Verity Commercial, a Reston-based company, was recognized by Inc. magazine as one of the fastest growing private companies in the country for the third time in four years.

The company, which is a real estate advisory and investment firm, was listed in the magazine’s Inc. 5000 list.

“Making our 3rd appearance on the most prestigious ranking for the nation’s fastest-growing businesses is incredible,” says Herm Diebler co-Founder of Verity. “Repeated success means we’re doing something right and our clients are experiencing long-term success using Verity’s approach. We wouldn’t be here without them.”

Verity was also given the 2019 ACE Business of the Year award by the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce. It was established in 2010.

The Inc. 500 list ranks businesses based on percentage revenue growth when comparing 2015 and 2018. Only companies that are U.S.-based, privately held, for profit and independent are considered for the list.

Photo via Google Maps

Tickets Open for 2019-2010 Professional Touring Artist Series — Members of the public can now purchase tickets for Reston Community Center’s professional touring artist series, which features best-selling authors, musicians, and other notable figures. [Reston Community Center]

A Recap of Totally Trucks — Reston Association crew members encouraged children and adults to climb their smaller and mostly off-road units at the 20th annual Totally Trucks event on August 1. [The Connection]

Public Interest Registry Has a New Chief Financial Officer — The Reston-based firm hired Laurie Tarpey as its CFO. She will expand the expertise of the company’s executive team and ensure the “the measured growth of the .org domain.” [Cision]

Photo by Dario Piparo/Flickr

Reston Community Center is in the midst of launching a community survey to help the center improve its services.

The survey, which went live today and is now available online, will explore how the community uses the center’s programs, faciliteis and services. It will also explore people’s opinions on a potential new performing arts venue in Reston.

The University of Virginia’s Center for Survey Research is conducting the survey, which will be available online through August 31. Selected Small District 5 households received a paper survey in the mail earlier in the summer.

“It has been 10 years since RCC did a comprehensive, scientific survey of its constituents. During that time, the population in Reston has changed and is expected to experience major growth as both new residents and businesses come to the part of the community that is now served by Metro’s Silver Line,” said RCC Executive Director Leila Gordon in a statement. “RCC wants to know how people recreate, enjoy arts and culture, obtain information about leisure-time options, and what they hope RCC offers – both now and in the future.”

After the survey is completed, the Center for Survey Research will analyze the survey and share results with the community and RCC’s Board of Governors. A full report will be issued in October.

Here’s more from RCC about the survey’s purpose:

“We want to understand the preferences and experiences of residents in Reston regarding leisure, recreational, and cultural activities. Specifically, we are interested in how people want to spend their leisure time, how they find out about leisure and cultural opportunities, and how people feel about the potential of a new performing arts center.”

All responses are anonymous and the survey should take between 20 to 25 minutes to complete.

In addition to the survey, RCC plans to reach out to Reston businesses and employees to gauge their opinions.

Photo via Reston Community Center

South Lakes High School to Begin Distributing Laptops — Distribution of laptops provided by the school system begins this Wednesday (August 7). Students must be present to receive the laptop, which is part of a recent initiative by the school system to give laptops to students across the county. [South Lakes High School]

Police Search for Missing Great Falls Man — Local police are looking for William “Billy Brener, an 83-year-old Great Falls Man who went missing over the weekend. Brener is roughly 150 pounds and has gray hair and brown eyes. [Fairfax County Police Department]

Silver Line Construction Prompts Closures — Access to several lanes and ramps will be limited this week due to ongoing construction, including Sunrise Valley Drive, Sunset Hills Road, and Herndon Parkway. [Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project]

Photo by Caroline Causey/Flickr

Students at Herndon and South Lakes high schools will go home with a school-issued laptop in the fall as part of a new countywide initiative when schools begins in late August.

Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) plans to issue a computer to all high school students in the county through FCPSOn. By 2023, all students in the county could go home with laptops.

School officials say FCPSOn will transform learning for students and educators by providing “equitable access to meaningful learning experience and technology to support their learning.”

“Devices will not replace teachers. Teachers are supported through ongoing, dynamic professional learning for teachers that will result in purposeful, collaborative student learning experiences,” FCPS wrote in a statement.

SLHS and HHS staff plan to distribute laptops during Teacher Advisory classes during the first week of school. A community meeting to discuss the initiative is planned for August.

The program requires an annual $50 fee for high school students. The fee covers technology support services and the potential costs of replacing equipment in need of repair.

FCPS also allocated $4.3 million in the fiscal year 2020 budget for the initiative. The budget was approved on May 23.

Students can use their own laptop instead of a county-issued laptop, but they must receive approval from their school to do so.

A pilot program first began in 2016 for schools in the Chantilly Pyramid.

More information about the rollout of the program in Reston and Herndon will be available over the summer.

Video via FCPS

Sissy Sheridan, a 15-year-old social media influencer, will perform in Baltimore in early August.

Sheridan, who has a combined following of more than 70,000 people, is set to perform at the Girls’ Life Fashion Bash on August 5.

She is known for hosting Nickelodeon’s web series “DIY with Me” and “Brat’s Chicken Girls.” She is also known for playing Angie in  “Chicken Girls,” a children’s web series. She also appeared on the Netflix show, “Maniac.”

The Girls’ Life Fashion Bash is a concert and fashion festival taht is organized by Girls’ Life magazine and iHeartRadio’s z104.3, according to its website. The bash will star Anna Cathcart, a Canadian actress, and Hayden Summerall, a singer and entertainer.

Photo via Sissy Sheridan/website

OS International Expands — The Reston-based company acquired Vykin Corporation, which specializes in communications, intelligence, and IT support to the intelligence community. The move is the company’s fourth acquisition in the past four years. [ExecutiveBiz]

LeaseAccelerator Acquires Australian Company — The Reston-based developer of enterprise lease accounting software acquiring Guardian Global Systems, which provides real estate administration software. [Potomac Tech Wire]

Summerbration Concert is Tonight — Cedar Creek offers a country performance with dance construction at Reston Station Plaza from 7-9 p.m. The concert is free and open for all ages. [Reston Community Center]

Photo via vantagehill/Flickr

Burglar Breaks into Business with Cinder Block — Local police believe Wilson Escobar, 27, of Herndon broke into a business on the 1100 block of Elden Street on Sunday, July 7 at around 4 a.m. Police said the suspect broke into the business using a cinderblock, took cash and cigarettes from the business, and fled from the scene. [Herndon Police Department]

Big Money for PROOF.VC — The strategic capital firm, which is based in Reston, has raised more than $50 million in its second fund. Its second fund topped the first. [Washington Business Journal]

Two Northern Virginia Credit Unions Merge — Northwest Federal, which is based in Herndon, merged with Constellation Federal, which has operations in Reston and Herndon. The new company will be called Northwest Federal. [Washington Business Journal]

Photo via vantagehill/Flickr

Global firm IDEMIA, a company specializing in augmented identity, officially opened today (Thursday). The company moved its North America & Security headquarters from Billerica, Mass. to Reston Town Center.

The move brings 90 new jobs to Reston. Gov. Ralph Northam announced IDEMIA’s move to Reston in December last year.

IDEMIA develops, manufactures and markets security technology products and services for the telecommunications, payments and identity markets.

It defines augmented identity as “identity that ensures privacy and trust and guarantees secure, authenticated, and verifiable transactions.”

Photo via  IDEMIA/Facebook

VAData Inc., an Amazon.com subsidiary, is moving to acquire a Herndon property from an affiliate of Perspecta Inc., the Washington Business Journal reports.

Although the transaction has not closed yet, the 57-acre site located at 13600 EDS Drive went under contract several months ago, according to the report.

The property has an assessed value of $80.7 million.

Future plans for the site are unclear, but sources told WBJ that demolition and data centers are anticipated.

Here’s more from the story:

The site has changed hands a couple of times over the years, but the family tree leads back to H. Ross Perot and his Electronic Data Systems Corp. EDS was acquired by Hewlett-Packard Co. in 2008. HP then spun off and merged its enterprise services business, including EDS, with Computer Sciences Corp. to form DXC Technology. DXC’s public sector business was then merged in 2018 with Vencore Holding Corp. and KeyPoint Government Solutions to form Perspecta.

When it was launched, Perspecta listed 13600 EDS as its primary corporate office, but it has since relocated its headquarters to Conference Center Drive in Chantilly. Perspecta continues to maintain a presence in the building, according to public filings. The property’s owner is listed in Fairfax County records as Enterprise Services LLC.

VAData is Amazon’s datacenter unit, which has been rapidly expanding in Northern Virginia.

Map via Google Maps

Herndon Police Department Investigates Car Crash — Local police are investigating a car crash that left the driver of the vehicle, a juvenile, dead on Sunday (June 9) at 2 a.m. The cause of the crash is unknown. Three passengers were transported to area hospitals where they remain in serious condition. [Herndon Police Department]

Democratic Party Primary Set for Today — Polls opened at 6 a.m. for the primary today. Five candidates are vying for the seat of Hunter Mill District Supervisor after veteran legislator Cathy Hudgins announced her intentions to retire earlier this year. [Fairfax County Government]

Farmers and Makers Market in Reston Town Center Today — The market, which runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today, features farmers and artisans selling a mix of items, including produce and vintage items. [Reston Town Center]

Local Company Works to Reduce Electric Vehicle “Range Anxiety” — Electrify America is expanding its partnership with Walmart to a create a cross-country network of fast-charge station for electric vehicle owners. The partnership aims to tackle “range anxiety” with 120 fast charging stations at Walmart stores in 34 states. [WTOP]

Photo via vantagehill/Flickr

FireEye, a publicly-traded cybersecurity company based in Silicon Valley, has acquired a local security company.

The company announced that it has required McLean-based security company Verodin.

A spokesperson for the company wrote the following about the acquisition:

In April, the company announced it was expanding its Reston footprint. Their offices are located at 11955 Freedom Drive… FireEye announced their continued expansion in the Reston area in April and has now taken another step towards establishing its dominance in the growing cyber security industry with the purchase of McLean, VA-based Verodin.  This acquisition will grow FireEye’s footprint in the tech corridor as the region continues to draw top-tier companies.  

Equipped with FireEye’s frontline intelligence, the Verodin platform will measure and test security environments against both known and newly discovered threats, empowering organizations to rapidly adapt their defense.  

The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

FireEye offers a single platform for organizations struggling to prevent and respond to cyber attacks. Since it was founded in 2004 by Ashar Aziz, the company has filed more than 150 patents for technology related to cyber threat protections.

The company also has offices in Alexandria, where FireEye’s cybersecurity consultants are located. Overall, the company has more than 7,700 clients in 103 countries.

Photo via FireEye

Work is underway on CoreSite’s data center campus in Sunrise Technology Park.

So far, the company, which has data centers across the country, has built a 79,000-square-foot data center. A 50,000-square-foot addition to the center is planned to be complete in the second quarter of 2019, according to Carole Jorgensen, CoreSite’s vice president of investor relations and corporate communications.

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved the company’s request to expand its Reston campus last August. Currently, two facilities called VA1 and VA2 are operational in Reston.

The company acquired the 22-acre office park in November 2016 from Brookfield Office Properties. The $60 million deal positioned the company to expand its footprint in Reston, which was an attractive alternative to Ashburn due to tax incentives and better commuting options, according to the company’s website.

The campus also gives CoreSite’s customers direct access to leading public cloud on-ramps, Jorgensen said. The location is also well-positioned to Washington, D.C. and network access points along the Eastern seaboard that enable networks, cloud providers and businesses “to scale, improve performance, and reduce costs,” she said.

Once completed, CoreSite’s Reston campus will total around 1.3 million square feet.

Photo courtesy CoreSite

How Reston Became the Place for Tech Expansion — “Sandwiched between major roadways within its close proximity to the nation’s capital, Reston has grown to become a noteworthy technology town in Northern Virginia. Located in an area often dubbed the “Silicon Valley of the East,” Reston continues to see significant growth in the technology sector.” [ICS Blog]

County Responds to Public Record Requests — The volume and complexity of Freedom of Information Act requests continues to increase. Last year, the county received 8,459 FOIA requests, an average of 34 requests per working day. [Fairfax County Government]

Flickr pool photo by vantagehill