"cristina and amber kissing scenes"

Column: Miracles for Officer Peter Laboy

“Officer down. Officer down.” Those words shrieked a few weeks ago over police radio. Terror echoed in the hearts and minds of all law enforcement, especially those in Alexandria’s public safety agencies.

When ‘Everyone is Irish’ at Town Center

Clyde’s of Reston hosts St. Paddy’s Day celebration.

With a decided nip in the air and the threat of rain, you could almost imagine yourself wandering the streets of Galway, Ireland—a fitting atmospheric backdrop for the third annual St. Patrick’s Day Celebration in Reston Town Center held on Saturday, March 16.

Mediterranee Gets Behind Local Arts

Restaurant launches in-house art exhibition series with Frank James Ellis' paintings.

Thousands Gather for Laboy

$80,000 raised; Biden pays visit to APD.

One by one, more than 3,000 people from throughout the region slowly passed by the motorcycle of wounded Alexandria Police Officer Peter Laboy as they waited in line March 10 to attend an Old Town fundraiser that raised more than $80,000 on his behalf. “We were expecting hundreds and got thousands,” said Capt. Shahram Fard, a trustee with the Alexandria Police Association that co-hosted the event at Virtue Feed and Grain Restaurant.

Megan Dominy and Bradley Foster Smith in Imagination Stage’s “From Here to There.”

‘From Here to There’ Imagination Stage brings Natasha Holmes, director and cofounder of Tell Tale Hearts Children’s Touring Theatre Company, all the way from the United Kingdom to mount a new production of “From Here to There” as part of the My First Imagination Stage season.

“Flourishing After 55”

“Flourishing After 55” from Arlington’s Office of Senior Adult Programs for March 25-30. Arlington senior centers: Aurora Hills, 735 S. 18th St.; Walter Reed, 2909 S. 16th St.; Culpepper Garden, 4435 N. Pershing Dr.; Langston-Brown, 2121 N. Culpeper St.; Lee, 5722 Lee Hwy.; Arlington Mill at Fairlington, 3308 S. Stafford St.; also Madison Community Center, 3829 N. Stafford St.; TJ Comm. Center, 3501 S. 2nd St.

From Rail to Trail at Freeman Museum

Museum traces history of the railroad passing through Vienna in the 18th and 19th centuries.

“These are trains that used to be alive a long time ago. … Now, they’re abandoned, now they’re scrap.” —Five-year-old Charlie Wilkins, Reston

Cappies: The Killing Game

No amount of cleansing and disinfectant will guarantee safety; even the air is hazardous. The symptoms appear only seconds before death, and it spreads without needing physical contact. The Plague is back, and there is no escape. On the New School of Northern Virginia stage, the Killing Game has begun

Week in Fairfax

A 40-year-old man died at around 12:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 28, after driving eastbound in the westbound lanes of Little River Turnpike for several miles and striking a Fairfax County Police cruiser head-on. The officer, 28, from the Mason Police District, was en route to assist fellow officers after hearing radio traffic about the speeding vehicle in the wrong lanes. He suffered numerous injuries in the crash, was trapped in his vehicle and had to be cut out of the car before he could be transported for medical attention. He was taken by ambulance to a local hospital where he is in a stable condition.

Fairfax Residents Star in New Production

Clifton Dinner Theater presents “Murder Me Always.”

Mystery, intrigue and laughs are all on the menu when the Clifton Dinner Theater presents its new show, “Murder Me Always.” And two Fairfax residents have starring roles. Performances are slated for March 14-16, at the Clifton Town Meeting Hall, 12641 Chapel Road in the Town of Clifton. Shirley’s Catering of Clifton is providing the dinner, all three nights, and wine and beer will be available.

Footsteps of Reston is Leaving South Lakes Center

The oldest existing running specialty store in Northern Virginia is leaving South Lakes Shopping Center in Reston to look for a new home. Footsteps owner Paul Zink started the business in 1987, opening his first store in Springfield on April 15, 1988, as a Fleet Feet franchise. In 1995 he started independently owned Footsteps of Reston at South Lakes Center and along with Safeway and CVS, Footsteps has been the longest existing business in the center.

Potomac Entertainment Calendar March 6

Entertainment calendar for the Potomac area.

Arlington School Notes March 6

School notes for Arlington natives.

Arlington Crime Report March 6

Crime report for the Arlington area.

At One Hundred Years, She’s Going Strong

Ada DeFranceaux recalls old Potomac friends and the good times they shared.

“He always called me CHEE-ILE,” Ada DeFranceaux said. The youngest of 12 children, she was referring to one of her older brothers who, at the time, was working in Washington.

BZA Approves Play-and-Party Site for Chantilly

Kid Junction is coming to town.

If all goes well, sometime in May, local children will have a place to go where they can climb, play dress up, use their imaginations in a pretend town setting and even celebrate their birthdays. That place is Kid Junction and it will open in Chantilly.

Riverbend Opera to Open New Season

"The music of opera takes me to beautiful places in my imagination, with swirling passions and languid times of reflection," said John Turner (McLean) in describing his love for the art form. He is one of the artistic forces behind Fairfax County's own Riverbend Opera Company. With its 2013 season, Riverbend will have a double-bill of one-act works by Giacomo Puccini. Puccini's operas are some of the most performed such as "La Bohème," "Madame Butterfly" and "Tosca." Each of the one-acts, "Il tabarro" and "Suor Angelica" has "almost achingly beautiful music" said Turner.

Witnesses Recount Feb. 18 Shooting

Chief Cook offers condolences to Sellers family.

Alexandria Police Chief Earl Cook offered his condolences to the family of Taft Sellers in a Feb. 25 press conference that detailed the investigative process in place regarding the city's first police-related shooting since 2009.

Police Officer Seriously Injured

An Alexandria police officer is in critical condition after being shot during a traffic stop on Wednesday. Feb. 27.

Potomac Calendar Feb. 27