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Opinion: Mindless Slashing

Automatic cuts set to kick in January would harm Northern Virginia more than any other region.

While reducing the federal deficit is critical to the nation's economic health in the long run, the knee jerk, slash and burn method based only on cuts that is coming at us like a freight train will do immense damage to the economy nationally. But no place would feel the pain more intensely than Northern Virginia.

Letter: Labor Outsourcing Is Not the Problem

To the Editor:

President Obama thinks he can score points on Mitt Romney by pointing out that companies acquired by Bain Capital outsourced jobs to other countries. The implication is that there is something unpatriotic in contracting for foreign labor. That is a strange position in this era of globalization, which Obama claims to favor.

County Fumbles Plan for Rail, Reston Future-Part 1

Next year rail service will finally arrive. It will drive a transformation of our community from suburban to urban, from a population of 60,000 to twice that in twenty years. But neither the infrastructure to support the transformation nor a land-use plan to assure an orderly transition or attractive outcome for residents is in place. Fairfax County and the Virginia Commonwealth are inexplicably unprepared for this transition despite having had many years to plan for it.

Editorial: About the Almanac, a Connection Newspaper

The paper you're reading, the Potomac Almanac is one of 15 papers published by the independent, locally owned Local Media Connection LLC, serving the suburbs of Metropolitan Washington in Northern Virginia and Potomac.

Column: Life in the Cancer Lane

Having been there and done that now for three and a half years certainly helps. And however familiar it may be and/or has become, it doesn’t exactly help to pass the time or affect the results, unfortunately. Cancer sucks! That much is clear. Now and in the future.

Editorial: Starting School Prepared

First day of school is Sept. 4; local nonprofits provide school supplies and weekend food.

With school beginning in a few weeks, area charitable organizations have been collecting contributions of new backpacks, calculators, other school supplies, money and gift cards and winter coats to help the tens of thousands of truly needy Northern Virginia students.

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Targeted for Appearance

Jasmine Kang of Vienna, a second year student at the University of Virginia, reflects on hate crimes against Sikhs.

Every morning, as my father leaves for work, I worry that something bad will happen to him.

Rail Association Reaches Milestone

Commentary

Commentary by State Delegate (D-36) Kenneth R. "Ken" Plum

Column: A Pill a Day…

Hopefully will keep the cancer at bay. (I’d say “away,” but let’s be realistic, three and a half years past a NSCLC diagnosis, there is no way, generally speaking, that stage IV lung cancer disappears into the ether; it’s classified as stage IV for a reason.

Letter: No Enemies on TJ Admissions Front

To the Editor:

FCPS is not being honest, straightforward or holding itself accountable for the fact that too few of these disadvantaged kids are achieving as well as others relative to their populations and too few are fostered appropriately so they can be identified for and take advantage of advanced curricula, including advanced academic programs (AAP) and thence TJ and high school honors, AP and IB programs. The leaders in this system have had years to figure out how to make serious improvements, but they have hidden and spun or not even bothered to gather data and have excluded individuals and groups that could be partners in resolving this situation. Thus, we have a segregated system, as the data show.

Letter: TJHS Story in Numbers

The point is that inborn talent is not the real issue for TJHS-level success. Nor is there any educational program magic pill that will solve this. The key is student long-term personal commitment to scholastic achievement and hard work—(the old "20 percent inspiration, 80 percent perspiration" adage).

Letter: Flawed Diagnosis, Wrong Prescription

Schools in Fairfax and the surrounding feeder counties are extremely diverse. Teachers often have few students who speak English as a primary language. Students are from Africa, Latin America, The Middle East—Europe, Far East and Asia, and more. So, what defines the students who succeed?

Letters to the Editor 8/8/12

Letters to the Editor

Hot Day at Polls and No Food

I found the way to Cora Kelly Rec Center about midday Saturday.

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Welcoming Dr. Angel Cabrera

George Mason University welcomes new president.

Summer may be considered the “off-season” in education, but at George Mason University, major change is underfoot.