ARHA Adopts Non-Smoking Policy
The Board of Commissioners of the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority unanimously approved a resolution calling for a Non-Smoking Policy for all ARHA residents at its meeting last month. When fully implemented in late Spring 2015, the new policy will cover approximately 3,000 residents.
Food Fight: Work Group Snubbed on Food Trucks
City officials move forward with recommendations without report from work group.
Last May, City Manager Rashad Young issued a series of recommendations that would have opened the door to food trucks in Old Town, Del Ray and Carlyle.
Fairfax County School Board Examining Later Start Times
High schools could start as late as 9:15.
Two years after the Fairfax County School Board adopted a resolution in favor of later start times, exhausted teenagers are one step closer to getting a full night’s sleep. The Children’s National Medical Center recently presented the school board with options for later start times, of which the school board selected four for public discussion. The new start times could be implemented as early as the 2015-2016 school year.
Father and Son "Twogether"
As a born, bread and buttered Bostonian (Newton Centre, a suburb, to be specific), one of my enduring and genetic passions has been to live and die (figuratively speaking; this is not a cancer column) for The Boston Red Sox. My father sold concessions at Fenway Park (the stadium home of the Bosox since 1912), during the Depression when he was a little boy (not yet an adolescent even). He was nicknamed "Beezo," (his given name was Benet, although he was always called Barry) so he could gain full acceptance to a local knothole gang. Named after the wooden planks which surrounded the old Braves Field in Boston (a National League team called Boston its home as well back in the day), the kids ("gangs") would stand and peer through the knotholes in the wooden planks which otherwise blocked their view. It was a privilege and an honor for my father to be so connected to the game this way. He grew up loving baseball, and as a parent, he passed his love of the game on to me – and my brother.
Even Roads Need Spring Cleaning
Since 2004, along Democracy Boulevard between Newbridge Drive and Seven Locks Road, Hopkins & Porter Construction team members have completed their routine clean-up for Adopt-A-Road several times a year.
Emphasizing the Importance of Recycling
April 22 marked the 44th anniversary of Earth Day, a day specifically devised to prompt people to ask, “What can I do to make a difference for the earth?” Solving global environmental issues like climate change may be so daunting for some people that they automatically assume there is nothing they can do to help. But in reality, there are things we can each do every day that can have a big impact on our community and the environment. The simplest of these is to recycle.
Recycling in Central Arlington
Sunny weather brought community members out to Thomas Jefferson Middle School to kick off the recycling portion of their spring cleaning. The parking lot off Glebe Road had been turned into an efficient slalom course of stations for dropping off of everything from televisions and vacuum cleaners to batteries and motor oil at the semi-annual E-CARE recycling event on Saturday, April 19.
Recycling and Earth Day
April 22 marks the 44th anniversary of Earth Day, a day specifically devised to prompt people to ask, “What can I do to make a difference for the earth?” Solving global environmental issues like climate change may be so daunting for some people that they automatically assume there is nothing they can do to help. But in reality, there are things we can each do every day that can have a big impact on our community and the environment. The simplest of these is to recycle.
Yoga Center Plans Open House
Opposite the Potomac Library is One Aum, the new Yoga Center at 10008 Falls Road. One Aum is owned by a sister-brother duo. Sean FM, a yogi, poet, and musician, and Shannon Sharma, a veteran teacher, full-time yoga therapist and avid yoga practitioner.
Hospice Caring Celebrates 25 Years of Service
Multiple programs for those at life’s end and for the families they leave behind.
In 1989, Penny Gladhill, and six other Frederick Hospice volunteers saw and felt the need for free hospice services in Montgomery County. With enthusiasm and determination, they initiated Hospice Caring — a nonprofit organization that has affected thousands of lives in Montgomery County for 25 years.
Fort Hunt Softball Celebrates Opening Day
Fort Hunt Softball held its Opening Day Celebration on Sunday, April 6, at the Walt Whitman softball complex. Approximately 500 people including players, family members and volunteers from the softball community attended. The party started off with a picnic, games and dancing.
Samaritan’s Feet Comes to Rising Hope
300 pairs of shoes go to youth in need.
The halls at Rising Hope United Methodist Church were thronged Monday, April 14, as parents brought their children for an Easter footwashing in Christ’s memory and to receive new shoes at no cost.
Our Daily Bread Celebrates 30 Years
Fairfax-based nonprofit Our Daily Bread (ODB) invites the public to its 30th anniversary celebration. An evening of art and performances, “Do You See What I See?” will be held Friday, May 2, from 7-10 p.m., at the Stacy C. Sherwood Community Center, 3740 Old Lee Hwy. in Fairfax.
Emergency Response Classes Begin in Springfield
This Saturday, April 26, Fire and Rescue Department is beginning a basic Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) class at the LDS Church in Springfield. There is still plenty of room if you'd like to attend. The class will meet on four Saturdays and run each day from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.; tentative class dates are April 26, May 3, May 10 and May 24.
Commentary: Celebrating Creativity, Recovery and Mental Health
Alexandria will open its fourth annual Art Uniting People celebration and exhibition on May 7 with several firsts this year. For the first time the opening exhibition and reception will take place at The Gallery@Convergence. Convergence, a faith community that explores the intersection of art, faith and the human experience, is well known for presenting the work of local artists, musicians and dancers.