Opinion

Letter to the Editor: Play Ball!

Baseball continues to be one of America’s favorite sports, and games are everywhere in the D.C. area, with the Nationals being a favorite. To bring the wooden-bat flavor up close and personal, come see the Alexandria Aces play during June and July at the Frank E. Mann Memorial Field at Four Mile Run Park.

Letter to the Editor: Nothing Like Haig

The May 30 Gazette Packet describes how Councilmember Justin Wilson jokingly addressing Vice Mayor Allison Silberberg as “Alexander Haig” while she was presiding at a Council meeting during a short absence by the Mayor. Wilson then turned to the audience and continued to joke that he was old enough to remember Haig.

Protecting Against Identity Theft

Thanks to the generosity of BB&T Bank, Senior Services of Alexandria will end its 2012/2013 Speaker Series with a special event focusing on “Protecting Against Identity Theft and Fraudulent Schemes.” This event will be held on Wednesday, June 12 from 9:30 a.m. – noon at the Charles Beatley Central Library at 5005 Duke Street in Alexandria.

Column: Full of Bread Pudding Memories

Mary* has lived all her life in Alexandria; as a child on Madison and West Streets and when she married, she simply “moved around the corner” to Payne Street. As the eldest sibling of eight, Mary fondly remembers family gatherings at home, especially when those gatherings included indulging in her mother’s homemade bread pudding.

Column: Dealing with Violence and Its Aftermath

In the aftermath of Tucson, Aurora and Newtown, there was an explosion of interest in keeping our citizens safe by somehow having better mental health care, and providing reasonable gun control.

Cappies Review: A Spectacle Not to Be Missed

Robinson Secondary School’s production of “Hairspray.”

With bold characters, fun songs, and cans upon cans of hairspray, this production is a spectacle not to be missed.

Viewpoints

How is new technology impacting community life?

Individuals talk about how technology effects their everyday routines.

Commentary: Picking Candidates

While primary elections are considered to be the most democratic way to select candidates, these elections suffer from little public notice or awareness, low voter turnout and the use of scarce resources that will not be available for the general election.

Commentary: A Bizarro World Slate

Imagine a state where the incumbents of the top posts—governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general—are all from one party. Imagine it is an election year. Imagine that party convening to select their candidates. One might expect a confident, party atmosphere celebrating a relatively popular incumbent governor and great unity in the coming battle to continue to hold power.

Commentary: Respecting Parents’ Roles

Parental notice is key to school discipline reform.

Most Fairfax County parents assume that they will be called before their child is questioned for something that could ruin their academic career, just as they are when their kid is sick or injured. That is not the case.

Letter to the Editor: Fight for Healthy Air

Every day, residents of our region are subjected to air quality that has received an F rating from the American Lung Association. As the representative of approximately 63,000 people in Alexandria, Arlington and Fairfax, I am concerned about the impact of poor quality air on you and your family's health and longevity.

Letter to the Editor: Best Use Of Police?

Mayor Euille, Chief Cook, City Council Members, the wonderfully warm and sunny Memorial Day weekend is over. It is time to answer a few questions. How many officers were committed to “traffic enforcement” at the intersection of King and Union Streets on each of the holiday weekend days?

The Connection