Stories for August 2021

Volunteering Can Give Seniors Purpose

Seniors and retirees can stay active and have a positive impact on the community.

Every Tuesday this summer, Esther Rosenberg has welcomed two elementary school-aged students into her Potomac, Md. home.

Fairfax County Police Department K9 Silas Dies

Fairfax County Police Department posted the following announcement on its Facebook page:

Opinion: Column: “Enough Already”

As my late mother would have suggested after reading four consecutive weeks of Kenny's column being on the same subject: the second degree burns on my feet, I am finally moving on.

Kincannon and Friends Celebrate His ‘Retirement’

Explaining that he has retired as pastor of Rising Hope Methodist Mission Church, Reverend Dr. Keary Kincannon told 120 guests at his Aug. 20 retirement party at Fort Hunt Park, “I’m not leaving the ministry. I have not retired from my faith. And to quote that great philosopher, Monty Python, ‘I’m not dead yet.’”

Overcoming Mental Health Stigma

Suicide Walk-a-Thon brings awareness

The pandemic's psychological and socioeconomic fallout may be driving an accelerated trend in depressive symptoms and suicide ideation, attempts, and deaths in Fairfax County, reported experts in mental health at the "Fight Suicide" Walk-a-Thon at Lake Fairfax Park in Reston held Aug. 21.

A Full Glass Recycling Dumpster is a Sign of Success

Purple dumpsters are pulling in big numbers around the county and a few spots outside.

Glass recycling

Potomac Riverkeeper Has Hands Full of Plastics

Plus storm drains are portals for pet waste and excess fertilizer.

Potomac Riverkeeper

Near-Normal School Year in Mount Vernon?

Students, staff look forward with smiles, optimism and coronavirus rules, all part of the first day of school.

First day at Mount Vernon High School

Senior Olympics Profile Orienteering

Which way is north again?

Grab a compass and detailed topographical map and head out over unfamiliar terrain to navigate a set course in the fastest time.

Opinion: Commentary: Hurricane Preparedness

How to get your family ready for an emergency

Nothing can be more damaging and frightening than being in the path of a hurricane.

New Law Could Help Save Turtles

Wild turtles need protection; enjoy them by seeing them, but leave them be.

From scratchy ancient petroglyphs to the children’s book heroine, Myrtle the turtle, to fictional superheroes Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, turtles have long fascinated people.

Summer Thunderstorm Impacts Roads, Bridges

Hot, humid weather paves the way for extreme storms.

Storm damage

Area Campgrounds Offer a Rustic Oasis Just Outside the Beltway

Various levels of camping varies from roughing it in tents, to RV sites with running water.

Camping

Opinion: Commentary: Virginia State Police Funding

Next year in 2022, the Virginia Department of State Police (VSP) will celebrate its 90th anniversary.

Opinion: Column: Hopping and Hoping

As I approach my four-week anniversary of "the burning," I do so with cautious optimism that one day soon, I'll be walking upright once again and doing so without the assistance of my walker.

Back to School: The Best Shot: Vax Up!

Fairfax County families and educators discuss COVID-19 School Year 2021-22.

The first day of the much-anticipated, in-person return to school for SY2021-22 looms for many families, friends, and educators in Fairfax County's independent, public and home-based education systems.

Universities Measure Heat Disparities in Virginia

Marymount professor and student join ‘Heat Watch’ effort.

Enduring dangerously high temperatures, Marymount University student Bader Hakami and biology professor Susan Agolini spent a day working as community scientists.

Opinion: Commentary: Childcare in Fairfax County: A Labor of Love

As our Fairfax community is preparing to return to school in just a couple of weeks, we’re also approaching a major opportunity to transform our county for the better.

Opinion: Commentary: Virginia Legislature Decides on Funds, Addresses Needs

On Aug. 10, the General Assembly completed work in a special session to appropriate federal pandemic funds and elect judges.

Paving and Warm Weather are in Tandem This Year in Northern Virginia

There is a map and system to where the paving goes.

August is hot, and the drivers trying to get back to a normal routine have probably hit a pothole or two out on the roads, but VDOT is out there with the paving crews, putting down pavement on 1,145 lane miles throughout the paving season, which goes until November.

Fairfax County Public Schools Priority One: Get Eligible Students Vaccinated

Expansion of school COVID-19 vaccination clinics underway

The level of community transmission of COVID-19 in Fairfax County is increasing again.

Fairfax County Supervisors Proclaim August 3 National Night Out

Proclamation celebrates neighborhood spirit and cooperation among residents and police

National Night Out is a time to celebrate, whether the clock that day says noon or 8 p.m. It is a time to have community fun, to say thank you to law enforcement officers, and get more involved in the community.

Police and Comradery Filled the Street on National Night Out

Dogs, barbecue and desserts highlight the annual event.

National Night Out 2021

Design Ideas to Welcome Fall

Small changes in home accessories can transform a space.

When it comes to interior design, attention to even the smallest of details took on new importance over the past year.

Big Money for Big Biz, Not as Much for Poor

Lawmakers go on a spending spree with billions of dollars from Uncle Sam.

Big business cleaned up this week, taking home the biggest prizes in the special session to spend $3 billion in stimulus cash. Meanwhile, low-income Virginians didn't fare quite as well.

Opinion: Commentary: Historic Federal Infrastructure Bill

Many benefits coming to Virginia

Exciting news came from our nation’s capital this week as the bipartisan $1 trillion Infrastructure Bill, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, is poised for final passage in Congress.

Snakeheads Are Thriving in Area Waters

Snakeheads taste like a tender pork chop, some say.

They lurk in the murky, sluggish shallows, their elongated bodies and splotchy, brown skin camouflaged in the shoreline’s woody detritus and dense vegetation.

Spending Spree

General Assembly returns to Richmond to appropriate federal stimulus cash

In the 1985 hit movie "Brewster's Millions," Richard Pryor is given the task of spending $30 million in 30 days.

Opinion: Commentary: Special Session 2 Begins

The General Assembly will allocate the nearly $4.3 billion Virginia has received from the federal economic stimulus bill.

On Monday Aug. 2, the General Assembly gaveled in for a two week “2021 Special Session 2” called by Gov. Ralph Northam for the purpose of allocating the nearly $4.3 billion Virginia has received from the federal economic stimulus bill — the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) that passed the U.S. House of Representatives and was signed into law by President Biden on March 11.

Fairfax County Holds County-wide Vaccine Equity Clinics

Bringing the COVID-19 vaccine to the people rather than relying on them to find their way to a site is one option to get people vaccinated and slow the surging Delta variant.

Delta Variant Has Room to Run Rampant

Removing invisible vaccine barriers for communities in Fairfax County

Jump on a moon bounce, grab an empanada from a food truck and get a Covid vaccine.

Opinion: Commentary: TJ Parents Welcome Most Diverse TJ Class in History

…and denounce the anti-CRT division

We are parents of students and graduates of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJ), and are greatly concerned about recent events and growing misinformation surrounding the changes to the admissions process and anti-racism discussions at the prestigious school we love and respect.

Opinion: Commentary: Biden Can Do More to Keep Guns Out of Unsafe Hands

How badly do we want to reduce gun violence in America, whether from suicides, mass shootings, domestic violence or some combination of the above?

Streams Get a Lift from a County Program

‘Operation Stream Shield’ is called a win-win-win.

Operation Stream Shield

Scooters Now Another Mode of Transportation in Fairfax County

County okays 600 of these “shared mobility devices.”

Fairfax Co Scooters

Northern Virginia Senior Olympics Opens 39th Year in September

Step up and claim your Olympic medal awarded after each event.

Pressure for Athletic Success Can Lead to Stress

Balancing the need for athletic achievement with emotional wellbeing

Practicing with her club track team three days each week, training with a private coach on the other four days and balancing a challenging academic workload led to a stressful school year for Alexandria high school senior Alexis McCormick.

Rarely-seen Spoonbills Draw Fans to Huntley Meadows Park

Their flat, six-to-seven-inch, spatula-like bills look like long-handled spoons swishing back and forth in the Huntley Meadows Park wetland.

Man Found Dead in Alexandria Apartment; Apparent Shooting

Detectives from Fairfax County Police Department Major Crimes Bureau continue to investigate after a 19-year-old man was found deceased Tuesday night, July 27, inside an apartment in the 3100 block of Southgate Drive in the Alexandria section of Fairfax County. Officers responded at 7:12 p.m. after a family member found Ronald Worthy Jr., of Alexandria, suffering from apparent gunshot wounds to the upper body.