National Park Service Shutters Mount Vernon Trail Amid Budget Crisis
Parts of trail are barricaded;; parking lots closed/ Park Service Police issue parking tickets.
Woody Guthrie observed "This Land is Your Land." But that apparently does not apply to federal land during a government shutdown.
West Springfield Field Hockey Beats West Potomac in Overtime
Spartans extend winning streak to five games.
Spartans lost four straight prior to five-game winning streak.
The Taste of Fall
Local chefs and nutritionists offer healthy recipes for tasty fall dishes using seasonal ingredients.
When the temperature starts to drop and leaves begin to turn red and orange, you can often find chef Susan Limb meandering through local farmers markets, sorting through rough-textured, knotty sweet potatoes; tough, waxy butternut squash; and dusty, rose-colored apples.
Commentary: In Search of Affordable Housing
Challenges for Residential Studio Units and the need to address them.
Fairfax County’s Planning Commission will hold two workshops on Wednesday, Sept. 25 and Oct. 2 to expand the discussion about the proposed residential studio unit (RSU) amendment to the Zoning Ordinance. There will be a staff presentation on Sept. 25, and questions submitted online by citizens to the Planning Department will be answered in the second workshop on Oct 2. The plan is for both workshops to be televised on the county’s cable station.
Editorial: Vote
It will matter who is elected governor.
To vote on Election Day, you must be registered at your current address no later than Oct. 15, 2013. You can check your registration status online by visiting the State Board of Elections website at www.sbe.virginia.gov. There you can also download a voter registration form and mail or fax it to your elections office address.
Column: A Study in Contrasts
The decision for yours truly to participate in a Phase 1 Study at N.I.H. or Johns Hopkins (depending upon availability and qualifications) discussed in last week’s column has been put on hold, temporarily. It seems that my oncologist was thinking about me over the holiday weekend and called me on Wednesday following Labor Day to say he had a diagnostic idea concerning me: a 24-hour urine collection (a “Creatinine Clearance Study”) which would provide a more accurate reading (than the regular lab work I have; from blood) of my kidney function.
Column: A Peculiar Existence
I’m not exactly pretending that I don’t have stage IV lung cancer (non-small cell, to be specific), but ever since my hospital admission on August 2nd, I have been treatment-free; no I.V. chemotherapy, no oral medication, no targeted treatment, no nothing. And during this sabbatical (I use that term loosely; being off chemotherapy has been as much about recovering from surgery and recuperating from my hospital “stay-cation” as it was anything necessarily intended), I have progressed from feeling crappy and being short of breath—while being infused previously, to where I have become relatively asymptomatic, breathing normally and for the nearly eight week treatment-free interval mentioned, have felt mostly OK.
Late Goals Propel Woodson Field Hockey to Victory
West Potomac goalkeeper Hauptle plays well in defeat.
Cavaliers score three times in the final 2:35 against West Potomac.
Residential Studios Put on Hold
Supervisors establish committee, plan additional public outreach.
At the recommendation of Chairman Sharon Bulova (D-At-Large) and Supervisor Michael Frey (R-Sully), the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Sept. 24 deferred its Nov. 20 public hearing on a proposed residential studios (RSUs) amendment to conduct additional community outreach. The board also established a Planning Commission Residential Studios Committee.
Northern Virginia Supports Day to Serve
The Northern Virginia Regional Commission (NVRC), a coalition of 14 counties, cities and towns that work together on regional issues, passed a unanimous resolution endorsing Virginia Governor Robert F. McDonnell’s call to participate in the 2013 Day to Serve.
New Nosy Recruits ‘Bolt & Silas’ Prepare for Duty
Although they are just a few months old and still in their bonding and training phases, two new bloodhound pups are preparing for the rigors of police work in Fairfax County. Bolt and Silas are the police department’s newest additions to their bloodhound team. The agency purchased the pups in August when they were just 6 weeks old. They join Shnoz and Cody, sisters from the hills of Northern Alabama who joined the agency in 2008 at 19 months old.
McAuliffe, Cuccinelli Highlight Small Business Summit
Gubernatorial candidates speak at the Mason Inn & Conference Center.
Virginia gubernatorial candidates Terry McAuliffe and Ken Cuccinelli were the keynote speakers at the fourth annual Virginia Small Business Partnership (VASBP) Summit, hosted by Miller/Wenhold Capitol Strategies LLC at The Mason Inn in Fairfax on Friday, Sept. 20. “We are thrilled to have them join us,” said Paul A. Miller, chairman of the VASBP.
Wear Jeans to Work, Help End Homelessness
Register now to participate in Jeans Day Fairfax on Oct. 18.
Just by wearing jeans to work, you can actively help nearly 3,000 men, women and children in Fairfax County who face homelessness and hunger every day. On Tuesday, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors proclaimed Friday, Oct. 18 “Jeans Day Fairfax,” the third annual Jeans Day event in Fairfax County.
Half of Fairfax Schools Accredited with Warning are in Mount Vernon Area
Students up and down the Route 1 corridor struggle to meet minimum standards in science.
Poor and Latino students clustered along the Route 1 corridor are struggling to keep up with standardized test scores, according to a report issued last week by the Virginia Department of Education.
Full Disclosure? Forms Plagued By Lack of Information, Absence of Oversight
Fairfax County goes so far as to redact disclosure documents.
Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell is in hot water for taking gifts without disclosing them, and legislators are talking about increasing disclosure requirements for family members. But here in Northern Virginia, personal financial disclosure forms are often incomplete and inconsistent.
Mount Vernon Home Sales: August, 2013
In August 2013, 140 homes sold between $1,195,000-$76,125 in the Mount Vernon area.
Mount Vernon Home Sales: August, 2013
Editorial: Addressing Virginia’s Economy
Ending gridlock in Congress and supporting health care reform would be huge steps in supporting economic recovery in Virginia.
The strength of Virginia’s economy, especially Northern Virginia’s economy, comes significantly from federal spending. So while the governor and other elected officials claim that Virginia’s success is because Virginia is a low-tax state with fewer regulations, it’s worth considering that the sequester and continuing gridlock in Congress threaten Virginia’s most important resource, federal spending.
Navy Yard Shootings Hit Close to Home
Four Fairfax County victims killed in Washington Navy Yard rampage.
“Marty was a kind and caring man. He had such a sweet spirit and was in every way a man that lived his life to honor Christ.” —Pastor Steve Holley of Immanuel Bible Church in Springfield
Local Business Leaders Spotlight Opportunities for UK Companies
Fairfax County EDA organizes Sept. 26 seminar in London.
Fairfax County’s Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) officials announced Tuesday, Sept. 17, that local executives will speak at a London seminar to spotlight opportunities for British companies interested in homeland security business opportunities in the United States.
Full Disclosure?
Forms plagued by a lack of information, absence of oversight; redacted documents.
Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell is in hot water for taking gifts without disclosing them, and legislators are talking about increasing disclosure requirements for family members. But here in Northern Virginia, personal financial disclosure forms are often incomplete and inconsistent. Some elected officials choose to disclose a great deal of information while others disclose very little. Fairfax County officials have decided to redact information that's supposed to be part of the public record. And nobody is reviewing the forms to make sure they are accurate.