Opinion

Opinion

Subscribe

New Name, New Look, Same Community Coverage

Chantilly Connection, formerly the Centre View Northern Edition.

Welcome to the Chantilly Connection, formerly known as the Centre View Northern Edition. The new name and new look (The Connection newspapers have a full photo on the cover) are intended to clarify the mission of the paper and its place in the Connection family.

Tease photo

Cartoon: 2014 - Already has Issues

Already has Issues

Letter: More People, More Cars

To the Editor

Letter: Targeting Seniors

To the Editor

Letter: Future of Woodlawn

To the Editor

Letter: Focus On Education

To the Editor

Letter: A Waterfront Parable

To the Editor

Letter: Importance of Compomise

To the Editor

Letter: City Did Not Listen

To the editor

Letter: Sleep Deprived

My name is Andrew and I am in 7th grade at South County Middle School. I am contacting you today about an important issue: FCPS high school start times. Because of where I live, I would have to wake up at 5:30 a.m. to get to the bus stop. I feel sleep deprived now waking up at 6:30 a.m. I would lose another hour in high school. I understand that the FCPS school board is considering a change in the start time. I am all for this change. It has been proven that sleep deprived teens get worse grades and are more accident-prone while driving. If the start time gets pushed back, FCPS students will be happier, safer, and they will get better grades. Please join me in support of pushing high school start times back.

Column: Legislative Resolutions

Legislation that is proposed for consideration by the General Assembly is called a bill. A bill that has passed the House of Delegates and the Senate and has been signed by the Governor in identical form becomes a law on July 1 after the adjournment of the legislative session and is included in the Code of Virginia. To know what the laws of the Commonwealth are, go to the Code at http://leg1.state.va.us/000/src.htm. Bills that will be voted on at the legislative session beginning on Jan. 9 can be reviewed at the same website.

Editorial: Looking to Hear from Readers in New Year

As local, weekly newspapers, the Connection’s mission is to deliver news readers need close to home, to help readers enjoy great local places and events, to advocate for community good, to call attention to unmet needs, to provide a forum for dialogue on local concerns, and to celebrate and record milestones and events in community and people’s lives. To succeed at any of that, we need your help.

Column: Term Limited

In a couple of days Governor Bob McDonnell will present a proposed budget to the General Assembly for the next two years. Early announcements about what it contains have been good: critically needed funding for mental health and restoration of funding to education programs. What is unique about the budget is that Governor McDonnell will not be around to defend or to implement it. The Constitution of Virginia limits the governor to one term. A governor can run a second time as Mills Godwin did in the 1960s, but the terms cannot be successive.

Column: What Interest Served Bailing Out Crumbling Utility?

Once upon a time, I am told, Reston Lake Anne Air Conditioning (RELAC) actually provided a relatively competitive cooling service to 500 residences around Lake Anne using chilled water delivered through a maze of underground pipes. It was the 1960s and air conditioning was still in its infancy. Compared with today’s A/C systems, RELAC at its best would be like an original Polaroid compared with a 2014 digital camera.

Letter: Parents Advocate for Class Size Caps

On Saturday, Dec. 7, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) Superintendent’s (Dr. Karen Garza) conducted a "Listening Tour" meeting at Cooper Middle School in McLean. Many parents who spoke at the meeting were concerned about large class sizes in their children’s schools. This is not a problem in most FCPS schools - the average elementary school class in FCPS has only 21-22 students, and plenty of FCPS elementary schools average 20 or fewer students per class.