Column: 2014 Great Backyard Bird Count—In Reston
In case you missed it, the 17th annual Great Backyard Bird Count took place Feb. 14 to the 17th. This 4-day event takes place in February every year across the county—and last year saw participation expand into 110 other countries. This amazing example of citizen science in action engages birders of all ages in a count that helps create a real time snapshot of bird populations just before birds start their migration back to the north.
Delegates Rust, Plum Provide Richmond Updates
Delegates Tom Rust (R-86) and Kenneth Plum (D-36) recap successes and missed opportunities in the first part of this year’s General Assembly session.
Herndon and Reston Delegates Tom Rust (R-86) and Kenneth Plum (D-36) ended the first half of the 2014 General Assembly session happy with the House of Delegates’ passage of transportation, education and absentee military voting bills. Tuesday, Feb. 11 marked the "crossover" point for this year’s General Assembly session, when both houses of the General Assembly must vote on all non-budget related legislation or allow those bills to die.
Reston Home Sales: January, 2014
In January 2014, 53 Reston homes sold between $970,000-$110,000.
Reston Home Sales: January, 2014
Money on the Shelves: Jurisdictions Take Variety of Approaches to Funding Libraries
Some have recovered from the recession, others are still struggling.
What is the future of the neighborhood library?
Residents Discuss Route 7 Widening, Effects on Neighborhoods
Great Falls and Reston residents discuss how Route 7 construction would impact their neighborhoods.
Great Falls and Reston residents met at The Grange in Great Falls on Tuesday, Feb. 11 to voice their concerns about the 6.9-mile project along Route 7 that will widen the road from four to six lanes. A presentation led by Great Falls Citizens Association board members went into great detail about the impending changes to each intersection along the stretch, extending from Seneca Road at the edge of Reston to Jarrett Valley Drive just before Tysons Corner.
The Bird Feeder Celebrates Anniversary
Owner Roger Ritter has helped Reston’s bird and wildlife lovers with their needs for two decades.
When Roger Ritter and his wife Gail opened The Bird Feeder in Reston in 1993, they filled a consumer niche for a community of fellow bird and wildlife lovers in Reston.
Proposed Art in Silver Line Keeps Communities in Mind
Planned public art to be displayed at Silver Line station on Jan. 23.
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.
Bursting Virginia's Bubble
To the Editor: For the past four years, we Commonwealth citizens have enjoyed prosperity recorded by few states. We have had four years of state budget surpluses, the lowest unemployment rate in the surrounding states and the District, the most business-friendly state east of the Mississippi, much safer healthcare facilities for the women, and we were protected from attacks on our freedoms by an all-intrusive Federal Government. We had a strong Attorney General, who learned in the Constitution fought to allow Virginia to keep the constitutional rights the states reserved for themselves. These performance metrics did not happen accidentally. It took the leadership of a Governor and General Assembly working together to bring the best (if not perfect) government available. Sure, one can argue Virginia was helped by a bankrupting Federal Government spending program. We will eventually pay the price for that.
Family Fitness Night at Lake Anne Elementary
Family Fitness Night at Lake Anne Elementary School (LAES) in Reston on Thursday, Feb. 6, meant lots of family fun, as well as the opportunity for parents to spend a little quality time with their children getting some health and wellness tips, and joining them in completing the more than thirty exercise challenges set up for them in the school’s gym.
Southgate Saturday School Begins Sixth Year of Arts, Science Programs
Southgate Community Center partners with Hunters Woods Elementary and the Potomac Academy to bring arts and science education programs to 4-6th graders.
On the morning of Saturday, Feb. 8, about 50 Hunters Woods Elementary School students got out of bed for a surprising destination at Southgate Community Center: Saturday School. Since 2009, Southgate Community Center has collaborated with Hunters Woods Elementary and George Mason University’s Potomac Arts Academy to provide weekly sessions in visual arts, music, theater, and science to 4-6th graders. The program invites between 40-50 students each winter to join.
Leave It to the Feds
Despite Virginia’s historic antipathy toward the federal government, the Commonwealth has nonetheless historically ceded decisions to federal authorities on major issues on which the state had been unwilling to move forward. Another issue is about to fall into this category: same-sex marriage.
Column: Closing the Income Gap
Between 2007 and 2012, the median wages of Virginia’s highest income earners rose by eight percent while the lowest income families’ wages shrank by 10 percent, according to an analysis by the Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis. The gap between the haves and the have-nots continues to widen in Virginia as it has throughout the nation. A growing underclass of unemployed, under-employed and under-paid creates a challenge for the state and the nation. Too many people are faced with the monthly decision of paying for the rent, utilities, food, prescriptions and school supplies without enough money to cover them all. Public and private relief organizations are strained to keep their food pantries and clothing closets stocked to meet the increased demand.
Column: Jim Moran—Straight Talking Progressive
Congressman Jim Moran (D-8) announced last week that he will not seek re-election in 2014. He is retiring after 22 years on the Hill. He is the senior Virginia Democrat on the Hill, and is one of only two solid progressives from Virginia. The other is Rep. Bobby Scott.
McLean, W-L Gymnastics Teams Qualify for Regionals
Highlanders win Conference 6 title, W-L runner-up.
W-L, McLean gymnastics finished 1-2 at regionals the last two years.
Nine Candidates Vying for Attention in 8th Congressional District Democratic Primary
Race to replace Jim Moran is expected to be competitive and expensive.
It's been three weeks since longtime U.S. Rep. Jim Moran (D-8) announced that he would not be seeking a 13th term in Congress, opening up an epic primary fight that is now starting to take shape.