This and That: A Random Traipse Across Reston News

• Secret Restonian operative "Sean" sent us this shocking picture of a non stream-related treepocalyse taking place along North Shore Drive. The United Christian Parish has razed its old parsonage, but fear not -- it will be recycled! Apparently, little bits of parsonage will become "aggregate," mulch and boiler fuel.
  
  
• You know that fancy Not Necessarily the Silver Line that might someday extend out to Dulles Airport? Apparently, the second phase, which will extend from Wiehle Avenue into Darkest Loudoun County, urbanizing Targetville in the process, will cost a cool $3.8 billion, leading planners to wonder if putting the Dulles station somewhere "near" the terminal instead of building an underground station adjacent to it might make sense. After all, who wouldn't want to walk an extra two-tenths of a mile when they're trundling around six suitcases and two toddlers?
  
  
• Hey, great news. After considering relocating its headquarters to some crappy office park in Ashburn, VeriSign went ahead and decided to lease the current Sallie Mae headquarters in Reston's Fake Downtown. Huzzah! VeriSign employees, the bread ends are on us at the Macaroni Grill.
  
  
• To help their fellow students understand the concept of Ramadan, a couple of Reston college students led a hajibi challenge at the "University of Mary Washington," which is what used to be called Mary Washington College back in the day. Conservative web-loggers responded with their typical nuanced and sophisticated analysis of the benefits of expanding one's horizons and attempting to understand differing perspectives and cultures. Ha ha, no, of course they didn't. Had you going there for a moment, though, didn't we?
  
  
• What better way to celebrate the opening of a new restaurant in Reston? A "little black dress" contest, of course! Sadly, Bob Simon was only the third runner up.
  
  
• Congressman Jim Moran has apparently taken a break from his busy schedule hosting town hall meetings to run for re-election, and he had a debate with his Republican and Green challengers in Reston. You can watch a fancy video of the debate, which we are embarrassed to admit that we clicked away from to watch a hilarious cat video about two minutes into the description of the rules:
  
  
  
• Ever wondered what happened to all the coins tossed into the fountains in Reston's Fake Downtown? Our BFFs at Patch have the answer, and apparently it has nothing to do with gilding the fancy brick sidewalks.
  
  
• The Sweetgreen saladry is opening its Reston location today in the Fake Downtown, somewhere near the cupcakery.
  
  
• Members of the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce, along with their peers from Arlington, are going to China, where they will be greeted with a "traditional meal of Peking Duck," presumably at the Beijing Macaroni Grill.
  
  
• If and when the economy improves, Charlotte, N.C., is supposedly getting its own suburban Reston clone, only presumably with more NASCAR-related street names. Also, those two-dimensional yard decorations depicting deer and ladies' bloomers will likely be permissible -- if not required -- by their version of the DRB.
  
  
• Finally, we're not much into that fancy book-reading, but we heartily recommend this stunning masterpiece solely on the basis of the name of its protagonist:

  The tough former Navy SEAL swore he didn’t have a heart…until now.
  
  Former Navy SEAL Sam Reston keeps to himself. His world is dangerous, uncertain, violent…and there is no room in it for the helpless and weak. Then the most beautiful woman in the world moves in next door to him . . . .

  ... and promptly gets dinged by the DRB for putting red mulch in her front yard. This time, it's personal!