings, WTVR in Richmond reported.

The article noted that Northam created a working group to address test backlogs, increase the number of test sites and tackle shortages of equipment needed for tests.

The Fairfax Health District, which includes Fairfax County and its towns and cities, has seen more than 13,000 test results, according to data earlier this week from the Virginia Department of Health.

Fairfax County has a list of resources for people seeking COVID-19 tests.

Let us know in the poll below if you have gotten a COVID-19 test.

If you live in Reston, Herndon or Great Falls and have gotten a test or plan to, please contact us at [email protected] if you are willing to share your experience for an article.

Photo via CDC/Unsplash

Today is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Instead of holdings strikes around the globe to advocate for climate change activism, the organization behind Earth Day is urging activists to participate in virtual events.

“On Earth Day, April 22, 2020, we have two crises: One is the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. The other is a slowly building disaster for our climate,” according to the Earth Day website.

Earth Day Live today is offering 24 hours of messages, performances and educational components, including appearances from Zac Efron and Al Gore.

While  Fairfax County’s 2020 Earth Day Festival has been canceled, there are still plenty of ways to celebrate virtually:

What on Earth are you doing on today? Make Earth Day special! Small actions by each of us today, and every day, can make a big difference. More on what Fairfax County is doing: https://t.co/kExoBYdyzd #EarthDay2020 #FCFRD @ffxgreen pic.twitter.com/CYudSfXHOE

— Fairfax Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) April 22, 2020

Let Reston Now know in the poll below if you plan to join Earth Day events:

RTC West — the suburban office park formerly known as Reston Executive Center — recently built a new office building and new retail tenants.

JBG Smith, the developer, has plans on the books to add six new buildings with up to 576 apartments at the corner of Sunset Hills Road and Town Center Parkway.

While there’s no sign of construction on the way, Reston Now readers and an inconspicuous lover of Mezzeh have noticed that the surface parking lot is often full — even on off-peak hours.

Others have also reported trouble navigating tight turns and the mix of parallel and perpendicular parking at the office park. The site also has two four-level parking garages.

A spokesperson for the company said JBG Smith has no updates to share about the project. Once built out, the project, which is opposite Reston Gateway, includes a 22-story trophy office building, two residential towers, and a one-story retail pavilion located on a common green.

JBG Smith will also build a new westbound lane on Sunset Hill Road that allows for right-hand turns into RTC West. On-road bicycle lanes to Sunset Hills Road and Town Center Parkway are planned as well. The developer is also pitching in land for a future four-lane underpass beneath the Dulles Toll Road that would extent Town Center Parkway.

While the project is less than a quarter-mile away from the future Reston Town Center Metro Station, we’d love to hear from you on how the parking situation at RTC West is faring.

Yes, we’re at it again.

Earlier this month, we asked our readers if they’ve noticed more airplane noise in the area. Most of you told us that you have but the Federal Aviation Administration doesn’t have an explanation. They say that there have been no changes in flight paths or altitudes in the last year.

During the course of the request for reader feedback, a number of you told us that you’ve noticed more airplane noise in the last few months, especially in South Reston.

While it’s normal to hear sporadic increases in helicopter noise due to police activity or checks by Dominion Energy, there’s a chance there could be more going on.

We’d love to hear more from you on this issue. Let us know what you think in the poll below and feel free to submit what you’re experiencing by emailing [email protected].

Please include a general description of where you live, when and if you started noticing changes, and if you can spot any details about the helicopter.

Photo via FCPD

People across the U.S. are expected to hit record levels for traveling this holiday season.

According to AAA, 115.6 million people across the U.S. will travel between this Saturday and New Year’s Day — roughly 104 million will drive while around 7 million flying and 4 million taking trains, buses or cruise ships.

For the D.C. area, AAA forecasts the worst travel day will be Thursday (Dec. 26) between 4-6 p.m.

“For the 104.8 million Americans traveling by automobile, INRIX, in collaboration with AAA, predicts only marginal delays throughout the holiday week,” according to AAA.

Let us know if and how you plan to travel this holiday season.

With Cyber Monday behind us, Giving Tuesday is in full swing. During this charitable day of giving, we would love to know how and if you plan to take part.

The movement was created in 2012 to encourage people to give back to their communities after a weekend of consumerism.

Let us know how you plan to participate in the poll below.

Photo via Kat Yukawa/Unsplash

Nearly half of all adults the United States say they’re trying to trim widening waistlines, but it’s unclear if that happens during annual Thanksgiving feasts.

On Thanksgiving, roughly 45 million turkeys will be consumed this year, according to the National Turkey Foundation.

Do you plan to embrace gluttony during your Thanksgiving meal or will you try to cut back this year? Let us know in the poll below.

Photo via Unplash

This week, students from Herndon and South Lakes High School are picking up laptops from their respective schools as part of the new county schools initiative “FCPSOn.”

Fairfax County Public Schools plans to issue computers to all high school students in the county through the initiative. It is meant to transform learning for students and educators by providing ““equitable access to meaningful learning experience and technology to support their learning.”

A $50 annual fee is required for the program.

As the initiative rolls out, we’d love to hear your thoughts on what you think of the program in the poll below.

Photo via FCPS/YouTube

Recently, Reston Town Center shed its iconic logo of the Mercury Fountain in favor of a more modern and simplistic design.

For weeks, Boston Properties and their public relations company TAA PR have been mum about the rebranding effort, as well as the latest on a planned renovation to RTC’s common areas.

In response to multiple requests from Reston Now, company representatives said they have some “exciting news to share” about the future of RTC in the coming weeks. In absence of hard details, Reston Now is turning to its readers to get their thoughts on what they think about the new logo and what message the new design seeks to convey.

RTC’s first logo features a line drawing of the 20-foot Mercury Fountain, which was designed by sculptor Saint Clair Cemin and anchors the pavilion. While the new logo retains the original blue palette, its circular form — with a ‘C’ rested in the center — lends itself to many interpretations.

A new crop of tenants are expected to open up in RTC by 2020, including Jinya Ramen Bar, The Candle Bar and Muse Paint Bar. The company also announced plans to renovate most of its gathering places in over the next several months. 

Until more details are made public, we’d love to know your thoughts about the new logo and the future of RTC in the comments below.

File photo

As we reported last week, two new Town of Herndon council members are exploring ways to beef up the town’s affordable housing policies for new development.

With several new major developments already approved by the town and more than 600 units in the pipeline, no units are set aside as affordable or workforce housing.

Town officials are beginning preliminary conversations to explore how and if the town should beef up its affordable housing policies.

Council members Cesar del Aguila and Pradip Dhakal say that one of the most lucrative options is for the town to seek state-enabling legislative that would gave it the statutory authority to administer an affordable housing program similar to the county’s process.

Others, however, caution that the administrative burden is far too hefty for the town to shoulder, especially since town officials already maintain the town’s existing affordable housing stock.

What policy instruments do you think the town should explore? Let us know in the poll below.

Photo via Town of Herndon

Reston Association’s covenants department is working on ways to streamline the way it handles daily activities and spend more time on neighborhood inspections.

At a meeting on Thursday, June 13, RA’s Design Review Board and Board of Directors will meet to discuss possible changes to its current operations.

As we head into the work session, we want to hear about your experiences with RA’s home resale and covenants process. We are accepting responses via email at [email protected].

Also, readers are welcome to share how their experiences with the covenants process has been in the poll below.

Photo via Jill Silton

Since late last week, festival-goers had the chance to enjoy the annual Herndon Festival at a new location.

The festival left its home in downtown Herndon — which was slated to be a construction site by the time the festival came around — for the Northwest Federal Credit Union this year.

Construction is expected to begin soon after plans for downtown were approved in mid-May by the Town of Herndon’s Heritage Preservation Review Board.

It’s unlikely the festival will return to its home in downtown Herndon.

The redevelopment of the town’s core likely will not have enough open space to make the festival happen.

Here’s some more information from the Town of Herndon:

“Once the redevelopment project is complete, town staff will assess what new events or activities will be appropriate and attractive to the community. The Herndon Festival, as we know it today, likely will not return to the downtown area, due to the loss of the open space to host the carnival and considerable number of vendor, sponsor and volunteer booths required.”

Nonetheless, Reston Now wants to know which location you prefer for the festival. Let us know your thoughts below.

Photo via Town of Herndon

Last week, we learned that Boston Properties plans to upgrade Reston Town Center’s common areas.

The company will pour in about $5 million to upgrade several areas in order to “soften existing spaces” and modernize the town center, according to a representative for CBRE, who represents the property in lease deals.

While Reston Now hasn’t heard back from CBRE, Boston Properties about what’s planned, we would love to know what kind of improvements our readers are most looking forward to.

Plans are still in the design phase, but the company has already hinted at what could be coming. No changes to parking systems are proposed.

RTC-goers, please let us know your thoughts below.

File photo

After bouts of snow hit Reston last month, the winter weather is finally on a vacation.

Forecasters expect temperatures to possibly reach 60 degrees for today (Feb. 5), Thursday and Friday in the Reston area.

The warmer weather doesn’t plan to stick around, though.

The Capital Weather Gang tweeted that snow might make a comeback in the D.C.-area on Sunday night. (And while the famous groundhog Punxsutawney Phil predicted an early spring on Feb. 2, meteorologists and statisticians point to his track record of inaccuracies.)

Let us know if your weekday plans are influenced by the forecasts.

File photo

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.