Letter: Heed Posted Speed Limit
To the Editor: I'm writing in response to Phil Boughton's letter to the editor in the April 17 edition of the Mount Vernon Gazette. I live in one of the neighborhoods along Sherwood Hall Lane and cross it on foot almost daily from one of the Fairfax Connector bus stops.
A Musing: Easily Confused Words
Some of the most common words we all use daily sound so much alike that they are easily confused, and therefore, are misinterpreted by the listener(s).
Editorial: Past Time for Later Start Times
Teenagers are sleep deprived, and sleep deprivation takes a significant toll on safety, health and learning. We’ve known this for decades. But for decades, literally, Fairfax County Public Schools (and Montgomery County, Md.) have let a combination of reactionary blabber ("buck up and get moving;" "just tell them to go to bed earlier") and organizational resistance prevent implementing a solution to this very real problem. Getting up at 5:30 or 6 a.m. to hop on a school bus at 5:45 a.m. or even as late at 6:30 a.m. to get to school by 7:20 a.m. is not healthy for teenagers. It is nearly impossible for teenagers to go to sleep before 11 p.m. or midnight. Fairfax County high school students average six hours of sleep a night on weeknights. Research shows they need nine hours of sleep. Research has also quantified the costs of sleep deprivation.
Commentary: Dean Supports Beyer
I’ve always stood for the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party. When I started my presidential campaign in 2003, I was against the Iraq War, and had worked hard as Governor of Vermont to create marriage equality and universal health care in my home state. Those positions weren’t totally popular at the time. But I believe candidates should pay attention not only to their prospective constituents, but also to their internal compass.
Editorial: Celebrate Earth Day
Get outside with your family, participate in group activities, or just walk in your favorite park.
Earth Day is April 22, observed April 19-27 and beyond. Fairfax County offers many useful and educational ways to enjoy the day. Don’t miss the chance to get outside, observe the developing spring weather, flora and fauna. Here are some of the opportunities:
Dying of Curiosity
As I was completing last week’s column ("I Thought I Was a Goner") and thanking my oncology nurse, Ron, in the process, for the excellent care he has provided me for nearly five years now; a week after I wrote a column thanking my Certified Holistic Health Coach, Rebecca Nenner, for the health and fitness-type knowledge she has given me over those same five years; it dawned on me that perhaps my subconscious mind knew something that my conscious mind didn’t: that I should move closer to the undertaker like Radar’s Uncle Ernest did two days before he died, in the M*A*S*H episode titled "Novacaine Mutiny" from season four.
Letter: Many Changes In Compromise
The April 10 article ["Commission Approves EnviroSolutions Application," Mount Vernon Gazette] on the Planning Commission’s vote to recommend approval of the EnviroSolutions proposal to continue construction debris landfill operations and create a green energy park offers a confusing inconsistency.
Letter: Many Changes
To the Editor
Letter: Restriping Sherwood Hall Lane
To the Editor
Letter to the Editor: Improvement Is Needed
To the Editor: The on-going debate on the re-striping of Sherwood Hall Lane is characterized by a signal lack of data on all sides; its permanent re-striping should hold off until we’ve got some hard data to make an informed decision. I assert that those, on either side of the bike lane divide, who advocate a final solution right now are nervous that the data wouldn’t support their preferred position.
Commentary: Why I Support Medicaid Expansion
As the Virginia General Assembly continues to discuss the expansion of Medicaid, the benefits and consequences of doing so have received a great deal of attention. Debates rage in the media, among businesses and around the kitchen tables of ordinary Virginians throughout the state. At our board meeting of March 25 my colleagues and I reiterated, in a bi-partisan vote, our strong support for Medicaid expansion in Virginia.
Opinion: Maintaining a Viable, Diverse Community in Fairfax County
While need for housing, childcare, healthcare and other human services have grown, these programs have faced significant cuts over past few years.
The following open letter to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors concerns housing and human services budget recommendations from the Fairfax Budget Advocacy Coalition for Housing and Human Services.
Letter to the Editor: Proposal Affects Public Safety
To the Editor: Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) has the power to destroy neighborhoods. With its latest proposals for Sherwood Hall Lane, it will do just that: speeds will increase, our neighbors will lose their on-street parking, and pedestrian travel will become hazardous, altogether altering the character of the road by making it less residential. Proposed changes include removing most street parking, adding bike lanes narrower than the current lane, and adding continuous turn lanes. Their proposals seem to be a solution in search of a problem. FCDOT’s information sheet says they want to make the road “more pedestrian and bicycle friendly,” but most of their proposals will have the opposite effect.
Letter to the Editor: Up Close
The OspreyCam on Little Hunting Creek in Stratford Landing within our own community (www.littlehuntingcreek.org/ospreycam.html) has infrared capability and as such will operate 24/7, save for occasional computer glitches.
Letter to the Editor: Route 1 Traffic Problems
To the Editor: Wake up politicians in Northern Virginia: we need four lanes on Route 1 in both directions that are usable. Traffic is backing up further and further at Kings Crossing and the Costco/Wal-Mart location near Hybla Valley. The back up at Kings Crossing causes commuters to take Fort Hunt, Quander Road to Sherwood Hall Lane. Sherwood Hall Lane is now backed up from Route 1 past the Sherwood Regional Library almost every afternoon.