Underground Metro for Dulles, Shutdown Suffering, and a Herndon Cat-astrophe: A Random Stroll Around Reston News

• Turns out Dulles Airport will actually get a fancy Metro station somewhere within the general proximity of the airport, after all. The airport authority voted to locate the station underground about 550 feet from the station, at a cost of about $330 million beyond what it would have cost to build an above-ground station nearly 1/4 of a mile away. County officials are not amused!

  Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova said she is concerned by Wednesday's Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority board vote in support of the underground tunnel for the Dulles International Airport Metro station.
  
  “If the underground alignment endorsed by MWAA today results in an increase in the cost of Phase II, then MWAA should be responsible for funding the difference in a way that does not increase the burden on Fairfax County residents or on Dulles Toll Road users,” Bulova said.

  Given that a big part of the justification of the cost of the entire multi-billion Silver Line project was that scads of airport users would start using the Metro once the line was completed, the airports authority made the correct decision. But Bulova's right that the increased costs should be paid by Metro riders, not Toll Road users.
  
  
• Usually you have to go to flyover country America's Noble Heartland to get your daily dose of scores-of-dead-cats-found-in-a-house news, but our friendly neighbor to the west pulled through for us this week.

  Fairfax County animal control officers found between 20-30 dead cats in an empty home in the 1300 block of Summerfield Drive in Herndon late Wednesday.
  
  Fairfax County police spokesperson Lucy Caldwell said the animal control officers were called out to Herndon for a report of two large dogs running through the neighborhood. She said an officer saw the dogs run into the back yard of the home to try to catch them when the officer saw what she thought were the carcasses of dead cats in the home.
  
  While officers did not find any people, they did find the skeletal remains of between 20-30 deceased cats by about 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday. No living cats were found in the home, Caldwell said. She said there may be more dead cats in the home.
  
  “Apparently no one had been living in the house for some time,” Caldwell said, though the property is owned by a 50-year-old woman. She said police are not categorizing this incident as hoarding at this point, because there are many unknown factors about the situation.

  Is it too soon to call this a cat-astrophe?
  
  
• Fans of frottage, rejoice: The seriously awesome, if somewhat overcrowded, semi-annual book sale is on through the weekend at the Reston Regional Library.
  
  
• Ever wanted to make a suggestion about the Reston Association budget? Now's your chance:

  The Board of Directors is scheduled to adopt the 2012-2013 budget on Nov. 17, 2011. Members can submit suggestions for all aspects of Reston Association operations. Suggestions are due by April 22, 2011.

  You can get the handy suggestion form here.
  
  
• If the federal gubmint does shut down tomorrow at midnight, Fairfax County workers will lose $1.6 million per day in salary, which will trickle down to impact the local economy the number of dudes with smartphones hanging out at Jackson's.
  
  
• The craptacular Rave Motion Pictures Reston 13 in the fake legitimately gritty downtown, which was a nice theater when it opened nearly two decades ago, has a new owner. Bow Tie Cinemas plans extensive renovations, plus "Super Tuesday discounts," when tickets will be just... $6. God, we feel old.
  
  
• Books-A-Million will follow Blockbuster as the second major retailer to leave Reston when it closes April 17.
  
  
• Finally, from the almost-but-not-quite-ironic department: Franklin Farms resident Kevin Lee Cokayne was charged with selling marijuana. If your name is Mary Jane and you live in Fox Mill, you might want to stay away from bags of flour.