This is a commentary from Del. Ken Plum (D-Fairfax), who represents Reston in Virginia’s House of Delegates. It does not reflect the opinion of Reston Now.
On March 26, Senator Janet Howell and I will meet with constituents at the Reston Community Center at Lake Anne from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. to discuss the outcome of the 2018 General Assembly session. No pre-registration is required. Come with your questions and suggestions or just come to listen to the discussion. While the biggest issue of passing a budget will not be resolved by that time, we will give you the insights we have going into the Special Session scheduled for April 11.
There were areas of slow but positive movement coming out of the regular session. The threshold limit for felony larceny was raised from $200 to $500. The lower amount was catching an unreasonably large number of young people in felony crimes for fairly minor offenses. The change was supported by all the faith and human rights communities with most favoring an even higher threshold amount of $1,000 to $1,500. The newer amount will mean fewer young people, particularly minorities, will face prison time for offenses that in most other states are considered lesser crimes.
Progress was made on reducing “the classroom to prison pipeline” whereby children with misbehaviors were sent into the judicial system for actions that are best handled in the schools as acts of juvenile misbehavior and not crimes. The number of suspensions that schools are permitted to make has been limited. Where such programs have been instituted with appropriate level of resources, the instances of misbehaviors go down and fewer children are incarcerated. Appropriate early intervention is a good investment to save money and to save futures of the young people involved.
It took Virginia until 1952 to ratify the amendment granting women the right to vote although by 1922 the amendment had sufficient states to approve it. The Equal Rights Amendment has yet to receive ratification by a sufficient number of states to add it to the Constitution, and once again the Virginia General Assembly refused to ratify it. A bill to exempt feminine products from the sales tax was defeated, but a bill to ensure that women prisoners were provided such products did pass.
Dozens of gun safety bills were defeated with minimal consideration as were bills to allow guns in places of worship. A bill to approve a “Stop Gun Violence” license plate for motor vehicles passed, and these plates will be available from the Division of Motor Vehicles later this year.
Numerous “dog and cat” regulatory bills were introduced as they are each year. A bill to outlaw tethering of dogs was defeated by legislators from the rural areas of the state.
An effort to outlaw the use of handheld devices while driving was unsuccessful because of a concern on the part of some delegates that such a law would simply provide police officers with an additional opportunity to profile drivers and to pull them over. I continue to support limitations on the use of handheld phones while driving.
And there were many more lesser bills. Check out the entire list at lis.virginia.gov or at pilotonline.com.
Reston Association Board of Directors meeting today — The board will vote on a move to build in stricter financial controls following a third-party review of RA’s controversial purchase of the Tetra property. The meeting will be streamed live on YouTube. [Reston Now]
Tolls could take a toll – Be prepared for hiccups in your commute. Upgrades to the tolling system on Dulles Toll Road could lead to detours and delays over the next six months. [WTOP]
Congrats to South Lakes High School athletes — Several local students are considered the D.C. area’s best winter sports athletes. Make Reston proud. [The Washington Post]
Metro resumes normal service today — Regular weekday service will resume today. County schools are closed and county government offices are open, with the option of unscheduled leave. [WMATA]
Reston Community Center programs are cancelled — All RCC programs and co-sponsored programs are cancelled today, although RCC facilities will open today. [RCC]
It’s cleanup time — Volunteers are needed for the annual Potomac River Watershed cleanup on April 14. Make an impact today. [Reston Association]
Photo by Twitter user @jgs3584
Maysoon Zayid, a professional comedian and disability activist, will perform at Reston Community Center on Saturday, March 31 at 8 p.m.
Zayid has performed in New York Clubs and was a headliner on the Arabs Gone Wild Comedy Show and The Muslims Are Coming! — a documentary that follows the attempts of American Muslim comics to combat prejudice and misconceptions of Islam through humor.
In 2013, she was selected as an honoree for the United Cerebral Palsy of New York City’s Women Who Care Awards. She was also a full-time on-air contributor on Countdown with Keith Olbermann.
The show is recommended for adults ages 18 and older. Attendees under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Tickets are $15 for Reston residents and $20 for all others.
Teens can save money this prom season by attending the Annual Diva Central Prom Dress Giveaway at the Reston Community Center Lake Anne.
The event will be held on March 24 (Saturday) from noon until 6 p.m. The free event is open to all middle and high school students who are in need of a prom or spring formal dress and accessories. There is a limit of one dress per person.
RCC opened up donations for dresses and accessories in February and received hundreds of dresses. Volunteers will be available to help teens select their perfect prom or formal look, and a makeup artist will also be available from 4 to 6 p.m.
“School dances are becoming increasingly expensive experiences for middle and high school students. We hope to lessen that financial burden by giving local teens the opportunity to create their entire prom or dance look for free,” said LaTanja Jones, RCC’s collaboration and outreach director, in a press release.
Photo via Reston Community Center
Trace the story of the Blind Boys of Alabama, a legendary gospel quartet that blossomed after its members met in the 1930s at a segregated, state-run institute for the blind, this Sunday at Reston Community Center.
As part of the ReelAbilities Film Festival, an offshoot of the New York film festival, CenterStage will show the film, “How Sweet the Sound — The Blind Boys of Alabama,” at 3 p.m. at RCC Hunters Woods.
The documentary is directed and produced by Reston’s own Leslie McCleave. The independent filmmaker graduated from Herndon High School and was raised in Reston. The screening will be followed by a conversation with McCleave, who currently teaches film and video production at Emerson College in Boston, Ma.
The festival, run by the Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia, features films by and about people with disabilities. Screenings will take place at several venues throughout Northern Virginia.
Sunday’s screening is restricted to viewers ages 18 and above.
For more information about other screenings, visit the festival’s website.
A Reston resident will lead RCC Cycles, a program by Reston Community Center that aims to teacher riders of all ages the fundamentals of cycling.
Kelley Westenhoff, a certified cycling instructor, will teach three-hour sessions for students age 13 and up on April 8 and 29 and sessions for students between ages 6 and 12 on April 21 and May 5.
The cost, which includes rental of a bike and the use of a helmet, is $65 for Reston residents and $98 for all others. Each class is limited to 10 students.
For more information, visit RCC’s website. Registration is available online.
Here’s more from a release by RCC:
Topics addressed in class will be basic braking, steering and balance. Westenhoff is a cycling advocate and serves as vice chair of the Reston Bicycle Club. Her technique, certified by the League of American Cyclists, is intuitive and will take students through a progression of skills to launch participants on their way to riding with confidence.
RCC Leisure and Learning Director Eileen Boone said RCC Cycles was started last year in order to support Reston’s growing cycling opportunities, including the many miles of bike trails and the new Capital Bikeshare stations.
“For those who haven’t had the opportunity to learn, this class is a great start down the healthy road of cycling for fun and transportation,” said Boone.
Photo via Reston Community Center
This March nine Reston schools will showcase art from students at the Reston Community Center Lake Anne and Hunters Woods locations.
The exhibits are a part of Youth Art Month, a national observance organized by the Council for Art Education, which has been celebrated since 1961.
Works by students from Aldrin, Armstrong, Dogwood, Forest Edge, Hunters Woods, Lake Anne, Terraset and Sunrise Valley Elementary Schools will be showcased at RCC Lake Anne from March 3 to April 2 in the Jo Ann Rose Gallery and 3D Gallery. A reception will be held March 11 from 2-4 p.m.
Works from Langston Hughes Middle School will also be on display at RCC Hunter Woods from March 1-31.
The mediums used by students in kindergarten through eighth grade include watercolor, chalk and oil pastels.
“This is my absolute favorite time in our exhibition schedule,” wrote RCC Arts Education Director Cheri Danaher in a press release. “We are able to celebrate the work of our students and the importance of art education in our schools and community at large.”
Photo by Reston Community Center
Reston double murder hearing closed to public — A hearing in the case of a teen charged with killing a Reston couple before Christmas will be closed. The defendant’s attorney said the case would feature “sensitive” information about the 17-year-old suspect. [The Washington Post]
Give your dresses away — Tomorrow is the last day to drop off donations for the Diva Central Dress Drive. Donated dresses and formal wear will be offered to local tweens and teens as dance season swings in. [Reston Community Center]
Calling all women pioneers — The Reston Historic Trust & Museum wants you to nominate women pioneers of Reston. Selected individuals will be honored in mid-March. [Reston Historic Trust & Museum]
Jeopardy question features Reston — A question on the show references Reston. A spokesperson for a fire and rescue service department in Maryland gave the shoutout on Twitter. [Pete Piringer]
Photo by Fatimah Waseem
Tennessee Williams’ “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” will be gracing the Reston Community Center’s CenterStage from March 9 through 24.
The play, performed by the Reston Community Players, tells the story of Brick Pollitt, an alcoholic and former high school football player, and his wife Maggie. When the two join the rest of the Pollitt family for Big Daddy’s 65th birthday, a story of survival and family dysfunction emerges at the Southern plantation.
“Cat is one of my favorite stage productions, and it is an honor to bring these characters to life at Reston,” said Sharon Veselic, who directs the show, in a press release. “While the story takes place in the 1950s, many of the dynamics of the personalities portrayed on stage are still relevant today. It’s a true classic.”
The show is presented through an arrangement with Dramatists Play Service on behalf of the Sewanee: The University of the South.
Tickets are $23. To purchase, contact the box office at 703-476-4500 or go online. The play is recommended for ages 16 and older for adult themes and brief nudity.
The Reston Historic Trust and Museum will host a panel tonight exploring whether Reston is living up to founder Bob Simon’s goal of being a diverse place.
The panel of speakers will include residents who have lived in Reston for different periods of time. Panelists are Beverly Cosham, Victoria Cosham-Rivera, Omer Gorashi, Gerald Zavala and Anthony Zavala.
The event is free and will run from 7-9 p.m. at the JoAnn Rose Gallery at the Reston Community Center Lake Anne.
One of Simon’s goals was to ensure individual dignity was the focal point of all planning.
“We are interested in not only the experiences of the early pioneers, but also the experiences of those who grew up in Reston, those who came later and their children’s experiences, and the impressions and experiences of those who are the more recent members of our community,” organizers said in an Facebook event page.
The award-winning dance performance titled “What’s Going On – The Marvin Gaye Project” will be coming to the Reston Community Center tomorrow.
Choreographed by Vincent Thomas, Ralph Glenmore and Sylvia Soumah, the show will feature modern, jazz and West African dance looking to incite “thoughtful engagement with audience members,” according to Reston Community Center’s website.
“What’s Going On” also won Best Dance Performance in Baltimore magazine last year. For the award Baltimore magazine said, “Thomas found the perfect muse in Marvin Gaye, bringing this legendary soul singer to life in a breathtaking production.”
Tickets for Reston residents will cost $20 and $30 for all others.
Photo Courtesy Dance Place
As prom season approaches, Reston Community Center is participating in its 16th annual Diva Central Dress Drive.
Beginning today through Feb. 28, the center will collect gently-used formal wear, including dresses, shoes, jewelry, handbags, scarves, shawls and accessories, at its Hunters Woods and Lake Anne locations.
RCC is accepting donations between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays. All donations are tax-deductible.
Donations should ideally be no older than five years old and dry cleaned before donation. If items cannot be dry cleaned, RCC staff should be notified during drop-off.
At a giveaway on March 24, dresses will be given to Reston-area middle and high school students. This year’s event will take place from noon to 6 p.m. at RCC Lake Anne (1609-A Washington Plaza).
Diva Central aims to promote self-confidence by providing dresses to students, including middle schoolers who participate in school dances.
Eileen Boone, RCC’s leisure and learning director, said the drive will help alleviate the financial burden often experienced by local teens as they prepare for school dances.
“We hope to lessen that financial burden by giving local teens the opportunity to create their entire prom or dance look for free,” she said.
For more information or to volunteer, contact LaTanja Jones, RCC’s Collaboration and Outreach Director at 703-390-6158 or LaTanja.Jones@fairfaxcounty.
Photo via Reston Community Center
Reston Community Center is welcoming one of its own to head the aquatics department.
Matthew McCall, a 41-year-old South Lakes High School graduate, takes over the role of Joe Leary, who retired last year after working for RCC for 27 years.
“I was amazed at how much Reston has grown over the years but excited to learn that the same principles and values of inclusion and caring are still so evident here,” said McCall.
McCall graduated from SLHS in 1995 and competed for the school’s swim team. His first aquatics job was as a lifeguard for Reston Association.
He swam collegiately at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky and received a bachelor’s degree in history from Virginia Commonwealth University. He previously held aquatics leadership positions in Orlando with Walt Disney Company and St. Peters Rec-Plex in St. Peters, Missouri.
At the center, he was the recreation leader for aquatics in a center with a 50-meter indoor pool and a diving facility that hosted the 2004 U.S. Olympic Diving Trials.
McCall said he hopes to encourage more people to swim through his position. “Our goal is to give every child in Reston that skill,” he said.
In a statement, RCC executive director Leila Gordon lauded McCall’s “incredible enthusiasm.”
“I am sure his expertise is going to lend itself to future success in the renovated Terry L. Smith Aquatics Center,” she said.
Photo via Reston Community Center
(Editor’s Note: This is just a limited list of all the events taking place in the Reston area this weekend. If you have an event you would like to ensure is listed on the website, be sure to submit it to our Events Calendar.)
- Take a splash with the family at The Terry L. Smith Aquatics Center at RCC Hunters Woods tonight from 7-9 p.m.. Cost for a group up to 5 people is $13 for Reston families and $24 for non-Reston families.
- Not up for a swim? Relax and watch an environmental documentary that organizers said, “address[es]local environmental issues, challenge[es] us to think globally and celebrate[s] the natural world around us.” The film is free with $5 suggested donation and will screen from 7-9 p.m. at the Walker Nature Center tonight.
- Start planning your summer at the Reston Camp Expo on Saturday from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.. There will be snacks, music, games, prizes and resources on registration dates and camp requirements.
- As Groundhog Day approaches, spend the day at Frying Pan Farm Park and visit a groundhog burrow, learn groundhog facts and do other fun activities. The event runs from 2-3:30 p.m. on Sunday and tickets cost $8 per person. You can register for the event here.
- Spend your Sunday evening listening to Bluegrass band Mile Twelve at Frying Pan Farm Park. The concert is a part of the Bluegrass Barn series at Frying Pan’s Visitor Center and tickets will cost $18 per person and $20 at the door. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show starts at 7 p.m.. You can register here.
- All weekend foodies can enjoy discounted meals at four Reston restaurants as a part of this year’s Metropolitan Washington Winter Restaurant Week. Restaurants will offer $22 three-course lunch and brunch menus as well as a $35 three-course dinner menu. The following Reston restaurants are participating: McCormick & Schmick’s (11920 Democracy Drive), Morton’s The Steakhouse (11956 Market Street), The Melting Pot (11730 Plaza America Drive) and Passion Fish (11960 Democracy Drive).
- Check out the recurring art exhibit “Paulina Peavy: A message to Paulina” this weekend at the Greater Reston Arts Center. Peavy was a trained artist who believed an alien controlled her brush after she attended a seance in 1932. Peavy’s mediums include paper, paintings, films, texts and numerous masks.
Photo via Frying Pan Farm Park
From a performance on multiculturalism to a seminar on brain health, there’s a lot to do in Reston this weekend.
- Children can let their imaginations go wild at Box-A-Rama on Saturday. At the event from 9 a.m. through noon at Reston Association headquarters (12001 Sunrise Valley Drive), children can play with boxes of all sizes. All children must be accompanied by parents and caregivers. Tickets are $10 for RA members and $15 for all others.
- An open house is set for The Lake House (11450 Baron Cameron Avenue) on Saturday from 2 – 4 p.m. Enjoy light refreshments and talk to staff about the multipurpose uses of the space.
- At Reston Regional Library on Saturday, enjoy the movie “Guardians of the Galaxy,” from 2 – 4 p.m. as part of the library’s series on movies that began as books. The event is open to teenagers and adults.
- The American Association of Retired Persons is hosting a brain health seminar at Reston Community Center (2310 Colts Neck Road) on Saturday from 11 a.m. to noon. To register call 703-390-6157 or email karen.brutsche@fairfaxcoun
ty.gov. - Join the Greater Reston Arts Center and Reston Community Center on Saturday at 5 p.m. for an exploratory weaving workshop. Students will leave with a completed wall hanging. Tickets are $45 for Reston residents and $55 for all others. Register online.
- In a concert about friendship and multiculturalism, Mohammed Bilal and Josh “Boac” Goldstein use their friendship to actively challenge the American notions of black and white, Jew and Muslim, and urban and suburban. The performance, “The Color Orange,” will take place at CenterStage (2310 Colts Neck Road) on Sunday at 3 p.m. Tickets are $15 for Reston residents and $20 for all others.
- On Sunday, watch 20 local figure skaters perform at the Reston Town Center Ice Skating Pavilion (1818 Discovery Street). The National Skating Month Exhibition will take place from 7:15-8:45 p.m.
- The Capitol Steps, a popular Washington-based music and satire troupe, will perform at the Hyatt Regency Reston (1800 Presidents Street) on Sunday at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m. Proceeds will go to Cornerstone. Purchase tickets online.
- Reston artist Rudy Guernica’s exhibit, “Lost in the Woods,” will be in the Jo Ann Rose Gallery at Reston Community Center Lake Anne from Jan. 9 through Feb. 4.
- In this exhibit, Paulina Peavy’s work will be on display through Feb. 17 at Greater Reston Arts Center. Peavy gave up control of her brush to an alien entity named Lacamo after attending a seance in 1932. Her work includes paintings, films and texts that she used to better channel Lacamo’s energy. A talk by GRACE’s executive director Lily Siegel is set for Saturday at 3 p.m. at the center.
(Editor’s Note: This is just a limited list of all the events taking place in the Reston area this weekend. If you have an event you would like to ensure is listed on the website, be sure to submit it to our Events Calendar.)
Photo via Reston Community Center
