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Potomac Grocer Opens in Potomac Village

Surprise family or friends with stuffed pork tenderloin with currants and raisins — or take home a lobster tail with truffle butter. Try the grilled asparagus or chicken pesto penne — or choose among side dishes such as orzo salad, quinoa salad, or a salmon spread. Then move on to the dessert case — and try to decide which delectable sweet will best complete the meal. Several years ago, River Falls resident Tom Spencer realized that Potomac needed a neighborhood gourmet market and carry-out restaurant with delicious and nutritious prepared for busy professionals, students, moms and dads who are on their way home from work, sports practices or school. His dream of providing Potomac with this concept came to fruition on Wednesday, Feb. 12 with Potomac Grocer — only to be closed by the snowstorm on Thursday and Friday. But now they are open and ready for business.

Brief: Apply for Cybercivility Task Force

Montgomery County Public Schools is seeking applicants for its newly created Cybercivility Task Force. The Cybercivility Task Force will develop strategies to raise awareness of the need for cybercivility in how students and adults communicate online. It will also guide the creation of tools for schools, parents and community members that encourage conversations about cybercivility. Superintendent Joshua P. Starr published an open letter to MCPS parents in December about the need for a communitywide dialogue on how to teach students to be safe and civil online. Starr wrote the letter in response to several inappropriate comments that were made to him on Twitter as he was deliberating whether to close schools due to inclement weather.

Brief: Apply for Cybercivility Task Force

Montgomery County Public Schools is seeking applicants for its newly created Cybercivility Task Force. The Cybercivility Task Force will develop strategies to raise awareness of the need for cybercivility in how students and adults communicate online. It will also guide the creation of tools for schools, parents and community members that encourage conversations about cybercivility. Superintendent Joshua P. Starr published an open letter to MCPS parents in December about the need for a communitywide dialogue on how to teach students to be safe and civil online. Starr wrote the letter in response to several inappropriate comments that were made to him on Twitter as he was deliberating whether to close schools due to inclement weather.

Schools’ Band Director Honored

Jane Morgan, the band director at Stratford Landing Elementary School and Waynewood Elementary School, has been named the 2013-14 Elementary Band Director of the Year by the Fairfax County Band Directors Association. Morgan has been teaching band at Stratford Landing since 1999, and said she has learned a great deal from her students. It is her students that have brought her the most joy in her position, Morgan said. “It’s great to see what the kids accomplish and how far they go,” Morgan said. “They just keep me fresh every day.” Morgan has also taught middle and high school students.

Oratorical Winner: Jacob Atagi

Jacob Atagi, is the winner of this year's American Legion Post 24 Oratorical Contest. A freshman at West Potomac High School, Atagi represented Post 24 at the 17th District American Legion Oratorical Contest Jan. 25 at McLean Post 270.

Three Candidates Vie for Democratic Endorsement to Arlington School Board

Race to replace Sally Baird is on for Democrats.

Arlington County schools are at a crossroads. Enrollment is steadily rising, and parents have become upset about the amount of standardized testing that takes place in schools across the county.

Elected Officials Hold Town Halls

Mental health reform, women’s health, health care and transportation were major topics at the Southern Fairfax Town Hall Meeting held in Kingstowne on Feb. 1.

One Kenmore Drive Lane Is Closing

City of Fairfax motorists should be aware of a lane closure on Kenmore Drive, beginning on Monday, Feb. 17. Access restrictions on this road are necessary for a water-main relocation required as part of the Chain Bridge Road bridge-replacement project scheduled to begin in late March. The changes are as follows:

Fairfax Council Takes Care of Business

Deals with broken gas line, transportation issues.

Transportation and a gas-line replacement were among the items dealt with by the Fairfax City Council at its Jan. 28 meeting. A leaking gas line at the City property yard was discovered in early November 2013. As it turned out, the 40-year-old gas line had burst between the gas meter by the fleet garage and the sign-and-signal building.

New Grocery Store Opens in Fair Lakes

Features organic and all-natural products.

A new grocery store, aimed at customers interested in buying natural and organic foods, has opened for business in Fair Lakes.

Local Man Charged with Setting Fires

Occupants were home asleep at the time.

Culminating months of work, investigators from the Fairfax County Fire Marshal’s Office have charged a Fairfax man with two felonies for allegedly setting fires in homes while their occupants were asleep. He is Mergen Battulga, 37, of Fair Oaks.

Power Couple Excels Together in Real Estate

Bruce and Tanya Tyburski succeed in marriage and real estate.

If you drive anywhere in Burke and Springfield, you’ll see their faces on familiar red, white and blue Re/Max realty signs on lawns, at intersections, parking lots and pretty much everywhere.

‘Friends’ Create Community of Hope

Friends of Sadie collect record number of blood donations at fifth annual blood drive for childhood cancer.

Under dozens of rainbow-colored hearts and tables laden with Valentine’s treats, friends and family greeted each other with hugs and kisses as children chased each other through the halls of the Woods Community Center on Sunday, Feb. 9.

Making a Difference in Haiti

Haiti is a naturally beautiful paradise nestled amongst the irony of extreme squalor and abject poverty. Much of its natural beauty has been destroyed by self-imposed deforestation that only intensified after the earthquake of 2010.

Assessing Alexandria: City Officials Mail Annual Valentines to Homeowners

Residential properties increase 5 percent; commercial properties increase 2 percent.

Homeowners across Alexandria will be receiving their annual Valentine from City Hall this week, an assessment of their property that will be used to issue a tax bill later this year.

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