Hog Wild
Sweet Fire Donna's opens in Carlyle neighborhood.
BBQ fans lined up Feb. 27 to sample the fare at the opening of Sweet Fire Donna's, the latest offering from “Mango Mike” Anderson, Bill Blackburn and Anderson's wife Donna.
LTA Stages "Proof"
Drama explores love and relationships, mental illness and mathematics.
The Little Theater of Alexandria is staging "Proof," a dense and compact drama/comedy written by David Auburn about mathematics and mental illness that starred Gwyneth Paltrow, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Anthony Hopkins in the 2005 film adaptation.
Alexandria Theater Companies Earn WATCH Awards
The Port City Playhouse, The Little Theatre of Alexandria and Aldersgate Church Community Theatre each took home honors from Washington Area Theatre Community Honors (WATCH) for artistic and technical excellence in community theater.
We’re (Almost) Done
State Budget Still Unfinished
The General Assembly’s 60-day legislative session adjourned on Saturday without a completed budget for the new fiscal year starting July 1.
Gala Raises $125,000 for Center
The Center for Alexandria’s Children, a public-private partnership that serves abused and neglected children, raised a record $125,000 in proceeds at its Fifth Annual Gala Benefit on Friday, Feb. 28, at Virtue Feed & Grain in Old Town.
Last Snowstorm of the Season?
St. Patrick’s Day brought a lot of white to the Northern Virginia area. All area schools were closed and school activities canceled. Different parts of Virginia and Maryland saw five to nine inches of snow. Snow began Sunday night and accumulated early quickly. St. Patrick’s Day was a more subdued affair since much of the area was a lot quieter. Along Collingwood Road in Alexandria, it seemed like only these male northern red cardinals were out surveying the effects of the storm while singing to other nearby birds.
Letter to the Editor: Parking in District 1
To the Editor: In his letter of Feb. 22, Nate Macek offers a questionable set of recommendations on parking in Old Town, which begins with the faulty assumption equating Old Town’s street grid with that of Clarendon and the District. Referencing a Google map of Old Town and Clarendon shows extremely different systems, and simply citing “the District” is like comparing Old Town to Nebraska.
Stratford Landing Hosts Annual Science and Engineering Fair
Stratford Landing Elementary School students presented 304 projects at the annual Science and Engineering Fair on Tuesday, Feb. 25. Students displayed and explained their investigations to 25 visiting experts from West Potomac High School and the Geological Society of America. All of the visiting experts engage in teaching and studying advanced biology, chemistry, geology, and physics.
Beyer Wins Mount Vernon Democrats’ Straw Poll
Former ambassador Donald Beyer won the first straw poll battle for the outgoing U.S. Rep. Jim Moran’s 8th district seat on Saturday night, March 1 with 25 percent of the vote (105 votes). Community leader Lavern Chatman came in second with 20 percent of the vote, and Del. Patrick Hope of Arlington received 19 percent. 419 of those in attendance coast their votes in the primary straw poll and about 470 Democratic activists attended the event. Bruce Shuttleworth did not attend because of a previous engagement.
Commentary: Take Care of the Unisured
As Session winds down, we turn our focus to the budget. House Appropriations Chairman, Del. Chris Jones said it best — we are so close, we could knock this out in a day or two. Sadly, the chairman and other Republicans are threatening to hold the budget, and the Commonwealth’s financial health, hostage unless the Senate caves to their demands that we give our hard-earned tax dollars up to other states and force 400,000 Virginians — many of whom are veterans and children — to continue to live in fear of getting sick because they don’t have health insurance.
Capitol Steps Raises Funds for UCM
The Friends of UCM hosted a sold-out crowd at Knights of Columbus Hall in Alexandria for the 22nd annual Capitol Steps Benefit for UCM on Jan. 26. The event raised more than $66,500 for UCM to help impoverished families and individuals in the community.
MVHS Hosts History Day Competition
On March 1 at Mount Vernon High School the National History Day Competition took place.
Learning about State Government
Del. Scott Surovell hosted the fourth annual Amundson Institute — named after its founder former Del. Kris Amundson which offers student leaders in the 44th District the opportunity to learn about state government first hand. The group included Regine Victoria, junior at Mount Vernon High School; Colleen Grady, senior at West Potomac High School; Dorothy Bowerfind, junior at West Potomac High School; Nia White, junior at West Potomac High School, and Carla Castro Claure, senior at Edison High School.
Letter to the Editor: Divided MVCCA
To the Editor: Last week, the MVCCA suffered a mini-implosion resulting from the controversial request by Furnace Associates, Inc. for a Special Exemption Amendment (SEA) permitting them to continue operating a landfill in the Lorton area until the year 2040, 22 years beyond the deadline imposed by the current Special Exemption. At last Wednesday's MVCCA's Council meeting, a resolution originating from its Environment & Recreation (E&R) Committee was debated and passed, after a contentious debate, by the slim margin of 10-9. The resolution was in opposition to the proposed SEA. Noteworthy to me is the fact that the MVCCA resolution makes no mention whatsoever of the position of the South County Federation (SCF) in opposition to the proposed SEA. During my brief time as chairman of the MVCCA's Planning & Zoning (P&Z) Committee, it was my strict policy to defer to the wishes of the SCF concerning any land use issues on lands in the South County area where its residents were most directly impacted. The MVCCA's continuing paternalistic attitude toward the SCF and its member associations and residents significantly reduces the MVCCA's influence concerning such issues. This needs to change.
Celebrating the Birthday Of Dr. Seuss
Teachers and students came dressed as their favorite storybook characters on Feb. 28.