Restonian: News blog from Reston, Virginia, the mauve-colored New Town (tm)

A Very Special RA Meeting: New Headquarters Decided?

2009-07-13T10:34:00.001-04:00

The 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.

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

2009-07-11T14:32:00.001-04:00

If 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.

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

2009-07-10T00:28:00.000-04:00

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)

2009-07-10T00:19:00.000-04:00

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?

Brown's Chapel Rec Center: Signal to Noise

2009-07-09T09:15:00.000-04:00

Here'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

2009-07-09T09:05:00.000-04:00

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!

Photo Finish

2009-07-08T09:21:00.001-04:00

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!

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

2009-07-07T09:53:00.001-04:00

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.

Khalil Mhaidar, 20, of 1520 Northgate Square in Reston, was transported to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center and charged with felony assault on a police officer, resisting arrest and noise violation. The suspect received minor injuries during the struggle and was treated at the jail.

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. Joseph Schrotz, 18, of Aldie, Virginia, was charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle, assault on a police officer and resisting arrest. Marshall Harrison, 22, of 42579 Good Hope Lane in Ashburn, and Lavonte France, 19, of 7820 Belvedere Drive in Alexandria, were charged with felony possession of stolen property. 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 called police about two hours later and an investigation led to the arrest of Jacqueline Escobar, of no fixed address. She was transported to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center and charged with robbery. 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

2009-07-07T09:39:00.001-04:00

South 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.

Flashback Monday: Reston's First Church

2009-07-06T10:32:00.001-04:00

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.

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

2009-07-02T13:14:00.001-04:00

So 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!

2009-07-02T13:00:00.001-04:00

Here'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!

Restonian to be Shot into Space

2009-07-01T09:36:00.001-04:00

Unfortunately, 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.

Reston Association Headquarters: Like a Nike Factory, Only With Earth Tones

2009-06-30T00:07:00.000-04:00

This shocking schematic of a prototype space for the proposed shiny new Reston Association headquarters (PDF) lays bare the true secret of how the RA plans to sort all those files that have been stacking up over the past four decades: by hiring (or kidnapping?) an army of child slave labor, who, after a brief primer on alphabetization, will be forced to file away the organization's historic collection of goldenrod copies of Design Review Board citations for 18 hours a day.

Well, maybe not. But if you believe our legions of commenters, there still seems to be some third world-like behavior going on as the Very Special Committee (tm) charted with figuring out how to rent or build the new headquarters held its first meeting:

Our at-large representatives, Joe Leighton and Richard Chew, were not allowed to attend the executive session. They were asked to leave so the other board members could "review submitted facility proposals" for the new headquarters building. Our elected representatives were not allowed to attend the executive session. I guess I can say it again, OUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES were not allowed to attend. Cheryl Beamer, acting as chair, sent them from the room. OUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES. Folks, this is our homeowner's association, not dirty politics in Chicago in the 1930s. Or, I might be wrong.

We'd keep an extra close eye on the kids at the tot lot, is all we're saying.

Reston Land Use College: Like Animal House, Minus the Keggers and Hilarity

2009-06-30T00:01:00.000-04:00

Miss those crazy days of tapping the keg with your fellow Dekes before the party with the Delts, or whatever? Well, you can relive all the "fun" of college, only instead of taking classes like "Intro to Geology" and "Physics for English Majors," you'll be cramming for the "Understanding PRC Zoning" final at the ongoing sessions of the Reston Land Use College, which had its first "mixer" a week or so back at Lake Anne Elementary.

Around 80 Reston citizens gathered in the Lake Anne Elementary School cafeteria for the first session of the Reston Land Use College to learn about the process of rezoning and new development. The June 16 meeting offered "an opportunity for community members who want to know what is happening to be grounded in what happens," said Supervisor Cathy Hudgins (D-Hunter Mill).

The final project? Something called the Reston Master Plan, which is what allowed all our wonderful earth-toned housing stock to be built and is in the process of being revised for such 21st century concepts as "mass transit" and "fake downtowns."

THE RESTON MASTER PLAN, a set of three maps for communities, transportation and land use, guides the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in its zoning regulations, said Heidi Merkel, a senior planner with the county’s Department of Planning and Zoning and event speaker. However, she added that this plan does not have the force of regulation.

County planner Loren Bruce said that the re-evaluation would include the Dulles Corridor Metrorail’s impact on the Town Center, the possible addition of hotels to Reston, the size of Reston and the development of the centers.

IN 2008, local focus groups and an October public meeting outlined the four phases for reviewing and modifying the Master Plan, Merkel said. The Land Use College and an examination of existing conditions mark the first step of a four-part process. The second step includes a reexamination of the Dulles Corridor and Town Center as well as an overview of Robert Simon’s original seven principles for Reston. The last two steps include a reexamination of the residential neighborhoods and the village centers.

Sweet! Anyway, if you missed out on all the fun earlier this month, the Reston Land Use College will hold a repeat of its kick-off session at 7pm July 28 at Hunters Woods Community Center, followed by more meetings in September:

There will be 3 sessions in September. The dates and location for these sessions are not confirmed yet but we will notify everyone who registered for the future sessions as soon as the dates are set.

The first September session will cover General Land Use Concepts and Terminology and examples in Fairfax County. The next one will focus on Understanding the Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan, the Reston Master Plan, how these two documents relate to each other and what issues we will be looking to address in the Reston Master Plan update. The final session will focus on Understanding PRC Zoning, which is different from the conventional zoning used in much of the rest of Fairfax County, and how the PRC zoning impacts the development of land in Reston. The September sessions will also include group activities and other interactive elements to make some of the information more accessible.

Translation: KEGGER!

To sign up, contact Heidi Merkel at the county's department of planning and zoning.

Brown's Chapel Rec Center: Motions and Commotions

2009-06-29T10:22:00.001-04:00

Wacky communication mixups weren't the only "highlight" of last week's Reston Association Board meeting. As our astute commenters have already pointed out, a board member motioned that Brown's Chapel, the proposed home of the $65 million rec center/ juicery, be taken off the list of proposed sites. Here's how Save Brown's Chapel described the "action" on their Facebook group, presumably before taking the "What Kind of Juice Bar are You?" quiz and "poking" a dozen of their Facebook BFFs.

Last night, the RA Board of Director's meeting was well attended. Many citizens from all over Reston came to express their concern that the board is moving ahead with plans to pave over a park.

And one of the board members was listening. Late in the meeting, Director Joe Leighton put forth a motion to eliminate Brown's Chapel Park as a possible site for the proposed joint RA/RCC recreational center.

Joe Leighton asked for a second from Director Frank Lynch but he declined. The motion was seconded by Director Richard Chew. The motion was then tabled by Director Richard Chew until the next Board meeting July 23.

What does this mean for the supporters of Save Brown's Brown Chapel? It means that we need to ask the other board members to explain their actions.

Why is the Reston Association Board of Directors pursuing a plan that will enable the RCC to locate a county recreation center, of any size or shape, on Reston Association land?

The upcoming District Meetings will be our opportunity to ask the questions and get the answers. Please plan on attending while it is still your money and your park.

The next of those meetings is from 7-9 tomorrow at Armstrong Elementary school, followed by another next Thursday, July 9, at Lake Anne Elementary.

Meanwhile, RA President Robin Smyers has written yet another of her "web-log" posts, and the big news is that her "Administrator Account" byline has been changed to "RA President." They'll figure out this Internet thingy yet! Anyhoo, Smyers discusses the community input meetings and the long-term impact they could have:

At the first district meeting held for the Hunters Woods/Dogwood district, members had the opportunity to have a real conversation about the future of Reston. And it is really about the future. At the end of the day, that is what we are talking about – how our decisions today affect Reston in the next three to four decades from now. As members, we have never had to pay for the building of the facilities now owned by Reston Association. Our 15 pools, 48 tennis courts, 4 lakes, 55 miles of paved pathways, just to name some of the assets we benefit from, have all been given to us, with the sole responsibility of maintaining these invaluable gifts. Even the soon-to-be-built Nature House has only come to be thanks to the private donations of many of our friends and neighbors. It is time for us think about the next generations and how we can give back.

Smyers also pointed out that during the last election, there were no contested races for three board seats, and that before recent events, few spoke at public hearings.

So, please make time to attend at least one of the community meetings and take part in the process that affects our community. But please don’t just get involved because you are angry or feel you weren’t informed. Find a positive reason, a passion that is good, and strive to give something back. If there is something else we should be doing, let us know. But don’t just say “no”. That’s not a foundation on which we were built.

Smyers has an excellent point, but we have a feeling the next three open board seats won't be uncontested.

Can You Hear Me Now?

2009-06-26T10:11:00.001-04:00

South Lakes Mom shares one fun tidbit from last night's RA Board meeting:

But, just to make you laugh, RA President Robin Smyers was attending the meeting via audio link…only it wasn’t working. You know those really infuriating cell conversations that are breaking up all over? That’s what it was like, but with a room FULL of people listening. It was actually pretty funny but then got tedious. After advice from legal counsel (!), Cheryl Beamer was asked to be acting president or something and after motion and approval went on to read Robin’s remarks.

An innocent telecommunications snag or an Al Haig moment? You be the judge.

Reston: More Fun than a Kool and the Gang Reunion Tour

2009-06-26T10:07:00.001-04:00

All of the sudden, Reston's agog about gangs! You'd think some weirdly tagged dirt and a run-of-the-mill melee would be all in a day's work, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. First, a 17-year-old Reston male was charged with gang participation and destruction of property after a series of tagging incidents in Herndon. What, we don't have enough dirt and trees to tag here?

The Herndon Police Department has charged a 17-year-old Reston male with ten destruction of property cases and seven counts of gang participation.

The charges stem from a rash of incidences of graffiti appearing in various locations in the town throughout 2009.

Last month, the Herndon Police Department arrested three additional suspects--two juveniles and one adult--and charged them with causing thousands of dollars of damage by spray painting, or "tagging" grafitti all over the town.

"Unlike this latest one, those incidents were not gang related," said Lt. Jeff Coulter of the HPD.

On June 22, the Fairfax County Juvenile and Domestic Relation Court ordered the two juveniles to pay restitution of $6,697 to victims of the tagging.

The third suspect, Guillermo Orellana, 18, also of Reston, awaits a hearing in Fairfax General District Court, currently scheduled for July 29.

Fairfax County Police actually spoke about the topic of gangs at last night's RA Board Meeting, and one of our filthy "web-log commenters" pointed out this tidbit:

Last night the Police Captain said the victims tend to be Hispanic and the perps have so far, been African American.

Interesting.

Really?

2009-06-26T10:01:00.000-04:00

Only in Reston: The Washington Plaza Baptist Church at Lake Anne Plaza -- yes, that's a Baptist church -- will celebrate "Gay Acceptance Sunday" this weekend at its 11 a.m. service.

If there ever was a doubt that we were a different kind of church, this Sunday tops the cake! It is a day to celebrate the gay community that is within our church family and thank God for all people in our community no matter who they choose to partner with.

Good for them.

Road Rules: Leaving Reston Just Got More Expensive

2009-06-26T09:49:00.001-04:00

Despite the snazzy "Live. Work. Play" logo on the Reston Association's "web site," there are times we all have to leave our lovely earth-toned planned community. And it looks like they're all about to get more expensive.

First, the fees on the Dulles Toll Road are expected to double by 2012, in part to fund the shrine to rad '80s art planned for Wiehle Avenue and the associated Metro Silver Line planned to bring patrons of the arts out to view it.

Under the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority proposal, tolls would go up incrementally, starting in January. It costs 75 cents to drive through the main plaza and 50 cents to use one of the on- or offramps. The proposal, subject to approval by the authority's board of directors, would increase the main toll to $1.50 by 2012, and the ramp toll would rise to 75 cents.

Better start looking under the sofa cushions for change now! But what's scarier is that if you take the bus to the Pentagon or Crystal City, change isn't going to be of much use any more. Starting Sunday, a series of service changes are going into effect, including $7 one-way fares on the express buses to the Pentagon and Crystal City. Here's the final list of changes, long expected due to county budget cuts:

Fairfax Connector's 2010 budget includes a fare increase to $7 for the three express routes, which travel outside Fairfax County boundaries. The routes, 380, 595 and 597, provide bus service to the Pentagon and Crystal city. The fare increase does not apply to any other routes. Many of the routes are located in Herndon and Reston.
• Bus routes 380, 585 and 980 will have reduced service on holidays.
• Bus route 425 will have reduced service on weekends.
• Bus routes 301, 505, 553, 557 and 585 will have reduced service on weekdays.
• Bus routes 303, 556, 922 and the VRE EZ-Bus have been discontinued.

For those of us who still have jobs, it's enough to make you want to stay home and engage in some low-cost entertainment, like checking books out of the library. But starting July 1, all libraries are reducing their hours and increasing their overdue fees.

Oh, well. At least blogging is still free.

This Week in Crime: Police Break Up Melee, Stabbings Behind Hunters Woods Village Center

2009-06-25T09:35:00.001-04:00

It's always good when the words "brawl" and "melee" get used to describe a friendly exchange of differing viewpoints. A Wednesday evening brawl involving two groups behind the Hunters Woods Village Center left two men seriously injured with stab wounds, Fairfax Police said.

Two men suffered serious injuries Wednesday night during a melee between two groups of men fighting behind a Reston area shopping center, Fairfax County police said.

Officers were called about 9:30 p.m. for the report of an assault on a wooded path behind the Hunters Woods shopping center. Police think the two groups began to argue as they approached each other and then brawled, said Eddy Azcarate, a police spokesman.

When police arrived on the scene, all six people involved scattered, including the two seriously wounded men, Azcarate said. Police soon found the victims and they were flown to a hospital with injuries that appeared to be stab wounds.

The others involved in the fight were not caught, police said. The victims' injuries were described as not life threatening.

Police officials declined to comment on any potential motives for the argument or the fight.

Who knows? Maybe they were trying to decide between dinner at Burger King or ice cream at DQ and things got ugly.

Update: Police finally issued a news release about the incident, which says they are investigating the "possibility that this case involved members or associates of a criminal street gang." You think?

The suspects were described as black, in their 20s. They were all approximately 6 feet tall and 180 pounds wearing white T-shirts and dark jeans.

As people have pointed out in the comments, most incidents of this nature in Reston are gang-related. We're not sure if that's reassuring or not.

Brown's Chapel Rec Center: Another Week, Another "Community Input" Meeting

2009-06-24T10:02:00.001-04:00

South Lakes Mom, one of our regular commenters, attended this week's community input meeting on the rec center / juice bar planned for Brown's Chapel Park. A couple of points from her well-reasoned and even-handed account of the meeting (posted elsewhere, as well-reasoned and even-handed commentary have no place on this filthy "web-log") struck us as particularly telling:

Many of the people who had a lot to say about this (masquerading as questions) are part of the over 60 crowd. Many of them have been in Reston since the 1960s. They’ve enjoyed the benefit of all of the amenities that they would now deny the younger folks. Our standards for recreation have changed over time, and to refuse to even listen to other people shows that one has become an embittered oldster rather than a helpful member of the community. If the purpose of the meeting was enlightenment for those who came for information, the attacks and zealotry clearly stifled productive discourse.

While we've made plenty of hay about of the utter lack of transparency involved in this process, this is something we've actually been mulling for some time. Be prepared for a touching and heartfelt post on this sometime soon. At the same time, though, something else hasn't changed:

I thought some of the RA respondents were a bit patronizing. Yes, you’re under attack, but RA’s lack of transparency has led to this adversarial relationship. Seize the moral high ground and don’t be patronizing or rude. On the other hand, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with you telling someone their comment is ‘counterproductive’ or ‘just plain rude’. Let’s be grown-ups about this.

Also from Monday's meeting: USTA and US Swimming are now backing the need for indoor swimming facilities, and someone suggested a new proposal which is so crazy, It Just Might Work:

One semi-great suggestion came up in regards to the rezoning of the area that parallels the toll road. It was that the additional parking deck could be multi-tasked to provide the requested indoor facilities and parking for them... if you build a huge facility at Brown’s Chapel to accomodate USTA and US Swimming’s desires for a venue for their events, you’re asking all that traffic to go up Wiehle Ave or Reston Parkway to get there. If people can just hop off the toll road and park, it’s a much better idea.

And maybe one of the private developers in that same area can just open an Orange Julius franchise next to the Metro station, eliminating the need for the juice bar! An Orange Julius would fit right in with the station's rad '80s artwork, after all.

The next "community input" meeting is scheduled for 7 pm next Tuesday, June 30, in the Armstrong Elementary School cafeteria. Given that's the North Reston meeting, we'd say that the meeting's host, RA rep Frank Lynch, will likely have his hands full.

The other other other Reston: Road to Nowhere

2009-06-24T09:58:00.001-04:00

On the heels of last week's exploration of Reston's Scottish doppelgänger, "Rick from Longwood Grove" sent us this exciting photographic proof that this twee home to hell-spawned freaks of nature really does exist. Here's what he says:

Thought you might enjoy this photo of the sign for the other Reston (Scotland) that I took several years ago when my family was driving on the A1 highway in Scotland. It's not the best quality since (a) this was a while ago, so the camera was not up today's standards, (b) it was, as usual, cloudy and rainy outside, and (c) we didn't slow down for the photo.

All roads may lead to Reston, but most folks zip right on by.

Reston Association Headquarters: Here We Go Again

2009-06-23T14:03:00.001-04:00

Following an uneventful referendum process that ultimately failed to provide a quorum allowing the Reston Association to buy a fancy new headquarters building with lots of gilded filing cabinets and a cable modem and maybe one of those newfangled "water-coolers" around which employees could discuss the previous evening's television fare, the RA Board of Directors has established a "special committee" to explore its options -- which apparently, once again, include the buying vs. leasing options.

The Reston Alliance of Reston Clusters and Homeowners (ARCH) has issued a statement (not yet available on its "web-site," but check here to see if they ever get around to posting it), basically asking the RA not to make the same mistakes again:

ARCH views the Special Committee as an opportunity to bring the RA membership together around the common goals ARCH and others have emphasized during the ongoing headquarters discussion.

Below are the five key indicators that will, in our view, provide the best chance of producing an outcome on this important initiative that has wide community support. These indicators will guide ARCH as it assesses whatever recommendations emanate from the Special Committee:

The space requirements should be consistent with current Federal General Services Administration (GSA) standards, which are based on a comprehensive survey of both public and private office space. Where RA’s requirements depart from these standards (which may be required, e.g., with regard to conference or meeting space) then such departures must be based on demonstrable need and be fully explained and justified. Under separate cover, an ARCH analysis of RA’s existing space projections will be provided.  

In addition to leasing, build and buy options should be fully explored (given the continuing authority provided under the 2005 headquarters referendum). In light of current market conditions and the ability to customize space to fit RA’s needs, building or buying may be more attractive alternatives. 

RA is an important part of Reston’s fabric. If a new RA headquarters could be located where it contributes to neighborhood revitalization (e.g., at Lake Anne), then we think this consideration should be given special weight. We contend that is much more important to Reston than ensuring individual offices (instead of cubicle space) for the majority of RA employees or obtaining condominium space in a steel/glass building in the RCIG.

The Special Committee’s deliberations should at all times be open and transparent. Executive session and the assertion of a need for confidentiality should be used only in the narrow circumstances permitted under Virginia’s Property Owners’ Association Act (POAA).  

During its research and deliberations, the Special Committee should actively seek the input of the RA membership and should regularly update the members on the progress of the Committee’s work.

We're especially happy that ARCH makes reference to Bob Simon's plan to relocate the headquarters to Lake Anne, which to date has received only the most tepid of support from the RA and RCRC. After badly botching plans for its other big shiny building project, the RA has shown signs of being more transparent of late. Let's hope that extends to this process as well.

It's Official: "Road Diet" To Turn Lawyers Road Into Spandex-Mandatory Velodrome

2009-06-23T11:41:00.001-04:00

Hurry and cancel your plane tickets to France, as the international heart of the cycling circuit will relocate to Reston when VDOT transforms Lawyers Road into a spandex-required velodrome as part of its RA-approved "road diet," which VDOT made official late last week:

A section of Lawyers Road is going on a “road diet” to lose two of its four thru lanes. The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and Fairfax County Supervisor Cathy Hudgins said the unusual plan will reduce crashes, improve safety and enhance mobility for motorists and bicyclists alike.

When Lawyers Road was scheduled for routine repaving this summer, VDOT traffic engineers seized the opportunity to also improve its safety by reconfiguring the four travel lanes between Reston Parkway and Myrtle Lane. Instead of two travel lanes in each direction, road lines will be re-painted to accommodate a continuous, two-way, left-turn lane down the center of the road, as well as a travel lane and a five-foot bike lane in each direction.

“VDOT has identified a no-cost approach to reduce vehicle crashes and improve safety on Lawyers Road, while also giving cyclists additional travel options,” said Supervisor Cathy Hudgins. “It’s a win-win for all.”

Crashes are expected to drop by at least 20 percent once the road is re-striped. Over the past three years, there were 56 crashes on this section of Lawyers Road and VDOT engineers estimate that 15 of those could have been avoided. Several vehicles have been rear-ended while stopped in the left lane waiting to turn left. The two-way continuous turn-lane will help prevent rear-end crashes. Some vehicles have drifted across the centerline and hit oncoming traffic. A buffer between the travel directions will help prevent head-on crashes. Other benefits of the road diet include improved sight distance for motorists on side streets and mainline left-turners, and a reduction in excessive speeds because passing will be eliminated.

The transformation will take place in August, as a larger stretch of Lawyers Road is repaved. And the Washington Post says we'll all just get used to it:

When drivers first see such redesigns, "win-win" is not the first thing on their minds. It's more like, "Where did my road go?" And they often say that the narrower road looks more dangerous to them. That's what happened on Arcola Avenue and on the uppermost portion of Connecticut Avenue just after Montgomery County slimmed down the roads to improve safety.

Drivers get used to it. The technique of road narrowing has been used thousands of times across the country in various ways to protect drivers from each other or to protect pedestrians from drivers.

Sweet! We'd say the only losers in this "win-win" will be the treacherous French, when they see Lance Armstrong end 30 days of cycling not on the Champs Elysses, but in the parking lot of the Fox Mill Giant. Vive la difference!