Community Guide
In case you missed it, last week LoudounExtra.com published the annual community guide. Blogger Ric James over at HoodaThunk? wrote, "I’ll be looking through all the parts of the Guide myself over the next several days and I’ll let you know if there’s anything particularly interesting. (Or even just plain old-fashioned cool.)" Paradox13VA over at Leesburg Tomorrow refers to the section of the guide about development and zoning when he writes, "Basically, the greater a planned development deviates from the zoning and comprehensive plan, the greater input residents can have on it before it is considered by the Board of Supervisors."

Comparing Loudoun and Fairfax
School board member and blogger John Stevens has some thoughts on Loudoun's grading policies. He has some reaction to a recent Washington Post article about how Fairfax might be changing its grading policies. "Some days, I feel like Fairfax County's little brother. Whenever I, or someone else, want a change to LCPS policy or practice, the question comes up: How does Fairfax do it?" he wrote. "…If Fairfax changes its grading policies, should Loudoun do the same?"

Lightning in Leesburg
Local blogger and firefighter Brian has a post about a lightning strike in Leesburg on Sunday afternoon. "Over in the area of Tavistock Farms a lighting strike was responsible for numerous calls in the area of the strike," he wrote. "…When we got on scene, you could actually see where the lightning had hit the ground and traveled through the owners' lawn sprinkler system."

New Bank Branch
Virginia Commerce Bank has opened a new branch in Sterling, according to this story from The Washington Business Journal. The branch on Overland Drive will be the bank's 26th location.

National Guard Returns
Leesburg's Army National Guard returned home this weekend after an 11-month tour of Iraq. Leesburg Today has the story here and the Loudoun Times-Mirror has the story here.