John Marshall Bank Hires Kerry Donley
Kerry Donley has joined John Marshall Bank’s team of banking leaders. Donley, senior vice resident, will be based in John Marshall Bank’s Alexandria office.
Housing Expo Provides Insight on Finding a Home
Potential renters and buyers flock to 2014 NOVA Housing Expo.
Am I qualified to buy a home? What does my credit score need to be? Where is affordable housing located in Fairfax County? Those were just a few of the many questions that Gail Lee of the Fairfax County Department of Housing and Community Development answered at the 2014 NOVA Housing Expo at Lee High School on March 27.
Historic Snowstorm Revisited in Burke
Kevin Ambrose tells the Burke Historical Society a story of the Knickerbocker Snowstorm of 1922.
It was only fitting on a snowy Sunday in late March, following a winter filled with snow days, that members of the Burke Historical Society celebrate the beginning of spring by learning about the eventful Knickerbocker Snowstorm of 1922.
Area Robotics Teams Compete at Patriot Center
Several NOVA teams win awards at FIRST Robotics Competition Greater D.C. Regional
Over 50 teams, including several from Fairfax County, spent the weekend at the two-day FIRST Robotics Competition Greater D.C. Regional, using their engineering and science skills to compete for a spot in the world championship.
Residents Concerned About ‘Fracking in Our Backyard’
Fracking could impact drinking water in Fairfax County, town hall meeting in Burke told.
At a town hall meeting in Burke, area residents, along with members of the Great Falls chapter of the Sierra Club, learned about fracking that could take place nearby in the George Washington National Forest.
Budget Dialogue Continues in Braddock District
Supervisor John Cook hosts budget town hall.
Fairfax County needs to be looking at the long-term picture in terms of the budget, Supervisor John Cook (R-Braddock District) said at a town hall meeting on April 1.
Community Steps in to Help Family of Navy Yard Victim
Immanuel Bible Church in Springfield coordinated the effort.
The community is stepping in to help the family of Martin Bodrog, a victim of the Navy Yard Shootings in September 2013. When Bodrog died, he was halfway through finishing repairs on his home. But thanks to neighbor John Rutherford, Immanuel Bible Church in Springfield, where Bodrog was a member, and Thompson Creek Window Company, the repairs have continued.
Special Education Graduates Could be Impacted by Possible Budget Cuts
Families will speak against these cuts at public hearing on April 10.
Lynn Ruiz’s daughter Lydia, who has Down syndrome, will be graduating from Fairfax County Public Schools this June. Ruiz, a Springfield resident, had originally planned for her daughter to participate in an employment program that helps students with special needs transition into adulthood.
Integrated Health Care Now Provided at Gartlan Center
Primary and behavioral health care clinic celebrates grand opening
The Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board and Alexandria Neighborhood Health Services, Inc. celebrated the integration of primary and behavior health care at the Gartlan Center at the clinic’s official grand opening on March 27.
Alexandria Goes to War (Again)
City planning a number of activities to commemorate forgotten conflict.
The War of 1812 was the first war that America lost, a bitter conflict that began with an ill-planned invasion of Canada that ended when the British burned the Capitol and the executive mansion.
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: Don’t Move Engine 204
To the Editor: As a resident within the area served by Engine 204, I find it hard to grasp why Engine 204 should be relocated to Eisenhower Avenue. I believe it would be an unwise decision that would affect the public, our lives, homes and many businesses throughout our communities of the south side of Old Town Alexandria and the north side of our city.
Letter to the Editor: Are Bike Lanes Really Necessary?
To the Editor: By unanimously overruling the directly affected residents’ desires to put a bike lane on King Street, could our council overlords really want to enable more bike usage; less vehicular traffic? Pedaling a bike does burn calories, and surely more pedalers mean fewer cars. What’s not to like about less vehicular congestion and better health, at least for the pedalers?
Compete for Garden of the Year
The Rock Spring Garden Club is holding its fifth annual Garden of the Year competition this spring for Arlington County residents. For the first time, fruit and vegetable gardens are eligible for the competition, in addition to or in combination with flower gardens.
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: Protect Drinking Water
To the Editor: If we don’t put chemicals on our yards they will not be in our drinking water. Our yards, when added together, constitute most of the land in Montgomery County. We can all work together and make vast improvements to our water quality and our health simply by not using conventional weed killers, pesticides and fertilizers on our yards and gardens. Each year in America, about 80 million pounds of pesticides are used on 30 million acres of lawns. When we put these chemicals on our lawns and gardens some are absorbed into our ground water aquifer, and some are carried by rainwater as run-off pollution.
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.
Letter to the Editor: Re-Striping Plan Hurts Homeowners
To the Editor: The overarching problem with FCDOT’s and VDOT’s proposal for Sherwood Hall Lane is that it is concerned exclusively with the imagined needs of bicycle riders of whom there are only a handful and with passing through commuters of whom there are already far too many. The residents of the neighborhoods stretching from Route 1 and Gum Springs to Ft. Hunt Road, which include Hybla Valley [Frances and Schelhorn], Sherwood Estates and Hollindale are being told to accept changes to the road that will only degrade the neighborhood further and, therefore, decrease property values. The first degradation occurred in the early ‘70s with the widening of Sherwood Hall Lane from a little two lane road to what we have now. We lost property and many fine trees but at least we got sidewalks [we do have walkers and runners] and on street parking.
Brief: Police Arrest Man in Malicious Wounding
The Alexandria Police Department is investigating a malicious wounding that occurred in the 2500 block of N. Van Dorn Street on Wednesday, March 19. Police responded to a report of a stabbing at approximately 5 a.m. Upon arrival, officers located an adult male victim suffering from stab wounds.
Commentary: Working Towards a County Budget
The County Executive has released his recommendations for the fiscal year (FY) 2015 operating budget. I wanted to let you know some of the highlights that were in it, as the County Council begins our business of working to approve a final budget. The recommended budget stays within the charter limit and totals $4.97 billion for FY 2015, which begins July 1. The budget funds education beyond what is required by the State Maintenance of Effort Level law, puts more police on the beat, and reduces the County's property tax rate.