Board Cites Lack of Funds for School Renovations
Aging schools collide with increasing student enrollments.
While the 2015 to 2019 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) passed at the Fairfax County Public School Board meeting on Thursday, Jan. 3, many board members expressed concerns with the program.
Jim Moran: The $15 Million Congressman
During his years in Congress, Moran raised and spent about $1 million each campaign cycle.
One of the first things that happened after U.S. Rep. Jim Moran (D-8) announced he would not be running for reelection this year was that he cancelled a fundraising event.
Ted’s Bulletin To Open at Reston Town Center
Family-owned restaurant opens Jan. 30.
On Jan. 30, the restaurant Ted’s Bulletin at 11948 Market Street will open at 7 a.m. to the public. “Ted’s is going to be a favorite in Reston Town Center,” said waitress Rachel Dillon. “We can modify any food order, and we are very customer friendly. It is a family-based business,” said Dillon. The restaurant is at the location of the former Uno Chicago Grill, and it is the first in Virginia. Owners Mark and Ty Neal, also behind DC's Matchbox restaurants, named the restaurant after their father, a West Virginian who was the unofficial "cook of the neighborhood." The restaurant chain, known for their comfort food and homemade pop tarts, will open another site in Merrifield.
Families Spend Snow Days Together
With Fairfax County Public School off for most of the week, residents skate at ice rink.
Reston residents seemed to enjoy some time off after Northern Virginia was hit with about six inches of snow on Tuesday, Jan. 21. With Fairfax County Public Schools and many offices closed from Tuesday to Thursday, Fairfax County residents were able to take a few days off to rest. Most stayed in on Tuesday, as roughly six inches of snow came down and covered the roads.
Freezin’ for a Reason Returns Feb. 1
It’s time for the mid-winter tradition when hundreds of individuals dressed in crazy costumes will converge on Lake Anne Plaza in Reston for the 7th Annual Freezin’ for a Reason Virginia Polar Dip on Saturday, Feb. 1. The event will kick off at 1 p.m. with family-friendly activities and warm-up — with the dip scheduled to take place starting at 2 p.m. Each year the event draws record crowds of both spectators and jumpers raising more than $70,000. Registered participants will take a chilly full dive or a “Chicken Dip” to raise funds for Camp Sunshine, a national year-round retreat for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families.
STITCH Art Exhibit Opens at Reston GRACE
New exhibit displays the art of needlework.
“I am really thrilled with the level of artists we were able to bring to this exhibition,” said Holly McCullough, executive director and curator of exhibitions at the Greater Reston Arts Center (GRACE). “The work is such varied interpretations of needlework that it makes you rethink your preconceptions of what needlework is … the artists reverse our expectations of the medium.” The exhibit STITCH is a group exhibition of needlework and its incorporation into forms of contemporary art. On Thursday, Jan. 16, an opening reception at the GRACE art gallery was attended by many of the exhibiting artists. “Negative space often plays a role in my work,” said Pam Rogers, a resident of Bethesda, Md. “I make my paint out of soil in minerals in my art work … often I sew into the work, creating new planes, repairing embellishing the images.”
Winter Fun for All in Reston
Try these fun ideas for food, fun and entertainment around Reston during the colder months.
Just because it’s cold out doesn’t mean resident have to stay indoors. Reston has much to offer for families during February and March, with everything from plays, musical performances and art workshops to new restaurants and wine tastings at Reston Town Center. Here are some ideas to get started:
Overdue Ethics Reform
Commentary
For the first time in a history that goes back to Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson, a Virginia governor has been indicted on federal corruption charges. Although information on the activities of the federal grand jury had been leaking out for many months, the former governor and his wife who was indicted with him and their stable of taxpayer-paid-for attorneys were able to stave off the formal indictment until he left office. But the alleged wrong doing took place while he was in office during which time he and the first lady accepted a total of at least $165,000 in cash, loans and lavish gifts from the CEO of a diet supplement company.
’80s Day
Sponsored by the SCA, Lake Anne Elementary School.
Proposed Art in Silver Line Keeps Communities in Mind
Planned public art to be displayed at Silver Line station on Jan. 23.
WMATA Presents Proposals for Silver Line Public Art in Reston Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has unveiled its plans for public art to be placed outside of metro stations built in Phase I and Phase II of the Silver Line project. Among the proposed projects are a colorful, light-reactive glass display outside of the Tysons Corner station by Philadelphia artist Ray King; a series of lighted metal and concrete columns at the Greensboro station by Iowa artist David Dahlquist; and a 30-foot tall, light-integrating metal work by Arizona artist Barbara Grygutis for the Spring Hill station. The proposed display for the Wiehle–Reston East station will feature blue and orange mirrored panels of stained glass by New York artist David Wilson. The panels, designed with a relaxed feel, will appear around the walkways to the station over the Toll Road.
Classified Advertising January 22, 2014
Read the latest ads here!
Into the Budget Fray
Bulova highlights accomplishments, challenges in annual address.
Despite the lingering impact of an anemic economy, and the regional ripple effects of federal sequestration, Fairfax County residents will see some concrete signs of progress this year.
Editorial: Extend Health Coverage in Virginia
Standing on what is essentially scorched earth, Republicans in the Virginia General Assembly have condemned hundreds of thousands of poor Virginians to living without health coverage even though it would be fully funded by Federal money for the next three years, and with Virginia paying 10 percent after five years.
Friends Forever
Since it had been more than a few months, today I summoned up the courage to Google my long-time friend and fellow stage IV lung cancer survivor, Suzanne. Suzanne and I had been years out of touch (for no real reason other than initiative and the geographic consideration that she lived in Barnstable, Ma. and I live in Burtonsville, Md.) and recently back in touch – due to our identical cancer diagnoses. I learned that she had succumbed to her disease back in October, 2013. We last had contact electronically back in the summer. She was extremely weak then, she said, too weak to talk, so e-mailing was best. In that e-mail, ultimately her last, she wrote that the most recent chemotherapy drug with which she was infused was no longer effective and that her oncologist had no other drugs left to recommend. Not that she said it in so many words, but at that point her prognosis was grim. She offered that her two boys were with her and from them she would gain great comfort. The news was very unsettling to me and I was afraid that this e-mail might be our last – and so it was.
Reston Residents March to Commemorate King’s Legacy
Community joins together in weekend of music, fun, and community service.
Reston resident Denver Lovett was part of the first March on Washington on Aug. 8, 1963, while he was a student at Howard University. He also attended the 20th, 30th, and 50th anniversaries of the event in Washington D.C. But this past Sunday, Jan. 19, Lovett had a chance to spend the day marching with his Reston neighbors for a half-mile beginning at Lake Anne Village Center to commemorate the historic day. “If you get a lot of individuals taking action and trying to change things rather than sitting around complaining about how bad things are, it can create a powerful movement for good,” said Lovett.
Commentary
Independent Progressive/Master Plan for Transit Station Areas — Outgunned
It never looked like a fair fight. In the fall of 2009, when Hunter Mill Supervisor Cathy Hudgins assembled her Task Force of 25 or so to prepare a Comprehensive (Master) Plan for the Dulles rail corridor, it was clear the community was at a disadvantage. A handful of Reston volunteers faced a phalanx of hired gun slingers, men (100 percent men!) representing commercial developers and their lawyers. The gunslingers were pros doing their jobs, unified in a clear sense of purpose — to maximize profit. Most had worked “community” task force gigs before and knew the county staff advising the Task Force. None lived in Reston.
Richmond Diary
Governor McAuliffe Sets the Stage
Each year the Governor of Virginia addresses a joint assembly of the House of Delegates and the State Senate in a speech not unlike the President’s State of the Union address except that the Governor provides a “State of the Commonwealth” as well as his recommendations for legislative action. Last week I heard the 35th such speech since I have been a member of the House of Delegates. I think Gov. Terry McAuliffe made the best of any of the speeches I have heard over my career in the legislature.
‘Helping Hungry Kids’
Saturday food drives at Herndon and Reston grocery stores provide weekends meals for area students.
Every Saturday leading up to Feb. 17, customers walking into the Fox Mill and North Point shopping center Giant grocery stores will be able to provide food for hungry elementary school children in Herndon and Reston. The Helping Hungry Kids program kicked off its Stuff the Bus food collection program Jan. 18, at area grocery stores, complete with shopping carts and a stack of food ready to be purchased for generous customers. Volunteers at the front of the store handed out flyers to customers and asked them to help by purchasing $11 bags filled with child-sized portions of items like macaroni and cheese, granola bars and sugar-free applesauce. “A lot of the people who come here just take the bag and prepare it themselves,” said Colleen Cavitz, a Chantilly resident who has been volunteering each month for three years.
Broadway Night Comes to South Lakes High School
South Lakes students prepare for musical show.
This past weekend students in the South Lakes High School were rehearsing and preparing for the ninth annual Broadway Night show at 7 p.m. Jan. 24-25 (weather depending) at the school’s Little Theatre. Cast and crew were at the school making sure everything was ready for opening night. “This is my first year doing costume design, but my third year doing production for the play,” said South Lakes senior Allison Scheler.