Reston's Vibrant Economy Part 12: Pink slips and Little Pink Houses (For You And Me)

Sallie Mae is laying off 14 folks in Reston as part of a 3 percent cut of its workforce of 11,000. No word on whether the pink slips included liberal uses of the F-word.

It's now official: Sprint Nextel is slashing 4,000 jobs and closing 125 stores.

There was no word in its statement about the fate of its headquarters in Reston.

We know what that means!

Reston homebuilder Comstock may get booted from the Nasdaq because its stock price has fallen faster than property values in an exurban subdivision. (Oh wait--we used that lame analogy yesterday, too.) This, after reporting 110 sales of those little pink houses in the fourth quarter -- and 71 cancellations.

On the bright side, Reston's Used Book Shop at Lake Anne Village is celebrating its 30th birthday. Yay! Here's what people are saying:

"People comment over the years, 'I don't know how you stay in business, but please don't ever close,'" said Bud Burwell, who now owns the business with his wife, Susan.

Right now, if we were betting people, we'd give the bookstore better odds than various home builders, student loan companies, and cellphone providers. When the dust settles, it and this august, albeit mustard-yellow institution may very well be the last two awesome Reston businesses standing.