Column: Supporting Incorporated Brickyard Coalition
For the last two years, WMCCA has been deeply committed to saving the Brickyard School site from becoming a commercial sports enterprise on public land.
Column: “Mor-Tality” or Less
Meaning, in my head anyway, the future and what there is left of it. More specifically, I mean life expectancy. When you’re given a “13-month to two-year” prognosis—at age 54 and a half, by a cancer doctor, your cancer doctor—the timeline between where you are and where you thought you’d be when becomes as clear as mud.
Letter: Pills or Jobs?
To the Editor: These days I had the opportunity to support my candidate for governor, Ken Cuccinelli. Dozens of women showed up to rally for the general at the entrance of the building where the debate with Terry McAuliffe was being held. There were also dozens of younger people in blue t-shirts, pink t-shirts and purple t-shirts. Strangely, most were males. Most appeared to be college-aged.
Learning About Polluted Runoff
To the Editor: My name is Benji Prickett, I attend Kilmer Middle School. Lately we have been learning about the Chesapeake Bay watershed and the dangers of runoff. Runoff can carry sediments, rocks, pollutants and also fertilizers and pesticides. Fertilizers and pesticides especially can be very dangerous; they can kill the wildlife in the bay and can also stop recreational activities like fishing, boating and swimming, just to name a few. I hope that we can cut back on using spray pesticides on our lawns. My family has been doing this for many years and our lawns look fine. Currently our bay is very polluted, but if we where to cut back on pesticides our bay would be so much better for everyone and every thing.
Vote Early
This year's Virginia elections are critical, with candidates representing starkly different policies and approaches. The results will have long-lasting ramifications for all Virginians. It's therefore critical that everyone get out and vote. One easy way to do this is to take advantage of In-Person Absentee Voting, which means that citizens can vote early, ahead of Nov. 5. In this way, one doesn't have to worry about unexpected illness, traffic and/or work concerns, difficult weather, or longer Election Day lines. In order to vote in-person absentee, a voter must state that he or she satisfies one of 15 requirements. Most voters will find that they do, in fact, satisfy one of these reasons for voting early.
A Tireless Advocate
It is nearing that time again, to choose our elected representative for delegate to the Virginia House of Delegates, and I want to tell you why I think we should continue to support our current delegate, Barbara Comstock.
Learning About Polluted Runoff
To the Editor: My name is Benji Prickett, I attend Kilmer Middle School. Lately we have been learning about the Chesapeake Bay watershed and the dangers of runoff. Runoff can carry sediments, rocks, pollutants and also fertilizers and pesticides. Fertilizers and pesticides especially can be very dangerous; they can kill the wildlife in the bay and can also stop recreational activities like fishing, boating and swimming, just to name a few. I hope that we can cut back on using spray pesticides on our lawns. My family has been doing this for many years and our lawns look fine. Currently our bay is very polluted, but if we where to cut back on pesticides our bay would be so much better for everyone and every thing. Benji Prickett Great Falls
Commentary: In Search of Affordable Housing
Challenges for Residential Studio Units and the need to address them.
Fairfax County’s Planning Commission will hold two workshops on Wednesday, Sept. 25 and Oct. 2 to expand the discussion about the proposed residential studio unit (RSU) amendment to the Zoning Ordinance. There will be a staff presentation on Sept. 25, and questions submitted online by citizens to the Planning Department will be answered in the second workshop on Oct 2. The plan is for both workshops to be televised on the county’s cable station.
Editorial: Vote
It will matter who is elected governor.
To vote on Election Day, you must be registered at your current address no later than Oct. 15, 2013. You can check your registration status online by visiting the State Board of Elections website at www.sbe.virginia.gov. There you can also download a voter registration form and mail or fax it to your elections office address.
Column: A Study in Contrasts
The decision for yours truly to participate in a Phase 1 Study at N.I.H. or Johns Hopkins (depending upon availability and qualifications) discussed in last week’s column has been put on hold, temporarily. It seems that my oncologist was thinking about me over the holiday weekend and called me on Wednesday following Labor Day to say he had a diagnostic idea concerning me: a 24-hour urine collection (a “Creatinine Clearance Study”) which would provide a more accurate reading (than the regular lab work I have; from blood) of my kidney function.
Column: A Peculiar Existence
I’m not exactly pretending that I don’t have stage IV lung cancer (non-small cell, to be specific), but ever since my hospital admission on August 2nd, I have been treatment-free; no I.V. chemotherapy, no oral medication, no targeted treatment, no nothing. And during this sabbatical (I use that term loosely; being off chemotherapy has been as much about recovering from surgery and recuperating from my hospital “stay-cation” as it was anything necessarily intended), I have progressed from feeling crappy and being short of breath—while being infused previously, to where I have become relatively asymptomatic, breathing normally and for the nearly eight week treatment-free interval mentioned, have felt mostly OK.
Opinion: Vote
It will matter who is elected governor.
Absentee voting has already begun; Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5. If you’ve read this far, you care enough that voting is absolutely essential.
Editorial: Addressing Virginia’s Economy
Ending gridlock in Congress and supporting health care reform would be huge steps in supporting economic recovery in Virginia.
The strength of Virginia’s economy, especially Northern Virginia’s economy, comes significantly from federal spending. So while the governor and other elected officials claim that Virginia’s success is because Virginia is a low-tax state with fewer regulations, it’s worth considering that the sequester and continuing gridlock in Congress threaten Virginia’s most important resource, federal spending.
Letter: Alarming Case
On Thursday, Aug. 29, Fairfax County Police in Springfield responded to a domestic call in which the caller said her boyfriend had thrown out her clothing and that the boyfriend has a gun. If that is the extent of her call, the response of a single police unit would be hard to justify. But according to news reporting, a helicopter and the SWAT team were also on site!
Letter: Celebrating Constitution, Citizenship
To the Editor: On Tuesday, Sept. 17, our country celebrated Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. During Constitution Week, from Sept. 16 to Sept. 23, more than 18,000 people will become citizens during approximately 180 naturalization ceremonies across the country and overseas.