Editorial: Extreme, But Brief, Volunteering
More than 150 volunteers needed to survey chronic homeless for three days in February.
The real solution to homelessness is housing. This week in Northern Virginia, a point-in-time survey will record all of the “literally homeless” individuals and families in the region. Last year, on Jan. 25, 2012, there were 1,534 people who were literally homeless in the Fairfax-Falls Church Community; 697 of them were single individuals and 837 were people in families. A third of the total number of homeless were children. Nearly 60 percent of the adult members of the homeless families were employed.
Bipartisan Team Seeks Compensation for Victims of Forced Sterilization
Effort would give $50,000 to survivors; estimated cost would be $73 million.
Nobody knows how many people are survivors of Virginia’s forced sterilization program, which targeted people with mental illness, mental retardation or epilepsy.
Lawmakers Consider Effort to Increase Salary for Next Gunston Hall Director
Next museum leader could pull down more than $88,000 a year.
George Mason was one of the wealthiest Founding Fathers, and now the Virginia General Assembly may be moving to increase the salary of the director of the house where he once lived. Gunston Hall has been in a state of flux since the previous director was finally removed from office after more than a year of calls for his resignation.
Coming for the Guns: Confiscating Firearms During Mental Health Evaluations
Alexandria delegate wants to expand police powers to confiscate guns of the detained.
Imagine the scenario: Sheriff’s deputies arrive at a home to issue a temporary detention order against an individual.
Classified Advertising Jan. 30, 2013
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Letter to the Editor: Reform County’s Appointment Process
In August 2010, Supervisor Hyland constituted a visioning task force to study the Mount Vernon District and create a comprehensive report concerning the next 25 years.
Language of The Drum
A melody echoing in two parts filled the air with vibrating rhythms as the students in the West African drumming workshop practiced a simple drumming exercise.
Column: Week of Sunshine, Online Textbooks and Car Title Lenders
Last week in the General Assembly was a busy one. I have introduced 15 bills, three constitutional amendments, one study resolution, seven budget amendments, and I am Chief Co-Patron on four bills.
A Lullaby to Birdland
MetroStage premieres “Ladies Swing the Blues.”
Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Billie Holiday, Peggy Lee. Their voices defined the history of jazz alongside the likes of Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis. But it is the indomitable influence of Charlie “Bird” Parker that sets the stage for “Ladies Swing the Blues: A Jazz Fable,” now playing at MetroStage.
Indoor Winter Fun with Children
Ideas for entertainment when Jack Frost appears.
Winter weather often means limited open air playtime for some children. “It is very important for children to get as much outdoor activity as possible, but there are times when it is not safe for them to be outside for an extended length of time, or any time at all, because it is too cold. ” said Shannon Melideo, chair of the Education Department at Marymount University in Arlington. “There are many other things that children can do besides sledding and ice skating.”
Winter Fun with Food
Easy and tasty ideas for winter meals.
The stove is fired-up, a sauté pan is sizzling and the thud of a steel knife blade hitting a wooden chopping block fills the air along with the woodsy aroma of fresh thyme. The temperature outside is frigid, but the kitchen feels like an inferno as Chef Kristen Robinson drives a knife though a fennel bulb, kale leaves and a tough-skinned butternut squash with staccato succession.
Column: Redistricting Shenanigans Distract General Assembly
From constitutional amendments and uranium mining to electoral reform and redistricting, the General Assembly is dealing with a wide range of issues this year in our fast-paced 46-day session.
Classified Advertising Jan. 23, 2013
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Editorial: Expanding Medicaid Good for Virginia
Real health coverage for an additional 400,000 people is in reach.
Virginia has an opportunity to expand Medicaid in a way that could extend health coverage to more than 400,000 residents who currently have no health insurance while the Federal government picks up the tab; Virginia would pay 10 percent of the additional cost after 2020.
News Briefs
As Democratic delegates fight to keep firearms further from school property, Republican Bob Marshall (D-13) is pushing legislation to bring more guns in. Marshall is the chief patron of HB 1557, which would require every school board in the state to designate one volunteer to carry a concealed weapon on school property. Training for selected volunteers would be provided by either the Virginia Center for School Safety or the NRA, of which he is a member.
Four Northern Virginia Senators Targeted
Redistricting effort puts Fairfax County seats in the spotlight.
Four Northern Virginia state Senators are targets of a Republican-led effort to draw new districts — Sen. George Barker (D-39), Sen. Dave Marsden (D-37), Sen. Toddy Puller (D-36) and Sen. Chap Petersen (D-34). Democrats say the redistricting effort is a cynical attempt to take advantage of the absence of Sen. Henry Marsh (D-16), a prominent civil rights veteran, who was in Washington, D.C. for the inauguration on Monday. But state Sen. John Watkins (R-10) of Powhatan defended the effort as a way to create a sixth majority black Senate district in Southside. It passed the Senate on a 20-to-19 vote.
Making Schools Safer
Two Northern Virginia Democrats take part in panel to consider school security.
Do Virginia schools need more guns? That question is at the heart of a debate that’s now reaching a fever pitch in the commonwealth, especially after a man with a Bushmaster assault rifle blasted his way into a Connecticut elementary school and killed 20 children and six adults before killing himself. Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell responded to the tragedy by creating a School Safety Task Force, which is considering a proposal for every school in Virginia to have an armed school resource officer.
Column: The Best of Intentions, I’m Sure
Regularly, throughout my now nearly four years of living as a stage IV non-small cell lung cancer “diagnosee”/survivor, I have had conversations where the person with whom I’ve been speaking–in response to a query of mine, said about a particular set of their circumstances: “Oh, it’s nothing, really. I mean, it’s not cancer, so it’s not as bad as what you’re (meaning me) going through.” Said with the utmost sincerity and sensitivity to me of course, and with my feelings/reaction most definitely in mind; for a long time, I simply acknowledged their empathy/sympathy and continued on with our conversation as if no emotional pot–of mine, had been stirred.
Mount Vernon Girls’ Basketball Team Trying To Stay Focused
Majors rarely challenged by National District opponents.
The Mount Vernon girls' basketball team has won seven district games by at least 30 points.
Last Weekend To See ‘Little Mermaid, Jr.’
Aldersgate Church Community Theatre’s production of Disney’s “Little Mermaid, Jr.” is in its final weekend of performances.