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Pathway to Zero in Alexandria

December 27, 2017

Viewpoints in McLean

January 2, 2018

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Proposed Art in Silver Line Keeps Communities in Mind

Planned public art to be displayed at Silver Line station on Jan. 23.

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has unveiled its plans for public art to be placed outside of metro stations built in Phase I and Phase II of the Silver Line project.

Week In Reston

Armstrong Students-artists Go Global

Neil A. Armstrong Elementary artists are taking over the spotlight: Jordan Citron, the school's Art Teacher, has teamed up with Artsonia, www.artsonia.com -- the world's largest online kid's art museum -- to display the students' artwork.

Making Sandwiches for Martha’s Table

On Jan. 15, Churchill Road second and fifth graders, along with members of Girl Scout Troop 1588, worked hard for the second official community service activity of the school year. The group made sandwiches for Martha’s Table, a shelter in Washington, D.C., which serves more than 2,500 sandwiches daily to the homeless and those in need. The industrious group of students, scouts and parent volunteers made more than 2,100 sandwiches, bringing the total for both events to more than 4,300. This event was coordinated by Churchill Road PTA Community Service Committee Co-Chairs Robin Hoeymans and Sarah Walter.

Bursting Virginia's Bubble

To the Editor: For the past four years, we Commonwealth citizens have enjoyed prosperity recorded by few states. We have had four years of state budget surpluses, the lowest unemployment rate in the surrounding states and the District, the most business-friendly state east of the Mississippi, much safer healthcare facilities for the women, and we were protected from attacks on our freedoms by an all-intrusive Federal Government. We had a strong Attorney General, who learned in the Constitution fought to allow Virginia to keep the constitutional rights the states reserved for themselves. These performance metrics did not happen accidentally. It took the leadership of a Governor and General Assembly working together to bring the best (if not perfect) government available. Sure, one can argue Virginia was helped by a bankrupting Federal Government spending program. We will eventually pay the price for that.

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Transforming Tysons

Scotts Run Station South wins the award for ‘Best Master Plan.’

SmithGroupJJR was awarded a 2013 Award of Excellence by the Northern Virginia chapter of National Association of Industrial and Office Parks (NAIOP), a commercial real estate development association, for its planning and design of the Scotts Run Station South master plan.

McLean Chamber Inducts New Board at Winter Gala

Chamber members met Feb. 6 at the Gannett Building in Tysons Corner for the annual Winter Gala.

Hundreds of McLean business leaders attended the 2014 Winter Gala on Feb. 8 for the Greater McLean Chamber of Commerce to celebrate a successful year and install the chamber’s 2014-15 board of directors. Nearly all of the 14-member board returned from serving the previous year.

Representing Students on School Board

Harris LaTeef named student representative to Fairfax County School Board.

Harris LaTeef, a junior at Langley High School, has been elected by the countywide Student Advisory Council (SAC) to serve a one-year term as student representative to the Fairfax County School Board, beginning July 1. LaTeef will participate in School Board meetings as a nonvoting member, filling the position currently held by Will Ashe, a senior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. LaTeef will be the 44th student representative to the School Board.

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 local man with two felonies for allegedly setting fires in homes while their occupants were asleep.

County Investigator Speaks About Credit Card, ID Theft Risk

At the Feb. 4 meeting of the McLean Woman’s Club, Officer Tom Polhemus, an investigator with the Financial Crimes Unit of the Fairfax County Police Department, spoke to the group about sophisticated schemes for stealing personal financial data and recommended ways to avoid being targeted. Officer Polhemus is one of 12 investigators in the Financial Crimes Unit, which handles some 4,500 fraud reports per year, he said.

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An Inspired Production

‘Souvenir: A Fantasia on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins’ at 1st Stage.

With a masterful performance by Lee Mikeska Gardner, an eccentric woman is made thoroughly sympathetic, even noble in an exceptional production of "Souvenir: A Fantasia on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins" at 1st Stage in Tysons.

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Family Fitness Night at Lake Anne Elementary

Family Fitness Night at Lake Anne Elementary School (LAES) in Reston on Thursday, Feb. 6, meant lots of family fun, as well as the opportunity for parents to spend a little quality time with their children getting some health and wellness tips, and joining them in completing the more than thirty exercise challenges set up for them in the school’s gym.

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Raising Lettuce, Vegetables at Churchill Road

The wintry weather hasn’t interfered with Churchill Road’s four seasons environmental studies program. Taking advantage of a sunny winter day, fifth graders seeded their winter lettuces and vegetables. The seeds will germinate in the greenhouse until the soil temperatures are warm enough to transplant the seedlings to the raised beds. With the help of the school’s environmental studies coordinator Debra Maes, Churchill Road fourth graders began their agrarian business model by seeding colonial herbs in the greenhouse. These herbs will grow during the winter months in the greenhouse. The students will harvest the herbs and create products such as lavender soaps, thyme tinctures and loofah sponges for sale at their annual farmer’s market in June.

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‘Our Homes Should Be Our Havens’

Resident beseeches Town Council to revise the noise ordinance.

Imagine living in a place so noisy that children have a hard time sleeping. Melanie Meren doesn’t have to – that’s her reality. She lives in the Town of Vienna, but close to a construction site. And last Monday, Feb. 3, she shared her concerns with the Vienna Town Council. She then asked the Council to re-examine and revise the town’s noise ordinance to decrease the allowable hours of home construction so existing residents can have some peace and quiet. “The noise ordinance doesn’t protect us as residents,” said Meren. “It’s completely biased in the builders’ favor.”

Mental Health and Budget Items in Richmond

You most likely heard that my colleague, Sen. Creigh Deeds (D-Bath County), underwent a horrible ordeal last fall with his son Gus, who was suffering from severe mental illness. The Deeds family had realized that Gus needed urgent help and were doing everything they could to ensure his well-being, but a psychiatric bed could not be found for him when it was desperately needed. In a horrific turn of events, Gus critically stabbed his father and then took his own life.

Southgate Saturday School Begins Sixth Year of Arts, Science Programs

Southgate Community Center partners with Hunters Woods Elementary and the Potomac Academy to bring arts and science education programs to 4-6th graders.

On the morning of Saturday, Feb. 8, about 50 Hunters Woods Elementary School students got out of bed for a surprising destination at Southgate Community Center: Saturday School. Since 2009, Southgate Community Center has collaborated with Hunters Woods Elementary and George Mason University’s Potomac Arts Academy to provide weekly sessions in visual arts, music, theater, and science to 4-6th graders. The program invites between 40-50 students each winter to join.

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