Reston Citizen

Good Shepard Lutheran Church has sold it’s old building, and as the Washington Post reports, they’ve found a purchaser:

The Tzu Chi Foundation, a [Buddhist] religious organization that performs charitable work worldwide, scooped up Good Shepherd’s facility for $4.2 million and will move in after the church settles into its new building, under construction farther north in Reston.

Sometime in the Winter of 2008 the Tzu Chi Foundation will move to 1516 Moorings Dr, near Lake Anne Plaza. The facilitie’s sanctuary holds  224 seats and 8 classrooms, and according to spokesman Clara Cheng it was a hard find, “There’s not many churches on the market. To find the right size, the right location, was not an easy job.”

Previously Tzu Chi operated out of a Rockville office park. Good Shepard will move to a facility with more than double it’s current capacity at a lot near Reston Avenue and Route 7.

Anyone who’s ever tried to cross Village Road and Baron Cameron Avenue knows the “look both ways” rule doesn’t apply here. Pedestrian vision is limited by a bend in the road on both sides of the intersection, and on top of that cars routinely speed through.

To correct this VDOT has installed some new safety features. A one way stop sign for Village Road will be joined by two new stop signs for North Shore Drive. Crosswalks will be added when the weather is better, and there is a possibility of rumble strips. Other additions include signage to alert drivers of the crossing.

An accident last July involving an 87 year old pedestrian who was injured crossing that same street prompted the additions. Rumors initially identified the man as Robert Simon, Reston’s founder. These where false and the injured man was released from the hospital.

Anyone who’s been to the Reston Historical Museum will probably notice it mostly contains pictures and text. But that could change in the next few months when grants from Fairfax County are expected to fund a renovation.

The Washington Post is reporting the museum has a lot of collections and interactive exhibits they’d like to display:

“We have a lot of stuff that we don’t have room to display,” said Victoria Wingert, president of the museum’s parent organization, Reston Historic Trust. “We have oral histories on videos and would like to make the museum more interactive than it is today.”

The museums upgrade will hopefully draw more people to Lake Anne. The Reston Museum receives about 12,000 visitors a year, but those working to revitalize Lake Anne realize that every additional person in the center, particularly in the colder months, helps to improve the center until more people can brought in by the construction of more condo and office space.

This photographer from Liverpool, England choose to focus on the historical aspects of Lake Anne for the photo. The desaturated colors defiantly bring back memories, maybe not from the 60s, but from the 70s.

Weather for Tuesday, September 11th: Showers and thunderstorms likely before 8am, then a chance of showers between 8am and 2pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 84. West wind between 7 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Photo by: DuskZero

The Reston Community Center will close temporarily in summer 2008 for HVAC renovations. Classes and other activities will be relocated to other facilities, including the Lake Anne center.

The HVAC system is over thirty years old, and RCC chariman Bill Bouie said, “we are replacing a 30-year old system, which was original to the Hunters Woods building. The system started to require more and more repair and without question
outlived its efficiency.” The board decided the timings to overlap with the annual closures of both the pool and community theater.

RCCs executive director, Bonnie Freeman has said the move will also see expansion in the Reston Town Center area, and North Reston. This has been an area the Center has wanted to expand in for a while, according to her. The center will close in June 2008, and reopen in October.

The Reston Multicultural festival will have it’s seventh year this Saturday (9/8). This fesitival celebrates the abundace of clutures found in Reston, and this years them is “Discover the World in Reston.”

As usual the festival will feature international music, food, and activities. Some of the performances include G.T.E.V. a music/dance troupe from the Bavarian region of Germany. The Silver Light Senior Association will also be performing an ancient Chinese opera. Music performances from African and South American groups will also be present.

This years Multicultural fesitival will be on Saturday September 8th, rain or shine, at Lake Anne. Bring your kids, and dress to represent your culture. The festival is sponsored by the Reston Community Center.