Man Dies in Car Wash Accident
<bt>A Reston man died Friday night after he was severely injured in an Annandale car wash accident. According to police, Gary Ferriera, 53, was standing near his Cadillac at the Best Car Wash on Friday afternoon when a Lincoln Town Car sped out of the car wash bay and struck him. Pinned between the two cars, Ferriera's leg was torn off and he suffered other lower body injuries, said Fairfax County Police spokeswoman Sophia Grinnan. The Lincoln, which was driven by Mixcie Robertson, a 33-year-old car wash employee, continued driving into the road after Ferriera was hit. Ferriera succumbed to his injuries sometime overnight at Inova Fairfax Hospital. Police investigators from the Crash Reconstruction Unit are investigating the accidents, because it is still unknown why Robertson drove the Lincoln out of the car wash area at a high rate of speed, Grinnan said.
<sh>Student Charged with Stabbing
<bt>An unidentified 16-year-old Reston girl was charged with malicious wounding after she stabbed a male classmate in the leg, Fairfax County police said. The incident occurred Friday at about noon at South Lakes High School. Police believe the girl slapped the boy in the face, who then slapped her face in response. The girl then allegedly produced a key chain bottle opener with a knife attachment and stabbed him in the left leg. The victim went to the school nurse and was taken to the hospital by his parents, where he was treated for minor injuries and released. The girl was charged and taken to the Juvenile Detention Facility after the school nurse called the police.
<sh>Meetings May Become More Open
<bt>A bill that would require homeowners associations, such as Reston Association, to open all subcommittee meetings to the public has unanimously passed the Virginia Senate. By being designated as public meetings, RA will be required to have a public address portion and must record the meeting's minutes. The bill, SB 348, would significantly increase the number of RA's public meetings, including meetings of task forces. "We're going to let in so much sunshine, we might get sunburned," joked RA Director Vicki Wingert (at-large).
<sh>Beaver Killing Bill Passes
<bt>A proposed law that would allow landowners to kill beavers without obtaining a permit has passed both the House of Delegates and the state Senate. While Gov. Mark Warner has not yet taken a position on the bill, the Reston Association opposes it because beavers live on RA land. When beavers have proven a problem in the past in Reston, all alternatives are exhausted before extermination. This bill, RA officials say, could cause residents to cross onto RA land to kill beavers and any other natural or domestic wildlife without proper permitting and notification.
<sh>RA To Discuss Governing Documents
<bt>The Reston Association is holding a special meeting on the proposed amendments to RA's governing documents. While most of the proposed changes merely modernize the documents, some other amendments are proving controversial. Among these issues are: increasing the assessment cap by $50, changing the index by which rate increases are calculated, and lowering the threshold needed for RA referendums to pass. The special meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m., March 8 at the RA building located at 1930 Isaac Newton Sq.
<sh>Supervisor To Hold Budget Meeting
<bt>Supervisor Cathy Hudgins (D-Hunter Mill) has scheduled a meeting in Reston to discuss the Fairfax County Fiscal Year 2005 budget. The proposed $2.7 billion budget, which was presented to the Board of Supervisors late last month, would increase real estate taxes by $421 for the average homeowner and would increase spending by more than $117 million. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m., March 10, at the Reston Community Center at Hunters Woods.