Debating Pro & Con on Meals Tax
League of Women Voters hosts forum on Meals Tax issue.
The League of Women Voters of the Fairfax Area sponsored a debate-style panel discussion on the Meals Tax issue which will go before county voters in the Nov. 8 General Election.
Vienna, Reston: The Path Toward Tomorrow
Giving Circle of Hope hosts County needs assessment reporting.
According to Michelle Gregory, Division Director from the Countywide Service Integration and Planning Management department, it’s probably been more than a decade since Fairfax County conducted a human services needs assessment for the residents of the region. In the summer of 2015, the County decided it was more than time to take a detailed look at how things have changed since the last official recording and to see who most needed what in our area.
Vienna, Reston, Herndon: Improving the Road, Maintaining Its Character
County holds Hunter Mill Road Study Community Meeting.
On Sept. 15, the Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) held Community Meeting #5 to bring the public up to date and continue soliciting feedback on its studies to improve traffic flow along Hunter Mill Road, primarily north of Route 267.
Great Falls Friends and Neighbors Award Scholarships
Eight local young women are getting some much appreciated assistance toward achieving their educational goals, thanks to the efforts of the Great Falls Friends and Neighbors Scholarship Fund, Inc. “Actually, it’s more than just a boost for their educational endeavours,” said Ricki Harvey, past president of the fund, who now serves as the Publicity Director for GFFNSF.
Reston: Jazzin’ It Up at Lake Anne
10th Annual Lake Anne Jazz Festival hits all the right notes.
After a full Jazz Week at Reston’s Lake Anne Plaza that featured live music in several of the local restaurants, merchant activities and even special film showings like “Lady Sings the Blues,” the 10th annual event finished off on Saturday, Sept. 3, with a Jazz Festival with an impressive lineup of talent on the outdoor stage.
Herndon Celebrates
Herndon Labor Day Festival: Great weather, great event.
The sponsors, vendors, performers and the army of volunteers who produced the 2016 Herndon Labor Day Festival no doubt worked up a sweat during the 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. event, but for the festival goers it wasn’t hard work to have a lot of fun.
Herndon: Building a Family for 25 Years
Herndon Children’s Center celebrates 25th anniversary.
The Herndon Children’s Center (HCC), caring for and educating area kids from 3 months to pre-school, has been “building a family” for 25 years in the same location off of Spring St. in Herndon.
Reston Residents Oppose Apartment Redevelopment
180 residents sign petition opposing St. Johns development proposal in its current version.
St. Johns Wood is a sprawling campus of nine three-story buildings that house 250 apartments on about 14 acres of land nestled in the woods off Center Harbor Rd. in Reston - and that is exactly how some residents of the complex, and many of their neighbors in surrounding clusters of apartments, townhomes and single family dwellings would like to see it stay. A group about 35-strong made their opinions known at the Reston Association (RA) Governance Committee meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 9, at the RA offices.
Pay-to-Park System Comes to Reston Town Center
Live, work, pay.
The slogan “Live, Work, Play” has long been associated with Reston, a community that takes well-deserved pride in offering a multitude of options for all three of those activities, but with Reston Town Center (RTC) gearing up to launch a pay-to-park system for the first time since opening its streets in 1990, some Restonians, and even some of their neighbors, have put a spin on the motto.
Dragon Boating
It’s been called the fastest growing water sport in the world – although it took more than 2,000 years to recently take aim at that title.
Leadership Fairfax Honors 2016 Graduates
The Pavilion at Reston Town Center was a most fitting venue for the graduation ceremony of the 2016 classes of the non-profit Leadership Fairfax Institute (LFI).
Lady Luck Shines on Herndon
Festivities went on without a hitch at Herndon Festival 2016
Lady Luck – if not the sun – shone down on the 36th annual Herndon Festival.
Reston: Dock Dogs Make a Big Splash at Lake Anne
It was a real dog day afternoon at Lake Anne in Reston, and yes, there literally was a lot of splashing going on!
McLean: They Serve, Too – Gala Benefits Children of Military Personnel
When a military parent is deployed, things change for the family left to wait. Sometimes it’s financial, especially for the families of National Guard and Reserve service members.
State of the County Presented Over Breakfast
Leadership Fairfax hosts 25th Annual Board of Supervisors State of the County Breakfast and presents Hanley Award to Bill Bouie for Public Service.
With the number and types of commitments made on their daily schedules, it takes a special occasion to gather the entire roster of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in one place at one time outside the walls of their meeting chambers.
Progress Made, Challenges Remain on Ending Homelessness
HomeAid NoVA hosts ‘Keep the Homeless Housed’ Forum.
In 2008, Fairfax County partnered with the City of Falls Church to adopt an ambitious strategic plan to address the issue of homelessness in the region.
Finding Fun in Science
Area youth turn out for Project BEST Science and Technology Fun.
What could possibly have lured some 100 and more middle school youngsters back to a school building on a Saturday, especially if that school isn’t theirs and they had to get up extra early just to get there?
Herndon: Speaking Japanese at Fox Mill Elementary
The school showcases Japanese Immersion Program.
Two hundred forty-six first through sixth graders at the Herndon school are enrolled in the Japanese Immersion program at Fox Mill Elementary. That 246 represents an impressive 40 percent of the entire student population.
Herndon’s ‘Coffee with a Cop’
Virginia Attorney General highlights the event at Amphora.
No doubt the safest place you could have been anywhere near Herndon on Friday morning was in the private dining room at Amphora’s Diner Deluxe on Elden Street.
Encouraging STEM-curious Youth
Third Annual STEM Symposium draws a crowd at the Nysmith School.
“We need people in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields today, tomorrow and as far as we can envision.”
No E-Z Answers on I-66
VDOT’s Transform I-66 Inside the Beltway meeting leaves public waiting for answers.
There were also questions and comments of a financial nature.
Buying or Selling?
A primer for doing either and avoiding pitfalls.
Here we are, once again right on the heels of the spring/summer real estate season when it seems like “For Sale” signs become the most common lawn ornament or condo window decoration.
Reston, Herndon Polls See Steady Stream of Voters on Super Tuesday
“I believe this really is one of the most important elections in our lives.
Touching Many Hearts
Minecraft for a Mission – Touching Heart and their “Kids on a Mission” raise funds for children in foster care.
They say that charity begins at home. Helen Yi and Taylor, the mother and daughter co-founders of Touching Heart, a nonprofit aimed at educating and inspiring children to empathize with the needs of others and to take action to assist them, have no argument with that statement.
Positive 2015 Real Estate Market Spurs Upbeat Outlook for New Year
Experts predict continuing positive trend.
The final figures are in, and it looks like the 2015 local housing market was a modest winner.
Debating All Things Metro
Northern Virginia Transportation Commission facilitates public forum with new Metro chief.
When then Falls Church City Council member Dave Snyder was assigned to the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) in 1994 as part of his duties, he says he never suspected that his “luck” would lead him to a topic and to work that is as vital to and as challenging for the region today as it was when he entered that arena more than twenty years ago.
Teaching Empathy at Floris
Floris students complete 8-week young philanthropists workshop.
At 8:15 a.m. on a drizzly Thursday morning, fifteen youngsters from the fourth, fifth and sixth grades at Floris Elementary School in Herndon gathered in the school’s “Little Theater” to receive certificates for the successful completion of their 8-week Touching Heart (TH) young philanthropists workshop.
Reston Ready for Season of Giving
Where to give, how to help in Reston area.
“I do everything early,” says Phyllis K. of Reston. Phyllis prefers to remain anonymous because “it’s not about blowing your own horn. It’s about helping others.”
Herndon All Heart for Season of Giving
Where to give, how to help in Herndon area?
Last year in this special “season of giving section” we introduced you to “Arleta,” a Herndon mother of 8-year-old twins who had lost her husband to cancer earlier in the year.
CyberPatriots Meet FireEye Experts
Most school field trips take in a museum, maybe a visit to a historic house or possibly a kid-centric performance of some kind.
Transportation Strategy Update Launched
NVTA launches work on a six-year TransAction program.
Members of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) chose an appropriate location to announce the launch of the organization’s TransAction update efforts last week.
Transportation Strategy Update Launched
Northern Virginia Transportation Authority launches work on a six-year TransAction program.
Members of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) chose an appropriate location to announce the launch of the organization’s TransAction update efforts last week.
Vienna: Discussing the ‘Worst Freeway in America’
Residents talk I-66 with VDOT reps At Vienna Mayor’s Meeting.
Since the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT)’s last large-scale public presentation of its plans to improve the I-66 corridor from Gainesville to the Beltway, that major commuter artery has won the dubious distinction of first place on the “Worst Damn Freeways in America” list.
Reston Author Shares New Book
“Dawn kisses the grasslands of the savanna. A lion roars. Long vocal cords vibrate in his throat – back and forth, back and forth.
Holiday Happenings in Herndon
What to do, where to shop in Herndon this holiday season?
Next-door neighbors Carmen Rodriguez, 9, and Alyson Peralta, 8, are ready for the holidays. Carmen is excited that her cousins from Texas will be joining the Herndon branch of the family for Thanksgiving and best of all they will be here in time for one of Carmen’s favorite holiday events – the annual 5k Turkey Trot, on Saturday, Nov. 21, starting at 4 p.m.
In Reston, Neighbors in Need Offered Assistance
Resurrection Baptist Church of Reston hosts community outreach event to help homeless.
While others might have been gearing up to take the kids out trick or treating, preparing for the costumed hordes to descend on their homes, or even putting finishing touches on their own disguises, dozens of volunteers were spending their Halloween afternoon at the Reston Community Center (RCC) Hunters Woods, manning the “Stand Up for Our Homeless Community” event, hosted by Resurrection Baptist Church (RBC) of Reston’s Missionary Department.
Democrats Claim Victories in Local Elections
But General Assembly stays in the red column.
“We didn’t win the war tonight, but we did come out ahead in some of the important local battles, and that’s a good start.”
First-hand Lesson on Holocaust in Fairfax
Expressions of the Holocaust: GMU group gathers survivors to share memories.
“On the seventy-seventh anniversary of when supposedly civilized nations lost their collective minds, we are here to learn the lesson – first hand - of what can happen when people just stand by and do nothing.”
‘Preferred Alternative’ Unveiled at Oakton High School
VDOT presents Plan for I-66 Outside the Beltway Transformation.
Susan Shaw, Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) Megaprojects director, described the presentation of plans for the transformation of I-66 outside the Beltway as the “pencils down” version of the project.
Reston Regional Library Celebrates 30th Anniversary
Anybody remember that old ditty “It’s the latest, it’s the greatest, it’s the Library”? Well there must be a few who still relate to that sentiment, because despite rather soggy weather conditions, hundreds turned out on Saturday, Oct. 3, to kick off the month-long celebration of the Reston Regional Library’s (RRL) 30th Anniversary.
BrightView Great Falls Celebrates One-Year Anniversary
“When you live in a retirement or assisted living community, every birthday is a reason to celebrate – so why not give three cheers to the place itself!” quipped one resident (who decided to remain nameless) of the BrightView Senior Living community in Great Falls, speaking at the facility’s one year anniversary bash
Elected Officials Discuss Ways to Support Fairfax County’s Residents in Need
“We can’t do enough to spread the word that in the midst of affluent Fairfax County there is another, ‘hidden Fairfax’ that needs our urgent attention.” T
DockDogs Demonstration Highlights Lake Anne Pet Event
PetMAC Marketplace and Adoption Center in Lake Anne Plaza, Reston, hosted another Pet Event on Saturday, Sept. 12.
Herndon Celebrates National Night Out
Neither intermittent downpours, nor recent confrontations that have sparked tensions and even violence between communities and law enforcement nationwide seemed to dampen the positive spirits of the hundreds of diverse Herndon residents who participated in the town’s August 5 National Night Out events
PetMAC Opens at Lake Anne with a Splash
Pet marketplace and adoption center comes to the Reston area.
Although Cindy Williams actually opened the doors to PetMAC, her pet supply and adoption center located in Reston’s Lake Anne, in January of this year, the official grand opening was only recently celebrated - and done so in style.
Nysmith ‘Know Brainers’ Keep on Competing
Eighth graders take “You Be the Chemist” and Odyssey of the Mind challenges.
The school year is coming to a close – but that doesn’t mean there isn’t time for the students at the Nysmith School in Herndon to squeeze in a few more competitions and maybe a trophy or two before that last bell rings.
Transportation Forum Discusses Options and Obstacles
High Level forum discusses regional transit options and obstacles.
Local, state and federal elected and appointed officials, business leaders, researchers and directors and staff from transportation and economic development agencies gathered on Friday morning, May 8, at the Greensboro Conference Center in he heart of Tysons.
Reston’s ‘Tropical Resort’
Young swimmers enjoy a tropical environment at Goldfish Swim School.
The story behind the Goldfish Swim School in Reston might sound like a bit of a fish tale, but there’s plenty of evidence to prove otherwise.
Wheeling Their Way to School
Lake Anne Elementary students join International Bike to School Day.
Melissa Romano, mother of two students at Lake Anne Elementary School in Reston and one at Forest Edge, has been coordinating a monthly “bike to school” for about two years, but even she admitted that she had to up her game to organize Lake Anne’s participation in this year’s International Bike To School Day.