News Brief: Election Judges Needed
Montgomery County’s Board of Elections is seeking registered voters to serve as election judges at polling places for the Gubernatorial Primary Election to be held on June 24. In accordance with the Election Code, to serve in this paid position on Election Day or during Early Voting, an election judge must be registered to vote in the State of Maryland. They must also be able to speak, read, and write the English language, and while acting as a judge must not hold, or be a candidate for, public or party office. In addition, election judges may not serve as a campaign manager for a candidate or as treasurer for any campaign financial entity.
Rolling with It
A new vision for the Potomac Community Center’s rink of dreams has been adopted, while plans to use the former roller hockey rink at Potomac Community Center for athletes with disabilities are being finalized. Programs could start by the summer camp season, according to council documents. Montgomery County Council held a public hearing Feb. 11 on a proposal to use $250,000 of General Obligation Bonds and community contributions to convert the dormant roller hockey rink at the Potomac Community Center into an adaptive sports court for athletes with disabilities. “The increase is needed to meet the increased demands for therapeutic recreation services for persons with disabilities,” according to County Executive Isiah Leggett. “I appreciate your prompt consideration of this action.”
Scholarship Supports Leadership Program
The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation is establishing a $100,000 scholarship endowment for Leadership Montgomery’s new Emerging Leaders program in honor of the late Stephen Garff Marriott. The scholarship fund is also being created to commemorate Leadership Montgomery’s 25th anniversary.
Letter to the Editor: Court's Abuse of Power
To the Edior: The recent district court ruling invalidating the Marshall-Newman Amendment defining marriage in Virginia as limited to one man with one woman is an example of abuse of judicial discretion. Our Constitution’s legitimacy relies on its preamble’s opening words, “We the People.” The U.S. Constitution created the judicial branch, but both the Constitution and the judicial branch it established are subordinate to the People. When the people of 31 out of 50 states reach a consensus, in this instance marriage defined as one man with one woman, the judiciary, even if it can articulate a basis, is insubordinate to the People when it annuls the legal principle they have embraced — especially based on a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling.
Treasuring Alexandrians’ Health at the YMCA
Offering an array of activities for every age group, YMCA Alexandria continued in 2013 to serve as a center for wellness in our community and plans another rich program of services for 2014. Activities available to members — from infants to nonagenarians — include personal and group cardiovascular training and weightlifting; aquatics and a youth swim team (the Sea Dragons); aerobics, pilates, zumba, yoga, ballet, and cycling; as well as day care, after-school care, and teen leadership opportunities.
Putting the Spotlight on City’s African American History
Char McCargo Bah has a passion for Alexandria’s African American history and genealogy. Through her research, speaking, and writing on this topic, she has made a lasting contribution to the city. Bah has researched and reported on the background of Alexandria’s African American Community for more than 30 years. She had a pivotal role in the publication of “African Americans of Alexandria Virginia – Beacons of Light in the Twentieth Century” (History Press, 2013), which she co-authored with four other volunteers.
‘Mouse in House’
Jane Franklin Dance performed “Mouse in House,” adapted from the book “The Mouse of Amherst.”
Supporting McLean Community Foundation
Color Wheel donates $3,362.
Color Wheel in McLean presented a check for $3,362 to the McLean Community Foundation on Wednesday, Feb. 12.
Residents Discuss Route 7 Widening, Effects on Neighborhoods
Great Falls and Reston residents discuss how Route 7 construction would impact their neighborhoods.
Great Falls and Reston residents met at The Grange in Great Falls on Tuesday, Feb. 11 to voice their concerns about the 6.9-mile project along Route 7 that will widen the road from four to six lanes. A presentation led by Great Falls Citizens Association board members went into great detail about the impending changes to each intersection along the stretch, extending from Seneca Road at the edge of Reston to Jarrett Valley Drive just before Tysons Corner.
Starshine Theater Celebrates Anniversary
Starshine Theater of Great Falls is celebrating its 21st year of Performing Arts Programs for young people, with the following events:
Letter: Who Wins in Great Falls
To the Editor: (Regarding "Petition Halts Senior Housing Development at Cornwell Farm," Great Falls Connection, February 12-18, 2014).
Letter: ‘Open’ in a Snowy Night
"Neither Rain, Nor Sleet, Nor Gloom of Night…" Have you ever heard that motto before? You have if you’ve been to the New York City General Post Office. It’s not actually the official motto of the post office, but it’s engraved on the front of their building since 1896. Therefore, for the sake of this story, let’s pretend it is.
Letter to the Editor: How To Manage On-street Parking
To the Editor: A recent letter recommended resident-only on-street parking near the waterfront. However, this prescribes the wrong medicine for Old Town's constrained parking. One need only visit blocks in the District or Arlington's Clarendon neighborhood to witness the results of resident-only parking zones. Many of the spaces are left unused in the evening hours, a waste of public resources. On-street parking works best when it is about 85 percent occupied, so that most spaces are in use but turnover occurs frequently enough for a few spaces in each block to remain available at any given time. If demand by residents is far less than the supply, the supply should be opened for use by others.
Editorial: Fundamental Freedom To Choose To Marry
Virginia is historically slow in extending rights.
In 1967, Virginia was one of 16 states that banned interracial marriage and had criminal penalties for violators. Mildred Jeter, an African-American woman, and Richard Loving a white man, married in 1958, were convicted and banished from living in Virginia for 25 years to avoid serving a one-year prison sentence. On June 12, 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Loving v. Virginia, overturned the convictions of Mildred and Richard Loving, declaring the ban on interracial marriage unconstitutional.
Until Further Notice
Not to state the obvious (which I readily admit I do), but to be given a terminal diagnosis: stage IV, non-small cell lung cancer, along with a rather disappointing prognosis: "13 months to two years" is a challenging set of extremely unexpected (given my immediate family’s medical history) circumstances. I don’t want to say that I live under a dark cloud – because I don’t like the negative implication or reaction it conjures, but I definitely feel as if I have a metaphorical sword of Damocles hanging over my head; which I only refer to as an-out-of-context Three Stooges reference wherein a non-Stooge was innocently standing under a pie which Moe had thrown to the ceiling and there it stuck, hanging precariously over the character’s head. Now I still don’t know the proper historical context of the sword of Damocles, I only know the Three Stooges version, but there was some imminent danger involved (not death, mind you), but rather a falling pie which ultimately landed flush on the character’s face as she looked up to make further inquiries. Nevertheless, pie issues/references notwithstanding, having seen my oncologist today while being infused and receiving a big smile/ "you’re going great"/thumbs-up set of gestures/reactions while reclining in my Barcalounger with a chemotherapy I.V. dripping medicine into my right arm, is the kind of super-positive feedback with which I can live. Along with my every-three-week pre-chemotherapy lab work and my every-three-month CT Scan followed by my every-three-month face-to-face appointment with my oncologist, this is how I roll. Worrying about upcoming tests, waiting anxiously for results, trying not to anticipate good, bad or indifferent; living day to day and trying to appreciate my good fortune and the unexpected above-average quality of life with which I’ve been blessed – for a terminal cancer patient, that is.
Letter to the Editor: Poetry
Spring is near; Style, fashion, form, Quality and its purpose — A new day; As yesterday was — Knowledge of tomorrow
Students To Perform at Festival
Theatre students from Yorktown High School and from Fairhaven School in Prince George's County will participate in Swapping Stories, a theatre workshop on Feb. 22 at 3 p.m. at the Atlas Performing Arts Center located at 1333 H Street NE, Washington, DC. Swapping Stories is an inter-generational, inter-cultural project that helps people find, develop, and exchange their stories. Led by project creator Judy Thibault Klevins, participants learn to "walk in another's shoes," leading to understanding that one's stories center on universal themes.
How Red Is the 10th District?
Wolf’s retirement sparks crowded political stage as both parties vie for coveted Congressional seat.
U.S. Rep. Frank R. Wolf’s announcement in December that he would not seek reelection to an 18th term in Congress came as a surprise to both Republicans and Democrats. Wolf’s retirement notice instantly set off a feeding frenzy among politicians maneuvering to gain the Northern Virginia Congressional seat.
Letter to the Editor: Standards for Bike Lanes?
To the Editor: During a recent discussion, a member of City Council raised the question as to why the city doesn't have standards for installation of bike lanes, for example, recommendations by width of street, volume of traffic, etc. This is an excellent question.
Obituary: F. William “Bill” Bauers
F. William Bauers Jr. was just 18 years old when he joined the Texas National Guard with plans of getting an appointment to West Point. But he was called to active duty less than a year later, qualified for Officer's Training School and went on to get his pilot's wings before ending up in Europe in January of 1944 flying B-26 Marauders. “It was exhilarating to be a pilot back then, to be in Europe and to be part of a force fighting against what we perceived as the enemy,” Bauers would recall of his service during World War II. “The war created a sense of urgency because we never knew when we said goodbye if it would be our last time.”