No Sharks, but Loudoun’s Got Dolphins

Entrepreneurs pitched their ideas to a panel of judges at AOL Wednesday.

Several Loudoun entrepreneurs jumped into the Dolphin Tank Wednesday at AOL’s Dulles campus to get feedback about their business ideas. And while panels of judges on television tend to have a bit of a bite, like ABC’s Shark Tank, this panel acted more like a team of swim instructors. “Dolphin Tank gives entrepreneurs the chance to pitch their business idea to a supportive panel of industry experts,” said Loudoun Small Business and Entrepreneurship Manager Debi Roder, adding that participants received “positive, actionable feedback, along with input from the audience. It’s a much more friendly, respectful experience than Shark Tank.” Springboard Enterprises brought Dolphin Tank to Dulles in partnership with Loudoun County, AOL’s Fishbowl …

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ULTA Coming to Village at Leesburg This Summer

Store offers cosmetics, fragrances, salon styling tools and more.

Beauty lovers in Leesburg will be happy to hear a new ULTA Beauty will be opening at the Village at Leesburg this summer. The cosmetics and beauty retailer has leased the space at 1606 Village Market Blvd. "We’re extremely pleased to announce ULTA Beauty, a quality tenant, will be joining the Village at Leesburg community," said Michael Wheat, executive vice president and director of leasing for Cypress Equities, in a press release. "We know that ULTA will enhance the shopping experience at our center and look forward to having a fantastic national retailer join our great merchants." ULTA is the largest beauty retailer in the United States, and sells cosmetics, fragrances, hair care, skincare, salon styling tools and hair care products, as…

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Whitbeck Cisneros McElroy Moves Headquarters to Leesburg.

Westline Commercial Real Estate facilitates move for one of DC's top law firms

Silver Line Phase 2 Bidding Begins

At least five groups have surfaced so far with plans to bid on Metro’s project to extend rail to Dulles and Ashburn.

CORRECTION: Five groups have already begun assembling teams to propose bids, not four as initially reported. All five teams are listed at the bottom of the story. Initial story: Hundreds of people representing contractors and subcontractors hoping to be part of the winning bid to construct the second phase of the Metro’s Silver Line to Dulles Airport and Ashburn attended a conference Thursday to learn more about the process and meet construction teams planning to bid on the project. At least five groups have already begun assembling teams to bid on the $1.4 billiion to $1.5 billion “Package A” of the construction project, which includes everything except the rail yard and the five parking garages that may never go to bid. If all goes as …

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Bob Bruhns

5:47 am on Monday, December 31, 2012

I just happened to notice that I made a mistake. The Dulles Rail Phase 1 Design-Build contract is actually here: Design-Build Contract (7.87 MB PDF) http://www.mwaa.com/file/p1dcmcontract_7_25_08.pdf   more ›

Loudoun’s Metro Vote and Response

A divided board sends the Silver Line project forward.

During dozens of conversations leading up to the Loudoun Board of Supervisors decision to participate in the proposed Metro project to Dulles Airport and beyond, no one knew how the votes would fall. Would it be 5-4, 6-3? People in the audience, county staff members and even supervisors waged small bets on the final vote, and those who picked 5-4 won the day. Heading in to the vote, there were two supervisors considered potential swing votes: Ken Reid (R-Leesburg) and Suzanne Volpe (R-Algonkian). Speaking with a wide range of “insiders” during the past two months, odds appeared to be on Volpe to support it, with Reid possibly joining the majority. But that would have been the wrong bet. Reid, who had a history of opposing the rail project…

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Steve Wright

2:57 pm on Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Bob is correct, when metro provides services outside of the rail, just like any of their other locations, they charge ridiculous fees for "pick ups" to and from the rail. This is nothing new. Also, if history repeats itself, crime will also escalate in the surrounding areas of the rail station. Is this what we want?   more ›

Speak Out: Loudoun Metro, Yes or No?

Loudoun is set vote on Metro Tuesday, giving residents a few more opportunities to speak out.

Loudoun residents, and some from beyond, just may show up one more time Monday to tell the Board of Supervisors how they feel about the county's participation in the Metro's Silver Line project. With a vote set for Tuesday and deadline on Wednesday, supervisors have a regularly scheduled public input session at the County Government Center in Leesburg, during which resident may speak about any issue they wish. Let everyone else know how you feel in comments below. We've had lots of folks weigh in on Patch. Has your voice been heard? Residents also have another day to try to get their email messages in support or against to board members. Contact information for supervisors is as follows: All Board members receive mail and calls at: Loudoun…

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Bob Bruhns

12:21 pm on Friday, July 6, 2012

Unpaid citizens had to do what our elected officials and paid government staff should have been doing. Instead, our government set things up so that the information would be scattered and hidden. MWAA 'redacted' the costs in Phase I and Phase II, in order to hide them from public view. When MWAA then proceeded to go wild with the overcosts, the FTA came in back in 2011 and let a few obviously …   more ›

Movie Reviews by Cinema Siren

'Prometheus': Ridley Scott Delivers on Sci-Fi Film

R-rated film opening this weekend is spectacular, spotty, yet satisfying.

In Greek mythology, Prometheus got in big trouble for handing over the secret of fire to mere mortals. In modern day, he represents the quest for human knowledge and achievement. Of course, he wound up tied to a rock and having an eagle peck his guts out every day. Apparently the team who embarks on their own quest for knowledge in the spacecraft that supplies the title of Ridley Scott's highly anticipated new film hadn't gotten the foreshadowing memo. For them, asking questions about human origin, and actively seeking answers, is the beginning of Bad Things happening, but then we audience members, who are privy to Ridley's dark horrific alien past, know that going in.  Much has been made of keeping the plot under wraps. "Prometheus" is …

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James Cullum

11:20 am on Sunday, June 10, 2012

Saw it last night for myself, and I think the film could have been loads better. The dialogue stunk, none of the characters were likable and the conclusions made by the principals about the main villains are drawn too quickly. There is no sense of reality, and you don't even care about the ship, which is named Prometheus. It has no real personality of its own and neither does its crew. The whole …   more ›

Leesburg's First Retail Forum Scheduled

The Leesburg Economic Development Commission will host the first time event this Wednesday for those who are interested in doing business within the town.

The Leesburg Economic Development Commission will host its first-ever Retail Opportunity Forum on Wednesday, May 2.  The free event will provide attendees with a retail market analysis for Leesburg, highlighting the opportunities for retailers to take advantage of unmet retail demand—current and future—within the local market.    “We recognize that small retailers often don’t have the time or money to invest in market research and analysis,” said Leesburg Economic Development Manager Marantha Edwards. “Even if they do, purchasing data from a national company doesn’t give them the local insight about Leesburg’s current retail market that we will provide at the forum.” Attendees will receive a packet of information valued at close to $1,000…

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A New Nook for Books in Leesburg

Books and Other Found Things is full of hidden treasures, local art and books.

Last September, Allen Robinson and his wife Nancy were walking through downtown Leesburg and wandered past a beautiful old building at 13 Loudoun St. that was for rent. This caught their eye, as they had only recently moved to the town and happened to be looking for a new business opportunity. Even though they had never been in the retail book business, they immediately thought it would be a “neat old building to use as a bookstore,“ Allen Robinson said. The couple did their homework by calling a Realtor, conducting some research and looking at comparable prices in the historic downtown. After some due diligence, their first instincts proved valid and they rented the building and moved in. In November 2011, Books and Other Found Things was…

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Leah M. Kosin

4:27 pm on Wednesday, April 4, 2012

I was just inside this book store about a month or two ago during Leesburg's Girl's Night Out. Very cute!   more ›