Reston Citizen

Statue of Martin Luther King Jr. in Kelly Ingram Park, Birmingham Alabama.

The Reston Community Center invites everyone to come and honor the sacrifice of Dr Martin Luther King. Events start on Janurary 19th with a concert, and continue on the 20th with another free concert.

On January 21st a commemorative march is planned to start at the Southgate Center, and terminates at the Hunter Woods RCC location.

Schedule of Events:
Saturday, January 19, 6:00pm - 8:00pm: RCC Hunters Woods

Reston Community Orchestra, conducted byMaestro Dingwall Fleary. MetroSingers and encore performances by Reston’s own, Beverly Cosham, Song Stylist, and Ellyn Lomak Crawford, Soprano.

Sunday, January 20, 4:00pm: Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation

Community Concert sponsored by the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Monday, January 21, 7:30am: Southgate Community Center
Commemorative march, shuttles will be provided back to the Southgate location.
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Columbia Gas has donated $30,000 for the Nature House project, a nature center to be constructed at the Walker Nature Center. The total cost for the project is $1.5 million, of which $1.25 million has already been raised. This has some people expecting construction might start in 2008, as reported in the Fairfax Times:

Shaw said 2007 has been the most successful year for Nature House fund-raising and it has given her good reason to believe construction will begin in 2008. The campaign passed the million dollar mark this past year and has climbed steadily to $1.25 million.

“These types of gifts are just what our capital campaign is looking for,” Shaw said.

The Nature House has been long in the works, in 2001 a Reston Association referendum was passed by 70% allowing for construction of such a building. The new center will be a place where people can learn more about the environment around them by attending exhibits, lectures, and tours.

Santa Clause will be coming to town two weeks early to pick up gifts for needy children. The Fairfax County Police Motorcycle Squad will be escorting Santa with a stop at the Reston police station.

On December 12th the motorcade will make it’s stops at county government buildings to pick up donated gifts and other items. Santa and his assistants will deliver the toys to the children at Georgetown Lombardi Cancer Center and the INOVA Fairfax Hospital Child Life Center. This year a small amount of donated items will also be sent to the children of Fairfax County police currently serving tours in Iraq.

Anyone can donate unwrapped toys, games, books, stuffed animals or other gifts at the police stations around the county, or the government center. Santa’s motorcade will stop at the Reston district station from 1:00pm to 1:15pm, but anything you may want to donate should be dropped off before December 12th.

Fairfax County has embraced the cool counties initiative, which aims to reduce carbon output in America’s counties. Part of the announcement was that the county would increase walkability around transit stations to reduce car use and pollution.

Transit oriented design itself is one way of reducing carbon output, the leading cause of global warming. But the County has taken this one step further by requiring that buildings in the Reston/Herndon Suburban Center (a region used in the Counties zoning guide) be built according the certain green standards.

The amendment would make all buildings in suburban centers, the Tysons Corner urban center, and apartments taller than 4 stories conform. But not all are happy about these green standards as reported by the Fairfax Times:

Several developers testified about the costs of building green during a public hearing on the amendment.

Donald Gibson, senior design manager of JPI, said, “Landowners and builders will spend the money, but will not reap the energy savings from that.”

He said it is costing his development company an additional $2.3 million to attain the LEED Silver certification on an apartment development in the Hunter Mill District. Considering the grim housing market, company officials are not “optimistic they can recuperate the costs,” Gibson said.

The new requirements would mean buildings would have to meet EngeryStar ratings and be certified by the LEED program, which is considered a leader in green building standards.

Virginia Tech will be entering into paternership with several private companies to upgrade buildings in the Washington area. The Chesapeake Bay Journal reports the Reston International Center is one of the about one hundred area buildings to be retrofitted.

Under the partnership, Virginia Tech, secured $500 million in loans to be given to property owners. The improvements will reduce electricity bills by 20%-50% depending on the buildings condition. Money saved from electricity bills will be used to repay the loans.

Next Tuesday (10/30) the Washington Redskins, along with the Red Cross will be holding a blood drive at the YMCA. Currently there is a blood shortage in the Washington Region. Besides donating to a charitable cause, a sweepstakes of autographed Redskins merchandise will be held.

Participants must be over 18, be in good health, not have given blood in the past 56 days, and weigh over 110 pounds. Anyone can participate in the sweepstakes. Anyone interested in donating blood must register in advance. The drive will be held at the Reston YMCA on Sunset Hills Drive.

Reston Interfaith, the non profit group that runs the Embry Rucker site has already raised $10,000 in a Saturday event to end homelesnes.

On Thrusday they’ll be holding a mini walk at Fox Mill Elementary, which last year brought in another $10,000. In a town where the median household income is $80,000, many are surprised that such a need exists. But in Fairfax County the homeless population is 2000 people, most of which is caused by a lack of affordable and single room units.

Reston Interfaith runs the Embry Rucker shelter, which can hold 70 people, and formerly ran the controversial Herndon Day Labor site, which helped people who would otherwise be unemployed and possibly homeless, find work.

Story From the Reston Times