People

City of Fairfax Fire Chief Dave Rohr Retires

When Dave Rohr says he and his brothers were “always interested in public safety,” it’s definitely an understatement. All three have had long careers with the Fairfax County Fire Department, and now Rohr, 55, just retired as the City of Fairfax’s fire chief.

Alexandria Obituary: Friends Remember John K. Severson

Owner of Al’s Steakhouse dies at 73.

His name wasn’t Al. But he would answer to it and even sign autographs with the name so many assumed was his. He was Johnny Severson, and for more than 50 years he was the man behind the legendary cheesesteak sandwiches at Al’s Steakhouse in Del Ray.

Fairfax: Social Painting Can Be an Art

City of Fairfax resident mixes food, drink, art lessons and fun.

When Luc Atangana came to the U.S. from his native Cameroon, Africa, little did he expect to someday make his living as an artist. But that’s exactly what the City of Fairfax resident is doing.

Meeting Prince Boo Boo at Fairfax Library

Young readers reap the pawsitive effects of a judgment-free listener.

Children played games, ate treats and made cards for their favorite canine reading buddy, Prince Boo Boo, on Saturday, Aug. 15 at the City of Fairfax Regional Library.

Back-to-School Shopping in Fairfax

FACETS and partners provide brand new school supplies.

“I wanna get school supplies so I can get smart,” said Sabrina Mohammed, 5, of Fairfax, as she excitedly entered the recreation center at Ragan Oaks Court apartments in Fairfax, which has been filled with school supplies provided by Facets.

Mount Vernon: Questions Pursued after Encounter with Police

Iraq war veteran calls Internal Affairs commander’s statements “victim blaming.”

Alex Horton waited patiently for his chance to speak. Meanwhile the Use of Force subcommittee of the Fairfax County ad hoc commission to review police policies and procedures waded through the results of a survey to determine the content and language of policy change recommendations it will eventually bring to the full commission.

Mount Vernon: Use of Force Subcommittee To Pilot Case Review Process

The Aug. 12 Use of Force subcommittee meeting began with a discussion of the Fairfax County Chief of Police Edwin Roessler’s public release of brief summaries of every officer-involved shooting going back to 2005.

Mount Vernon Snapshot: Little Free Library

Mount Vernon-area resident Liz Schroeder erected a “lending library” on the corner of her property, named “Wheat’s Corner” in honor of her late uncle Len Wheat. The Little Free Library is free for anyone to use and includes a sign encouraging users to take or leave books, and write friendly messages in the books they return.

Alexandria Brief: Living Legends Elects New Board Members

Several new members have been elected to the Living Legends of Alexandria’s board of directors. The new members add experience in nonprofit management, event management, nonprofit legal consulting, grant writing, fundraising and marketing.

Column: Sharing Lives through Friendly Visitor Program

Sharing Lives through Friendly Visitor Program

Our wonderful journey with the Friendly Visitor Program at Senior Services Alexandria began around two years ago.

Alexandria People at Work: The Art of Making Bread

The oven is warming to 450 degrees. Lisa Parkinson has lined up the unbleached flour, yeast and milk beside the freshly chopped rosemary, basil and thyme.

Alexandria: Living Legend Marga Fripp Strives To Empower Women

Living Legends of Alexandria is an ongoing 501(c)(3) photo-documentary project to identify, honor and chronicle the people making current history in Alexandria.

Obituary: Frances Dowdle Abbott "Smokie" Lyon

Frances Dowdle Abbott "Smokie" Lyon, 91, of Mt. Pleasant, S.C., died on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2015.

Commentary: Public Trust above Party

Shifting from a relaxing vacation back to work is always challenging, but my return this past week from the mountains, streams and lakes of Glacier National Park to a special session of the General Assembly has been a particularly stark contrast.

Stream Team Convenes in McLean

Plans to restore Dead Run in McLean Central Park will involve removal of dozens of trees.

Supervisor John Foust’s Stream Team was scheduled to convene for its first meeting Tuesday, Aug. 18 at the McLean Community Center to discuss and potentially make decisions that will impact the McLean Central Park.

The Connection