Meanwhile, in the Anti-Reston: A Night on the Town

Wow, things really are different in Herndon.

On the YouTubes: Not Quite the Love Boat

Here's some exciting, and almost exhaustive, video of the ongoing dredging operations at Lake Audobon. If you have young children, be sure to gather them around the computer screen, as this is almost as exciting as that Thomas the Tank Engine show they keep prattling on about, except that the RA's boats and backhoes (thankfully) don't have human faces or bad attitudes.

Here's what the videographer has to say:

Prior to the recent stream restorations, with each heavy rain, lots of dirt would be washed into the lakes which over time would make the lakes shallower where streams enter. The restoration projects are expected to greatly reduce the erosion from run off and create a healthier water system. Consequently dredging is expected to be required much less often and so I recorded this activity for posterity.

The dredging cycle begins with empty barges being pushed down the lake by a tug boat to the dredging platform. A backhoe on the platform then fills the barge with mud while the filled barge is pushed to shore for emptying. A second backhoe on land scoops the dirt into trucks for disposal. This cycle repeats for weeks until the job is done.

Another Restonian operative asks a question:

Will they leave the boats in the water and make gambling boats out of them?

We can only hope.

A Motorcycle Fatality and an Unsolved International Kidnapping: Today's Update is Just a Big Pile of Sad

Fairfax County Police said that a man who lost control of his motorcycle on Fairfax County Parkway on July 8 died from his injuries late last week.

On Thursday, July 8 around 9:50 p.m., a 48-year-old man driving a 2007 Suzuki sport bike was northbound on Fairfax County Parkway near Baron Cameron Avenue. As he approached a left curve prior to Walnut Branch Road, he braked, skidded and lost control of the motorcycle, which came to rest in a culvert approximately 30 feet from the roadway. The driver was separated from his motorcycle and landed adjacent to a paved pedestrian path. The driver was transported to Inova Fairfax Hospital with life-threatening injuries.

On Thursday, July 22, Robert Berlin, of 1325 Shallow Ford Road in Herndon, succumbed to his injuries. Police were notified of the death on July 27.

Alcohol and speed are considered possible factors in the crash.

Meanwhile, a kidnapping warrant against a Reston mother who left the country with her two children in 2004 is still in force, FBI officials said this week.

More than 5 1/2 years after two Reston brothers went missing, and nearly four years after a kidnapping warrant was issued for their mother, authorities are still trying to track down all three.

The boys' father filed an application to have the children returned to the United States under the Hague Convention, the treaty that establishes a civil process for returning children wrongfully removed from their country of residence. But German courts denied the application.

Pretty heavy for a Wednesday afternoon. Fortunately, the Connection is here to help with a heartwarming photo essay of a bunch of puppies cavorting at Reston's Fake Downtown. You're welcome.

RA Headquarters: New Location, Sassy New Attitude

Please to be enjoying these first pictures of the Reston Association's shiny new headquarters, located at 12001 Sunrise Valley Drive, which opened its doors bright and early at 8:30 this morning. Hey, what are those colorful, decidedly non earth-toned objects on the bookshelves in the background? We can only conclude that along with a new mailing address, this RA has a sassy new attitude! Now if you'll excuse us, we're off to paint the dingy exterior walls of Restonian World Headquarters a nice fuchsia.

Wow, you close for a few days to move, and check out the pent-up demand for pool passes!

All in all, this is just a painfully tantalizing glimpse of the wonders at the new RA headquarters. Hopefully the RA will post more in its next "Face Book" update.

This Week in Crime: Western-Style Gunslinging, Arlington Altercations, and Another Loudoun Runaway

As befits a street with an old-timey, vaguely western name, an unnamed gunslinger fired a gun inside a home on Barrel Cooper Court.

A man discharged a gun at a home in the 11800 block of Barrel Cooper Court around 11 p.m. on Saturday, July 17 during an altercation. The suspect fled the home. No one was injured. Police continue to investigate.

A Reston man was charged with assault after an altercation in Arlington.

On June 27 at 12:20 am, after a verbal argument, the victim was assaulted by a white male subject. The suspect was located by police. He was charged with Assault and Battery. He was given a $2,500 bond.

For the second time in as many months, a Loudoun County teenager who ran away from home was found... in Reston.

A 15-year-old Ashburn girl who went missing June 12 was found July 22 unharmed in Reston.

At the time, she had made contact with her family but had not returned home. When she was found, she was taken back to Loudoun County, police said.

What is the appeal of Reston to these krazy kids today? Growing up in Sterling and Ashburn must be pretty boring if our beige community is suddenly becoming Excitement Central for teen runaways.

This isn't really about Reston per se, but if you're a glutton for bad puns and painful pop culture references, please to be reading this county police press release. Consider yourselves warned.

Finally, a "tip jar" was stolen from an undisclosed business at the Hunters Woods Plaza, which is pretty low by any account.

First Earthquakes, Now Wind: Shocking Photos, Videos From Sunday's HELLPOCALYPSEWINDGUST 2010 (tm)

This shocking photo shows the wake of devastation after a 75 mph gust of wind blew threw Reston Sunday afternoon, causing immeasurable damage to diners' corporate expense accounts. For a while, the National Weather Service was also reporting a "roof collapse" on a parking garage on Fountain Drive, but this might be what they were thinking of. Elsewhere in the region, the storms killed two people, but here in Reston, there was this. Also, the lights apparently went out at Target for a while.

Here's an eyewitness video that captures the raw terror of being at Ground Zero, or at least some midscale retail emporium, mere yards from the Morton's awning. Skip ahead to about 2:00 for the "good" part.


Much like this cinematic classic, the critics were less than kind.

Wow great idea lets stand next to the GLASS door during a tornado warning. Who ever taped this must be a moron.

First, earthquakes, now dangerous gusts of winds. When did our favorite earth-toned community move to California?

With Ceremonial Dumping of the Filing Cabinets, Reston Association Move Begins

At long last, we get a furtive glimpse of the contents of the Reston Association's filing cabinets! Apparently the RA got help from some interns at AOL to throw all those historic goldenrod copies of the DRB violations of yesteryear into some decidedly non-earth toned plastic totes to get ready for its move across the Toll Road to the fancy new place with the child labor cubbies.

In case you've been remiss in picking up your pool passes, RA headquarters is open today, but the phones are down. The building will be closed both tomorrow and Monday as the move continues, and the headquarters will reopen bright and early on Tuesday in its new location, at 12001 Sunrise Valley Drive.

Good luck, RA staffers, with the move. Just remember -- lift with your legs, not your back.