<sh>Women’s Conference Set for Next Week
<bt>U.S. Rep. Jim Moran (D-8th) will host the 15th Annual Women’s Issues
Conference on Saturday, Sept. 16. The event will be held in Arlington for the
first time at Kenmore Middle School, located at 200 S. Carlin Springs Road.
From 10 a.m. until 3 p.m., the event, which Moran sponsors each year, will
provide women with exhibitor booths, health screenings, and a variety of
seminars. All services are free.
The program also features Sheila Johnson, co-founder of Black Entertainment
Television and owner of the Washington Mystics, as guest speaker.
Attendees have a choice of four seminars to attend in the morning and afternoon
portion of the conference. Participants are asked to choose only one seminar for
the morning and one for the afternoon.
In the morning, the seminars are on healthy eating, car maintenance, financial
planning and organizational skills.
The choices for the afternoon seminars are self-defense, exercise basics, female
empowerment in developing countries and a course on hormone replacement therapy.
Though the seminars vary from year to year, some topics, such as hormone
replacement therapy, have a recurring place on the agenda for the conference.
"There has recently been big research done on hormone replacement therapy," said
Renee McDonald, the event’s organizer. "It’s something you need to figure out
for yourself; it’s not necessarily black and white."
Those interested can sign up at www.moran.house.gov.
<tgl>— Mina Shaghaghi
<sh>Able to Stand Trial
<bt>Psychiatric treatment at Central State Hospital has restored Brendan Klos to
competent to stand trial, according to Fairfax County Circuit Court records and
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Katherine E. Stott.
Klos, 22, of Mount Vernon, is charged with the murder of Anthony Sherbaf, 20, of
McLean.
Klos and Sherbaf were friends and former high school classmates at Bishop Denis
J. O’Connell High School in Arlington, where they graduated in 2003.
Klos was hospitalized for psychiatric treatment shortly after his preliminary
hearing in Fairfax County General District Court in January.
Fairfax County police responded at 8:06 p.m. on Aug. 25, 2005, to a report of a
shooting at Klos’ address on the 6100 block of Beech Tree Drive in Mount Vernon.
Seven units responded.
Police found Klos sitting on the curb in front of his house. According to
testimony from officers at his preliminary hearing, Klos said, "I’m a murderer.
I didn’t mean to, he was on top of me, he was strangling me, it hurt, I wanted
him off, I couldn’t breathe."
Inside the house, police found a silver handgun on the floor of a bedroom.
Sherbaf, fatally wounded, was shot in the head and was lying next to the bed.
Klos will remain at Central State Hospital until the time of his trial,
according to Stott. His trial is tentatively scheduled for January 2007.
<1b>— Ken Moore
<sh>Trodden named to Crime Commission
<bt>Arlington Commonwealth's Attorney Richard Trodden has been tapped by Gov.
Tim Kaine to sit on the 13-member Virginia Crime Commission.
The Crime Commission is a legislative agency focusing on crime-related issues in
Virginia. The commission researches and makes recommendations on numerous
issues involving criminal justice and public safety.
"I'm glad for this opportunity to make a contribution to the valuable
efforts of the commission and its work in making Virginia a safer place," said
Trodden, who has been Arlington's top prosecutor since 1993.
Earlier this month, Trodden was awarded the 2006 Robert F. Horan, Jr. award by
the Virginia Association of Commonwealth's Attorneys, which recognized Trodden's
long-time service to the association and his tenure as Arlington's chief
prosecutor.
<sh>Zimmerman Named to Gov. Panel
<bt>Arlington County Board Chairman Christopher Zimmerman has been named to a
four-year term on the Secure Commonwealth Panel by Governor Tim Kaine.
The Secure Commonwealth Panel is a 29-member advisory board to the governor that
monitors and assesses Virginia's prevention, preparedness, response and recovery
initiatives. Established in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on
the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the panel helps to ensure cabinet-level
coordination among state agencies related to emergency preparedness and
facilitates private sector preparedness and communication.
"Virginia has made great progress in emergency preparedness since Sept. 11,
2001," Zimmerman said in a statement. "But we must continuously look for ways to
make further improvements. With my transportation background, I am particularly
looking forward to working on evacuation planning and other emergency
transportation issues, and to helping ensure that we can quickly and safely get
people out of harm's way when disaster strikes."
Zimmerman serves as one of Virginia's two members on the Board of Directors of
the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. He also is a member of the
Northern Virginia Transportation Association and the Transportation Planning
Board for the National Capital Region.