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Alex McVeigh

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Alliance Pushes for Gun Control Policies

Reston-Herndon Alliance to End Gun Violence holds vigil at NRA headquarters.

Members of the Reston-Herndon Alliance to End Gun Violence gathered at the National Rifle Association headquarters in Fairfax Friday, Feb. 22, to advocate for stricter gun laws. This was the group’s second such protest, where more than 30 members carried signs citing statistics about gun-related deaths.

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Civil War Raid Comes to Downtown

March 17 marks 150 years since Mosby’s raid of Herndon.

On St. Patrick’s day 150 years ago, Union soldiers from the First Vermont Cavalry were at the Town of Herndon depot and sawmill. They were expecting a group of reinforcements, but instead Confederate Capt. John Mosby and his unit arrived on a raid, sparking a brief skirmish.

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Civil War Raid Comes Downtown

March 17 marks 150 years since Mosby’s raid of Herndon.

On St. Patrick’s day 150 years ago, Union soldiers from the First Vermont Cavalry were at the Town of Herndon depot and sawmill. They were expecting a group of reinforcements, but instead Confederate Capt. John Mosby and his unit arrived on a raid, sparking a brief skirmish.

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Alliance Pushes for New Policies

Reston-Herndon Alliance to End Gun Violence holds vigil at NRA headquarters.

Members of the Reston-Herndon Alliance to End Gun Violence gathered at the National Rifle Association headquarters in Fairfax Friday, Feb. 22, to advocate for stricter gun laws. This was the group’s second such protest, where more than 30 members carried signs citing statistics about gun-related deaths.

Senators Speak on Debt Situation

Mark Warner, Tim Kaine address Northern Virginia Technology Council.

Senators Mark Warner (D) and Tim Kaine (D) spoke to members of the Northern Virginia Technology Council Friday, Feb. 8, at the Sprint building in Reston.

Declaration of Independence Signer and Loudoun County Resident Remembered

Few people are aware that the land occupied by Washington Dulles International Airport was once the home of one of the country’s founding fathers.

Herndon High Presents ‘Hansel and Gretel’

Annual children’s production tells classic fairy tale.

The Herndon High School Theater Department will present their annual children’s show starting Friday, Feb. 15, featuring “Hansel and Gretel.”

Student-Athletes Mark Black History Month

Herndon students commemorate 150 years since signing of Emancipation Proclamation.

Three years ago, Elise Ashby Arrington decided that she wanted her son Harrison Craddock to understand the importance of Black History Month.

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French Immersion at Herndon Elementary in Jeopardy

Program at Herndon Elementary could be changed to Spanish Immersion, parents object.

Herndon Elementary School has announced a proposal to discontinue the school’s French Immersion Program, one of two in the county, and replace it with a Spanish Immersion Program. Principal Ann Gwynn said that the French program would continue until 2019, meaning incoming first graders next year would be the last students who could take the program to completion.

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Town Council Approves Downtown Guidelines

Pattern book lays out principles for downtown design principles.

The Herndon Town Council unanimously passed a vision for principles of downtown redevelopment at their Tuesday, Jan. 29, meeting. The “pattern book,” as it’s known, lays out guidelines for building design and frontage for downtown.

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MLK Foundation Celebrates Diversity

Organization welcomes member of Tuskeegee Airmen.

The Martin Luther King Cultural Foundaion hosted a celebration of cultural diversity Saturday, Jan. 26, at ArtSpace in Herndon. The Reston-based organization provides thousands of dollars per year to send local students to college.

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MOMS Club Seeks Service Opportunities

Club’s open house examines ways for families to volunteer.

The Herndon Moms Offering Moms Support (MOMS) club hosted an open house at ArtSpace Thursday, Jan. 17, to help local families discover ways they can serve their community. The open house brought in representatives from Volunteer Fairfax, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Maddie’s Blankets and Fairfax Releaf provided multiple ways for families to get involved, depending on their interests.

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Town Launches Customer Service Initiative

Town services to be more customer friendly, new feedback methods created.

The Town of Herndon announces a new customer service initiative Monday, Jan. 14, called “Count ON Us.” Named to connect with the town’s new branding strategy, the initiative will focus on increasing customer satisfaction with the town’s services.

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Rust Speaks on Current Session

Transportation high among priorities for residents.

Del. Tom Rust (R-86) addressed his constituents at the Herndon Municipal Center Saturday, Jan. 12 to give an update on the current General Assembly session.

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New Look for Town of Herndon

New logo, branding strategy begins to take hold in Herndon.

As the Town of Herndon prepares for the arrival of the Silver Line and changes to its downtown, they’ve taken an important step in making sure Herndon has its own identity: giving Herndon its own brand.

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Town Center Lights Christmas Tree

Santa and Mrs. Claus, Reston Chorale appear at annual tree lighting.

Having just moved to Reston in July, Bill and Marie Jones and their two children weren’t aware of the annual festivities that happen at Reston Town Center every year on the Friday after Thanksgiving, just after dark. They thought they were headed to town center for an evening of ice skating and frozen yogurt.

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Reston Hosts Holiday Parade

Local groups participate in annual Reston Town Center parade Nov. 23.

Thousands of people spent the early part of their Black Friday spread out along Market Street for the annual Reston Holiday Parade. Organizations from across the area made their way down .3 miles of the road carrying balloons, performing and interacting with the crowd.

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Herndon High Performs ‘Brigadoon’

Theater department puts on annual fall musical.

For many cast members in the Herndon High School Theatre Department, the musical "Brigadoon" wasn’t a familiar title to them. The story of two New Yorkers who stumble upon a mystical disappearing Scottish village features one of the young men, Tommy, who falls in love with one of the town’s residents, only to be confronted by the fact that the town only appears once every hundred years.

Schools Using Diversity for Student Benefits

Immersion, ESOL programs aim to take advantage of area cultures.

As Fairfax County has experienced massive growth in its international population, its effects have spread to its educational institutions. Forty-four percent of the Fairfax County Public Schools students come from homes that speak a language other than English, which includes 160 different languages.

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CBT Presents Holiday Classic

Ashley Tern, Lily Campbell to star in Classical Ballet Theatre’s “The Nutcracker.”

When they take the stage for the Classical Ballet Theatre’s annual performance of “The Nutcracker,” 13-year-olds Ashley Tern and Lily Campbell will take their first lead roles in a combined 21 years of dance.

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LEAP Awards $5,000 to Homeowners

Marti Fucile and Eric Shor receive award to make home more energy efficient.

Living on Lake Audubon, Marti Fucile and her fiancé Eric Shor have learned to love their view of the lake. But as environmentally-friendly homeowners, they also know the reality that comes with the high ceilings and large windows in their townhouse.

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Used Book Shop Offers Gift Ideas

Lake Anne shop has been "where books and people meet" for more than 30 years.

Whenever he comes to Lake Anne, Jeremy Thompson of Reston has a place he always stops. A place he calls an "increasing rarity" in today’s world.

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NVTC Hosts Annual Tech Celebration

Annual banquet recognizes top innovators, raises funds for Equal Footing Foundation.

The Northern Virginia Technology Council hosted their annual banquet Monday, Nov. 11 at the Tysons Corner Ritz-Carlton, recognizing technology contractors.

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Frying Pan Farm Home To Holiday Entertainment

Old-Fashioned Holiday Celebration features demonstrations, children’s shopping.

“From Halloween through Christmas, Frying Pan Farm Park is one of our family’s favorite destinations on an almost weekly basis.” -Debbie Santiago of Herndon

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Fairfax Republicans Come Together for Election

What started as a night of hope for the Fairfax County Republican Committee ended on something of a sour note, as Republican presidential, senate and congressional candidates were not able to oust incumbents.

Skate Park Opens at Lake Fairfax

New park is 15,000 square feet, offers variety of features.

The Fairfax County Park Authority opened the Lake Fairfax Skatepark Saturday, Oct. 27, welcoming hundreds of skaters to one of the biggest parks in the area. The 15,000 square-foot features a large bowl on one end, and more than a dozen other features made of concrete with steel edges.

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Local Horrors at Haunted House

Bradley Farm hosts annual haunted house fundraiser.

Charlie Bowen came to the Bradley Farm clubhouse expecting to see some people in zombie makeup, maybe with some gruesome props. He didn’t expect to spend what felt like the longest 120 seconds of his life jumping at every single sound.

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Discussing Budget Morality

United Christian Parish hosts discussion on intersection of budgets and social services.

The United Christian Parish in Reston hosted a forum featuring one of the “Nuns on the Bus” Thursday, Oct. 25 for a discussion on the intersection of morality and budgets: Sister Marge Clark, one of a group of nuns that have toured the U.S. meeting with elected officials and locals about morality and budgeting. Clark is the author of the Faithful Budget, which is created by an inter-religious group that determines basic domestic human needs.

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Robotics Team Shows Off Hardware

Herndon High School Robotics demonstrate at Udvar-Hazy Center.

The Herndon High School Robotics Team showed off its hardware at the Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center Saturday, Oct. 27, as part of the center’s Air and Scare event.

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Langston Hughes Prepares for Earthquakes

Middle school participates in USGS ShakeOut drills.

Students at Langston Hughes Middle School participated in the U.S. Geological Survey’s ShakeOut Thursday, Oct. 18, to prepare themselves in the event of another earthquake like the one that shook a large portion of the east coast on Aug. 23, 2011.

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Bach to Rock Opens in Herndon

Music studio features lessons, recording equipment, DJ school.

Bach to Rock, a music school for students of all ages, has opened its newest location at Worldgate Centre in Herndon. The school features lessons for a variety of instruments, as well as recording facilities and the Beat Refinery, Bach to Rock’s instructional DJ school.

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Shelter House Holds Annual Sleep Out

More than 40 people spend night outdoors to support homeless.

As she prepared to go to sleep in the front seat of her pickup truck, Jewell Mikula thought about what had led her here, to a night sleeping in her car on a cold October evening.

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IPAR Recognized by County Arts Council

Arts Impact Award given for IPAR's public art outreach.

The Initiative for Public Art-Reston was recognized by the Arts Council of Fairfax County Friday, Oct. 12 with the Arts Impact Award for their commission and placement of art in public places around the community. Founded in 2007 by local civic organizations and residents, the group created a Public Art Master Plan in 2008 to guide the future of public art.

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Simon Hosts Connolly Fundraiser

Reston founder welcomes congressman, supporters to his Lake Anne home.

Supporters of Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-11) ascended to the top of Lake Anne Plaza, as Reston founder Robert Simon hosted a fundraising event Sunday, Oct. 13 at his home. Due to the 2010 redistricting, the 11th district includes Reston in its entirety.

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Home Tour Shows Life on the Edge

Annual home tour features homes next to Reston's features.

This year’s Reston Homes Tour featured the usual assortment of houses featuring exceptional architecture, interior design and other unique designs, but this year’s theme also focused on the adjacent areas. “Living on the Edge,” the theme, was designed to highlight how various Reston residents are making do while living near some kind of community feature.

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A Three-way Race in 10th District

Kristin Cabral, Kevin Chisholm oppose Frank Wolf in new-look 10th district.

Rep. Frank Wolf (R-10) is attempting to be re-elected for a sixteenth term come Nov. 6, but he will face two challengers in Kristin Cabral (Democrat) and Kevin Chisholm (Independent).

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Reston Town Center Hosts Oktoberfest

Annual event features fall beer, food, children’s carnival.

A cold, rainy day couldn’t keep George Mitchell and his friends away from Reston’s Oktoberfest Sunday, Oct. 6.

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New Downtown Herndon Mural Under Construction

Commissioned by Arts Council, Keith Naquin prepares mural on Ice House Café.

Downtown Herndon has been a bit more colorful in recent months, and artist Keith Naquin is a major reason why. Over the summer, the retired Herndon High School teacher turned the gray wall behind the NAPA Auto Parts building into a scenic, pastoral mural. Now he’s moved onto his second project, transforming the red brick wall of the Ice House Café.

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Herndon Celebrates Arts Week

Oct. 8 through 13 will feature daily art activities.

The Council for the Arts of Herndon will host Arts Week in Herndon taking advantage of a holiday week to feature all kinds of local art. Starting Monday, Oct. 8 and going through Saturday, Oct. 13, there will be events all over town, featuring artists, live music and classes for people of all ages and interests.

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Family of Four Found Dead in Herndon

Police make discovery during welfare check, believe husband killed family before turning gun on himself.

A Herndon family of four was found dead in their home on Point Rider Lane the morning of Tuesday, Sept. 25. Fairfax County Police responded after a co-worker of one of the family members reported that they had not been to work this week.

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Lake Anne Hosts Annual Multicultural Festival

Event features day of international culture, food.

Saturday, Sept. 22 marked the first time Jesse Ekland and Alicia Morales attended the Reston Multicultural Festival as a couple, but they used it to celebrate their anniversary anyway. That’s because it served as a catalyst for their relationship.

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Haunted House Returns This Fall

Annual Bradley Farm event will raise money for FISH.

The Bradley Farm neighborhood in Herndon will host what has fast become an annual fall tradition, their annual haunted house. Now in its sixth year, this year’s theme will be "The Evil Around Us," a focus on local legends.

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Closet Hosts Community Picnic

Thrift store kicks off fall shopping season.

The Closet Thrift Store in Herndon hosted a community picnic on Saturday, Sept. 22, paying thanks to their customers, donors and volunteers that have supported the shop during their almost 40-year mission.

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Keeping Tysons Corner Moving

Event provides updates on 495 Express Lanes, Dulles Metrorail.

In the next 15 months, Tysons Corner will see almost $5 billion in new transportation projects come online.

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Celebrating Public Art in Reston

IPAR kicks off new exhibit at Reston Museum.

In his founding principles for Reston, Robert Simon mentioned the need for public art several times. The Initiative for Public Art-Reston presented a history of public art in Reston Saturday, Sept. 15, celebrating several major art projects that form the core of Reston.

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Multicultural Festival Comes to Lake Anne

Annual event features food, culture and more from variety of nations.

Lake Anne will host Reston’s annual Multicultural Festival Saturday, Sept. 22 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The event is designed to celebrate Reston’s diversity, with live performances, arts and even a book fair. A signature part of the festival the past few years has been a naturalization ceremony for recent immigrants to the United States.

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Hospital Breaks Ground on New Building

Medical office building will add 180,000 square feet to campus.

The Reston Hospital Center broke ground on their new medical office building Monday, Sept. 17. The new building, which is estimated to be completed in late fall 2013, will add 180,000 square feet of physician offices and hospital services.

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MWAA Releases Toll Rates to 2014

Community groups concerned about raises and effect on local traffic.

The Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority has released its scheduled toll rate increases for the Dulles Toll Road up to 2015. Effective January 1, 2013, tolls at the mainline plaza will be $1.75 (up from $1.50) and the ramps will be $1.00 (up from $0.75).

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ArtSpace Hosts Paint Herndon

Local adult, teen and youth painters take to streets Saturday.

Hannah Cameron Cadenazzi came into this year’s Paint Herndon with some big shoes to fill. Her sister Mhairi won the youth competition last year, and Hannah aimed to do the same thing: spend Saturday, Sept. 1, painting her entry for the annual art contest.

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Students GIVE Back in Big Way

Student-run educational nonprofit celebrates third year, expansion of services.

During his freshman year at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Kevin Cao had the opportunity to volunteer at Belvedere Elementary School in Falls Church. What he learned there is having impact around the Fairfax County School system to this day.