Convening on Governance
<bt>The Reston Citizens Association has invited leaders of Reston's major government and non-profit organizations to discuss the possibility of Reston becoming an incorporated town. Reston is not officially a town, so most major decisions on a broad range of issues are decided at the county level.
Mike Corrigan, president of RCA, and the other members of the board believe Reston would have more clout and ability to decide its own future if it was an incorporated town. With 66,000 residents, Reston is already larger than all but one Virginia town, Blacksburg, and most cities as well.
The leaders Ñ including top officials from Reston Association, Reston Community Center, Reston Interfaith, LINK, Reston YMCA and the Reston Historic Trust Ñ are invited to attend a forum Saturday morning at 9 a.m. at RA's main offices at 1930 Isaac Newton Sq. RCA is not seeking formal approval of its proposal, merely a chance to brainstorm about the best way to find an alternative to the status quo.
RCA is also inviting the general public to attend, along with members of the 1988 Governance Task Force, which also advocated incorporating Reston as a town.
<sh>Best of Reston Nominees Sought
<bt>Reston Interfaith and the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce are asking the community to nominate citizens, businesses and organizations for the Best of Reston awards.
The annual awards, which raise money for Reston Interfaith, honor those who have shown a commitment to community service in Reston and improving the lives of others. Last week, chamber officials kicked-off the nomination process at a reception at Reston Town Center.
To nominate an individual, business or organization, call Andrew Sterling, the chamber of commerce's director of marketing and communication at 703-707-9045.
The 2005 Best of Reston awards banquet will be held Thursday, April 28 at the Hyatt Regency at Reston Town Center.
<sh>Study Questions Dulles Rail
<bt>A study released Tuesday by Landowners Opposing Wasteful Expenditures on Rail (LOWER) indicates that Metro ridership in the Washington, D.C. area has declined and is not helping to abate traffic congestion.
LOWER officials said the study shows that extending Metrorail to Tyson's Corner and Reston are wrongheaded. They also said that $110 million in rail funding, up for approval in a transportation bond referendum on Nov. 2, would be spend poorly when only $50 million would be spent on roads.
The LOWER report was conducted by Wendell Cox, a transportation and land use specialist.
<sh>Holocaust Survivor To Speak
<bt>Fritz Oppenheimer, who survived the Holocaust as a youth in Nazi Germany and escaped during the war to the United States, will speak at Reston Community Center's lecture series "Reston Presents" at RCC-Lake Anne on Nov. 1 at 7 p.m.
Oppenheimer is the author of "Escape and Return," an account of his escape to New York City and return overseas as a U.S. soldier in the last months of World War II. He was also posted in Germany following the war, helping to "de-Nazify" areas captured during the war by the Third Reich.
He will also discuss his family's success in bringing 200 and 300 Austrian and German Jews into Switzerland and his post-war interviews with former Nazis detained by the Americans.
The lecture, sponsored by Reston Association and RCC, is free and open to the public.
<sh>Reston Calendar
<bt>Reston Association Board of Directors Informal Meeting. Thursday, Oct. 28 at 6:30 p.m. at RA Main Offices, 1930 Isaac Newton Sq.
Reston Association Board of Directors Regular Meeting. Thursday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. at RA Main Offices, 1930 Isaac Newton Sq.
Reston Association Planning & Zoning Meeting. Monday, Nov. 1 at 7:30 p.m. at RA Main Offices, 1930 Isaac Newton Sq.