People

Virginia Secretary of Trade and Commerce to Keynote Chamber Gala

The Greater McLean Chamber of Commerce announced that Maurice A. Jones, Virginia Secretary of Trade and Commerce, will keynote its Winter Gala and Board Installation on March 12, 2015 at the Gannett Conference Center (7959 Jones Branch Drive, McLean).

Helping on Deadline

Reston, Herndon, Great Falls and McLean reporter Ken Moore, of Potomac, with his 14-year-old tabby Trilke. "Don't forget to feed me on your way out to deadline!"

People and Pets Love Stories

t’s that time of year again! Nope, not a holiday - although perhaps it should be! It’s that anticipated edition when the Connection Newspapers celebrate the furry, or finned or feathered or scaled or clawed creatures that make themselves a cherished part of the family. Although Reston and Herndon probably number as many pets as people in their populations, sadly we’ve only got room to introduce you to a few – so here we go!

McLean Student’s Artwork Featured at the Smithsonian

High school senior would like to use art to help others.

Maya Chung, of McLean, a senior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST), is the youngest of 56 artists selected to have their art displayed in the “Artists at Work” exhibit at the Smithsonian’s Ripley Center in Washington, D.C. Chung’s black ink drawing titled “Redbay (Persea borbonia)” was inspired by a botanical sample collected in the museum’s butterfly garden, and is in the style of a scientific drawing.

Priceless Puppies, Future Service Dogs

Photographer Joan Brady of Great Falls volunteers with a nonprofit called paws4people.org which raises and trains service dogs, including psychiatric assistance dogs for veterans with PTSD and assistance dogs for children with disabilities. Brady documents the dogs from birth.

Celebrating Black History Month

This week in Reston.

Herndon Forbidden to Govern Itself?

Virginia House squashes Town’s move to November elections.

The Virginia House of Delegates blocked the Town of Herndon’s plan to move town elections from May to November. The change would have begun in 2016. Despite passage through the Virginia Senate with a unanimous 39-0 vote on Jan. 26, the House of Delegates never voted on Herndon’s bill. After the bill cleared the Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns, the House voted to sent it to the Committee on Privileges and Elections on Feb. 20.

Rio Comes Back from College

Tory Cheshire, of Great Falls, on her horse, Rio, who is meeting her family’s german shepherd puppy, Hunter at the barn. Cheshire loved her horse so much that he went with her to college and lived at a barn near Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., for four years.

Best Friends of Great Falls

The late British-American writer Christopher Hitchens once wrote, "Owners of dogs will have noticed that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they will think you are god. Whereas owners of cats are compelled to realize that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they draw the conclusion that they are gods."

Vienna Woman Raising Puppy for Canine Companions for Independence

Canine Companions for Independence – a national nonprofit organization that provides assistance dogs for children and adults with disabilities, is proud to announce that Vienna resident Barbara Weigand recently began raising an assistance dog in-training for Canine Companions for Independence.

Yes, Cats Can Be Trained Too

Reston cat trainer Lisa-Maria Padilla gives techniques to train feline friends to do tricks.

Lisa-Maria Padilla, 53, of Reston was recently in Del Mar, Calif., close to San Diego, for the largest cat show in the West coast, called the San Diego Cat Fancier's Show, which featured more than 400 cats. She took her cat named Racy Mooner, a blue Abyssinian ("Abys") who has a Facebook page, there to do cat tricks and introduce people to training techniques.

McLean Loves its Pets

Pets connect owners to the wild world around them.

When it comes to pets, McLean is much like other communities. Our pets are pampered, doted on, and loved. And with good reason. According to these McLean pet owners, the unconditional love they give in return is immeasurable.

Bark and Call

Mobile Pet Grooming Comes to You

Marzi Sharifi started HoPPooH in Fairfax, a mobile pet grooming service, in 2013. With her two vans and groomer, Sara, HoPPooH—which means little dog or dog in Persian—will come to the pet owner’s door to groom and style man’s best friend…or his cat.

Shelter Gets Creative To Save Lives

Volunteers, social media assist in pet adoptions.

Since 2013, Fairfax County has been the largest jurisdiction in the United States with a placement rate of animals above 90 percent. Last year alone, nearly 2,500 animals were adopted, which is nearly double the adoptions just two years earlier.

TC Celebrates National English Honor Society Induction

T. C. Williams High School held the induction ceremony of the school’s chapter of the National English Honor Society on Jan. 27.

The Connection