Mysterious, 'Cloud-Like' Objects Spotted in Sky, Drop Unknown Liquid

As a rainy day draws to a close, this random twitterer shared this horrifying photo of hellfire and damnation preparing to strike the unvirtuous in that well-known den of iniquity, the Reston Town Center a bunch of clouds. More rain is expected this evening, so please to be watching this awesome yet informative video our "Face Book" friend, the Reston Association, "shared" with us:


Helpful information, to be sure (cough cough nanny state), but when our Facebook BFFs share stuff with us, we always secretly hope it'll be something more along these lines.

North County Hamburgler Strikes Again: Now Linked to 82 Incidents

This map of terror shows the long reach of the North County Hamburgler (NCH) (tm), which Fairfax County police have now linked to 82 incidents following an additional rash of burglaries in Oakton and McLean over the past few days.

During the overnight hours of Tuesday, September 28 into the early morning hours of Wednesday, September 29, seven additional homes were burglarized and an attempt was made to enter one other home in the Oakton area. In six of those incidents, the suspect entered through an unlocked door or window; the other two homes were entered by prying doors open.

The McLean Police District was struck the night before. During the overnight hours of Monday, September 27 into the early morning hours of Tuesday, September 28 one home was burglarized and there were attempts to enter three other homes.

There are now currently 82 incidents related to this serial burglar. Of those, 53 are burglaries or attempted burglaries. The remaining 29 incidents are larcenies from vehicles, suspicious noises and suspicious persons. These numbers remain fluid and change daily as reports are investigated.

The suspect continues to target money, purses and small items. However, two handguns were stolen from a vehicle and police urge residents to use caution should they encounter a burglar in their home. In addition, homeowners are urged to secure their homes, particularly at night, by locking all doors, windows and garage doors. Try not to leave money, keys or purses near an entryway and do not leave valuables in an unattended vehicle, to include garage door openers.

As you can see from the map, there have been a number of cases very close to Reston proper (and in its police precinct), but none in the heart of our beige community. Perhaps the NCH (tm) prefers the awesome brick-fronted McMansions of our neighbors, or perhaps our density and general people milling about cramp his burgling style.

Fairfax Police held a community meeting in Fair Oaks yesterday, and shared a few additional details:

Incidents occur between midnight and 6 a.m. People and dogs inside the house have not been a deterrent, and there has been no face-to-face contact between the suspect and any victims.

Police think the suspect parks miles away from where the incidents occur and uses wooded areas to come to a house from the backyard. There is no vehicle information available at this time, but police encourage reports of suspcious vehicles.

Contrary to what some recent e-mails among residents have been saying, police said they have no indication the crimes are gang-related...

Eighty-five percent of the burglaries have been non-force, Lantz said. Most incidents occurred because of unlocked doors and windows.

"If you don't see us in your neighborhood, please don't think we're not there," [Capt. Ron] Lantz said. "Because what we're doing down there is we may be in the woods, we may be in trees, so you're not going to see us."

Helicopters are being used both when the suspect is being pursued after an incident is reported and as a proactive measure, so residents shouldn't be alarmed to hear the helicopters flying by, police said.

"Robble, robble, robble," the NCH (tm) did not say when not contacted for comment.

The Wiehle Avenue of the Future: More Walking, Less Parking, and a W&OD 'Pedestrian Highway'

Another one of our fancy annotated maps can only mean one thing: The Acronym-Happy Fancy Reston Master Plan Task Force Previously Known as the RMPTF (TAHRMPTFPKARMPTF) has received a draft of its subcommittee's proposals for Wiehle Avenue, which calls for "a viable pedestrian and transit oriented place in which residents and workers can live, work, learn, shop and play with minimal need to drive a car." Which is good, since that fancy county parking garage is going to be filled with people commuting in from Loudoun's particleboard wastelands for the foreseeable future.

The document suggests that anything within a half-mile of the Metro station -- up to Sunrise Valley Drive on the south side of the Toll Road -- should be developed as "mixed-use, transit-oriented development" (translation: Cheesecake Factories on the ground floor, fancypants condos above). The subcommittee left some room open for development beyond that half-mile radius if it's part of a coordinated plan, such as redeveloping Plaza America, or if the developer promises shuttle service to the Metro or parks or a shiny bauble like an indoor rec center or something (cough cough bribe cough cough). Otherwise, the committee argues that development beyond that point should wait until there's another bridge or two across the Toll Road, presumably connecting Sunrise Valley and Sunset Hills at Soapstone and South Lakes (see the fancy map above).

The committee would like to see "educational and cultural institutions in urban-type campuses" (The 'Hervard' Correspondence Institute of Diesel Truck Repair and Gun Cleaning, or maybe a rollerdrome?) and stresses the importance of developing residential properties, particularly given the fact that existing Reston rules prohibit them along the Toll Road.

Then there's parking: The committee recommends reducing minimum parking requirements in this development area, both immediately and over time. Which is good, because until those additional bridges are built over the Toll Road, no one's going anywhere for a good chunk of the day. And then there's this:

The W&OD should be utilized as a bicycle and pedestrian "highway" to get people to and from the Wiehle station.

Those distance cyclists who zip past joggers and strollers at 30 mph are gonna love that!

The committee also repeats the need for a more urban grid of streets and ample accommodations for cyclists and pedestrians (i.e., fanciful concrete bollards to protect them from Grand Theft Auto-like drivers hopping curbs to try to make the 9:01 train into DC).

The committee is also pushing for a 20-25 percent open space requirement, with each developer expected to offer some space. The report also calls for an indoor recreation facility and "large athletic fields" in or near the development area.

Overall, the committee sees Wiehle as having lower development levels than the Reston Town Center, but a higher ratio of residential-to-office development. However, the committee deferred making a recommendation on what that ratio should be.

All in all, much of this sounds reasonable, especially since development is coming whether we like it or not. Of course, it's important to remember that all of these are merely proposals, guidelines, and nice-to-haves. The rubber hits the road when the county votes to approve specific development proposals, such as the Comstock Wiehle Metro development -- currently the only project on the books around the new metro station. It's safe to say that the Comstock proposal compromised on some of these principles for expediency, so it'll be important to keep an eye on every new project that comes down the pike as development inches forward.

Also, where's our Cheesecake Factory?

Next Up: Schnitzel Platters at the Macaroni Grill?

Um, that's great and all, but no one tell them that the radio is hidden under the coffeepot, okay?

This Week in Crime: Of Burglaries, Past and Present, Plus a Steroid Pleading for Reston Doctor

Fairfax County Police have released details about two homes that may have been struck by what we're calling the North County Hamburgler (tm) between Sept. 15 and 18.

A home in the 9200 block of Wood Glade Drive was burglarized some time between 9 p.m. on Wednesday, September 15 and 5 a.m. Thursday, September 16. An investigation determined a purse was stolen.

A home in the 9500 block of Locust Hill Drive was burglarized around 1:20 a.m. on Saturday, September 18. An investigation determined entry was made but nothing appeared to be missing.

Police didn't say that these two incidents were the work of the NCH (tm), but they seem to fit the M.O. Meanwhile, on the 11900 block of Winterthur Lane, someone stole a "steering wheel cover" from a parked vehicle. COINCIDENCE?

Meanwhile, remember that time a bunch of New York types targeted Indian families in Reston and elsewhere in Fairfax and Loudoun counties to burgle because of their proclivity for gold, only the county royally screwed up their prosecution?

Yeah, that was awesome. Federal prosecutors stepped in, and they finally got two guilty pleas from the couple at the center of the crime.

The husband in a couple that targeted South Asian families in Northern Virginia for break-ins pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to steal at least $500,000 worth of gold and other valuables in 37 burglaries.

Dagoberto Soto-Ramirez, 27, of New York City entered the plea in U.S. District Court in Alexandria less than a week after his wife admitted her guilt and described how the couple and third alleged conspirator -- who remains at large -- scrolled through names in phonebooks to target what they believed to be Indian homes.

The homes were chosen, the couple has told a federal judge, because the families often kept gold there as part of family customs.

Federal prosecutors picked up the case after local cases brought in Fairfax and Loudoun counties collapsed.

Soto-Ramirez was indicted on July 15 by a federal grand jury for conspiracy. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison when he is sentenced on Dec. 3.

According to court records, from January to November 2009, Soto-Ramirez and at least two others – his wife, Melinda Marie Soto, 34, and Francisco Gray, 40, both from New York – agreed to travel to Northern Virginia for mostly daytime burglaries.

Soto-Ramirez admitted in court that he helped locate names and residences of potential victims, posed as a service man when approaching target residences, and would break into the home if no one answered to search the residence for gold, jewelry, computers and other property. The burglars took their loot to New York, where they sold it, they told the court.

Soto pleaded guilty to conspiracy on Sept. 17. Gray remains a fugitive.

For a change of pace from burglaries, let's go to Florida, where, a Reston chiropractor pled guilty to steroid-related charges. But because it's Florida, where haphazard, breathtakingly stupid crime represents 95 percent of the state's economy (early bird dinners for senior citizens are the other 5 percent), nothing's ever quite that simple, and no one's ever completely guilty:

The state attorney's office in Polk County, Fla., said today that Douglas Owen Nagel, 50, of the 12000 block of Edgemere Circle in Reston was sentenced to three years of probation, 200 hours of community service and continued drug counseling after pleading guilty to attempted possession of a controlled substance.

Nagel, however, was not formally convicted, said prosecutor Chip Thullberry.

"Down here in Florida we call it 'adjudication of guilt,'" he said. "Upon completion of his sentence, Dr. Nagel's record will reflect the lack of a formal conviction."

Nagel was charged last March with seven counts of solicitation to deliver a controlled substance and one count of conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance.

Florida authorities allege that he purchased anabolic steroids for at least a year from Richard "Andy" Thomas of Lakeland, Fla. Thomas told detectives after his arrest he sold steroids to Nagel, said Carrie Eleazer, a spokeswoman for the Polk County Sheriff's Department. Thomas, 39, was sentenced to eight months in federal prison and three years of probation in June for possession with intent to distribute anabolic steroids.

Eleazer said detectives found a shipping label in Thomas' home addressed to Nagel's chiropractic office in Sterling. Eleazer said Thomas also told detectives that Nagel said he worked with professional athletes in the Washington area and he had boasted about supplying steroids to the Washington Nationals and Washington Capitals.

The Polk County Sheriff's Office said it had no evidence Nagel had provided any steroids to any professional athletes.

"Commit the crime, do the adjudication of guilt" doesn't quite have that catchy McGruff the Crime Dog ring to it, does it?

At the Reston Multicultural Festival, It's a Safety-Conscious World After All

So this weekend's Reston Multicultural Festival, which was pretty awesome and offered lots of international entertainment and various selections of food on a stick, was pretty exciting. But we especially appreciated the safety-conscious planning that resulted in multiple exit signs informing people how to leave an open-air canopy in case of emergency. An "open-air canopy," for those not in the know, is kind of like a tarp that's open on all four sides. Who knows, maybe they were worried that people might trip over a fanciful concrete bollard or something (cough cough nanny state).

Doesn't the fire marshall have something more important to do, like hang out at bars where people ignite the drink specials?

Important YouTubes Update: Ladies and gentlemen, we bring you the world's least multicultural video featuring the Multicultural Festival:


We guess wearing the baseball cap backwards is maybe a little multicultural.

Burglar Now Linked to 65 Incidents, Not Believed to Say 'Robble Robble' at Inappropriate Times

A burglar now linked to a total of 65 incidents since the end of August in northern Fairfax County, including an unknown number in Reston, most recently struck a home just south of Reston earlier this week, according to a Confidential Restonian Operative, who passed along this account:

The burglar even took off the collar the dog in the house was wearing for the invisible fence to get him out of the way (great watchdog).

Fairfax County Police are "putting a lot of manpower" towards catching him, according to an email circulating through Oakton and McLean. It states:

He is what the police are calling "a professional burglar, a predator who is very disciplined and methodical and not timid". He enters the house only long enough to take a purse or wallet left in the open, in a kitchen or over a chair, and any jewelry that may be nearby. He takes only cash, no credit cards or ID's. He has not gone up to second floor bedrooms to look for these things. He just grabs and goes from the first floor, leaving the purses and the rest of their contents scattered on the properties as he makes his way.

Police believe that the burglar, who apparently works alone, is a tall man of unknown ethnicity who almost certainly visits neighborhoods during the day to "study where he wants to go... possibly working around our houses, passing out pamphlets, etc."

Read the full text of the e-mail, with updated information from Fairfax police, in the comments.

We Get Letters: This is Not 1-800-Bollards

If this correspondence we received is any indication, we've apparently been a bit fixated on one particular architectural feature of late.

Hello,
Am [name redacted] and i will like to order some Bollard.Do you carry them in stock?I want 6 feet removable bollard diameter 275 mm.Do you carry this and what is the price?Also what type and sizes of this do you carry in stock and what is the price?Please advice methods of payment as well.

Thanks for the note, [name redacted!] We'll "advice" that if you're shopping for bollards for an awesome, if somewhat shaded, transit-oriented development, best to spend a bit extra for the fanciful ones. You're welcome.

Bedbugs, No, MJ, Yes: What The Internets Can Tell You About Reston

The great thing about the Internet, along with giving a weekend visitor to Reston something to brag about, is all the fun things you can learn about your community without even leaving the house. That's been the motto of this lazy filthy "web log" for years, but we've found a couple of new sites that provide detailed, if somewhat specific, news you can use.

First, the good news: Reston is not a haven for bedbugs, which are apparently eating New York City and much of the Midwest alive. While many of this fancy bedbugreports.com site's eyewitness reports detail sad nights spent in sad hotels in sad places, like the "Last Chance Motel in Pathetic, Wyoming" (not really), apparently one intrepid correspondent got bitten in the InterContinental Paris LeGrand, which is pretty darned fancy -- unless it's located in Paris, Texas, in which case we'd be more worried about being harassed for staying at a hotel with some foreign word in it than some minuscule insects.

So great. Yay Reston and its lack of bedbugs! But according to another website pointed out to us by a Confidential Restonian Operative, while we're insect free, we've got plenty of "roach clips," or whatever the kids today call "marijuana cigarettes." According to this fancy "web site," which is probably run on a hemp-powered server (George Washington and Ghengis Khan weaved baskets with hemp! It should totally be legal!), the "wacky tobaccy," as the kids today don't call it, is going for $75 for "an eighth" in our fair community, which would be awesome if we knew what an "eighth" was. On the bright side, it's apparently "high quality," much like our color palettes and midscale retail options. Meanwhile, in Ashburn, the stuff is apparently going for $120 "a quarter." Does that mean it's cheaper out there in the particleboard hinterlands, or more expensive? We might be able to calculate the number of deer on a three-quarter acre plot of land to the fourth decimal place, but this math eludes us.

Of course, we don't condone such things, and even the ging-powered site warns users that Virginia "strictly enforces" and is "socially highly intolerant" of such behavior. Someone be sure to tell these kids.

Have You Seen Me? Lake Anne Swing, AKA the Leaning Parallelogram of Reston, Missing

Secret Restonian operative "Sean" sent us this shocking picture of what was once a tranquil swing along the banks of Lake Anne, where weary travelers could rest amid the soothing sounds of the RELAC intake pump. As with other Lake Anne "art," we're guessing it originally had some new agey name like "Moon Perch" or something, but now it's gone, replaced by some helpful bright orange mesh to keep the dimwitted from attempting to sit down on a nonexistent swing (cough cough nanny state).

We're not exactly sure why the swing was taken down, but we're guessing that the fact that the walls surrounding it have not met at 90-degree angles in years probably had a little something to do with it.

Fairway to Heaven: Decision on Redevelopment Project Postponed Again

Once again, the Fairfax County Planning Commission has kicked the can deferred a decision about the fun Fairway Apartments redevelopment project. Depending on what you read, a decision has been postponed until Nov. 3 or indefinitely.

The move comes after a spate of letters criticizing the project -- which would raze the existing Fairway Apartments and replace them with a combination of midrise buildings and a mauvescraper -- from everyone from the Reston Citizens Association to the National Council of Churches (not really). Most recently, the Fairfax Coalition for Smarter Growth weighed in, saying among other things, that the project would disrupt "stable neighborhoods."

One of the key County objectives in redevelopment of portions of the County is the protection of stable neighborhoods. Superimposing a high density development in the midst of medium density neighborhoods far from retail and transit runs counter to this objective. This proposed development is much more suited for a high density area around one of the future metro stations.

Fairfax County staff has also recommended rejection of the project, saying, among many other things, that the "proposed development will dwarf and overwhelm the surrounding neighborhood" and reduce the overall amount of affordable housing, which developer JBG had sneakily -- and shamefully -- tried to eliminate altogether earlier in the process.

It's a shame in some ways, because redevelopment isn't necessarily the worst option for an aging garden apartment complex. But given the lack of proximity to future Metro stations, the fake downtown, or a village center -- which is where massive mauvescraper-style redevelopment should be concentrated, any project on this space should probably be considerably less dense.

So that's that, at least until November. But because we love the random bollard-like images that seem to accompany all these planning documents, here's a fun one:

Irony upon irony.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Inaugural Selection of the Restonian Book Club (tm)

Confidential Restonian operative "Diane" sent us the link to this facsinating book. Perhaps our reading comprehension skills need some work, but we got to page 75 before we figured out that the guy on the cover is not Bob Simon. Who knew that the discovery of the world's first synthetic dye in 1856 would result in color swatches and DRB violations? Ponderous.

So um, yeah, let's all read this "book" thingy and talk about it. Or just like most book clubs, we could pretend we read it and make stuff up, like how Queen Victoria commanded that the new color be made "more earth toney." Much like a lesser known book club, we're sure our ringing endorsement will make Mauve: The Book fly off the shelves, skyrocketing from its current 99,804 ranking on Amazon to somewhere in the high 98,000s. You're welcome.

An Inconvenient Truth (or Dare): Gore To Visit Reston

ZOMG, the rumors are true. Famous documentary filmmaker and tabloid darling Al Gore will be attending a fundraiser for Rep. Jim Moran, somewhere in Reston, sometime before the election on Sunday. Awesome!

His handlers would be best advised to keep him away from our denuded streambeds and certain Sterling businesses, lest he unplug himself from the Internet backbone buried under our community and go on a rampage, or maybe show people a lengthy powerpoint presentation against their will or something.

Spies Like Us: 'Massive' DIA Lease in Reston Town Center Replaces One Group of Spooks With Another

The Defense Intelligence Agency plans to consolidate many of its operations, which probably include strapping torpedos to dolphins and stuff, in a undisclosed location office park adjoining Reston Town Center, which sharp KGB types evildoers could probably find on a map.

The Defense Intelligence Agency has signed a 523,482-square-foot lease at Boston Properties’s Patriots Park in Reston Town Center, with plans to fill the entire two-tower property by 2013.

The agency, which works with the Pentagon on intelligence about foreign threats, will take space in the offices at 12310 and 12300 Sunrise Valley Drive under a 20-year lease and will gradually move into it, starting with 270,000 square feet in 2012. DIA workers will move into the remaining 250,000 square feet in May 2013.

DIA’s headquarters will stay at Bolling Air Force Base in D.C. The agency will roll other national offices, including posts at the Pentagon and 3100 Clarendon Blvd. in Arlington, into the new space as part of the Defense Department’s ongoing efforts to consolidate many of its leased and owned properties nationwide.

Others have written about the influx of shadowy intelligence types, but thanks to the Washington Post advertising supplement, we know that Reston is already full of them.

The DIA is actually taking space currently occupied by the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, which we guess must use fancy black ops helicopters, or satellites, or maybe Google Earth or something, to track the aforementioned bomb-toting dolphins. So in reality, we're just replacing one secretive, alphabet soup intelligence agency with another. So don't be surprised when your neighbors are abruptly "disappeared" and replaced with near-perfect replicas with convincing, if not completely watertight, back stories. Just nod politely when you go out to pick up the newspaper and go about your business.

On The YouTubes: A Flash Mob Assaults Lake Anne

Don't pinch yourself -- you suddenly haven't been magically teleported back to Park Slope, Brooklyn, ca. 2007, or maybe another place where lots of hipsters with fixed-gear bikes live. Our very own farmer's market at Lake Anne was beset entertained by a "flash mob" on Saturday morning, when a group of about 30 Reston residents, who had been practicing in secret for more than a month, congregated for a spontaneous dance to the Band classic, "The Weight."

The event was organized by Teri Westbrook, a Lake Anne resident.

"I have been a dancer all my life," Westbrook said. "I participated in a flash mob in Washington, DC, in early spring, and it was so much fun. We practiced on and off for about four weeks. We had to do a lot of different rehearsals to accommodate people's schedules.

After the dance portion, the mob sang the song "Red Rover," with the lyrics changed to be a tribute to the farmers market.

Actually, this is all kinds of awesome. More of this kind of stuff, please.

Update: Our favorite correspondent, The Peasant From Less Sought After South Reston, shares a glimpse of what a future flash mob at the Wiehle Avenue Metro station might look like, minus the fancy architecture and the smoke from various track fires.

The Boy With The Dragon Tattoo: Just Another Week in Reston Crime

Reston only barely resembles Sweden, but check out this bit of crime seemingly inspired by one of those bestsellers all the fancy "book clubs" are talking about:

Two men, ages 35 and 37, were robbed at knifepoint by two men in the 1500 block of Cameron Crescent Drive around 12:20 a.m. on Monday, September 13. The suspects were described as black, about 6 feet tall and 180 pounds. One was about 37 years old while the other was about 27 years old and had a tattoo, possibly of a dragon, on his neck. The victims were taken to a local hospital for non life-threatening injuries.

Once the assailant's brought to justice, we're optioning the book rights.

Fairfax County Police are also investigating a series of burglaries focused on the northern part of the county, including Reston.

Detectives have linked at least 44 reported incidents that they believe were committed by the same suspect. Of those, there are 24 burglaries, 13 larcenies from vehicles and two unlawful entries. These incidents began on Tuesday, August 24 in the Clifton area. Since then, the suspect has targeted homes throughout the Sully, Fair Oaks, Reston and McLean Police Districts.

The suspect mainly enters occupied homes through unlocked or open doors and windows. He steals cash, purses and property from inside. The purses are usually discarded outside in close proximity to the victims’ homes with only cash missing. He enters vehicles that are unlocked or smashes a window and takes property from inside that is in plain view. All of these incidents have occurred during the overnight hours.

Detectives believe this suspect is a man, 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 10 inches tall and 150 to 175 pounds.

Reston was also home to a daring art theft! Apparently, someone stole a painting from a vehicle parked on Killingsworth Avenue. Through extensive crime scene reconstruction and computer analysis, we've created this composite sketch of the artwork:

(Note: Actual painting may vary from composite.)

Fairfax Planners Postpone Decision on Excelsior Project, Again

Hey, remember that time that a developer wanted to slap two fancy mid-rise residential buildings smack dab in the middle of the Oracle Campus on Sunset Hills Drive, only those nerds in the Fairfax County planning office wanted the project rejected, in part because of questions about how it would be integrated with the existing office space, and in part because of the "lack of detail" in the smudgy, poorly Xeroxed renderings of some off-the-shelf architectural dreck that looked like it was designed by a bored 12-year-old using AutoCAD?

Yeah, that was awesome. Well, the Fairfax County Planning Commission took another look at the project this week, and once again deferred a decision on Excelsior LLC's proposal. For those of you keeping score at home, this is the fourth time this project has been deferred by county planners. Maybe someone just can't take a hint!

If approved, the two buildings would contain a maximum of 457 residential units and 830 parking spaces, 820 of which would be in an underground parking garage, as well as one acre of open space. A third office building has also already been approved in an unrelated process, but not yet built.

County planners will once again take up the proposal on October 6 -- presumably after they fix the toner in their copier.

This and That: A Random Traipse Across Reston News

• Secret Restonian operative "Sean" sent us this shocking picture of a non stream-related treepocalyse taking place along North Shore Drive. The United Christian Parish has razed its old parsonage, but fear not -- it will be recycled! Apparently, little bits of parsonage will become "aggregate," mulch and boiler fuel.
  
  
• You know that fancy Not Necessarily the Silver Line that might someday extend out to Dulles Airport? Apparently, the second phase, which will extend from Wiehle Avenue into Darkest Loudoun County, urbanizing Targetville in the process, will cost a cool $3.8 billion, leading planners to wonder if putting the Dulles station somewhere "near" the terminal instead of building an underground station adjacent to it might make sense. After all, who wouldn't want to walk an extra two-tenths of a mile when they're trundling around six suitcases and two toddlers?
  
  
• Hey, great news. After considering relocating its headquarters to some crappy office park in Ashburn, VeriSign went ahead and decided to lease the current Sallie Mae headquarters in Reston's Fake Downtown. Huzzah! VeriSign employees, the bread ends are on us at the Macaroni Grill.
  
  
• To help their fellow students understand the concept of Ramadan, a couple of Reston college students led a hajibi challenge at the "University of Mary Washington," which is what used to be called Mary Washington College back in the day. Conservative web-loggers responded with their typical nuanced and sophisticated analysis of the benefits of expanding one's horizons and attempting to understand differing perspectives and cultures. Ha ha, no, of course they didn't. Had you going there for a moment, though, didn't we?
  
  
• What better way to celebrate the opening of a new restaurant in Reston? A "little black dress" contest, of course! Sadly, Bob Simon was only the third runner up.
  
  
• Congressman Jim Moran has apparently taken a break from his busy schedule hosting town hall meetings to run for re-election, and he had a debate with his Republican and Green challengers in Reston. You can watch a fancy video of the debate, which we are embarrassed to admit that we clicked away from to watch a hilarious cat video about two minutes into the description of the rules:
  
  
  
• Ever wondered what happened to all the coins tossed into the fountains in Reston's Fake Downtown? Our BFFs at Patch have the answer, and apparently it has nothing to do with gilding the fancy brick sidewalks.
  
  
• The Sweetgreen saladry is opening its Reston location today in the Fake Downtown, somewhere near the cupcakery.
  
  
• Members of the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce, along with their peers from Arlington, are going to China, where they will be greeted with a "traditional meal of Peking Duck," presumably at the Beijing Macaroni Grill.
  
  
• If and when the economy improves, Charlotte, N.C., is supposedly getting its own suburban Reston clone, only presumably with more NASCAR-related street names. Also, those two-dimensional yard decorations depicting deer and ladies' bloomers will likely be permissible -- if not required -- by their version of the DRB.
  
  
• Finally, we're not much into that fancy book-reading, but we heartily recommend this stunning masterpiece solely on the basis of the name of its protagonist:

  The tough former Navy SEAL swore he didn’t have a heart…until now.
  
  Former Navy SEAL Sam Reston keeps to himself. His world is dangerous, uncertain, violent…and there is no room in it for the helpless and weak. Then the most beautiful woman in the world moves in next door to him . . . .

  ... and promptly gets dinged by the DRB for putting red mulch in her front yard. This time, it's personal!

Meanwhile, in the Anti-Reston: New "Web Site," Same Old Fear of the Other

Well lookie here, Herndon's own fancy Patch "web site" has launched, promising news from Reston's alter ego. The site is helmed by former Observer staffer Leslie Perales, who knows the territory well. Which is why it seems like deja vu that the inaugural news story involved people all up in arms about the illegals, as usual:

Though neither item was on the Town Council's agenda Tuesday night dozens of people came out to speak of their support or opposition to Herndon's 287(g) program and street solicitation ordinance.

After an hour of regularly scheduled presentations the Town Council opened up the floor for public comment. The town's 287(g) program allows local police to perform immigration law enforcement functions. The street solicitation ordinance keeps people from soliciting goods and services from public right-of-ways within the town.

Lisa Hernandez said she has heard rumors that the Virginia New Majority has been seeking "puppets" to spread their message throughout the town. She said she wants the Town Council to know she is not a puppet and prior to joining VNM she felt she didn't have a voice in Herndon.

Oh, right, the evil union conspiracy to reopen the day labor center and put its own members out of work by an influx of cheap labor. We almost forgot!

The two ordinances in question were approved by the previous members of the town council who were voted out in the spring, but softened after the council got a nasty note or two from those other evil no-goodniks at the ACLU, who for some crazy reason -- maybe all that fluoride in their office water cooler -- seemed to think an ordinance that prohibited Latinos from doing anything resembling soliciting work but still allowed high school cheerleaders to parade around advertising car washes might be a teensy bit discriminatory. What is this, Russia or Fire Island?

Now, after all this suspicious agitation from these community organizers, it seems the political tide may be shifting in our neighbor to the west:

Multiple members of the audience brought forward petition cards, which they said included more than 500 signatures in support of repealing the street solicitation ordinance.

Sherry Blanton said she is concerned that the street solicitation ordinance makes Herndon seem unfriendly to outsiders. She said the town seems to only be known for its stances against immigration. Julius Bradley said he feels the ordinance is "mean-spirited" and negative for the community.

Or maybe not!

While a large number of the more than 75 people who attended the meeting were there to speak against the ordinance, many audience members who supported the town's efforts also spoke out.

Herndon resident George Taplin said he has been very pleased with the performance of the council over the past four years. He said most of the council members have kept their promise that they would work for the betterment of the town. He asked the new members to make sure their service is to the town and not to their own agenda or outside groups.

Joel Scalzo said he has seen a lot of change in his 10 years in Herndon and feels much of it has been positive. "Herndon is a welcoming community," he said. "This is an old argument and I'm sick of it." He said the town is a very welcoming community as long as residents are willing to live inside the law.

Others aren't quite so sure:

Don Owens, who serves as the vice president of the Herndon Chamber of Commerce, said while the Herndon Chamber has no official position on the matter they do have anecdotal evidence that there does seem to be an image problem in Herndon, and they do encourage open dialogue.

Owens said the town's image impacts local businesses and home values and that is something that concerns the chamber. He said Realtors have a hard time selling or leasing residential and commercial properties in Herndon and many feel Herndon has ended up with a bad reputation in recent years.

Will the new council decide to abolish the regulations? Will the ACLU sue, requiring town residents to hire day laborers to carry them across the 7-11 parking lot to purchase Big Gulps? Fortunately in the wake of the loss of the town's only "news paper," we now have a way to find out.

At Lake Anne, We All Live in an Earth-Toned Submarine

We understood maybe every third word of this fancy "social media" update from the Reston Association, but we think the gist is that we'll need to keep a lookout for the dastardly Formerly Blue Meanies Forced to Change Their Color to Burnt Umber By the Even More Dastardly DRB Under the Sea.

On the YouTubes: We Watch the Reston Association Videos So You Don't Have To

My word, Andy Sigle gets more and more casual every month in these fancy videos from the Reston Association, foregoing the summer casual look for a spiffy polo shirt in this September edition. By the time winter rolls around, he'll probably be shirtless and wearing body paint, just like all those morons superfans you see at football games in December.

"Have you ever wondered why Reston Association is permitted access to your property for inspections?" Sigle asks. No, we haven't, but that's kind of creepy when you get right down to it. Covenants Advisor Julie Loy explains that you signed away your rights when you bought your beige house or townhouse or condo or whatever, due to some easement of "ingresss or egress" or something that was in the 974 pages of documents the closing agent thrust vaguely in your face during the closing process. Tough break, suckers! Fortunately, the video shows that any such agent of the RA will wear a snazzy green jacket with the words "Reston Association" on the back as they creep around your backyard, taking pictures and generally lurking about in search of illegal light fixtures and other threats to our ability to Live, Work, Play and Get Involved (tm) in perfect harmony.

On a lighter note, there's lot of awesome treepocalypse footage of people dragging dead tree limbs and greenery around the Old Westbury Recreation site in South Reston, which was part of AOL/Monster's day of charity this summer. Apparently the goal was to eradicate Japanese Honeysuckle, one of eight VERBOTEN pants in Reston, and watching the invasive menace get hacked out of the primeval forest from the comfort of your computer is a lot like sitting in the cheap seats at a NASCAR race when a wreck goes down. Yeaaaaaaaaaaah!

Reston Parkway Metro Station to Encroach on Targetville

Last night, the folks planning Metro's extension took time away from their busy schedule of extinguishing track fires and raising fares to come to Reston and talk about the second phase of the fancy Silver Line (apparently not the official color -- maybe the DRB sent the Metro Board a packet of earth-toned color swatches or something). Phase 2 of the As of Now Uncolored Line will extend from Wiehle Avenue through Dulles and into the particleboard wastelands of Loudoun County, assuming it's built in our lifetimes. If you missed all the fun, you can download the information packet about Phase 2 and maybe read it aloud to yourself or something.

For us, the big takeaway was that the Reston Parkway station, which will be sited to the west of the Toll Road intersection, is actually a bit further west than we thought -- west enough, in fact, to encroach on Targetville, Reston's most retail-focused homeless encampment. But the people that showed up for the hearing talked about other stuff, like growth and traffic and whatnot.

John Bowman, who co-chairs the Reston 2020 Committee of the Reston Citizen's Association was on hand reviewing the Phase 2 proposals.

"We [Reston 2020] understand the importance of the changes coming to Reston with the Metro and that the inevitable growth represents opportunities for our community as well as potential dangers," he said. "It is crucial that this growth is well planned and implemented in order to benefit both current and future residents, as well as developers and the business communities of Reston."

One concern of Reston2020 and many citizens is protecting the wetlands near the Herndon-Monroe Station.

Also in attendance was Joe Stowers, representing the Dulles Corridor Rail Association (DCRA), a non-profit membership organization formed to advocate rail in the Dulles corridor. DCRA advises decision makers on transit-related issues, including funding, operations, and station location and access.

"I'm here to strongly support rail moving ahead," said Mr. Stowers.

Alice Markham, a Reston resident who recently expressed her concern that traffic is going to get much worse before it gets better in a letter last week to The Washington Post's Dr. Gridlock, was also at the meeting.

"While my primary concern is with the Phase 1 Wiehle Avenue station, I have the same issues about traffic congestion around the other Reston metro stations," she said last night after giving her verbal comments to project staff.

Meanwhile, Rob Whitfield of the Dulles Corridor Users Group has sent the Airport Authority an "open e-mail" claiming, among other things, that it operates like a "third-world dictatorship." And we thought it was just the smoke-filled, frequently derailing trains that had that decaying feel!

The scope of the Public Workshop being held tonight in Reston is deliberately designed to limit information given to the public to design matters. The far greater cost and financial issues that will impact the public living and working in the Dulles Corridor are being withheld from public scrutiny - that's what you get when a Democrat Governor makes a deal with his Democrat buddies on the MWAA Board so that his union labor friends can suck a billion or more in hidden Davis Bacon construction contract cost "taxes" from hapless commuters.

A second public meeting will be held at 6pm Tuesday in Sterling. (Update: Hunter Mill Supervisor Cathy Hudgins is also sponsoring a community meeting on Dulles Metro at 7pm next Wednesday, Sept. 22, at South Lakes High School.)

This Week in Crime: On Foot, By Bike, and By Van: Reston Crime is a Big Pile of Sad

A cyclist suffered injuries after colliding with a car during Saturday's Reston Triathlon.

Fire and rescue vehicles came to the aid of an injured bicyclist who was involved in a crash with a motor vehicle during this morning’s Reston Triathlon. As the participants turn left on South Lakes to pedal up Ridge Heights Road toward Langston Hughes Middle School to get to the transition area at South Lakes and finish the bike portion of the race they were confronted by the sight none of like to see – a fallen athlete. In this instance, a motorist apparently pulled out into the Ridge Heights Road as a cyclist was coming up toward the schools.

The cyclist and the car collided. According to an FABB post, the biker was unconscious and, after lying immobile in the road, was taken away by ambulance.

We've heard varying accounts of the injury, ranging from "critical" to "minor." Hope the cyclist's okay. (Update: The cyclist is reportedly "doing fine.")

Meanwhile, as has been the case on South Reston's picturesque network of paths, taking a pleasure stroll around Lake Anne Plaza in the middle of the night is probably not recommended:

Police arrested a man for allegedly attempting to rob a 33-year-old man in the 1600 block of Washington Plaza around 1 a.m. on Monday, August 30. A 28-year-old man from Cameron Crescent Drive in Reston, was charged with robbery. The victim was not injured.

Also, in two separate incidents, sunglasses were stolen from a business on Baron Cameron Avenue and a residence on Chapel Cross Way. Coincidence?

Alfredo R. Prieto, convicted in 2008 for the rape and murder of Rachael A. Raver, and the murder of her boyfriend Warren H. Fulton III, both 22, in a vacant lot outside Reston in December 1988, has returned to Fairfax County for a sentencing trial as prosecutors attempt to win the death penalty for Prieto for the third time. The trial is expected to last through October.

And finally, if you were in the vicinity of the northern part of the Spectrum after lunch today, you might have seen the FedEx van that somehow managed to jump the curb and roll halfway down the hill to the Inova emergency care center parking lot. There was an ambulance on the scene, which just seems weird because, you know, the accident happened adjacent to the parking lot of an emergency care center.

Attention History Buffs: Were Reston's Previous Residents Homicidal Nudists? (Spoiler Alert: Yes)

Thinking back to Reston's ur-creation myth, we all know that Bob Simon created our earth-toned community out of a clump of russet brown Virginia clay and a fistful of oil company dollars back in the freewheeling 1960s.

Before that momentous event, the area's only residents were a bunch of squirrels (but not Earl), the remaining residents of the drunken village of Wiehle, which had been founded around the turn of the last century.... and, it turns out, another sort of "new town" with its own distinctive rules that residents were expected to follow to the letter.

An HOA? Not quite. Reston, it turns out, used to be home to a nudist colony, which in turn was home to a homicidal maniac who killed his wife and infant child back in 1949!

No, really.

The book recounts the major crime incidents in Fairfax between 1921 and 1990. They include Charles Holober's murder of his wife and child in 1949 in the nudist colony that is now Reston.

Wow. First of all, we plan to change the return address on all our voluminous correspondence to "The nudist colony that is now Reston, Va." Second of all, we literally leapt to the Google machine to try to learn more about this mid-century garden of Eden depravity, as did our favorite correspondent, the Peasant From Less Sought After South Reston, who knows a good story for history buffs (get it?) when he sees one.

Unfortunately, there's not much out there about the nudist colony.

The Green Forest Nudist Colony was located in Pender (modern day Reston), off Lawyers Road, overlooking the Snake Den Lake. It was open at least from 1940 to 1949. It was the site of the murder of Frances Holober and June Holober on February 24, 1949. It was also known as the "Green Foresters Club".

There's more information about the murder itself, thanks to Fairfax County Public Library Historian-Archivist Brian A. Conley, who explored the incident as part of a larger study on the county urban legend known as the "Bunny Man."

It would be hard to imagine a more disturbing event for a growing community like Fairfax than the gruesome murders of 37-year-old Frances Holober and her eight-month-old daughter, June. On Thursday February 24, 1949 Mrs. Holober and her daughter drove to Fairfax County in the company of her estranged husband Charles. All were residents of the District of Columbia. Charles Holober later told police that they had come to see the new lodge at a nudist colony to which Mr. Holober belonged.

Upon leaving the lodge the car became mired in some mud. The couple quarreled and Mrs. Holober took the child and walked away from her husband and never returned. Charles Holober spent the night in the car and got a ride back to Washington the next day. He returned with his brother-in-law and a friend to retrieve the car. Still finding no evidence of his family, the police were finally notified. An intensive search of the area was organized involving Fairfax County Police, Washington Detectives, and Boy Scouts.

About 5:00 p.m., just as the searchers were about to give up for the night, one of the detectives noted that the ground on which they were standing was very soft. Both mother and daughter were found in a shallow grave next to the lodge and less than 200 yards from where Charles Holober's car had been stuck. Frances Holober had been beaten and then shot once in the head and once in the heart. The baby girl had been buried alive.

The local community was shocked and horrified by the cold brutal character of the crime, especially when the investigation identified Charles Holober as the prime suspect. Holober later confessed to investigators that he had planned the murder for three weeks and had not intended to report the disappearance of his wife, but changed his plan when the car got caught in the mud.

Initially found guilty and sentenced to die in the electric chair, Holober was later found not guilty by reason of insanity -- in part because he kept his dead pet fish in a drawer -- and sentenced to a mental institution. For that reason, Conley concluded that Holober was not a "likely candidate" to be the "Bunny Man," the spooky guy in a rabbit suit who has creeped out generations of Fairfax County teenagers.

But there's one little problem. The only legitimate documented Bunny Man incidents all happened around 1970. Holober was released in August 1968!

Be afraid. Be very afraid. And if you want to be really afraid, or at least lose all faith in your fellow man, try doing a Google Image Search for "bunny man," the end.

At the McTaco Hut, Make a Run for the DRB

While we're big fans of the stucco-on-Tyvek (or is it Tyvek-on-stucco?) look, we're not sure the members of the DRB will be equally enchanted the next time one of them has a hankering for something from the 79 cent Super Value Menu.

Lake Anne: It's an Ethnic Marketplace! A Restaurant Row! An Ice-Cream Parlor! A Floor Polish!

The consultants have spoken, and their recommendation is to make Lake Anne a theme park like Wally World themed destination area, much like the Fake Downtown. (What is the Fake Downtown's theme, anyway, besides chain retail and dining?)

Does Reston's historic Lake Anne Plaza have a future as an expanded dining destination, an ethnic marketplace or a downtown arts district?

Perhaps. These were three of six concepts presented by consultants from Alvarez & Marshal and The Eisen Group. Also envisioned: a sustainable development center that could be a prototype for other communities and projects; an office cluster for start-ups, who would be drawn by the lower rents than but close proximity to the Dulles Tech Corridor; and a walkable village center with more residences and more businesses to serve them.

The ideas were presented at a public meeting Wednesday at Reston Community Center at Lake Anne.

At the meeting, folks actually addressed the elephant in the room -- vacancy rates exceeding 50 percent in the Plaza. There was also some debate over whether there needs to be a more unified approach to manage retail properties and "coordinate merchants," which we have to say sounds a bit Soviet, even for the brutalist architecture of the Plaza.

(Speaking of which, apparently Lake Anne can apply for National Historic Registry status in the next few years. Who knew? We can't wait for the signs that reveal that as a young surveyor, George Washington slept nearby and wrote up his first DRB violation notice when he spotted a log cabin chinked with off-teal oakum.)

But we digress. One suggestion from the consultants was to form a business improvement district, much like the ones downtown that hire their own staff to chase away the vagrants pick up trash.

Consultants Alvarez & Marsal and The Eisen Group are also asking the community to begin thinking about forming a new entity, such as a business improvement district, that can take ownership of the revitalization efforts and possibly raise additional funds to support a staff that can help manage the center. The consultants will produce a final report in mid-October that will recommend next steps for reaching the community's goals.

So... lots to talk about during those quiet winter months at the Plaza! Meanwhile, our favorite correspondent, the Peasant From Less Sought After South Reston, has contributed a Lake Anne-themed scene to our ongoing pre-write of Reston: The Opera. We're not ashamed to admit that we had tears in our eyes as we sang the last line, out loud, as people sitting nearby nervously edged away.

On the YouTubes: School's In.... Forever

So school opened yesterday, and our BFFs at Reston Patch were there with one of those fancy "video cameras" we keep hearing about. Maybe our own attitude about school is to blame, but we especially enjoyed the bluesy soundtrack, which reinforced the idea that heading off to school is just another example of working for the man, only with naptime and chocolate milk. Oh, wait -- apparently chocolate milk has been banned. What's next -- tetherball?

On the bright side, Fairfax County appears to have outsourced scoliosis screenings, saving the current generation of children the indignity of queuing up to have a school nurse prod vaguely at their backs and mumble something about poor posture, the end.

Reston: The Opera to be a Profound Meditation on 21st Century Existence, or Maybe Just Answer the Question of How to Say "Russet Brown" in Italian

Along with the usual book talks and fancypants musical performances, the Center Stage at the Reston Community Center has apparently decided to do something a little more... let's go with "daring" for its 2010-11 season: an opera "about the one subject that unites us all -- Reston."

Yes, the picture above is really supposed to be what our earth-toned opera will look like. No, we're not sure what they're smoking:

A civic celebration, Reston: The Opera combines a heartfelt toast to our community, with a vaudvillian roast, interviews with local citizens, as well as art created by Reston students specifically for the show. Explore how Reston sees itself, as a whole and within its diverse communities, and discuss the broader issues of shared humanity and the need for self-definition.

And we thought it would just be a bunch of catchy musical numbers about replacement window requirements, with maybe a dancing cat or two to keep things lively. Which goes to show you we're not the kind of avant-garde thinkers needed to contribute to such a profound meditation of the human existence. But that won't stop us from trying!

ACT 1, SCENE 1
(or whatever you call the opening part of an opera, like we would know)
The setting is the foyer/living room area of an earth-toned Reston condo, resplendent with a step-down conversation pit, royal purple shag carpeting, and metallic wallpaper.

Enter FRED, a lumpen Reston proletariat, holding a letter.

FRED (sings): Woe is me, woe is me,
I just got a letter from the DRB.
In that letter, it clearly states,
I must repaint my back-yard gate.

Enter SUSIE, Fred's paramor, through the passthrough from the kitchen, where an avacado-green refrigerator can be seen.

SUSIE (sings): The garden gate?

FRED (repeats, in alto): The garden gate.

SUSIE: We just repainted the garden gate!

FRED: We just repainted the garden gate.
But the DRB is quite irate,
They said we used the wrong shade of paint,
And now we must defenestrate.

SUSIE: Oh, the pain! Oh the chills!

FRED (walking over to comfort Susie): At least we have the Macaroni Grill.

All exunt.

Sorry -- it sounds better in Italian.

Labor Day Weekend: Smell the Excitement

Two Reston residents -- Victor Camcho and Edwin Cisneros -- show the appropriate enthusiasm as summer draws to a close and fall, with all its attendant pleasures such as football season, prepares to arrive. What's shocking is that these two Restonians traveled to Detroit to watch a Lions-Bills preseason game, which goes to show you the ends to which some people will go to watch a team worse than the Redskins.

Closer to home, the South Lakes High School football team now has two female players. Think that's a recipe for disaster? The Seahawks won their first game 37-0.

Discuss your own Labor Day weekend plans, or whatever, in the comments.

Lake Anne Revitalization Reaches New Milestone With Yet Another Consultant's Report

Hey, remember that time that after years of expensive and nicely double-spaced consultant studies and "charettes," whatever those are, Fairfax County decided to put the rubber to the road and revitalize Lake Anne? And now Lake Anne is totally revitalized, ringed by 96-story condominiums whose curb cuts are protected from tire scuffs by fanciful concrete bollards as a floating RA barge sits just offshore, offering mini-golf and casino nights?

Yeah, that was awesome. Well, the recession kind of got in the way, but never fear. Another consultant study is about to be released, and that will totally fix everything.

Fairfax County will have a public workshop next week on strategies to strengthen the viability of businesses at Lake Anne Village Center in Reston. Consultants Alvarez and Marsal Real Estate Advisory Services, LLC and The Eisen Group will present the findings of their study and a series of potential strategies for addressing the problems at Lake Anne. Meeting attendees will be able to ask questions and provide feedback on the consultants' report.

The workshop will be from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Sept. 8 at the Reston Community Center Lake Anne, 1609-A Washington Plaza, Reston.

All joking aside, it's a good thing to see forward progress of any kind, especially since the current business community is doing reasonably well at this point. Let's just hope that needed investment around the plaza doesn't get overlooked in all the excitement about the land grab redevelopment discussions along the Toll Road.

Creeping Socialism Alert! Paris-Like Bike-Sharing Program Could Come to Reston

A fancy bicycle sharing program expected to launch in D.C. and Arlington this fall could expand to Reston if it gets a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Capital Bikeshare, which will launch this fall with about 1,100 bikes for use on a vaguely Zipcar-like model, is looking at adding another 100 in an undisclosed location in Reston if the grant comes through. Maybe they'll have bikes on both ends of the fabulous Personal Injury Lawyers Road Velodrome, so cyclists can zip back and forth to the delight of the newly dieted motorists!

In any case, if this happens, Reston will be just like the Paris of the Northern hemisphere, only with more earth tones and fewer sidewalk cafes. Fortunately, right-thinking politicians are bravely pointing out the dangers of such schemes, and we, for one, salute them. You can have my privately owned and maintained fixed-gear bike when you pry it from my cold dead fingers, Pierre!

All of this is conjecture at this point, as Capital Bikeshare hasn't even launched in DC yet. But it does give us an excuse to post this video for the 93rd time:

As the Capital Bikeshare site helpfully suggests, "wear a helmet."