Breaking: Referendum Required for Awesome Brown's Chapel Park Rec Center, Now Just Apparently an 'Idea'

Someone call the 2024 Summer Games organizing committee: It turns out the Reston Association will have to have a fun referendum, after all, to transfer land in Brown's Chapel Park and allow the construction of the proposed $65 million rec center there.

In a statement to members of the Board of Directors of the Reston Association and the community, Reston Association President Robin Smyers said if the association conveyed any community common property to another entity, then members would have to approve the conveyance in a referendum.

That determination came after Reston Association’s General Counsel Kenneth R. Chadwick was asked to review the association’s governing documents and other relevant materials to determine if RA leased or transferred land to another entity for a potential indoor recreational facility.

In her prepared remarks at Thursday's RA Board meeting, Smyers said the proposed rec center, which has already been the subject of nearly a year's worth of meetings between the RA and RCC and already has a name and some fancy architectural sketches, is just "an idea."

Welcome to the regular May 2009 meeting of the Board of Directors. We have a busy agenda tonight so I will keep my remarks focused on one topic—-the IDEA of an indoor recreational facility.

Let me state very clearly that while there has been much talk about decisions already made and the location a foregone conclusion—that is NOT accurate. We have many ideas and you will hear and see the history of the concepts of additional indoor facilities, some stand-alone RA initiatives, and how we arrived to the point of working with RCC, when you attend one of the meetings in your district. The dates are posted on our Web site. They will be announced in the local papers and through our e notices system. You can sign up for that on our website as well. I encourage you to do so, not just for these updates for regular information from RA.

There have been many questions about the process should the community input determine that we would move forward with any plans for a year-round facility. One of the major questions is whether a referendum by Reston Association would be necessary should the plans involve the conveyance of RA common area property for use as a site for an indoor recreational facility.

Any time we consider any method of conveyance of RA common property the research would have to been done, whether it was leasing, selling, donating, etc. At last week’s RCC Finance Committee I was criticized by many in the audience for saying I was not at liberty at the time to comment on the referendum question. What many in our community do not understand is the process we must go through as a board and our fiduciary responsibilities representing the Association.

The Board requested our General Counsel, Ken Chadwick, to thoroughly review our governing documents, and any other applicable documents, as they relate to conveyance of Reston Association common area property, with no consideration on specific locations, but under the concept of moving forward working with RCC on a joint effort. Mr. Chadwick has completed his review. This is the first time we as a Board are meeting in public since we received counsel’s findings. At this time we are able to make this announcement to our community members. In summary, he found that a referendum would be required if RA sought to convey any common area property to any other entity, including RCC.

I say again that no decisions about a facility, location, or programs have been made. Neither of the individual boards has even voted on whether we will move forward on this joint concept. This process will take both organizations well in to this fall as to our joint partnership, then in to 2010 before we are able to make a decision to take any concept facility to referenda. Ultimately it is expected to be 2011 before we will be able to go to any vote, where everyone will have the opportunity to participate. We have heard from many in our community, but want to make sure there are many opportunities for as much participation and input as possible.

Thank you.

Just an "idea." That's kind of like that time on Dallas when TV's delightful Patrick Duffy was told the entire previous season was just a dream.

This and That: A Random Traipse Through Reston News

• Hey now, the Reston Community Center just wrapped up the celebrations of its 30th anniversary not just by getting embroiled in a controversial building project, but also by having TV's Mandy Patankin come sing.
  
• Speaking of controversial building projects, an "experienced journalist" has finally weighed in on recent developments involving the $65 million roller rink. The best revelation? The reason that RCC couldn't move the large numbers of people who came to speak at the "community input" session that wasn't a "community input" session into a larger meeting space was, according to RCC executive director Leila Gordon, because those evildoers at the Sierra Club had reserved the bigger room and then didn't even show up to use it! Which leads us to ask: Why does the Sierra Club want to cut down a bunch of trees?
  
• Reston Hospital Center parent HCA has been trying to build a hospital in Loudoun County, but county supervisors there told them they prefer cheap particleboard housing. So now HCA is opening what it calls the "Ashburn Education Center" for all the breeders in the aforementioned particleboard housing. Analysts say this move translates roughly to "suck on it, Inova."
  
• The undercapitalized Reston-based Greater Atlantic Bank has been told by the feds to go sell itself.
  
• The fancy new farmer's market that opened in Reston Town Center last year did poorly because no one knew there was a park amidst all those tall buildings. Now it's in a more central location and doing better.
  
• Reston homebuilder Comstock Homebuilding's CFO, Bruce Labovitz, has struck out for greener pastures.
  
• And who says the commercial real estate market is moribund? The fancy Monument III building in Herndon just sold for $50.6 million. Oh, wait -- it actually was "transferred to the note holder in a deed transfer in lieu of foreclosure." That's the next best thing.
  

Brown's Chapel Rec Center: 20 3 questions

Amidst all the usual solicitations for male enhancement pharmaceuticals and financial partnerships with Nigerian widows, we received a piece of "electronic mail" from the Reston Association today, sharing the schedule for community meetings about the awesome $65 million rec center proposed for Brown's Chapel Park in North Reston, now widely believed to be the frontrunner to host the 2024 Summer Games. These four meetings, according to the "electronic message," will revolve around these three questions:

1. What do you think about the idea of a year-round recreational facility in Reston?

2. If you support the idea, what kinds of services would you like to see? What are your questions?

3. If you’re not supportive, what are your concerns?

Actually, that appears to be four questions, but who's counting? Anyhoo, here are the times and locations for the meetings.

Hunters Wood/Dogwood District, hosted by Cheryl Beamer, RA Secretary & District Representative
Monday, June 22, 2009
7-9 p.m.
Hunters Woods Elementary School cafeteria
2401 Colts Neck Road, Reston

North Point District, hosted by Frank Lynch, District Representative
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
7 - 9 p.m.
Armstrong Elementary School cafeteria
11900 Lake Newport Road, Reston

Lake Anne/Tall Oaks District, hosted by Robin Smyers, RA President & District Representative
Thursday, July 9, 2009
7-9 p.m.
Lake Anne Elementary School cafeteria
11510 North Shore Drive, Reston

South Lakes District, hosted by Kathleen Driscoll McKee, RA Vice President & District Representative
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
7 -8:30 p.m.
Sunset Hills Montessori School assembly room
11800 Ridge Heights Road, Reston

Sadly, there's no word in the "electronic message" on whether spokespuppies will be allowed to voice their opinions.

Meeting on Crime Held at Site of Recent Crime Offers New Information on Another Recent Crime

One interesting thing came out of the community meeting on crime that was held at the scene of a recent crime a week or so back: It turns out police now believe that the April 18 murder of 26-year-old Jose Luis Ordones Aguilar of Reston was domestic in nature.

During the meeting local police addressed concerns of a recent murder and higher numbers of larceny cases. Many in attendance wanted to know more about the murder that occurred on April 18 on the pathways off of Colts Neck Road near the Hunters Woods Village Center.

Reston district station Lt. Commander Andy Hill said police believe the murder was domestic in nature and not gang related. Police are still seeking information in the case. Since the murder police have been patrolling the area including the pathways and providing safety information to those who frequently walk on the pathways, including trying to stay off of them after dark.

Hill said often those who are attacked or assaulted on the pathways are assaulted by acquaintances. He said many times an investigation determines that the victim, the suspect or both have been drinking and are under the influence. He said when someone walks on the pathways and they have been drinking they become easier targets for criminals looking for the opportunity.

In other words, if you get drunk and decide to go on an inebriated moonlit stroll on Reston's beautiful paths and happen to see someone you know, RUN!

The 40-plus folks who attended the meeting at Southgate Community Center sponsored by Fairfax County Supervisor Cathy Hudgins asked if the pathways could get more lighting, so people can more readily identify the acquaintances preparing to rob them:

Hill said although the police can provide recommendations for lighting on the pathways, it is up to the community, Reston Association and the county to use them or not.

Hill said often community members do not want the light pollution from the extra lights and funding is difficult to find. Hudgins said Reston Association is looking at lighting the entrances to the pathways, but cost is one of the biggest factors.

In other words, no fancy streetlights for you! On the other hand, if it's a rec center or shiny new headquarters building you're looking for....

Reston Association Headquarters: Bob Simon Singlehandedly to Find Place for All Those Filing Cabinets

Wouldn't this lovely parking lot be a lot more fun if it was a building where you'd go to pick up your pool passes or challenge the lien slapped on your house for using white decorative stone in the front yard? Probably not, but we've got to hand it to Bob Simon. While all the drama over a shiny new RA headquarters building was coming to a head, he kept pointing out that the association would best serve itself and the community by helping jump-start the much-needed revitalization of Lake Anne by moving its offices there. And now that all the attention's shifted to another little-discussed building project, Simon's still out there, advocating for a common-sense approach:

Since before a referendum that sought money to buy a new Reston Association headquarters failed in late April, Reston founder Bob Simon has been looking for ways to bring the association to the Lake Anne Village Center.

"It would get RA where it belongs, in the heart of Reston," Simon said at a meeting of the Reston Community Reinvestment Corporation (RCRC) last Thursday, where he sought an endorsement of his latest plan. Moving the association to the historic development would begin the long-discussed process of revitalizing the lakeside community, he said.

SIMON’S STRATEGY to make this happen would involve the RA swapping the land it owns at Lake Anne — about three noncontiguous, wooded acres — for a piece of property that would likely be smaller, on which to build a multi-story building. This would eliminate land costs. Simon suggested swapping with a landowner like Millennium Bank, which owns a large piece of the parking lot at the village center.

Simon said consultants working on the county-owned Crescent Apartments property across North Shore Drive appeared to want to integrate the parcel with the rest of the Lake Anne redevelopment area, "so the parking problem, which is paramount, can be alleviated on those 16 acres." He said he hoped most of the parking would be underground and primarily on the Crescent property.

Asked if he thought putting the parking across the street would be feasible, Simon said, "It works all over the world. Walking 100 yards? Yes."

Makes sense--except maybe for the parking question. Most people won't walk 100 feet from their cars, and that's to obtain 72-ounce fountain drinks from convenience stores. Other than that, though, the idea's been enthusiastically received. Right?

Ultimately, the reinvestment corporation, which had already formally stated its support for the idea of putting the association’s next headquarters at Lake Anne, passed another, more generic resolution than Simon’s plan, urging the Reston Association, the county and Lake Anne landowners to cooperate swiftly to develop a home there for the association.

Okay. But how about the RA? Surely they'd tolerate another few years in their current building for the long-term benefit of the community. Right?

RA President Robin Smyers said renegotiating the lease would only be viable if it were a stopgap measure with a permanent solution being readied.

Simon offered to renegotiate the lease himself but did not receive a definitive response.

SMYERS said a committee had just been appointed to examine all options for the next headquarters, and it had been tasked with considering Lake Anne among those. "We would look at any and all options," she said, adding that she personally would like to see the headquarters moved to Lake Anne.

Smyers said she was fairly certain that swapping RA land would require a vote on a referendum, and Kurt Pronske wondered if that would prove politically feasible.

"Whatever we’re doing here is politically unfeasible," Simon said. "We know that. Whatever’s good is bad."

Wow. "Whatever's good is bad." That's almost as good a slogan as "A Built-Out Community Called Reston."

Fairfax County Times Sold, AKA News About 'Experienced Journalists' We Wouldn't Understand

Apparently some "experienced journalists" bought a "news-paper" that was run by other "experienced journalists." This stuff is obviously too complicated for mere "web loggers" to understand, but we'll try.

Times Community News, the publisher of the Loudoun-Times Mirror and other community newspapers, sold the Fairfax County Times to Maryland-based Gazette newspaper group May 19.

The Gazette is a large chain of community newspapers that is part of the Community Newspaper Group of Post-Newsweek Media Inc., a division of The Washington Post Co. The sale goes into effect June 1.

"Our company is extremely happy with the outcome and regards this as a win-win for all," said Peter Arundel, president and publisher of the Times-Mirror. Arundel added he has no plans to sell the Times-Mirror.

Times Community News actually got its start here in Reston, back when it was called the Reston Times, and eventually grew to encompass a bunch of weekly newspapers covering Fairfax County before the crappy economy and the industry's general malaise prompted TCN to consolidate its papers into a county-wide edition last fall. The paper's new parent company is owned by the Washington Post Co., so we can look forward to more stories with big words like "trepidation" that no one but "experienced journalists" can understand, the end.

Brown's Chapel Rec Center: We Get Letters, or at Least Postcards

This attractive "post card" depicting happy would-be patrons of the proposed $65 million rec center slated to be built at Brown's Chapel Park in North Reston was delivered by a uniformed federal agent to Restonian World Headquarters the other day. It seems that the Reston Association and RCC have decided to accommodate large crowds at the next two public hearings -- on June 1 and June 15 -- by holding both in a room with a capacity of 400, as opposed to the broom closet used for the last "community input meeting" which, as it had to be explained to us since we are not "experienced journalists," wasn't actually a "community input meeting," but something else entirely.

So yay! Postcards! This same approach was also used to "remind" people to vote for the awesome RA headquarters proposal, and we all know how well that worked out.

In the meantime, scores fives of people have responded to RA President Robin Smyers' earlier comments on this site, including an equally detailed rebuttal by Peter Greenberg, one of the early opponents of the project, in the comments below. All joking aside, Smyers deserves credit for attempting to make her case to an audience that, based on comments on this filthy "web log," could charitably be described as "skeptical." Let's hope that both boards now actually listen to the crowds that show up at these two meetings, and not just skulk outside in the hallway.

This Week in Crime: Locker Room Hijinks at South Lakes Lead to Criminal Charges

All the coming-of-age movies like Porky's we watched as teenagers lied to us: Monkeying around in girls locker rooms can lead to criminal charges:

A 15-year-old Reston boy was arrested for touching a female student inappropriately at South Lakes High School on May 6. The 15-year-old Reston girl involved was in a girls' locker room at about 10:25 a.m. when the boy walked in and began talking to her. She asked him to leave but he refused.

She asked him to leave again and he asked for a hug. As they hugged he reportedly touched her inappropriately and she pushed him away. She tried to leave the locker room but the boy prevented her from walking out and touched her inappropriately again. The girl was able to exit the locker room and school personnel were notified. An investigation led to the boy's arrest on May 8 and he was taken to the Fairfax County Juvenile Detention Center and charged with abduction and misdemeanor sexual battery.

Never Forget

On this Memorial Day, let's not forget the three Restonians who gave their lives serving our country in Iraq since 2004:

• Sgt. Scott L. Kirkpatrick , 26, of Reston; Army, Iraq, Aug. 11, 2007
  
• Staff Sgt. Nathaniel J. Nyren , 31, of Reston; Army, Iraq, Dec. 28, 2004
  
• Lance Cpl. Tavon L. Hubbard , 24, of Reston; Marine Corps, Iraq, Aug. 11, 2004
  

Brown's Chapel Rec Center: For the Record

Reston Association President Robin Smyers has responded to recent blog posts and comments about the $65 million rec center proposed for Brown's Chapel Park. Below is her unedited response:

Dear Restonian,

Most often, we at the Reston Association avoid providing a platform for negativity. Further, since the Restonian is a blog and not written by an experienced journalist, the blog is by design, opinion and not fact.

However, we feel compelled to address the errors in your recent posting, Brown's Chapel Rec Center: A (Sort of) Shocking Revelation.

Let us state the facts.

1. No decision has been made with regard to the building of an indoor recreational facility in the Reston community.

2. There is no plan to put anything at Brown’s Chapel. That just one of many, many ideas put forth in discussions. Over the years, Reston Association has also discussed covering tennis courts, had one of our larger pools enclosed for a number of years. Anyone who attends any of the four community listening and informational sessions will see all the ideas be strongly encouraged to share their ideas.

3. We want to hear from the entire community – not just the small, vocal faction that boasts it says no to just about every forward thinking idea.

4. There will be four district meetings during June and July for the express purpose of gathering information from the community. Those meetings will be announced as soon as all the locations are confirmed.

5. The questions asked at those meetings will focus on what the community, as a whole, thinks of the idea of an indoor facility and what services and resources are needed.

6. Reston Association is in no way trying to circumvent any process that leads to garnering public opinion. This includes, but is not limited to holding a referendum.

7. In fact, RA’s General Counsel has been investigating whether a referendum would be required and as of Monday’s meeting, he had not released an official ruling. If one is required and IF we get to the point of moving ahead with an indoor recreational facility, the Reston Association would certainly welcome additional community input.

8. Anyone who looks at the promotion for the May 18, 2009 meeting will realize it was a regularly scheduled meeting of the RCC Finance Committee, with an opportunity for public input and not a “community input” meeting.

9. Monday’s meeting was held in a small room and many, many people stood outside in the hallway. Reston Association CEO Milton Matthews was among the many, many people who stood outside in the hallway. By his own words, Mr. Matthews engaged in several conversations covering many topics. “I never mentioned that I did not want to go inside the room, nor did I state that RA was looking for ways to avoid a referendum,” Matthews said.

10. Last time we checked, laser tag was an amusement and is therefore not one of the needs expressed in the many surveys of the Reston community by the county.

11. By examining the language of the Restonian, one quickly realizes there are only suppositions, opinions and hearsay presented as facts. There are many references to “someone” and “someone was told by an eye witness.” But those are not facts. Facts rely on data and first-hand accounts that are attributable to a person with a name. Facts are what we have presented here.

12. You are invited to the RA Web site and to sign up for enotices, where you can have a real voice and learn the real facts. Attend the meetings where you can engage in respectful, civil dialogue.


Robin Smyers, President
Reston Association
www.reston.org

Yes, this is a "web log" of opinion. And for the record, #10 was a joke. So, too, were previous comments about competitive hang gliding, roller derbies, and combat-style chess/knitting arenas being among the features being considered. We somehow doubt anyone took those comments seriously.

We, too, are big fans of "civility," and we're actually encouraged by Smyers' attempts to explain the RA's side of the story. But even "experienced journalists" have expressed concern about the way this process has been handled to date. So along with civility, we'd encourage transparency from all parties involved.

K? We now return you to your regularly scheduled jokes about earth-toned 60s architecture and DRB violations.

Brown's Chapel Rec Center: A (Sort of) Shocking Revelation

We're hearing more eyewitness accounts of Monday's "community input" meeting about the proposed $65 million rec center/ laser tag arena RA and RCC are angling to get built at Browns Chapel Park in North Reston. Some attendees are now alleging that the Reston Association is now seeking ways to circumvent the referendum process:

Throughout the evening RA CEO Milton Matthews stood outside the room in the hall trying to be as anonymous as possible. At one point someone asked him "are you beginning to understand the level of opposition and anger you will be facing". His answer was "no, I'm in the hall, I can't hear a thing and I'm not going into that room." Ironically, it was Matthews, in a conversation that he had with someone outside of the meeting room, who provided the most shocking information of the evening. When asked whether the community would have a final say, like a referendum on the transfer of RA land (Brown’s Chapel Park) to the county he said that RA's legal counsel was looking into ways that they could transfer the land and avoid a referendum. In the meeting itself someone asked RA President Robin Smyers whether there would be a referendum and she evasively stated "I'm not at liberty to say at this time".

Funny, that they claim no decisions have been made and they want community input and yet before they have even scheduled the first community input meeting they are already looking into ways to avoid letting the community decide through a referendum.

We are shocked -- just shocked! -- that RA would try to find a way to circumvent the referendum process. After all, it worked so well for them the last time around, when they wanted a shiny new building for their filing cabinets.

Anyway, please to be enjoying this video we found on the YouTubes that must have been smuggled out of the meeting at considerable personal risk to the cameraman.



Sadly, the spokespuppy is nowhere to be found.

This Week in Crime: Something's Fishy in Reston

The wheels of justice turn slowly, especially in the nefarious false-fish-labelling racket. Nearly six months after being found guilty of marketing mislabeled fish fillets, pretending that some imported fish called "Pangasius hypothamlus" was, in fact, "flounder," a Reston man has been sentenced to probation for his role in the tasty caper.

A Virginia man has been sentenced to more than five years in prison for importing and mislabeling frozen Vietnamese catfish as flounder and other fish to avoid U.S. import tariffs.

District Judge Philip Gutierrez also on Monday ordered Peter Xuong Lam of Fairfax, Va., to pay $12 million to the government as reimbursement of the tariffs. A second man, Arthur Yavelberg of Reston, Va., was sentenced to probation for his role in the scheme.

U.S. Attorney Thomas O'Brien says companies operated by Lam and Yavelberg imported $15.5 million worth of catfish that was illegally labeled and imported as sole, grouper, flounder, snakehead, channa and conger pike.

Mmmmm... conger pike. Anyhoo, the jury had convicted Yavelberg of marketing the fillets without necessarily knowing they had been mislabeled. As we said then, perhaps labeling the fish "The Best of Lake Anne" was the dead giveaway.

This Week in Crime: More on bank robber arrests, but still no word on previous incidents

Fairfax County Police have identified the man arrested in yesterday's attempted robbery of the BB&T in Franklin Farms and his accomplice, but it's still not clear if they were involved in earlier acts of derring-do and poor planning.

Two people have been arrested in connection with the bank robbery that occurred yesterday.

Kind of a Bonnie and Clyde situation, only not as glamorous.

Brown's Chapel Rec Center: Puppy Cruelly Denied Entrance to RCC "Community Input" Session, Bipedal Speakers Permitted to Complain

The Reston Association and Reston Community Center finally got themselves some of that "community input" they claim to crave about their plan to build an awesome $65 million rec center / Wimbledon replica at Brown's Chapel Park during an RCC meeting Monday. How'd that turn out, gang?

What started as a low-key fact-finding mission flared into a full-scale revolt May 18 when nearly 250 people packed the Lake Anne Community Center to voice their displeasure to the Reston Community Center's finance committee.

Over the course of two hours, 43 of 45 speakers ripped the project for, among other things, hurting property values, destroying open space, and disproportionately taxing Reston residents for a facility that's just as likely to be used by people with Herndon, Great Falls and Oakton addresses.

Project officials were also criticized for failing to thoroughly explore options beyond Brown's Chapel, a 22-acre park that now contains three baseball fields, a basketball court, exercise trails and tot lots.

One well-received suggestion involved building an indoor pool at South Lakes High School and covering the school's five tennis courts with a bubble or more permanent structure. Others pointed to vacant parcels of commercial land around Reston that could satisfy the community's need for more meeting space without knocking down a single tree or compromising home values.

“They woke a sleeping giant by putting a park on the table for development," said Edy Greenberg, whose home backs up to Brown's Chapel. "People are starting to realize what's going on. We heard from people in Tall Oaks, people in south Reston and people who don't even live (in Reston). They're mad ... and they should be."

But do you want to know the true tragedy? Read on:

This is Simone. She turned up dressed in white, with wings no less, to support SAVE BROWN’S CHAPEL. Simone was accompanied by about 250 others for the event. While RCC did not allow Simone in, most of the others did join the meeting. They had to do so in relays as the meeting room was too small to accommodate everyone. The meeting far exceeded the time allotted as people made their points and frustrations clear. The chairperson closed the meeting when she ran out of tape on her recording device.

DISSENT WAS CRUSHED! We've said it before, we'll say it again: People love puppies. With PR like this, supporters of the project might as well consider it dead.

High-Rise Complex Proposed for Site of Fairway Apartments: Maybe We Were a Bit Hasty About This Whole "Another Manhattan" Thing

The JBG Companies, which is developing the high-rise Reston Heights development adjacent to the Reston International Center, is now proposing another high-rise complex at the site of Fairway Apartments near Lake Anne.

The proposal, which will be deliberated by the Reston Planning & Zoning Committee at a meeting June 1, includes two 10-story buildings, 31 townhouses, a series of smaller residential buildings, and 8,000 square feet of retail space -- enough for a couple of Macaroni Grills and maybe some lesser eatery. Maybe we spoke too soon when we said people's fears about Reston becoming "another Manhattan" were overblown:

The proposal calls for 940 apartment units to be phased in over an, as yet, undetermined period. The proposal is divided into two sections: the western section overlooks the nearby golf course. Construction proposed is as follows: Building A – 10 stories, 180 units; Building B – 10 stories, 215 units; Building C – 4 stories, 144 units. Garage parking for building A is 288 spaces; for B 344 spaces except for 3 on the private street; 266 parking spaces are proposed for Building C, the 4 story building, and a retail store operation with all but 27 of the spaces in a garage. In addition, a proposed 8000 sq. ft. retail operation is also proposed. Of the 266 spaces mentioned above, 35 are dedicated to the retail operation. In addition in the western section, 31 townhouses are proposed with a total of 85 parking spaces assigned to them.

In the eastern part of the proposal, there will be two 4 story buildings (Buildings D & E), Building D will contain 153 units with 215 parking spaces. Building E will contain 217 apartment units with 348 parking spaces. All parking will be in garages except for 11 spaces on the private street.

We hope if this project is completed, they keep the names as is. Who wouldn't want to live in the penthouse of "Building A?" They could market the project as having "Reston prestige married with Soviet flair."

Seriously, the proposal begs a question: Why build such an elaborate multi-use project near, but not in, the Lake Anne Village Center parcels already approved for redevelopment? We're guessing the answer is that JBG has owned Fairway Apartments for a number of years, and as real estate agents like to say, they're not making any more land these days.

This Week in Crime: Did They Finally Get Their Man?

A man was subdued and arrested after attempting to rob the BB&T bank at Franklin Farms today.

Two men inside a bank during an armed robbery disarmed the gunman and held him until police arrived. On Wednesday, May 20, police were called to the BB&T Bank, located at 13300 Franklin Farm Road, around 10:44 a.m. An investigation determined the man entered the bank wearing a mask, displayed a handgun and announced the robbery. That’s when the two men were able to subdue him after a brief struggle. Officers arrived a short time later and took the suspect into custody.

The two men sustained minor injuries during the scuffle with the gunman. The 23-year-old victim was transported to Inova Fair Oaks Hospital and the 42-year-old victim was treated at the scene. The investigation is ongoing.

Police have yet to identify the suspect or say what he was charged with (though we presume "bank robbery" is probably high on the list). Nor have they said if he's the same suspect wanted for a series of daring if ill-planned robberies in Reston over the past few months.

We're being followed! (Or: You're not paranoid if they're really out to get you)

So this is what we saw at Restonian World HQ when we opened our "electronic mail" this afternoon:

As with their fancy new "web log," the RA's rapidly moving into the 21st century. You can follow them if you do that whole "Twitter" thing the kids are so crazy about. You can "follow" us too, if you're so inclined.

This Week in Crime: Another week, another burglary, plus the athletic bank robber returns?

Just like the previous week, another Reston resident found her apartment burglarized on Friday, this time near Hunters Woods Shopping Center in South Reston:

A 25-year-old woman saw an unidentified man leaving her apartment in the 11000 block of Shire Court on Friday, May 15 around 6:50 a.m. The woman was getting dressed for work in her bedroom, when she saw a shadow walk down the hallway and exit her apartment. She then discovered her wallet, purse and an undisclosed amount of money were missing. There were no injuries.

The suspect wore blue jeans and brown work boots.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Solvers by phone at 1-866-411-TIPS/8477, e-mail at www.fairfaxcrimesolvers.org
or text "TIP187" plus your message to CRIMES/274637 or call Fairfax County Police at 703-691-2131.

Interestingly, someone purporting to be the victim of the previous burglary actually posted her account of the incident elsewhere on this site.

Meanwhile, a bank in "Great" Falls was robbed last week, and we're hoping against hope that it's the athletic but plan-averse bank robber who's the culprit.

A 60-year-old Reston woman working as a bank teller at the Wachovia Bank, 750 Walker Road, was robbed on Friday, May 15 around 10:40 a.m.

A man entered the bank, produced a handgun and demanded money. The victim complied and the suspect fled with an undisclosed amount of money. There were no injuries.

The suspect wore a rubber mask at the time of the robbery. He was described as black, around 5 feet 7 inches tall and between 170 and 180 pounds. He was between 20 and 30 years old.

If it was the same person, there's no word on whether he forgot to bring something to carry the money this time.

U.S. Treasury Secretary singlehandedly steps in to save Reston real estate market

Hey now, who is that slob standing in the background, staring dumbly at the camera as the dapper man speaks at the podium? Why, that's U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, listening intently as Reston resident Nicholas Tekpertey explains how the Treasury Department used some socialist magic called a "modification" to help keep him in his home instead of being foreclosed upon, which is the duty of every True Patriot.

In March, Tekpertey heard about the Home Affordable Modification from a friend, called his lender, faxed in his documents, and was qualified with relative ease. With this modification, he saves almost $600 per month and his payment is now affordable, with an annual total savings of $7,154.

“In February, I was facing foreclosure,” Tekpertey said. “Making Home Affordable changed my situation, and gave me my home back. All homeowners who are worried about their mortgage payments should do what I did. Go to the website like I did. See if you qualify. This program is real, and this program works.”

It's clear from this story that Reston is so awesome and special that the full faith of the U.S. government is now backing the value of every home in our community. So go ahead and put your place on the market back at 2006 prices and wait for the offers to come rolling in!

Reston's Vibrant Economy Part 40: Sprint and Sallie Mae -- two great tastes that go great together

• The final chapter of Sprint Nextel moving its headquarters from urbane, cosmopolitan Reston to corn fritter-lovin', dance hatin' Kansas took place earlier this week when the company held its annual meeting in Overland Park for the first time since 2005. We're guessing the shareholders reception looked a little like this:
  
  
• After opposing the Obama administration's proposals to overhaul the student loan industry over the technicality that it would put it out of business Reston-based Sallie Mae now loves it some subsidy-killing action, instead hoping to make some coin off originating and servicing the loans. The early reviews are overwhelming, only not in the way they probably hoped.
  

Tennessee Town Center: Hope They Liked the Macaroni Grill!

First, the Washington Post, now the Tennessean. Reston's becoming the new Wasilla for the working press.

You may recall that in Tennessee, the developer of a proposed urban development called May Town Center in the decidedly downtown-less metropolis of Bells Bend cited the Reston Town Center as one of his inspirations. Local planners were invited to come have a look-see at how us near-Yankees do the whole "town center" thing, so earlier this week, they came, they saw, they went home.

Real estate developer Tony Giarratana wore a tie with a rabbit being pulled out of a hat on Monday as he led a tour group through the Reston Town Center office and retail center here on a sales jaunt designed to build support for a similar $4 billion May Town Center project in Nashville.

The tie was a gift from a financial adviser, Giarratana said, and he hopes it serves as a good luck charm that leads to the eventual approval of a massive office, residential and retail campus in a rural part of West Nashville that proponents say Davidson County needs to stop its tax base from bolting to other nearby counties over the next decade.

Oooh! Sounds like they're divided -- just like us! Someone call the Post.

"I like to wear it for important occasions like this," Giarratana said shortly after wrapping up a two-stop airplane trip that also took a handful of participants to Winston Salem, N.C., for a morning tour of a research park linked to Winston-Salem State University. The group came to Reston Town Center in suburban Washington, D.C., in the afternoon to wrap up a 12-hour fact-finding mission that ended back in Nashville by early evening.

No word from the Tennesseean on whether this guy bought a fancy new tie at Anthropologie, or whether the crowd enjoyed the epicurean delights of the Macaroni Grill.

Public Service Announcement: Community meeting about recent crime to be held at site of recent crime

Hunter Mill Supervisor Cathy Hudgins will hold a Glade Drive community meeting Thursday evening at the Southgate Community Center, the site of a less pleasant gathering a few Friday evenings ago. To be fair, the meeting will cover "concerns about your neighborhood" as well as "facts about recent incidents and crime prevention," which is probably a good thing.

The meeting will be held at 7pm Thursday. This concludes this public service announcement; we now return you to your regularly scheduled snark.

This Week in Crime: Reston woman arrested for gruesome gang-related murder in Md.

Eighteen-year-old Reston resident Ana Abarca was one of six people arrested in connection with the January gang-related stabbing of a 15-year-old in Maryland.

Six suspected gang members, including one who recently escaped a Salvadoran prison and fled to Maryland, were in custody yesterday in connection with the slaying of a 15-year-old who was stabbed approximately 72 times and thrown into a Gaithersburg creek five months ago, Montgomery County prosecutors and police said.

Immediately after the stabbing, one of the suspects went to a grocery store to buy a celebratory beer, police said in charging documents made public yesterday. The suspect then returned to his kitchen a knife used in the killing, and he and his roommate later used it to prepare food, according to the documents.

The six suspects are members of the 18th Street gang or are associated with the gang, authorities said. On the night of Jan. 18 -- a number significant to the gang's culture -- at least four of them went looking for a member of rival gang Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, to harm, police said. They spotted Dennys Guzman-Saenz at a bus stop in Langley Park and dragged him into the back seat of a vehicle. At least one of the suspects began stabbing Guzman-Saenz on the way to the park. At the park, one of the suspects told investigators, the car was met by accomplices wearing ski masks.

Charged with first-degree murder in the case are Ventura-Quintanilla, 22, of no fixed address; Lozano, 32, of Germantown; Ysaud Flores, 30, of Gaithersburg; Ana Abarca, 18, of Reston; Daniel A. Zavala, 26, of the District; and Silvia Martinez, 19, of the District. Police said last night that an additional suspect, a 28-year-old from Bladensburg whom they did not identify, had been taken into custody.

The six suspects were arrested during the past several days and were being held.

Of course, any loss of human life is tragic, but to use the murder weapon to prepare food? Yikes.

Brown's Chapel Rec Center: Reston No Longer Filled With 'Trepidation,' Just Merely 'Divided'

It's always great when the Washington Post dips its toes into the earth-toned pressure cooker, journalistically speaking, that is Reston, Virginia. The last time they did it, they concluded that Reston was fraught with "trepidation" about becoming "another Manhattan." Now that the giant, 99-story condos and colussus-sized statue of Bob Simon have failed to materialize, the Post is back, saying that Reston is "divided" about the awesome $65 million rec center/ competitive knitting arena proposed for Brown's Chapel Park. You know, kind of like the North and South during the Civil War, only this time between the swimmers and the little leaguers:

The proposal has pitted one brand of recreation against another. Swimmers, tennis players and others who believe the region is in sore need of high-quality outlets for their passions are on one side. On the other are those who prefer the green space just the way it is. They've been referring to the proposed facility as recreation's equivalent of Wal-Mart.

Of course, the Post being a Serious Newspaper, it sought the Deeper Meaning of this ongoing issue:

The debate underscores the larger difficulty of providing the range of recreational offerings that residents demand in Washington's densely packed suburbs, where development has nibbled away at the region's green space and neighbors fight to protect it.

"We live in a region that is urbanizing, and we can all see open space that we enjoy and appreciate getting transformed into housing and strip malls," said Paul Gilbert, executive director of the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority. "You value what is a limited commodity."

This is what we in the journalism biz call the "nut graf," which in this case means "an attempt to keep this from sounding like a petty provincial conflict between NIMBY folks, swimmers and baseball players, but something worthy of the time of a Serious Journalist." Moving on!

Among the most vocal supporters of a new center funded by Reston residents are swimmers. The community of about 62,000 residents has one large public indoor pool where classes fill up so quickly that there is a waiting list to participate. On rainy days in the summer, the pool gets so crowded that people are routinely turned away. And competitive young swimmers often drive long distances to find a place to train.

For example, Lisa Groves leaves her Reston home at 4:20 a.m. three days a week to drive her 12-year-old daughter to Oakton so she can swim laps before school. The needs of swimmers, she said, ought to be considered along with those of the families who now enjoy the trails and fields of Brown's Chapel Park.

"All these families have their own affinities," she said. "Maybe the ones that are the loudest voices right now are the runners and the bikers and the soccer players."

Don't mess with the soccer players. At least RA President Robin Smyers gets credit for honesty:

Leaders in Reston say their priority is staying true to one of the community's founding principles: that residents ought to be able to work and play where they live, no matter what sport they prefer. Officials there have not decided whether to move forward with the project, and may scrap or scale it back, depending on public input.

If they move forward as planned, it would probably mean the removal of the baseball diamonds, some of the open space and some trees. As much as officials would like to build a recreation facility with no negative impact, "we're not in a utopia. We're in a built-out community called Reston," said Robin Smyers, president of the Reston Association. "We will try to balance the needs of as many people as we can."

We think "A Built-Out Community Called Reston" would be an ideal marketing slogan. They should put it on T-shirts!

This Week in Crime: 17-year-old Reston boy arrested for Fox Mill stabbing

A 17-year-old Reston boy was arrested for stabbing an acquaintance in Fox Mill on Friday:

Police were called to the 2600 block of John Milton Drive on Friday, May 8 at 7:33 p.m. for a stabbing. Officers located a 17-year-old boy lying in the roadway with several neighbors assisting him. The victim was medevaced to Inova Fairfax Hospital and treated for his non
life-threatening injuries.

An investigation determined the victim was with an acquaintance when the two had a disagreement. During the confrontation, the suspect stabbed the victim in the upper body and fled. Detectives identified the suspect, a 17-year-old Reston boy. He was apprehended on Saturday, May 9 and transported to the Fairfax County Juvenile Detention Center where he was charged with malicious wounding.

Breaking: Townhouse fire on Golf View Court injures one

When you hear a news helicopter hovering during the morning rush hour, you know it's never good news:

Firefighters in Fairfax County responded to a house fire in Reston this morning that has sent one person to the hospital.

Officials tell 9NEWS NOW the blaze broke out in the kitchen of a town house in the 1800 block of Golf View Ct. The fire was reported around 7:48 Monday morning.

Dan Schmidt, spokesperson for Fairfax County Fire and Rescue, says a woman has been transported by Medevac to Washington Hospital Center with life-threatening injuries.

This Week in Crime: A Burglary Without Anything Burgled, a South Reston Shooting, and other Zen Riddles

A Reston resident awoke last Thursday morning to a creepy unknown intruder police called a burglar despite the fact he didn't actually burgle anything from her Lake Anne-area apartment, but hey -- details:

A 28-year-old woman was awakened by an unidentified man standing in her bedroom on Thursday, May 7 around 5:15 a.m. The man had apparently snuck into her apartment in the 11000 block of Vantage Hill Road but nothing was reported stolen. The woman screamed when she saw the man, who fled through her bedroom window. There were no injuries and the investigation is continuing.

The suspect was described as a Hispanic male, between 5 feet 5 inches and 5 feet 8 inches tall and around 160-170 pounds. He wore a gray, hooded sweatshirt and sweatpants. He was between 25 and 30 years old.

The police also finally got around to reporting a shooting that took place during your run-of-the-mill mob melee (PDF) two Fridays ago near the Southgate Community Center in South Reston:

A 26-year-old Reston man was shot during a fight that occurred on Friday, May 1 around 11:02 p.m. The victim was in a park in the 12100 block of Pinecrest Road with a group of friends when another group of men approached.

A fight broke out and one suspect pulled out a gun and shot
the victim in the upper body. Everyone fled and the victim was transported to Inova Fairfax Hospital with non life-threatening injuries. Another victim, a 20-year-old Reston man, was transported to Reston Hospital Center for minor injuries received from the fight.

The suspect with the gun was described as black, in his 20s. He was about 6 feet 1 inch tall, 170 pounds, with black, medium-length hair in dreadlocks. He wore a fitted, black baseball cap, white T-shirt and light blue jeans.

At least we finally know the answer to that age-old Zen riddle: If a gun goes off in South Reston, does anyone hear it?

This and That: A Random Mosey Through Reston News

• Linden Development submitted a site plan for a 73,982-square-foot addition to one of the buildings at 1850 Old Reston Avenue, which has been bought up by a military organization of some sort. We're secretly hoping it's for a ninja training facility, but we somehow doubt it.
  
• Hooray, the Metro Silver Line is getting $77 million in sweet federal stimulus funds, hopefully for some more rad '80s art for the Wiehle Avenue Metro station.
  
• Marvelous Market, which features such exotic foodstuffs as "artisan bread" and "coffee," opens Monday at the Reston Town Center.
  
• The Reston Community Players debut another performance, a play called "Laughing Stock," which is apparently pretty good even though it doesn't include people getting nekkid.
  

Brown's Chapel Rec Center: RA, RCC Love Themselves Some "Community Input," Delay Decision on Project

Hey, guess what? The indoor recreation facility process has been slowed to gain more community input. We know this because the Reston Association issued a press release (PDF) titled "Indoor Recreation Facility Process Slowed to Gain More Community Input." So the awesome $65 million rec center/ velodrome / competitive chess arena planned for Brown's Chapel Park will just have to wait a bit longer, while the RA and Reston Community Center collect some of that "community input" that so far has been relegated to filthy "web-logs" like this one.

Therefore, the RA/RCC Joint Task Force meeting scheduled for May 18, 2009 will be rescheduled for June. However, there will still be a meeting of the Reston Community Center Finance Committee on that night and the public is welcome to provide input on the idea of building an indoor recreational facility.

As part of the effort to capture as many ideas as possible and provide RA Members additional information, RA and RCC will hold district meetings after a market feasibility study is made public June 1, 2009. That report, by the firm of Brailsford and Dunlavey, will assess community needs and gauge whether Reston could support additional indoor recreational space. It will be delivered to a joint meeting of the RA Board of Directors and the Reston Community Center Board of Governors.

“We are listening to the community and we want to continue to strengthen that process,” said RA President Robin Smyers. “We feel the need to hold meetings for our Members because we have different processes than does the RCC and we want to ensure our Members have every opportunity to learn about this project and provide input.”

“We anticipate community attendance at RCC committee and Board meetings to provide us with feedback as well regarding this endeavor,” said RCC Board of Governors Chair Carol Ann Bradley. “Both organizations will seek wide-spread community involvement in the discussions regarding this effort.”

The district meetings will be held in June, along with a joint RA/RCC board session at 6:30 on June 1 to discuss the aforementioned study and a RCC annual meeting on June 15. Conspiracy theories about the thinking behind this move are already percolating in the comments, but we'll just say that we're glad that these two boards are realizing the damage that the lack of transparency about this project has caused and are trying to address it.

Move Over, Hollywood: This Summer's Blockbuster is Set at Lake Anne

We can now celebrate the official beginning of the summer movie season. Not because of that movie featuring some guy with metal claws like Lee Press-On Nails(tm), or the one where a bunch of young actors portray a bunch of washed-up young actors from the 1960s, but thanks to this blockbuster-to-be:

The Lake Anne Merchants Association has released new piece of Reston history on DVD, "The Heart and Soul of Reston," as told by Robert E. Simon, Jr.

The 30-minute film features Simon, founder of Reston, as he tells the story of how and why Reston was created, with emphasis on the initial development of the community, Lake Anne and "the heart and soul of Reston." Merchants at Lake Anne initiated the process of producing the DVD in 2008. The group had the desire to do something significant in dedication to Reston's founder, who is a resident and patron of the Lake Anne Village Center.

Eduardo Faubert, owner of Jasmine Cafe on Lake Anne, said he and the other merchants wanted to create the DVD to celebrate Simon and record his views and ideas for Lake Anne and Reston in his own words. "This guy is a special guy," he said of Simon. "It's like living history. We're lucky." He said at 95 Simon is more active than some 35-year-old people and his energy and enthusiasm is impressive.

The film was produced by Fairfax Public Access and underwritten by the Lake Anne Merchants. The DVD is now on sale for $10 at various Lake Anne Village Center shops, including Lake Anne Florist, Jasmine Cafe, Reston Art Gallery and Studios and Reston's Used Book Shop. The DVD was released on Founder's Day on April 18 in honor of Simon's 95th birthday, which was April 10.

You'll want to see it in theaters for the climactic car chases and tree cullings, but you'll want to own it forever for the DVD extras (cough cough deleted scenes cough cough).

This Week in Crime: Maybe he just didn't see the 'no talking' sign

Just catching up on a couple of fun incidents that took place over the past couple of weeks:

BOWMAN TOWNE DR., 11900 block, 10:53 a.m. April 23. A man walked into a library, displayed a handgun and shouted at two people. He left and dumped garbage out of a trash can. A 29-year-old Herndon man was charged with brandishing a firearm, disorderly conduct and littering.

Aside from the handgun, he doesn't sound that much more rude than the average patron of the book sale that took place around the same time. You haven't lived until you've been body-checked by someone carrying three times their (considerable) weight in books while squeezing through an aisle with the approximate legroom of an airline seat.

But we digress. Onward:

SOUTH LAKES DR., 11900 block, 11:25 p.m. April 24. Four male pedestrians became angry with a male acquaintance who was riding a bicycle. When he tried to ride away, they pulled him from the bike and assaulted him, then fled. Police found them nearby. Three Reston men, ages 38, 28 and 37, and a 20-year-old man of no fixed address were charged with malicious wounding by mob.

Rule of thumb: When confronted by an angry mob, don't stop the bike. Nothing good can come of it.

Brown's Chapel Rec Center: Don't Mess With Those Little Leaguers!

According to a highly reliable source -- a 140-character "tweet" on what the kids call "the Twitters," Reston Little League has come out swinging (get it?) against the awesome new $65 million rec center/ rollerdrome/ monster truck arena.

Here's the letter they sent to all members:

On a number of occasions we have talked about proposals that could adversely impact the quality of the baseball facilities in the Reston area. I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you one of the proposals that is of grave concern to the youth baseball community.

Reston Association (RA), Reston Community Center (RCC) and Fairfax County have put together a plan to develop the park at Browns Chapel into 170,000 square foot, $65,000,000 recreation center complex with 8 indoor tennis courts and a multi-story parking pavilion.

The development would eliminate all 3 baseball fields (2 90 foot diamonds used by Babe Ruth and 1 60 foot diamond used by RLL), batting cages, basketball courts, and picnic areas. It would destroy all of the open green space and require the removal of hundreds of trees. The baseball fields and batting cages at Browns Chapel are used not only by RLL, but also by Herndon Reston Babe Ruth League.

We are urging people to come to the Public Input Meeting which will take place on May 18 at 7:30 at the Lake Anne branch of the Reston Community Center (1609-A Washington Plaza). Show your support for saving Browns Chapel by wearing a white shirt or a baseball uniform. It would be very helpful if we could get as many of our players as possible to attend this meeting in uniform. A little reminder about who this proposal impacts would be very powerful.

We will need your support if we are going to preserve our facilities at Browns Chapel.

Hey, indoor tennis fans! Guess the ball's in your court (get it?)

Tall Buildings 'N Stuff: More on Tennessee's proposed clone of Reston Town Center

Yesterday we poked fun, perhaps a bit unfairly, at a planned town center development in Tennessee that's provoked ire among residents there. Upon learning that the inspiration for the May Town Center was none other than Reston's own, almost-Yankee fake downtown, they came to the right place to learn more!

A Reston, VA hyper-local blog has been chronicling and opining on the Reston Town Center (inspiration for Nashville's proposed May Town Center concept) since 2007. Here is the author's short description of that city on a hill:

Reston Town Center (tm). Home to both Reston's Fake Downtown (which, like Disney's Main Street USA, seems built to 7/8th scale) and a godawful succession of strip malls and condos. But hey -- there's a Macaroni Grill(tm)!

If that is not enough for Bells Bend/Scottsboro residents to look forward to, then click to jump to a series of short documentaries on mid-scale retail amenities, pretentious boutique lifestyle options, and stylish color schemes that await the prospective Bells Bend traffic artery once May Town Center gets built. Did I mention the $90 million 3,200-space parking garage? Can you envision such a monolith to automobiles hovering over the Cumberland River at May Town Center where whooping cranes once frolicked when there was only one road in and out?

Hey, we wrote that part in italics! Taken out of context, it almost sounds smart.

What we'd tell these folks is that it's not so much the faux-urban core that's the real problem with RTC; it's the big box retail dreck that was allowed to be built next to it, a horrendous land use mistake which may someday be corrected. Of course, the real difference is that when our Fake Downtown was finally realized in the early 90s, Reston had already established itself as a sizable community in need of an urban core -- or at least a movie theatre and chain restaurant or two and whatnot. It doesn't sound like that's the case in the metropolis of Bells Bend.

Maybe there's a sensible plan to develop a high-density residential core around this new new town outside of Nashville, supported by mass transit and other needed amenities. Somehow, though, we doubt it.

Brown's Chapel Rec Center: We Get Letters -- Really Long-Winded Letters

Here's a copy of a letter sent to RA Board Member Frank Lynch about the awesome $65 million rec center/ Kabuki dinner theatre/ NASCAR theme park proposed for Brown's Chapel Park:

Hi Frank,

I’m one of your constituents and I was glad to read your email yesterday regarding the Brown’s Chapel project. I appreciate the time and effort you put into serving us here in North Point; thank you for your commitment.

I must have just missed working with you on the RA board; for several years I was very involved in moving the concept of indoor tennis onto the board’s radar. Evidently we were successful as eight courts are included in the plans for Reston’s very own version of the Taj Majal. Our expectations then, however, never resembled anything that is being proposed today. We envisioned a more modest approach to an indoor tennis facility, a few courts with adequate parking.

Thank you for responding to the community’s conversation about the rec facility. It was good to read the history of how we got to where we are.

The part of your email that bothers me the most is the part that reads:

That is where we are today....a preliminary drawing of the Taj Majal. It has always been my belief that that this is where the community process starts. I have no expectation that something like this will ever get built, nor would I support it. There are a number of public meetings scheduled to work the process. Neither board has made any decisions to move forward and has left all options open (and there are many), including not working together.

I wonder why the RA and RCC boards would be interested in spending their time (and our precious assessment dollars) for two years on something that it is not seriously considering. It is a ludicrous approach to doing business. Does Microsoft’s board gather for two years and throw out pie-in-the-sky ideas that they admit will probably go nowhere but why not shoot for the moon just for fun? I seriously doubt it. They talk about what issues are germane to moving the Microsoft business forward in the real world, for real customers. They are respectful of and responsible to their shareholders; I doubt they have much interest in going down a path that doesn’t hold much promise.

I mean no disrespect to you or the RA Board, but your email describes a rear-end-first approach to doing Reston’s business.

Shouldn’t the community process start with: What do we need? and then: What can we afford? If the Robert E. Simon Center (it already has a name!) is just an fantasy, then why is the board so defensive, and why are all of us on the opposition side reacting passionately to something that you state is really just a daydream? It doesn’t feel anything like a daydream, Frank. It feels very real and a lot of people are really, really angry about it.

You may be the only one who is thinking this way. Robin Smyers (a friend of mine) is taking this pretty seriously from what I can tell. Larry Butler and some others have all expressed hope that the community will embrace the concept and see it through to “reality” (a real quote). I’m pretty sure they would like a building just like this to be built.

And why was it kept so secret? Why are the plans so far along when the community at large found out about it? Why was it so hard for people to get details about it (Brown’s Chapel neighbors tried for months and could get no where and were actually told lies). Shouldn’t community input have come at the beginning rather than after elevations and plans have been drawn up and names have been selected? Now we’re all running around like crazy trying to figure out how to get this thing stopped before someone shows up with a bulldozer.

I cannot tell you how inane the whole thing appears to the community. People are literally smacking their foreheads and saying, “What are they thinking?”

I’m sure we’ll meet in the days and months ahead. In the meantime, I would urge you to take a stance against this proposed abomination right now. This would demonstrate that voices in the North Point district are being heard and that you respect and are standing firm with your constituency.

Jane Acton
cc: SaveBrownsChapel.com

Okay then! Meanwhile, here's a link to minutes from a recent Reston Community Center board meeting (link to ridiculously long PDF), which some are pointing to as a smoking gun that this is perceived as a done deal because they've already agreed on a name and gate fees and whatnot. But according to the Powerpoint, they're planning belly dancing, zumba and badminton classes. So everyone relax! It's not all about the indoor tennis after all!

Wow, some junket!

Those fat-cats in Congress are always going on fact-finding junkets to the Caribbean or Hawaii or whatnot, where they study the effects of lobbyists expenditures on their tan lines. But if you're a local politician in Tennessee, the best you can hope for is an all-expenses paid trip to the awesome Reston Town Center:

The developer of the proposed May Town Center is offering to fly Metro planning commissioners to Virginia on a chartered corporate plane to see a model for the development, and some Bells Bend and Scottsboro residents are crying foul.



In a letter sent Monday, Tony Giarratana invited every member of the Metro Planning Commission to accompany him and two Tennessee State University officials to the Piedmont Triad Research Park and Reston Town Center next Monday, May 11. Giarratana wrote that Reston Town Center “served as the inspiration and model” for May Town Center. The May family, which owns 1,500 acres in Bells Bend, has donated 250 of them - and $400,000 - to TSU for farmland and a research park.

“We feel these tours will help you better visualize the May Town Center proposal before you,” Giarratana wrote.

But David Briley, an attorney representing Bells Bend and Scottsboro residents who don’t want the potentially $4 billion office, residential and retail development built near their homes, said the trip could violate the state’s open meetings law.

Granted, this is Tennessee we're talking about, so we're sure these dedicated public servants will stare slack-jawed at the Macaroni Grill and such mind-bending foods as "sushi."

The developer's site has some awesome pictures of the proposed development, which looks suspiciously like a fake downtown we all know and love. Only we're assuming instead of Anthropologie and the Apple Store, they're shooting for such exciting ground-floor retail as a Dollywood souvenir store and the Tobacco Barn.

Metro Silver Line: $90 million a small price to pay for Wiehle Avenue garage, awesome 80s artwork

Turns out Fairfax County will likely have to foot the bill for the $90 million parking garage needed to accommodate all the art connoisseurs expected to drive from as far away as Sterling to admire the rad '80s artwork at the Wiehle Avenue Metro station. After staring in awestruck wonder at the stained glass masterpieces therein, some might even decide to take the train!

Fairfax County likely will foot the bill for a Metro parking garage it once hoped to convince a developer to bankroll, at a cost that has doubled since 2007.

The Wiehle Avenue Metrorail station in Reston, which will serve the last of the Dulles Rail Project’s five stops constructed during the first leg of the project, is now projected to cost $90 million.

The project is the sort of transit-oriented development that county officials hope will proliferate around the Metro project, which is under construction and is set to open in 2013.

But the parking garage plan, part of a public-private partnership with developer Comstock, is a far cry from what county officials envisioned in 2007. Fairfax County supervisors on Monday set a June 1 public hearing on the plan, in which Comstock will build the 2,300-space garage in exchange for development rights on a county-owned, 9-acre parcel nearby.

The county would finance the construction through rent from the development and income from the garage, and bridge any gaps with money from a commercial and industrial real estate tax meant to fund transportation, said Fairfax County Debt Manager Len Wales.

Hunter Mill District Supervisor Cathy Hudgins said she’s not worried about the escalating cost of the garage and said she is awaiting a more detailed briefing from county staff.

The agreement was once on the verge of falling through. The county cut off negotiations with Comstock in 2007 after failing to reach an agreement over financing, only to later resume the talks. At that point, the sides couldn’t agree on how much Comstock would commit financially.

Comstock plans to build 980,000 square feet of mixed-use development on top of the garage site, which now houses a park-and-ride.

Fairfax County supervisors expect to give final approval on the project a year from now.

We think $90 million is a small price to pay to have world-class art in our community. Paris has the Louvre. Madrid has the Prado. And soon, Reston will have the 80s Stained Glass Emporium (and train station).

Brown's Chapel Rec Center: Jocks vs. Nerds Little Leaguers vs. Tennis Players vs. the RA!

We always loved those movies where the jocks square off against the nerds, who use their mad bloggin skillz to show them a thing or two! Well, the continuing brouhaha over building a massive $65 million rec center/mosh pit/American Gladiators arena at Brown's Chapel Park is starting to shape up like this, except that it's tennis players vs. little leaguers, which by our book is jocks vs. jocks, but otherwise exactly the same thing.

All of which is easier to follow than the back and forth between opponents of the center, who have created their own "Web-site" and started sending letters accusing the RA of violating development best practices by not getting the DRB and Planning and Zoning Boards involved in the discussions. Boy, are they going to get a nasty letter in the mail! Also, they've already decided to name the as-of-yet-unbuilt center the "Simon Center," after Reston's Dear Leader. Meanwhile, nearly 400 people have signed an online petition opposing the center, and the fan letters keep coming. Here are excerpts from a letter Newport Shores resident Peter Greenberg sent RA President Robin Smyers:

Having had a chance to reflect upon our meeting, I’m less encouraged than ever that you will make the community outreach process open, fair and transparent. To the contrary, you appeared steadfast in your strong denial of my requests to: 1. include the input of many more affected parties in the Assessment being done by Brailsford and Dunleavy, and 2. to add to your timeline a period of community discussion about alternative uses for Browns Chapel Park. RA inexplicably has this project on a fast track that will necessarily limit community input. As we pointed out, the only people interviewed for the study were groups favorable to the concept, each being small in size. The two specific sports groups mentioned were tennis and aquatics. Further, as I point out below, the questions of whether the health club should be built, and what is best for Brown’s Chapel are separate questions.

I left our meeting with no doubt in my mind that you have strong preconceived feelings in favor of getting the health club built. Milton Matthew’s posture was even more obvious. How is that leadership? It is not, it is the pressing of a personal agenda, the reasons for which are still unclear to me. You desire to commit $150,000,000.00 of your neighbors’ money, without appropriate community input, possibly for some personal reason I can not quite put my finger on.

It is the most fundamental habit in land development to check in advance with local Design Review Boards and Planning and Zoning officials, PRIOR to undertaking preliminary site plans, to see if the subject piece of land will be suitable for the proposed development. In fact your Design Review Guidelines encourages people to come in for an ‘informational only’ meeting to be sure that any problems with an idea can be aired out up front.

Question: Since this will be the largest single capital project of its time in RA, why didn’t you use best practices in your planning and get preliminary written opinions from DRB and P&Z of the viability of using Brown’s Chapel for the planned health club? Was it inexperience, incompetence, or was it a desire to obscure the process? In my view those are the only possible reasons. I think it was the latter. You have been led down a path of opacity by RCC and have acted, at least at early stages, to keep secret your plans to build this $150,000,000.00 health club using your neighbors’ bank accounts.

Since this secret has been made open, before this plan goes any further, and more money gets wasted, you MUST seek a preliminary written opinion from both RA Planning and Zoning and Reston DRB on: “the concept of constructing a significantly sized full-service commercial health club facility with hours from 5:30 AM to 10:00 PM 7 days per week of a similar size and nature to the attached Alt E”. Please take that professional step-back in the process and find out if what you wish to do is remotely feasible before committing any more RA dollars to the project.

For gosh sakes, the existing Assessment does not even support the building of the health club, even though all the people in the focus group were apparently hand-selected to be favorable:

1. It will reduce the wealth of RA members by $150,000,000 over 20 years with no asset to replace the one given away. You are gifting Fairfax County $150,000,000! Outrageous! +

2. It will never cover its own operating expenses BEFORE DEBT SERVICE.

3. 70% of users will not be from Reston, but Reston will pay 100% of the money. Therefore it is not for use PRIMARILY by RA members and does not fulfill the mission of RCC or RA.

4. It will destroy the largest green space in Reston at a time when density is increasing and there is a requirement to have appropriate ratios of green space to residents.

I hope you are giving consideration to my offer to help bring the various groups lined up against this into the process of discovery of what is best for Brown’s Chapel Park. That is clearly a separate issue from the question of ‘should the health club be built?’.

[snip]

You have already apparently caused over $100,000 to be spent or committed by RA/RCC on the study of this project - without widespread community input. Just like the office building, this will never pass a referendum. How much of our RA and RCC funds are you willing to commit to spending to support an already bad financial decision? Why compound the problem? Even after you leave the Presidency of the Board next year, and this fight rages on, you will we be responsible for the decisions you make now. You will own them and all the consequences.

The groups forming will have the financial resources to take the fight on at every turn. You are going to tear this community apart during this battle.

I discovered just this morning by reading the minutes of the March 9, 2009 RCC board meeting that both the RA board and RCC board have agreed on a name for the health club. That is an unbelievable fact considering that you told us no decisions had been made on the project; that is except for the size, configuration, location, name, funding, and strategy to get it pushed past your various constituencies. Is that how you will lead?

[snip]

You must fight to preserve Browns Chapel Park because it is the largest remaining outdoor recreation facility in Reston. And, you should improve it in a cost effective and appropriate manner. A multi-use ‘field turf’ playing surface for both upper ball fields is one idea. Such a facility would be income producing to Reston (as opposed to giving away $150,000,000.00 of STD5’s cash and real estate to the county), bring much desired facilities to the baseball, football, soccer, lacrosse, and softball leagues, and preserve Reston’s largest outdoor recreation location. Lead in that direction and people will follow.

The full letter is at the link above. Meanwhile, the RA has responded by putting up something on its own "Web-site," saying that no decisions have been made and people should just chill out until the consultants hired by the RA and RCC, Brailsford & Dunlavey, finish up their feasibility study (150 pages of "more indoor tennis plz! kthxbaie!") for general consumption, which should be around June 1.

No decisions have been made by either Board. Gathering community input is critical to the process, and this summer will focus on this effort. We look forward to hearing from as many members of both Reston Association and constituents of Reston Community Center, Small District No. 5, as possible as we consider and evaluate the project.

To their credit, the RA has finally posted a bunch of documents about the proposed center (see above link), so people can start evaluating the proposal on their own. It's a shame so much negativity had to surface about the lack of transparency of both groups, which began meeting together to discuss the project last fall, to prompt them to do so.

This Week in Crime: Now the Other 7-11's Getting Robbed

For a while there. it seemed like someone tried to rob the 7-11 on Soapstone in Reston every five minutes, often with hilarious unanticipated results. Now it's the 7-11 on Sunset Hills that's been robbed.

Two employees of a 7-Eleven store were robbed on Monday, May 4 around 3 a.m. The two men, 31 and 37 years old, were stocking shelves when the two suspects entered the store, located at 11714 Sunset Hills Road. One suspect brandished a handgun and demanded money. The victims were forced behind the register; they complied with the suspects’ demands. The suspects took cash and fled from the store on foot. The victims did not require medical treatment.

The suspects were both described as black, in their 20s. The first suspect was about 6 feet 4 inches tall and 165 pounds. He was wearing a red hoodie, blue jeans, a black bandana that covered part of his face and a black jacket. The second suspect was wearing a green hoodie, blue jeans and a black bandana that covered part of his face.

Based on that description, you'd think the bandanas were intended to cover part of the robbers' faces! With a break like that, they'll be in custody in no time flat.

Wikimapia: Reston from space

Wikimapia, this genuinely awesome mashup of satellite imagery and user-submitted information, zooms right in on Reston's most famous landmark: our very own Targetville. This site is seriously good for hours of entertainment -- it identifies a couple of pre-Reston buildings we didn't know existed, plus it allows users to tag and add comments to a wide variety of Reston landmarks (hint hint hint hint). Have fun, and don't do anything we wouldn't do (hint hint hint hint).

See anything interesting? Let us know in the comments.

This Week in Crime: Taxi Driver Robbed

And, no we don't mean how DeNiro got snubbed by the Oscars. This happened on Wednesday in Tall Oaks Village Center.

A 56-year-old Harpers Ferry, West Virginia man driving a taxi was robbed by his passengers on Wednesday, April 29 around 9 p.m. The driver was dropping off two men in a shopping center parking lot at 12024 North Shore Drive in the Reston area. One man produced a gun and demanded money. The victim handed over an undisclosed amount of cash and the victims fled. There were no injuries.

The suspects are described as black males and around 20 years old.

We'll spare everyone the "you talkin' to me?" jokes and just move on.