Alexandria Hometown Heroes
Local residents win cars for community work
Two Alexandria women were presented with a Mazda MX-5 Miata 100th Anniversary Special Edition sportscar Dec. 15, 2020, as part of the Mazda Heroes: Honoring the Human Spirit program.
Run, Walk & Roll Challenge in Alexandria
American Legion to host virtual 24-mile challenge
With the city’s annual George Washington Birthday Parade on hold for this year, Alexandria’s American Legion Post 24 is hosting a commemorative virtual event to honor the nation’s first commander-in-chief.
Appetite: Off the Menu: Alexandria Restaurant News and Notes
Permanent restaurant closures, temporary shutdowns for renovations AND a winter showcase of local restaurants (and their takeout fare): It’s been a busy week since the new year began.
Opinion: Column: New Year, Old Problem: Cancer
As I sit and write here, with too much time on my hands, I can't help but consider my lot in life.
Fairfax County General Assembly Delegation to Hold Public Hearing
The Fairfax County delegation to the General Assembly will hold a public hearing on the 2021 session on Saturday, Jan. 9, from 9 a.m. to noon.
Gentle and Subtle Resolutions for 2021
Try small, simple and achievable goals
For 2021, local mental health professionals advise being gentle with yourself when creating the daily schedules and resolutions that often come with the beginning of the New Year.
Opinion: Letter to the Editor: Virginia Progressive Prosecutors Call for Criminal Justice Reforms
Reforms advocated for by the group include expungement of criminal records, an end to mandatory minimum sentences, an end to cash bail, abolition of the death penalty, and an end to “three strikes” felony enhancement for larceny offenses.
Opinion: Letter to the Editor: Heroes of Our Time
In 1940, when the British Royal Air Force (RAF) was fighting the air war in the skies over England, Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister at the time made the following statement referring to the RAF pilots:
Essential Leave
Advocates for paid sick days try to build support among Virginia Senate Democrats
Before the pandemic hit, Senate Democrats stopped a proposal requiring businesses to offer paid sick days. During the pandemic, they rejected it again during a special session. Now as lawmakers prepare for the upcoming General Assembly session, advocates are hoping they've finally got a strategy to persuade reluctant Senate Democrats to approve a new law increasing the number of workers in Virginia who have access to paid sick days.
Opinion: Commentary: COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout
Here is wishing you a happy New Year and hoping that 2021 brings an end to this terrible pandemic.
Robot of the Future Art from Mount Vernon
Robot of the Future, by Christopher, 4th Grade, Riverside Elementary, teacher: Ms. Land.
Two Million Lights in a Dark Winter
An Insider’s View on the Bull Run Festival of Lights; open through Jan. 10, and maybe more
The Bull Run Festival of Lights is the largest light show in the Washington Metropolitan area, and this winter it is more popular than ever before.
The 121st Audubon Christmas Bird Count
Volunteers will count birds, locally and nationwide
Between Dec. 14 and Jan. 5, volunteers will fan out across the Washington metropolitan area and count birds – birds foraging in fields, hopping around front yards, poking in the leaf litter, perching in trees, wading in wetlands, feeding at feeders, flying, bathing, swimming, sleeping, all the things birds do.
To the Rescue in Mount Vernon
Firefighters and Friends continue annual toy drive
Fairfax County Fire and Rescue, in partnership with Firefighters and Friends to the Rescue, continued its annual toy drive with a scaled-down distribution day Dec. 15 at Penn Daw Fire Station 11.
Opinion: Column: Trip, and Hopefully Not a Fall
Having recently returned from a driving sojourn through the South, with stops and stays in North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida, visiting four sets of friends in those three states, I can say with certainty that wearing masks, social distancing and common sense consideration for your fellow citizen were not nearly so accepted as we had hoped.