News and notes from Reston (tm).

Friday, July 24, 2009

Gone Fishing (Just Not in Lake Newport)

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So we actually managed to get a travel visa allowing us to leave the earth-toned confines of our lovely planned community and will be incommunicado for the next week or so. We're assuming we'll return to find a giant gilded combined indoor recreation facility/juicery/RA headquarters, complete with waterproof filing cabinets and child-labor cubbies, already half-built and rising from Lake Anne's primordial muck, but that's where all you "web log" readers come in. Keep everyone updated on the latest comings and goings in the comments -- or just share stories about hilarious DRB notifications -- and see you in early August.

Breaking: RA Board Takes Brown's Chapel Park Off The Table for Indoor Rec Center, Juicery

No TajMahal-OJ.jpg.jpegWell, it just might be safe to open that Orange Julius franchise after all. During its meeting Thursday night, the Reston Association Board of Directors voted 8-2 7-2 to take Brown's Chapel Park off the table as the location for the proposed $65 million rec center/juicery that, frankly, no one has paid much attention to. Cheryl Beamer and Tom Vis were the sole votes against the motion, which was first raised by Joe Leighton at the RA Board's last meeting back in June, only to be tabled until last night.

Because we're just filthy "web loggers" and only hear about these things secondhand, while watching hilarious animal videos on the YouTubes, it's not clear what the fate of the rec center itself might be, or whether the RA will continue to work with the RCC on the project, or maybe just cover a bunch of tennis courts at Lake Newport with a giant plexiglass dome and call it a day. The irony is that the decision to take Brown's Chapel off the table might actually help its supporters get the rec center built in the long run, as it makes moot a lot of the bad blood from the ham-handed miscues that started this whole mess. It would be a shame if the entire project was dead in the water, as the folks who've demonstrated a legitimate need for indoor facilities weren't the ones holding the secret meetings and funding the fancy studies.

We'll update as we hear more, maybe from one of those "experienced journalists" we keep hearing about.

They're already celebrating at the Save Brown's Chapel "Web site," where they've posted a quote by Margaret Mead. At first, we were surprised that the quote wasn't "frankly my dear, I don't give a damn," but then we realized that was a different Margaret. It's late and we sure could go for a glass of juice right about now.

Update: The text of the RA motion is in the comments. The Cliff's Notes version: RA loves it some open space, and they're canning their consultants, but will continue to work with RCC to identify "responsible options" for additional rec facilities "in the future." Okay then!

Found on the YouTubes: Reston's Ups and Downs

When we're not busy watching hilarious kitten videos on YouTube, often forgetting to go to work or eat in the process, we're always on the lookout for videos that capture the essence of Reston. We have our old favorites, and our new up-and-comers, but leave it to our favorite correspondent, the Peasant from Less Sought After South Reston, to find a triptych of videos that capture all the excitement of "living the dream" in Reston. Be prepared for action!







Call us crazy, but we like the last one best. After all, it's the "scenic" elevator, and you can almost catch a glimpse of the Macaroni Grill from it! Here's the Peasant's take on all this beauty:
To add insult to injury, these all show up on the first page of results when you enter "Reston, Virginia" as the search term.

Somehow, it's even more hilarious that these videos are posted by someone whose log-in name is "worldtravelermsk". Is that 'world traveler' as in riding the Schindler elevator up and down at the Reston Town Center?

And they dare call Herndon the place for the rich and single? Hah! Not a single elevator showed up on Herndon's YouTube list -- some swinging singles scene they have there!

In conclusion, not since Krzysztof Kieslowski's Blue/White/Ted trilogy have we seen such a sweeping metaphor for the human condition, only in Reston, and on elevators, the end.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

A Children's Treasury of Tragic Cell Phone Photos: Gang Graffiti, Reston Town Center Labor Protests, and a Sad Memorial Becomes Sadder Still

photo-2.jpgEveryone must now have one of those "iPhone" thingies all the kids are crazy about, as we've gotten a slew of "fun" images over the last few days. First, here is a lovely picture of some graffiti found by an anonymous contributor in the Reston Parkway underpass near the Barnes & Noble and -- it pains us to write these next two words -- the Macaroni Grill. At first, we were going to say that we thought it was related to a recent campaign, but that's a cheap shot, even by our (extremely low) standards.


17520672.jpgAlso last week, protestors were lurking around a sign at Reston Town Center saying that Boston Properties "condones immigrant labor abuse." It wouldn't be the first time something like this has happened in or near our Fake Downtown, though if it had any sense of dramatic tension, the union staging the protest would have done what many of their counterparts do in D.C. -- set up a giant, inflatable rat, preferably within sight of the aforementioned Macaroni Grill.


3038221-500x500.jpgSomeone on "the Twitters" snapped this picture of the Pollo Frito truck, “serving the local Reston area with hot Spanish lunch specials.” Nice! Since this isn’t Herndon, the singles-friendly city of tolerance, we’ll ignore the fact that it’s illegally parked in front of an ominous-looking tow-away-zone sign.


Sadly, we don't have an updated picture of this next item, but the sad roadside memorial to Michael Jackson on Reston Parkway is still there, balloons a bit deflated and the sign cruelly pushed over by some uncaring lover of classic rock or something. As of this posting, however, no similar memorials to Billy Mays have spontaneously popped up on Reston roadways.

photo.jpgAnd finally, we'll leave you with this photo someone snapped whilst walking near Hickory Cluster. We're no fan of untended dog poop ourselves, but we still have to salute the anonymous signmaker for going the extra mile with the brick. Nicely done.


Wednesday, July 22, 2009

This and That: A Random Mosey Through Reston News

  • Hey now, one new bit of information came out of a "news paper" story about last week's meeting about Brown's Chapel Rec Center: "The Center for Survey Research of the University of Virginia will conduct a telephone survey to determine public support for the new center." Awesome! We love unsolicited phone calls! There's also a survey form you can fill out on the Reston Association's "web site" if you're so inclined.
  • Signs of construction on Metro's awesome new Silver Line, until now marred in the pristine urban exemplar that is Tysons Corner, are now visible in the median of the Toll Road. The thousands of orange cones with blinking lights on top of them we'll soon see on our rides home are a small price to pay for the future promise of 'rad 80s art.
  • Hey, did you hear about those pigs in the Philippines who got Ebola Reston, the virus so nice they named it after a planned community, and had to be exterminated, only the stun gun didn't work? If you read this filthy "web log," the answer is yes, months ago, but despite the lack of new information, the outbreak got a recent spate of coverage in sources ranging from the BBC to NPR to the Apache Junction National Ledger in Arizona. PANIC!
  • After being spurned in its plans to build a particleboard hospital in particleboard Loudoun County, HCA has announced its long-expected expansion to Reston Hospital Center. The 350,000 square feet of expansions include new buildings, additional floors to existing buildings, and lots of those wooden dispensers. The weird thing? They're trying to get all this done under something called "Planned Residential Community (PRC) status," which seems a bit odd, unless they're planning to rent out excess hospital beds as condo space once the market picks up again.
  • The Counter, some fancy "west coast" burger shack where they presumably use elitist condiments like "mustard," opened in Reston Town Center last week. Judging by the Twitters, this event ranks somewhere between the Moon Landing and the Second Coming in importance.
  • Obama's "political machine," called Organizing for America, met with local residents at at the North County Government Center last week. Or was it a ruse to do advance work for a future visit by the president to the aforementioned fancy burger place?
  • Remember how Fairfax County Police came up with a cool name for anti-gang efforts in Reston, and now there's no gang activity any more? Here's a TV broadcast of the "action," assuming the station's cutting edge "embed" function ever decides to work:

  • Finally, and also from the Twitters, it sounds like the "open carry" gun people descended last week on Champps in Plaza America, one of their favorite hot spots. The tweet said that RSVPs were "expected," and we wouldn't argue with a bunch of folks packing heat.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Reston Road Rules: New-Fangled "Side Walks" Still Coming to Soapstone, Plus a Hilarious Mix-Up on the Lawyers Road Cyclorama

concrete sidewalk.pngHey, remember that time they were going to put some of those new-fangled "side walks" on Soapstone Drive? Yeah, that was awesome. Well, after scheduling two meetings to discuss this far-fetched engineering marvel with dumbfounded residents in the fall, a "feasibility study" was completed in March. It presumably included photos of people in other cities walking on these "side walks," to prove that as crazy as they sound, they just might work!

No, that would just be silly. Instead, the report identified four options for these new-fangled "side walks."

• Concept 1 Plan and Section 5-foot wide concrete sidewalk, curb and gutter on EAST side of Soapstone Drive from Glade Drive to South Lakes Drive. 64 parking spaces removed from the EAST side but preserved on the WEST side. New drainage systems required.

• Concept 2 Plan and Section 5-foot wide concrete sidewalk with curb and gutter along WEST side of Soapstone Drive from Glade Drive to South Lakes Drive. 109 parking spaces would be removed on the WEST side but preserved on the EAST side. New drainage systems required.

• Concept 3 Plan and Section 5-foot wide concrete sidewalk on BOTH sides of Soapstone Drive in the NORTH section only. On EAST side, walkway would be placed from the trail south of shopping center to South Lakes Drive. On WEST side, walkway would be placed from the trail south of the daycare center to South Lakes Drive. Parking would remain on WEST side.

• Concept 4 Plan and Section 5-foot wide sidewalk on EAST side of trail south of the shopping center to existing 4-foot wide sidewalk at intersection of South Lakes Drive. This would be low- cost option by re-using existing sidewalk and not constructing proposed sidewalk for entire length from Glade Drive to South Lakes - Does not meet CMAQ criteria.
County staff and consultants are keen on Concept 1, but another community meeting is scheduled for the fall. No word on whether they will use that time to reassure nervous residents that stepping on a crack won't, in fact, break your mother's back.

Lest the lumbering pace of this project make you cynical about the slow-moving nature of local government, here's a story to warm your heart. With the conversion of Lawyers Road into an anorexic, bike-friendly velodrome slated to begin on Aug. 2, you'll be happy to know that Fairfax County has prepared for the imminent restriping of the road by... well, restriping it. Here's a shocking first-hand account from our favorite correspondent, The Peasant from Less Sought-After South Reston:
Just three weeks before its grand repaving and restriping of Lawyers Road, VDOT repainted all the lane markings on Lawyers Road from Reston Parkway to Hunter Mill Road. I definitely know that some of this was done this past Monday, July 13, because the new lane markings were not there when I went to work in the early morning but had materialized by late that afternoon. Being a conscientious journalist, even if contributing to a filthy Web-blog, I then drove that entire stretch of Lawyers Road to be certain. I could understand if this repainting were done, say, six months before the repaving, but three weeks? Anyway, maybe this tidbit is worth mentioning as another fine example of our taxpayer dollars at work in a state with a significant budgetary shortfall.
You know what they say: Practice makes perfect.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Video Killed the Radio Star, or Maybe at Least an Indoor Rec Center


Okay, this video has become the second best video ever made in or about Reston. (This one, of course, will never lose its title as the undisputed Most Awesome Reston Video Ever.) All we know is they had us when the guy on the motorcycle wiped away tears. Thanks to all the many people who forwarded this to us; if nearly as many people show up to the last of the "community input" meetings at 7pm Tuesday at Sunset Hills Montessori School, it'll be a long evening.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

This Week in Crime: "Operation Summer Heat," at Long Last, Brings Cool-Sounding Name to Reston Anti-Gang Efforts

Guess what? Reston has a bit of a gang problem. But now Fairfax County Police are going to do something about it, with a kick-ass-sounding program called "Operation Summer Heat." Bring it on!

On Saturday, July 18, the Reston District Station will kick off Operation Summer Heat, a four-week enforcement campaign designed to address and deter criminal gang activity. In the past few months, the Reston area has experienced criminal and gang-related activity on and around various trails in the district. Countless residents use the trails and pathways for exercise, leisure and daily travel. Generally, they pass safely without incident and officers frequently patrol the paths on foot.
Well, except maybe for this guy (second item). And these folks. And... well, you get the idea.
In the first half of 2009, there were 27 total gang-related incidents in the Reston Police District down from 49 during the same time period in 2008. The police department is dedicated to keeping criminal street gangs out of the county and, as Captain Deborah Burnett, Commander of the Reston Station, put it, "Gang-related activity in Reston will not be tolerated in our communities and to show we are serious, we are turning up the heat on criminal street gangs."

In response to the recent incidents, Captain Burnett has focused on executing strategies that target gangs, identify gang members and foster awareness within communities about criminal street gangs. Patrol officers, the Neighborhood Patrol Unit and plain-clothes officers will be out in force on trails throughout Reston. Crime Prevention Officers will visit numerous residential and business communities to educate residents and business owners about the best ways to prevent crime. Captain Burnett recognizes that community support is vital "to make our efforts successful. You are encouraged to call the police any time you witness a crime or suspicious activity."
TaggingX_071509.jpgThis is all a good thing, particularly since gang activity seems to be impacting a church, of all places. Christ the Servant Lutheran Church at Hunters Woods has been plagued by graffiti, and a new law says that they'll have to foot the bill to clean it up.
As of July 1, a new state law empowers localities to charge property owners for the cost of removing graffiti drawn on private buildings, walls, fences and more. If cleanup is not paid for, localities can clean it and put a lien on the property to recoup their costs.

“We had been through a chronic graffiti problem for a while, but then we began ministering to a homeless person who seemed to be friends with the gangs in the area,” said Phillip Carl, pastor of the church.

“We think he put out the word not to tag our church, so for a great period of time we were graffiti-free. But then he moved to Philadelphia and we are not under his protection anymore so we are being tagged again.”

Carl said that the church has been ‘tagged’ at least three times in the last nine months. “Right now on the back wall, there is a drawn character and the name ‘fat-boy’.” He says it is highly visible to anyone strolling on the walkways behind the church.

In the past few years, those walkways have been the backdrop for many violent crimes, many of which police believe are gang-related.

Police have recently focused on the church, issuing them a warning.

“We recently received a note from [Reston District Station] police officer R.L. Jones, stating ‘If you do not clean, remove or cover the defacement within 15 days from the date of this notice, the defacement may be subject to the removal by the county’ at a cost to us,” Carl said.
Maybe the police can call that move "Operation Collection Plate."


Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Did They Forget About the Macaroni Grill? Herndon, Not Reston, One of The Best Places for the Rich and Single

What, with its swinging singles scene and the dude who will let you learn how to pick up chicks by living with him in his Reston Town Center condo, you'd think Reston would have developed a "rep," as the kids like to say, as a place for the single to mingle.

Not so. Money magazine just released its list of the "best places for the rich and single," and Herndon came in eighth in the country. Wait, what?

We'd understand if Herndon was on a list of best places for Minutemen to meet Minutewomen, but this is ridiculous. Here's what they have to say about our tolerant neighbor to the west:

You're likely to snag a tech whiz in Herndon: AOL, Accenture, Oracle, Microsoft and Verizon all have offices nearby in the area known as the Dulles Technology Corridor. Flirt with gym buffs at the health club or meet a fellow music fan at a jazz bar. On any given night at the local bars, you might encounter a trivia game, open mic night, a poker tournament or DJs and dancing.
By way of "proof," Money chose this exciting photo to showcase Herndon's swinging singles scene:

herndon_va.jpg


Wow. We stand corrected. It's kind of like Studio 54 in the 1970s, only substituting the rope line for an American flag.

Things could be worse, though. At least Ashburn wasn't on the list. But Arlington was ranked #2 for rich singles, though that's most likely for its gangsta cred.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

This Week in Crime: Forest Edge Elementary Break-In: Kids Do the Darndest Things

Some folks can't wait until Homecoming to go back to their old school and reminisce. Others, in Reston, just break in to an elementary school, as happened on the 4th of July at Forest Edge:

Police responded to a burglar alarm activation at Forest Edge Elementary, located at 1501 Becontree Lane, on Saturday, July 4 around 11 p.m. As officers arrived, a group of 20 to 25 teenagers standing outside the school fled on foot. Officers apprehended six of them: three 14-year-old boys, a 13-year-old boy, a 16-year-old boy and a 17-year-old girl. An investigation determined that two or three of the other teenagers reportedly broke into a school trailer and stole some items. The teenagers were released to their parents and charges are pending. Some of the stolen items were recovered at the scene.
Yeah, those trailers modular learning units sure bring back the happy memories.

A few days later, an Arlington man was arrested for a variety of charges after leading police on a chase that ended with a wreck on North Shore Drive.
A 38-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday, July 7 after a brief traffic pursuit with the police. An officer attempted to stop a vehicle for traffic charges around 12:15 a.m. near the area of the Dulles Toll Road and the Fairfax County Parkway. The driver allegedly did not stop for the officer and a traffic pursuit was initiated. The pursuit ended when the suspect lost control of his vehicle and struck a tree on North Shore Drive near Sunder Court. The suspect attempted to flee on foot, but officers were able to subdue him after a brief struggle. He was charged with speed to elude, driving while intoxicated, driving on a revoked license, refusal to take the blood-alcohol test, resisting arrest and reckless driving.
Sweet! If we lived in LA, this whole series of events would have been televised by roving helicopters. Sadly, we'll have to settle for this transcription of events (which should be read aloud for maximum impact).

Monday, July 13, 2009

Breaking: Holocaust Revisionist Loses 23-1,157 in Write-in Landslide

While the official tally isn't supposed to be released until tomorrow, multiple news accounts are confirming that unopposed Reston Citizens Association candidate Ken Meyercord, who ran into a smidgen of media attention for his views on the holocaust, wound up losing in a write-in landslide. When was the last time that happened?

Ken Meyercord, who had been running unopposed for an at-large seat on the Reston Citizens Association's 13-member volunteer board, received only 23 votes after his provocative views on Jews created a backlash.

Colin Mills, the write-in candidate for the at-large position on the board, received 1,157 votes, according to Mike Corrigan, the civic association's former president and a member of the election committee.

The turnout for the election, which was held Saturday and Sunday the Reston Festival at Reston Town Center, was so heavy that elections committee members had to photocopy additional ballots.

"It's a fabulous result," said Debra Steppel, the former Reston Citizens Association board member behind the write-in campaign. "I' m very, very pleased."
To his credit, Meyercord made a decent point when contacted for comment:
"I think Ms. Steppel should be congratulated for her efforts," Meyercord said today. "All Americans should be as active defending their people, although I think she's misinformed."
At this point, we'd insert our now-stock comment about the benefit of staying informed, etc., etc., but it's late and we want grilled chicken.

A Very Special RA Meeting: New Headquarters Decided?

floor plan.jpgThe Reston Association Board of Directors is holding a "special" meeting at 7 tonight, and among other "action," the RA board plans to "receive an analysis by Cresa Partners of the proposed economic offers from the properties under consideration for relocating the Association’s Headquarters Facility." We're guessing that portion of the meeting will be held in executive session, meaning there's no point in showing up and seeing if the RA decides to pick a building with the previously mentioned cubby for child labor.

Meanwhile, RA President Robin Smyers has weighed in again on this filthy "web log" about the other uncontroversial decision in the works, the one involving a juicery and attached rec center. Here's what she said in the comments of an earlier post:

As I thanked everyone who attended last night's meeting at Lake Anne Elementary, it is OK for us to disagree. I do appreciate the fact that people are paying attention and weighing in on the issues that we have been working on long before I was elected to the board, and will be after I am gone. My term is up in April 2010 and I look forward to the supporting the next director for Lake Anne and Tall Oaks.

Again, it is OK to disagree. Getting involved and staying involved is a responsibility I hope many in our community will embrace.I will not apologize for letting the process run its due course. All members should be heard and to the previous point, I do hear from hundreds of people, many who are in fear of being ridiculed for supporting some of the ideas others who disagree. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
We agree with her, and as we've said before, hope some of those who support the rec center find a way to make themselves heard. Just over the weekend, we saw what can happen when people don't pay attention to what goes on in their community, when a heavily funnel cake-and-lemonade intensive event/election became a potentially huge embarrassment after people found out, most likely too late to do anything about it, that an unopposed candidate has, shall we say, a bit of an image problem.

Speaking of which: The results of the Reston Citizens Association election are supposed to be announced tomorrow, so we'll soon find out if Reston is represented by the author of "America the Doodiful" and other, less humorous work. Based on the comments on this "web log," this race has attracted considerable attention from folks whose interests are far removed from DRB violations and earth-toned architecture, so we're not the only ones watching closely.


Saturday, July 11, 2009

RCA & the Reston Festival: Fun, Games and Holocaust Denial

PH2009071100533.jpgIf you're wandering around the Reston Festival this weekend and happen to make time between visiting the gutter guard booth and the chili dog stand to stop by the Reston Citizens Association booth to do a little of that stone-cold votin', be warned: One of the RCA's unopposed candidates is a Holocaust denier. Wait, what?

Ken Meyercord has an Ivy League education, a high-tech job at Freddie Mac, a local public-access cable television show on international affairs and a long history of writing about what he says are "myths" of the Holocaust, including a piece called "(Holo-) History is Bunk."

Now Meyercord hopes to add a new entry on his résumé: winning an at-large seat on the board of the Reston Citizens Association, a quasi-governmental body that sets the agenda for the community of 60,000, which is not officially a municipality. The odds are in his favor, because he is running unopposed.

But some residents, mortified by his views on the Holocaust, have thrown together a last-minute write-in campaign to stop him. Former RCA Board Member Debra Steppel, along with five volunteers, is soliciting votes for write-in candidate Colin Mills, a member of the board who was not planning to seek reelection until Meyercord's views came to light.
All because of easily misconstrued comments like this:
"To hear eyewitnesses tell it, it took little more than a match for the corpses to spontaneously combust."
That's not from his RCA campaign literature, which advocates making sure Reston doesn't turn out like "Queens," but from one of his publications that got the attention of Steppel, the former RCA board member behind the write-in campaign. But we're sure Mr. Meyercord will clear up this whole wacky misunderstanding. Right?
In an interview yesterday, Meyercord described himself as "a Holocaust revisionist," taking pains to distinguish himself from Holocaust deniers.

"I believe millions of Jews were uprooted from their homes and died in droves," Meyercord said. But he dismisses as Allied propaganda the assertion that Nazi Germany embarked on a mission to annihilate European Jews, a plan known as the Final Solution. He also denies that Nazis used gas chambers to murder Jews, saying gas chambers did not exist, and expresses skepticism that the number of Holocaust victims reached 6 million.

Meyercord said he does not understand the fuss over his candidacy. "I would say it's a little off-topic," Meyercord said.
Among his other, more on-topic accomplishments: a "song parody" called "America the Doodiful." We're guessing there's some satire at play there, but we're not sure. Anyhoo, voting continues through Sunday, so be sure to grab a corn dog and do the right thing if you're in that neck of the woods.



Friday, July 10, 2009

Reston Real Estate: A long time ago, in a planned community far, far away....

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Now here is a swank designer motif Bob Simon could only have dreamed of when he envisioned his New Town out in the woods back in the '60s! This room, and the rest of the Ring Road structure it's attached to, can be yours for a mere $550,000. We especially like how Yoda is standing on the heating register for warmth. Let's just hope that register doesn't connect to an external exhaust port just two meters wide, or you'll never be able to get homeowners insurance with an X-Wing rider.

Little known fact: Every room in Restonian World Headquarters looks exactly like this.

Heal the World (or at least Reston Parkway)

mj.jpg

The passing of the "King of Pop" didn't just profoundly move Anderson Cooper and Larry King, as can be attested by this makeshift Michael Jackson memorial, complete with Beanie Baby thingies, plus a balloon with a puppy clutching a heart and a note addressed to "Prince and Blanket," spotted at the intersection of Reston Parkway and Baron Cameron Avenue on Thursday. Very touching, but when did Macaulay Culkin move to Reston?

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Brown's Chapel Rec Center: Signal to Noise

rec center wtf.jpgHere's yet another account of yet another Brown's Chapel rec center meeting, this time the one held by those sticks in the mud at Reston ARCH, who keep insisting on these crazy concepts of "accountability" and whatnot. The one bit of news we gleaned is that Brown's Chapel is no longer the only site being considered -- Lake Newport is also apparently under consideration. Wait, isn't that the same general neck of the woods?

Anyhoo, here's the account:

Went to the meeting last night. Very high signal to noise. Robert Goudie did a good job as moderator. Most questions went to RCC, but RA clarified several issues.

Large crowd very hostile to large cost of plan and loss of green space.

RCC did good job explaining:
a) Long lead time needed for planning infrastructure upgrades
b) Confident that planned population increase in Reston (post-Metro) can fund new rec. center
c) RCC & RA working together, not RCC and FC Parks and Rec
d) Site planning is Lake Newport or Browns Chapel
e) Baron Cameron & Lake Fairfax Parks, or North Government Center areas have "issues"
f) One detailed plan with max of 100 million in total costs over 20 years.
f1) Construction cost projected to be 50 million with free land provided by someone
g) No express desire for rec center from local businesses (pay 45% of SD 5 taxes)
h) More cost effective to have one big center
i) RCC wants a championship sized indoor pool, RA wants indoor tennis
j) Key to development direction is response to phone survey in Fall 09
k) Earliest bond (if needed) would be issued ~ winter 2011

RA added:
l) Value of land is approximately $4 million. ($2-2.5 / sq. ft. @ 12 acres) No assessment in hand
m) Only DRB approved structure is a covered tennis area at Lake Newport
n) Cost was $1.8 million in 2003. Plan cancelled then due to high cost.
o) even with approval from the residents via referendum, a planned building, and a bond issue to pay for $100 million, the DRB needs to approve design.

My note: DRB seems to be the unelected, uncontrollable ruler of what Reston becomes.

As of today, no post on ARCH or RCC sites on meeting.

Good times.
Good times, indeed! And with tonight's meeting at Lake Anne Elementary, the good times keep on coming. We've said it before, and we'll say it again -- we'd welcome the folks who are in favor of the rec center to speak up, as they appear to be nowhere to be found. At least not on this filthy "web log," anyway.

This and That: A Random Perambulation Around Reston News We Haven't Gotten Around to Posting

  • The Reston Citizens Association is holding elections in the most democratic way imaginable: at a booth at this weekend's Reston Festival.

  • Here's a shocker: Commercial real estate still kinda sucks.
    “There isn’t a lot of positive news out there,” said Mark Larsen, president of Reston-based Larsen Commercial Real Estate/ONCOR International. “There’s a little more activity now than there was between October and March, but that isn’t saying much. If companies can downsize or sublet the space, they’re going to.”

    According to statistics from the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, the county’s commercial vacancy rate hit 14.5 percent in 2008, up from 10.9 percent the previous year. That remains significantly lower than the high-water mark of 2002, when a post-9/11 freeze pushed vacancy rates to nearly 19 percent.
    Reston's vacancy rate is higher than the countywide average, at 17.5 percent. Way to go! But federal contractor Ericcson recently moved its headquarters to Reston, where we presume they'll be strapping bombs to dolphins and figuring out where that extra 's' in their name came from.

  • Stratton Woods Park, which is really closer to Bratz-lovin' Fox Mill than Reston, is getting some awesome lighting to allow 3am softball games and whatnot. Apparently some people aren't happy about this, but at least they'll still have a volleyball court to play on.

  • Now that it's illegal to text your BFF while driving, a Reston company by the name of ZoomSafer is developing software that will allow you to text, or "tweet," or whatever it is the kool kidz do these days, via voice commands. Our favorite part is that the software will remind you to "drive safely." Nanny state! Or you could just use the bitchin' satellite phones offered by Reston-based TerreStar, which have the added benefit of beaming your tweets into outer space, where perplexed aliens can wonder what "OMG" means.

  • A couple of good-news numbers: The Greater Reston Arts Center turns 35, celebrating with a juried exhibit called "Faraway Nearby." We assume they're talking about Loudoun County. Also, Reston Interfaith dedicated its 39th house for a needy family, which we're sure will lead to more snark in our comments section.

  • The Reston Chamber of Commerce has a new CEO. Mark Ingrao is a past Chairman of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce and Leadership Arlington, which means he probably moved out here to escape the gangsta rap videos. Matt Brennan of Brennan & Waite, P.L.C. was also announced as Chairman of the Chamber for 2009-10, but we don't have a good joke for that, so let's move on.

  • Finally, the economy might stink, but there's one thing you can still get for free in Reston: 80 gallons of unfiltered restaurant grease. Bon appetit!

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Photo Finish

GranPrixX_070109a_cmyk.jpg


A photo of the Reston Grand Prix at Reston Town Center this past weekend, or traffic on the soon-to-be dieted Lawyers Road? You be the judge.

Speaking of which, the grand resurfacing project of the Lawyers Road velodrome begins Aug. 2 and is expected to be completed by Aug. 27. Beat the rush and start shopping for spandex pants now!

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

This Week in Crime: A Rough Couple of Weeks to be a Cop in Reston

Police officers were assaulted in two separate incidents around Reston in recent weeks. First up, a noise complaint in Northgate:

Police arrested a man for assault on a police officer on Monday, June 22. Officers were called to the 1500 block of Northgate Square around 1:27 a.m. for a noise complaint. As they attempted to talk to the man, he was not cooperative and allegedly assaulted one of the officers. The officers struggled with the suspect and were able to take him into custody.
Next, an officer was assaulted by one of three men pushing a stolen car on Reston Parkway and South Lakes Drive:
Three men were arrested on Wednesday, July 1 after one of them fought with an officer. The officer was driving in the area of Reston Parkway and South Lakes Drive around 3:55 a.m. when she saw the men pushing a car off the roadway. She pulled up behind them and got out of the car to assist. One man allegedly pushed the officer and a struggle began; the other two men were not involved. She was able to subdue and detain the suspect. An investigation determined the car was taken without permission from a neighboring jurisdiction. All three suspects were arrested and transported to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center. No one required medical attention.
After all that, you'll almost be relieved to see the usual Reston crime -- petty theft on Reston's Herndon's ultra-safe sidewalks and trails:
A woman was arrested for robbing another woman on Monday, June 29 in the 13100 block of Parcher Avenue. The victim was walking on a sidewalk around 8:30 p.m. when the suspect allegedly approached her and demanded money. The suspect grabbed a necklace from the victim’s neck and fled on foot. The victim was not injured.
Or if that doesn't grab you, how about an attempted burglary?
A man and a woman returned to their home in the 2600 block of Logan Wood Drive at about 12:30 p.m. to find a man attempting to break in. The 41-year-old woman screamed and the man fled. The couple saw the man flee in a small, silver or white sport utility vehicle. No description of the man is available at this time and no injuries were reported.
Happy summer, everyone,

Brown's Chapel Rec Center: Flyers and Whatnot

rec center wtf.jpgSouth Lakes Mom discovered a curious thing after a swim meet last week: a pro-rec center flyer stuffed under the windshield of her car:

We don’t know who did this. There may well be a coalition of Reston residents who are in favor of the Rec Center but who have not organized into a group (such as those opposed have for Save Browns Chapel). This flyer may be the doing of people in favor of a new Rec center.

However, the way the flyer reads sounds like the same party-line that has been coming out of the RA and RCC. If it is from RA and RCC, they used our money to print these up and probably paid a bunch of people to go around papering the cars. And let’s not even get started about the litter…
Regular readers of this filthy "web log" know that we're not at all happy about the way this process was handled -- and we would conservatively guess that 99.9 percent of the commenters on this site, at least, are not in favor of a rec center, juicery or rollerdrome in any form or fashion. But the folks who are in favor of it should be organizing and finding a way to build support for it, before it's too late to provide some of that "input" the RA and RCC loves them so much of. Who knows, maybe they'll get their chance at the two meetings planned this week about the rec center. Seems more productive than a bunch of flyers.

Monday, July 6, 2009

Flashback Monday: Reston's First Church

church.jpg

Even though the idea of a planned community with "town houses" in the middle of nowhere seemed a bit heretical at the time, the antidisestablismentarian types that decided to call the New Town home in the mid-1960s still hankered for that old-time religion.

Here is a nicely artsy picture of Reston's first place of worship, Redeemer Methodist Church -- which is what we think is now the UCC church on North Shore Drive near Lake Anne. Apparently their prayers were strong enough to create a mini-vortex near the right-hand side of the photo which looks remarkably like a hole punch.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Fairfax Considering City Status, Making Reston its Most Earth-Toned Precinct

CityLimitsSign.jpgSo Fairfax County, what with its awesome "downtown" of car dealerships and shopping malls at Tysons Corner, wants to make it official and consider becoming an incorporated city.

Fairfax County Executive Anthony H. Griffin told the Board of Supervisors that city status would allow Fairfax greater autonomy over taxes and transportation. But it would also turn the tables on the nearby capital city: With 1 million residents, a new Fairfax City would dwarf the District of Columbia, which has fewer than 600,000. (Set aside for a moment that the county already surrounds a smaller Fairfax City.)
In your face, Washington, D.C., with your insignificant monuments and sports arenas and seat of federal government! All of which is well and good, but where does that leave us and our earth-toned residential development? So much for that whole Res-TOWN thing if that happens, but what would we call Reston then?

If this comes to pass, we want Reston to be considered a shire of Fairfax County City. Shirehood now!


Brown's Chapel Rec Center: Small Group Fun!

rec center wtf.jpgHere's the "fun" graphic the Reston Association has come up with to ilustrate the "community input" process for the $65 million rec center/ juicery proposed for Brown's Chapel Park. It also aptly illustrates the change in how these meetings are being held.

Apparently tired of hearing from angry mobs, the Reston Association took a new tack for this week's meeting in North Reston. They split people into small groups to have facilitated discussions, and here's one account from the Save Brown's Chapel group:

The crowd of nearly 200 Reston residents split up into 18 groups for small discussion, and after a 30 minute discussion, each shared their collective results with members of the RA & RCC boards. The response was nearly unanimous (as Group 6 succinctly put it):

NO to a new rec center.

NO to building on ANY open/green space in Reston.
It's the very essence of the character of our community.

NO to giving up Reston land. If Fairfax County wants it bad enough,
let them build it on Fairfax County land.

While many were in favor of covering tennis courts, the crowd was clear: cover existing courts and do not build new indoor tennis on open/green spaces. Even those in favor of indoor tennis were against costly new buildings. There was overwhelming concern for local businesses that would be impacted by a new rec center.
See the comments for a group-by-group breakdown of the "input," if you're into such things.

The next RA/RCC meeting is scheduled for next Thursday, July 9, at Lake Anne Elementary School, and those sticks in the mud at Reston ARCH, fresh off the heels of having the unmitigated gall to demand accountability in the ongoing RA headquarters process, have scheduled a rec center meeting of their own for 7pm Tuesday, at the Jo Anne Rose Gallery at Lake Anne. Now if someone would just schedule a meeting for Wednesday, we'd have our whole week planned out!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Restonian to be Shot into Space

363393main_jsc2009e140633_inline.jpgUnfortunately, it's not a member of the DRB. But a Reston resident is among the nine astronaut candidates selected by NASA for its first class of astronauts in five years.

Jack D. Fischer, 35, of Reston, is a major in the U.S. Air Force. The test pilot is currently a U.S. Air Force Strategic Policy intern at the Pentagon. He'll be part of the first astronaut corps to never fly in the space shuttle, which is scheduled to be retired next year.

The 2009 astronaut class is a relatively young group, with ages ranging from 30 to 43. NASA selected the nine from a field of 3,500 applicants to make up the new class, its 20th group since the original seven Mercury astronauts were unveiled in 1959.
In a Q&A, Fischer talks about how it felt to be selected:
Complete disbelief. It was a dream come true -- the chance to be a part of our space program. After the call, my wife and girls ran over, and we did a huge family hug while screaming and jumping up and down, and our confused beagle ran circles around us barking. We were all VERY excited!
Congrats. And who knows? Maybe someday one of the "good" Reston schools will be named after him.