Art Matters for All Ages
Local experts say art classes help children develop new skills.
If you walk into Art at the Center in Mount Vernon on a Tuesday morning, you might find a group of preschool students and their parents or caretakers squishing potting clay with their fingers. In the same room, several other tots could be brushing an array of paint colors across art paper, making a mess but having fun. The children are part of the Center’s Art Explorers class, designed for children ranging from 18 months to 5 years old.
Classified Advertising Sept. 18, 2013
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A New Beginning for Fairfax County Public Libraries?
Library trustees vote to discard beta plan in favor of more public outreach sessions.
On Wall Street, a “beta” test refers to assessing the risk, volatility and expected return of a particular portfolio. If Fairfax County Public Library (FCPL) officials had a crystal ball to assess the volatility of its planned beta tests this fall, it’s likely they may have steered clear of the project that became a quagmire of epic proportions.
What’s Wrong With This Picture?
County suspends discarding of library books.
Just when Sam Clay, Fairfax County’s Public Library director, thought FCPL’s public image couldn’t get any worse, Supervisor Linda Smyth (D-Providence) released photos of bins filled to the brim with discarded library books.
Letter: Joining Forces to Prevent Homelessness
You can prevent homelessness, you can end chronic homelessness, you can move people rapidly out of homelessness. What you cannot do is stand aside and let people fall. This simple belief—that together we can change the rate and severity of people losing their homes—brings together nonprofits, for-profits, civic leaders and government staff. We each play a special role, depending on our location and mission. For United Community Ministries (UCM), prevention is the key.
Gros To Lead Glasgow Middle School
Doctoral candidate to mentor most ethnically diverse school in Alexandria.
On July 1, Penny Gros, 43, of Burke was named the new principal of Glasgow Middle School, an ethnically diverse school in Alexandria. It’s the best fit for the Spanish-speaking doctoral candidate in her 19th year in education. “This school is a perfect fit for my background, experience and passions,” she said. As a true melting pot, Glasgow Middle has 1551 students enrolled who were born in 65 different countries and speak 57 languages — Urdu, Spanish, Arabic, Vietnamese, among others. The school demographics are: 46 percent Hispanic, 24 percent White, 15 percent Asian, 11 percent Black, 31 percent ESOL. There are 16 percent of students in the Level 4/Advanced Academics program and 10 percent in the AVID program. And 75 percent of the students are on the free/reduced lunch program. In terms of student counts, Glasgow has 579 in sixth grade, 480 in seventh grade and 492 in eighth grade.
Aldersgate Prepares Annual Fundraising Golf Outing
Event to benefit variety of charities.
Elizabeth King, 12, is setting her sights high for her first-ever golf tournament. “I’ve never done this before. My one hope is that I get a hole in one,” she said. Elizabeth and her family are among those who have signed up for the Aldersgate United Methodist Men’s 5th Annual Golf Outing. The event will take place at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 21, at Joint Base Andrews’ West Course. “She’s been wanting to go out and play and this is a great way to do it,” said her father, Bob King. King has been playing in the tournament since it first began. When his son David, 15, became old enough, he joined his dad on the course. Now, Elizabeth will do the same. All three are planning to head out for a day together on the golf course. The family said the event is a great way to spend time together, playing a sport they enjoy in a noncompetitive environment.
Column: An Aside
My wife and I live just a few blocks from George Washington's Mount Vernon home, on land that was once part of his estate. Most mornings, we go out onto the back porch, overlooking beautiful woods, and read the daily newspaper.
Column: Now This is What
Do nothing (no more treatment) and live life to the fullest (for as long as I’m able, and right now, I’m extremely able); start another chemotherapy protocol – with an I.V. chemotherapy drug which, according to my oncologist, has not been proven in any clinical setting to be better than the patient doing nothing; or, try to get into a Study (Phase 1, 2 or 3) at either N.I.H. (National Institutes of Health) or Johns Hopkins (in Baltimore) and let the treatment chips fall wherever experimental/research medicine takes them. This is what my oncologist discussed with Team Lourie at my most recent appointment, my first appointment with him since my hospitalization and subsequent release.
NVAR Summit at GMU’s Mason Inn
Complex shortage of homes for sale likely to persist; boomers not planning to retire, not planning to move, experts say. Rising mortgage rates should inspire renters to buy soon.
Nationally syndicated columnist and moderator Kenneth R. Harney introduced the expert panel for the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors (NVAR) 17th annual Economic Summit Thursday morning, Sept. 5. Dr. David Crowe, chief economist and senior vice president of the National Association of Home Builders, joined economic experts David E. Versel, a senior research associate at the George Mason University Center for Regional Analysis, and Dr. Lawrence Yun, senior economist for the National Association of Realtors.
Condo Renovations
As sales of condominiums grow, so does demand for luxury renovations.
More people are moving from leafy, sprawling suburbs to more urban areas, neighborhoods both in the city and in Northern Virginia that offer close proximity to restaurants, jobs, cultural activities and Metro.
Big Ideas for Small Spaces
Local designers offer ideas for decorating small rooms.
Whether one is sprucing up a small powder room or decorating a studio apartment, space limitations often pose a design challenge. However, local designers say that no matter how a small space’s square footage or how awkward the layout, there are plenty of decorative cures for small spaces. Whether one is sprucing up a small powder room or decorating a studio apartment, space limitations often pose a design challenge. However, local designers say that no matter how a small space’s square footage or how awkward the layout, there are plenty of decorative cures for small spaces.
Top-to-Bottom Makeover Embraces Longterm Horizons
The Hollis family wanted a house that would work better today — and long into the future.
Sometimes it’s not limited square footage that makes a house feel inadequate — it’s how that square footage is configured.
Like Magic
New plan in built-out 1940s colonial gains vital square footage as young family looks ahead.
In the end, a skillful spatial reconfiguration is like a deft magician's trick — you've seen it with your own eyes, but you still can't figure out how they did it. “Really, I don't know how this plan created so much more usable space,” Alexandria resident Alice Goulet said, discussing a recent reconfiguration to several rooms in the family's 1,800-square-foot center-hall Colonial.
Northern Virginia Designers Awarded Rooms in Showhouse Event
Northern Virginia/metro area interior designers Kelley Proxmire of Kelley Interior Design and Wayne Breeden of E. Wayne Breeden Design are among 17 designers awarded rooms at the benefit Winchester Showhouse & Gardens, open to the public through Sept. 29.
Sun Design Named One of U.S.’s Fastest Growing Private Companies
Sun Design Remodeling Specialists, Inc., of Fairfax, was named by Inc. Magazine as one of America’s fastest-growing private companies. This is the fourth time the magazine has included Sun Design on its annual Inc. 5000 list.
Editorial: Small Steps to Fight Homelessness
Efficiency apartments would serve 20-somethings, service workers, retirees and more.
One way to prevent homelessness is to think small. It doesn’t take much space to house one person. Sure, many houses in our area have 1,000 square feet and sometimes two or three times that much per person, but that’s really not necessary.
Celebrating Diversity Through Music
The Fairfax Symphony Orchestra (FSO) will be presenting bilingual master classes and outreach presentations at various Fairfax County venues.
With grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Arts Council of Fairfax County, the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra (FSO) will be presenting bi-lingual master classes and outreach presentations at various Fairfax County venues in the coming weeks.
Classified Advertising September 11, 2013
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Remembering Those Who Serve
First Lady marks Patriot Day at Fort Belvoir.
First Lady Michelle Obama marked the 12th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon with a visit to the new USO Warrior and Family Center at Fort Belvoir.