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Dead or Alive: Virginia General Assembly Lawmakers Pick Their Legislative Highlights at the Crossover

HB1872: Would have required the Board of Education to arrange a special training program for principals working with struggling schools.

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Virginia General Assembly Reaches Crossover

Bills live, die or fold into other legislation before review by the opposite chamber.

As the current meeting of the Virginia General Assembly neared the one-month mark, legislators in the House of Delegates and Senate had to finalize work on bills they would send to their counterparts for consideration.

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Faces of Gum Springs, Alexandria

Residents reflect on their historic community.

Of the current residents of Gum Springs, several hundred are descendants of the original families who bought land and settled in one of northern Virginia’s oldest and historically black communities.

Police Investigating Body Found in Ditch in Mount Vernon

Fairfax County Police are investigating the death of a man found in a drainage ditch in a wooded area near the 7500 block of Vernon Square Drive.

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Black History Month Celebrations

Local students learn about the history and accomplishments of African-Americans.

Fourth grade student Eli West crafted a poem this month that was modeled after Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous, “I Have a Dream” speech.

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Stalled Labor Market Slows County Budget

Proposed budget calls for no real estate tax rate increase, but average homeowner would pay $184 more.

Supervisor Jeff McKay pointed out an irony in County Executive Ed Long’s proposed $3.8 billion budget. Three planning positions would be eliminated from the budget even though Long suggested the county needs more efforts to raise revenue from commercial and industrial venues.

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Matthew Charged In West Potomac Alumna Hannah Graham Murder

Suspect faces life in prison.

Nearly five months after the disappearance of University of Virginia sophomore and West Potomac High School alumna Hannah Graham, the primary suspect in her death investigation has been indicted by a grand jury in Albemarle County.

Head Coach Arthur Faces Challenges in Return to West Potomac

First-year head coach was standout guard at WPHS, 2005 graduate

Lauren Arthur would rather be on the court helping the Wolverines. Arthur, the soon-to-be 28-year-old first-year head coach of the West Potomac girls’ basketball team, was a standout guard at the school prior to graduating in 2005.

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Construction Nearing for New Bridge at Woodlawn Park in Alexandria

Fairfax County expects the contractor Accubid Construction Services, Inc. to be moving forward soon with replacing the pedestrian bridge at Woodlawn Park.

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Storck Talks Schools at Mount Vernon Town Hall

These things Dan Storck knows: Elementary school students are now in class the full day on Monday and older students will start later beginning next school year. The Mount Vernon school board member lead with these recent accomplishments in his presentation at the Mount Vernon Town Hall Meeting on Saturday Jan. 31.

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Fairfax County Goes Public with Geer Documents

FCPD report confirms John Geer was shot while unarmed, hands raised.

Of the seven eyewitness accounts of the shooting death of John Geer, only one describes Geer quickly bringing his hands down to his waist. That was the perspective of PFC Adam Torres, the officer who shot Geer in the chest, killing him in the doorway of his home on Aug. 29, 2013.

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Army Force Reduction Coming: Fort Belvoir community voices concerns

Members of the Fort Belvoir community —civilians, active duty, retirees of each military branch — gathered Jan. 23 to learn about the future of the garrison. The listening session titled “Army Force Structure and Stationing” was one stop on a 30-installation tour to gather community input for the Army senior leadership as it prepares to further reduce the size of the force.

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The Changing Face Of Mount Vernon

Land use (re)development highlights.

A look at land use changes and proposals targeting the Mount Vernon area.

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Fairfax County Supervisors Defer Decision on Salary Adjustment

How should a county supervisor be compensated for his or her service? That question continues to be up for discussion, as the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to defer voting on a compensation adjustment that would take effect Jan. 1, 2016.

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Schools to Expand by $856 Million

Capital Improvement Plan approved, rising enrollment causes concerns about classroom space.

Five more school buildings and renovations for several existing ones may be approved by 2020. The Fairfax County School Board approved the $856 million Capital Improvement Program (CIP) at the Jan. 22 meeting to set priority on the projects the school system wants done in the next five years.