Editorial: Remembering on Memorial Day
The sacrifices of those who died in war.
1st Lt. Robert J. Hess, 26, of the Kings Park West neighborhood of Fairfax, was killed by enemy fire on April 23, 2013 in Pul-E-Alam, Afghanistan. Hess was known as “RJ” and graduated from Robinson Secondary School in 2005, where he played football, lacrosse and was the captain of the swim team. He was a U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter pilot who deployed to Afghanistan on April 11, 2013. His family remembers his sense of humor and his natural leadership ability.
Letter to the Editor: Help Keep The Lights On
I thought you would be interested in an update about the ongoing saga of the Christmas tree lights on King Street. They were all turned off April 15 and the short-run effort to keep them on through this spring did not work.
Column: "Recede"
If you’re a Three Stooges aficionado like I am, you’ve heard Moe Howard say it many times to Larry Fine and brother Curly as three stooges attempted to occupy space (doorways, windows, closets, etc.), large enough/wide enough for only one stooge. In short, “recede” means: back off, one at a time, mind your manners, and the ever-familiar to us long-time fans: “spread out.”
Column: Commission Praises Foundation
The Ronald M. Bradley Foundation recently received an “Excellence in Aging Award for an Organization” for its commitment to the City of Alexandria’s holiday Meals-on-Wheels program.
Column: Observing Memorial Day
Public invited to May 27 ceremony at Alexandria National Cemetery.
Memorial Day is about remembering those who died for our values to make our way of American life possible. This honoring of the memories of the fallen and the values for which they died is not limited to one day.
Commentary: Every Two Years
I told the several people who were present that I thought we needed a new Fairfax Resolves, remembering the resolution that the citizens of Fairfax County had drawn up to list their grievances against England before the revolution.
Column: Reston Marches to Support Neighbors
It was a lovely Sunday afternoon, ideal for marching to support our neighbors in Lake Anne’s Crescent Apartments and support some old-time Reston values.
Letter: Failing Grades on Air Pollution
Republican members of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works put corporate polluters ahead of our health by boycotting the nomination of Gina McCarthy to head the Environmental Protection Agency. Each day this vote is delayed, health risks increase for millions of Virginians.
Volunteers To Place 5,000 Flags
On Saturday May 25, 2013 at 9:30 a.m. the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 609, American Legion Post 1775 along with other veterans and volunteers will place more than 5,000 American flags at the graves at Alexandria National Cemetery, 1450 Wilkes St., Alexandria. It is the oldest veterans cemetery in the U.S., established in 1862.
A Joyous Occasion
To the Editor: Artists, their families and friends, and members of the community who attended the opening reception of “Art Uniting People” at the Lee Center not only got to see some powerful, moving, sad, jarring and funny works of art including photography, paintings, sketches and sculpture, they also got a chance to learn what it takes to be happy with Liberian-born storyteller Vera Oye' Yaa-Anna who told her tale of the king of the historic city of Timbuktu who was always unhappy no matter what his loyal subjects and servants tried to do. With the help of dancers Diane Freeman and Thomas Lee and drummers Yerone Sanders and Joseph Ngwa, the audience was soon clapping, dancing in their seats, down the aisles and on stage and chanting “I am Happy.” A few tried drumming including an intrigued four-year-old.
‘Lights Out’ District?
To the Editor: Keeping the streetlights on in Alexandria starts with city hall’s new Call-Click-Connect system, where like Dorothy going to Oz, you click three times and land in a place that asks you to “call the power company.” The city stays out of the loop and in the happy zone. You’re on your own road to discovery, dude. Arriving to the Historic District by Metro, you may begin your journey to the water by traversing the western end of King Street’s “lights out” district, where night-shuttered businesses and few restaurants create a picture of gothic gloom. It is here, like Pepper and Martin, whose shop is fronted by an unlit streetlamp, you might feel the need to squint.
Help Keep The Lights On
To the Editor: I thought you would be interested in an update about the ongoing saga of the Christmas tree lights on King Street. They were all turned off April 15 and the short-run effort to keep them on through this spring did not work. Now The trees have been trimmed on King Street. It was a long overdue procedure to maintain the tree canopy over the city. As far as we know now the budget has been created and the lights will not be on again until Thanksgiving this year.
Educational Crisis
To the Editor: Reporter Michael Lee Pope’s two articles, “Historic Tax Hikes” and “Uncertainty Haunts Groundbreaking,” are inextricably linked. In the former Mr. Pope writes: “One of the leading drivers of the need for capital spending is the public school system.” In the latter he states: “when the new $45 million Jefferson-Houston School facility opens its doors, it may not be under the control of city leaders.” Jefferson-Houston School, my family’s failing neighborhood school, becomes the responsibility of the Commonwealth of Virginia in 2014.
Bookstores Abound
To the Editor: I would like to comment on two recent items in the Gazette Packet: a letter in the May 9 issue ("A City's Priorities" from Carl A. Posey), and the item in the May 16 "Business Matters" column headlined "Books Without Bookstores." I agree strongly with Mr. Posey's point that Alexandria's library system needs to receive high priority in Alexandria's budgets, but I take issue with his statement that "Alexandria is a community where no bookseller can survive." The "Books Without Bookstores" item stated that Alexandria is "bereft of a place to buy books." I disagree.
A Fluid Situation
I don’t mean to be the least bit paranoid, but I suppose that’s because, as a stage IV non-small cell lung cancer “diagnosee,” I’m already the most bit paranoid. A terminal diagnosis of incurable cancer has a way of doing that to you (at least to me it has). Not to blame cancer totally for my behavior, but can you think of a more deserving and appropriate cause of this effect than the “leading cancer killer in both men and women in the United States.” In fact, according to the American Lung Association, “Lung cancer causes more deaths than the next three most common cancers combined (colon, breast and prostate).”
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