Stories for April 2015

Fairfax County School Board to Consider Nondiscrimination Policy Change

When the members of the School Board reconvene on May 7, they’re scheduled to act on whether or not to add “gender identity” to the list of nondiscrimination categories for all Fairfax County Public Schools students, employees or applicants for employment.

Reston Celebrates New Monumental Sculpture

Artwork by Patrick Dougherty hosted at Reston Town Center.

Visitors to Reston Town Center will notice a prominent new public art piece located near the Greater Reston Arts Center art gallery on Market Street. This sculpture is a creation by Patrick Dougherty, an internationally acclaimed artist who creates enormous art installations out of tree saplings. Helping as a project assistant for this sculpture was Alexandria resident Matthew Harwood. “He is a wonderful person to work with, Pat has quite an artistic following,” said Harwood.

Reston Town Center Opens Mercury Fountain

Celebration held at Reston landmark.

At almost 28 feet tall, the Mercury Fountain has become a symbol of Reston Town Center and a Reston landmark. Erected in 1990, the design of the fountain was chosen after a call for artists and interviews were conducted for a memorable attraction to the Town Center.

Fairfax Chamber Hosts Innovation Awards

Fairfax Chamber staff has active spring season.

Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce (Fairfax Chamber) announced winners for the 1st Annual Greater Washington Innovation Awards, the premier event celebrating the thought leadership, innovation, and creativity of individuals and organizations in select industries in the Greater Washington metro area. Winners were announced live at the April 20th awards gala at the Hyatt Regency.

Summer Sailing Camp: Outside, Hands-On, Empowering

Amy Zang has just returned from a week sailing the British Virgin Isles with nine members of her extended family ranging from her 78-year-old, legally-blind father to her brother's 4- and 6-year old children.

Diverse Camps Offer Summer Fun

Northern Virginia has scores of local camps for summer learning and fun. 　

Scores of local camps in Northern Virginia that offer many opportunities for summer fun and learning. Here is a sampling of diverse camps that range from art to theater to field trips to swimming, tennis and music. There's even a camp for aspiring musicians who want to form a band.

Summer Fun for Adults

The region offers a wide range of programs for adults.

Summer fun is no longer reserved for children. Whether one’s interests lie in exploring nature and hiking in the woods or immersed in history, art and literature on a university campus, the region abounds with warm weather opportunities.

Marymount Technology Institutes for Ages 14-18

Marymount has summer programs for teens ages 14-18 who are interested in technology. Gain technology skills and hands-on experience; create a mobile app or take part in a cyber competition in health care; meet fellow students who share your excitement about technology; network with technology professionals about career possibilities. Summer Technology Institutes' 2015 Programs:

Protest Precedes Police Meeting at Fairfax County Government Center

Themed subcommittees announced at second police review commission meeting.

Increased Fairfax County Police presence was noticeable at the rear of the room after three masked men entered the second meeting of the Ad Hoc Police Practices Review Commission.

How to Prepare for Summer Camp Away

Many emotions arise when a child leaves for camp.

Julie Kaminski remembers the language from her desperate letters to her parents: “I love you. I want to come home now!” She recalls penning a dramatic plea to be rescued from residential summer camp more than 40 years ago. Today, Kaminski is preparing for her daughter's first camp experience away from home this summer.

Congressional Schools of Virginia is Celebrating 75 Years

The Congressional Schools of Virginia in Falls Church marked its 75th anniversary with a weekend-long celebration on April 24 and 25, with events attended by hundreds of students, staff, alumni and friends of the school.

Camps and Schools Notes

The Fairfax Falcons Paralympic Sports team, a Fairfax County Neighborhood and Recreation Services Therapeutic Recreation program, is recruiting new players.

Column: Deep Space Mind

Commentary

A few years back (OKAY, more than a few years back; I’ll blame the cancer for my time lapse), there was a spin-off from the original Star Trek: Star Trek: The Next Generation captained by Jean-Luc Picard (a.k.a. Patrick Stewart) which itself spawned two other spin-offs: Star Trek Voyager and Deep Space Nine (commanded by Avery Brooks, a.k.a. Captain Sisko).

Neighborhood Outlook: Sites and Developments to Look at in Reston

Sites and developments to look at in Reston area.

Editorial: Fostering Connections, Faltering

Why are federal dollars acceptable for roads, but not for helping foster children?

While there is plenty of competition for the title “most vulnerable,” foster children are certainly among them.

Letter: Who Pays for a Mistake?

To the Editor

So the agreement was reached to pay John Geer's family just under $2.95M for the mistake of a police officer. My heart goes out to the family.

Column: Bringing Champions Together

Commentary

In my 20-plus years in Special Olympics I still, on occasion, make the same mistake. I miss the boat. I underestimate the abilities either cognitive or physical of our Special Olympics athletes; athletes with intellectual disabilities.

Weekend Fun in Fairfax County - April 24-26, 2015

A roundup of entertaining things to do this weekend.

A roundup of fun things to do this weekend in Fairfax county.

Transurban Begins Grant Program for Express Lanes Corridor Nonprofits

Transurban, the company that operates the 95 and 495 Express lanes, announced earlier this month the launch of a community grant program for non-profit organizations working in or benefiting the Express Lanes corridor.

“Can You See Me?” Campaign Shines Spotlight on the Homeless

Volunteers and representative from Fairfax County’s Office to Prevent and End Homelessness (OPEH) assembled mannequins representing homeless men, women, children, families and veterans on Friday, April 17 at the Fairfax Government Center.

Local Nonprofit Group Presents 'Perils of the College Drinking Culture' Program

The final quarter of the 2014-2015 school year has arrived. For thousands of area high school seniors that means time to say farewells to friends, teachers, and the familiarity of the routines and activities of the past four years. For many of them, it also means time to prepare for that first year of college, and possibly their first time away from home and daily parental guidance.

Budget Gets Marked Up

Supervisors scheduled to adopt budget next Tuesday, April 28.

The Board of Supervisors marked up the proposed budget Tuesday, April 21, by increasing school funding, adding key economic growth positions and restoring money to suggested cuts to "critical" human service programs Tuesday morning, April 21, according to its Chairman Sharon Bulova.

Pirate Fest Returns to Lake Fairfax on May 2

When the Fairfax County Park Authority wanted to create a new cultural resources event for the public, Pirates was an alluring theme for citizens and their families.

Project BEST Sparks Excitement for Science

Student-led nonprofit wows middle schoolers with experiments.

Watching yeast rise may not be the most exciting, unless it involves baking cinnamon rolls, but by the end of the day, middle school students from Fairfax County will have had a chance to extract strawberry DNA, study soap molecules, learn about centripetal force and build a motor from scratch. These are the experiments Project BEST, Building Excitement for Science and Technology, had at Langston Hughes Middle School in Reston on Saturday, April 18 during its third annual Science Innovation and Inspiration Youth Conference.

Column: Institutional Stress

The ship of state of the Old Dominion that traces its beginnings to a meeting of the colonists in the church at Jamestown in 1619 showed some stress lines last week as the legislative body, the General Assembly, turned a one-day reconvened session to consider the Governor’s amendments into two days of meetings with incomplete results.

Linking Dance With Poetry and a Social Cause

“Persistent Voices” to explore the effect of AIDS.

The visionary choreographer Daniel Phoenix Singh is returning to Reston CenterStage with a premiere of his newest dance theater work, “Persistent Voices.” Singh is known for crossing cultural and artistic boundaries in his dance works. He wants his works to communicate to an audience as “a vehicle for social change and community development.”

Reston Golf: Mulligan or Bogey?

Reston homes and golf course still up in the air.

Some Reston homeowners are left lamenting at the 19th hole, RN Golf Management is left deciding if it has the stamina to play an extra round, and the Board of Zoning and Appeals gave both sides a mulligan. Whether either side wanted one or not.

Trendy Bathroom Transformations

Designers share the hottest ideas in lavatory design.

Imagine stepping into a resort inside the comfort of your own home. Contemporary, spa-like bathrooms with clean lines and features such as floating vanities, open shelving, innovative storage and low-maintenance materials are on trend this year in bathroom remodeling projects.

Autumn Wood Wraps Up, New Opportunities at Fallsgate

Autumn Wood, a community of 18 homes off Georgetown Pike, is a bright spot for new homes in Great Falls over the past several years. Most homes sold between $2 million and $2.5 million, and during several of the last few years sales of Gulick have made up nearly half of the sales in that price range in Great Falls.

Outlook Optimistic for Local 2015 Real Estate Market

After what seemed to be an endless winter, spring has finally come calling, signaling the start of the year’s first real estate high season. Homes trade hands all year long, but spring is often for buyers, seller, agents, brokers and lenders like those weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas; buyers at full speed searching out the best bargains and sellers looking to move their wares without having to resort to price-slashing sales tactics.

Editorial: Connection Papers Win Awards

Variety of coverage honored at annual Virginia Press Association conference.

On Saturday, April 18, a group of journalists from the Connection Newspapers traveled to Roanoke for the annual Virginia Press Association event to collect awards for business reporting, government writing, writing about health, science and the environment, feature writing, sports writing, column writing, obituaries, cartoons, entertainment pages and writing, public safety writing, editorial pages and writing, page design, informational graphics and more.

2015 Best of Reston Community Service Awards Gala on April 30

The 24th Annual Best of Reston Community Service Awards Gala will take place on Thursday, April 30, at Hyatt Regency Reston, 1800 Presidents Street, 6-10 p.m.

Thomas Jefferson Class of 2019: 70% Asian, 1.6% Black

Some say unbalanced admissions demographics at Northern Virginia’s top high school speaks to system-wide equity problems.

Consider: 70.2 percent Asian, 20.7 percent White, 5.1 percent Multiracial/Other, 2.4 percent Hispanic, 1.6 percent Black: This is the ethnic breakdown of the 493 students admitted to the 2019 class of the Fairfax County Public Schools magnet institution Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.

Fairfax County Pays $2.95 Million to Settle John Geer Wrongful Death Suit

More than seven months after the Geer family lawyer Michael Lieberman filed a $12 million wrongful death civil suit in Circuit Court against Fairfax County Police, the two sides reached a $2.95 million settlement, announced Tuesday, April 21.

Column: Pins and Needles

Commentary

This column isn’t about acupuncture or knitting, any more than last week’s column was about nausea.

Obituary: Willie L. Hudgins, Jr., of Reston, Dies

Willie L. Hudgins, Jr., beloved husband of Cathy Hudgins — Fairfax County Hunter Mill District supervisor — died Saturday, April 11, 2015. He was 72 years old.

Obituary: Willie L. Hudgins, Jr., of Reston, Dies

Willie L. Hudgins, Jr., beloved husband of Cathy Hudgins — Fairfax County Hunter Mill District supervisor — died Saturday, April 11, 2015. He was 72 years old. Willie was born March 5, 1943, in LaCrosse, Va. After attending both undergraduate and law school at Howard University, he and the Hudgins family moved to Reston. They have lived in Reston since 1969.

Weekend Fun in Fairfax County - April 17-19, 2015

A roundup of entertaining things to do this weekend.

A roundup of fun things to do this weekend in Fairfax county.

Reston Home Sales: March, 2015

In March, 2015, 111 Reston homes sold between $2,300,000-$170,000.

Reston Home Sales: March, 2015

Moving for Academic Excellence

Researchers say frequent physical activity can lead to success in school.

Inside an elementary school classroom in Bethesda, Md., a class of third grade students is divided into small groups and given a task: to cross a desert using a limited supply of tools that often include a jump rope, a foam noodle or a scooter. Their mission is to devise a plan to cross the desert without touching the sand.

Column: Up and Down and All Around

Commentary

No. That’s not my stomach talking.

Column: Community Educational Resources

As a former teacher and educator, I like what I have been seeing recently of the vast array of educational resources in our community.

Opinion: Wolf Trap—A Park and Theatre

One of the many advantages of living in this wonderful place called Reston is having the national treasure, Wolf Trap Farm Park, right around the corner. Wolf Trap was created by the Congress in 1966 as a national park following the donation of the 130-acre grounds by Catherine Filene Shouse to the United States.

Reston Founder's Day Art Show and Awards Ceremony

League of Reston Artists display art at Reston Community Center.

On April 12, friends and members of the League of Reston Artists met at the Jo Ann Rose Gallery located at the Reston Community Center for a reception.

Opinion: Reston’s Future - A Primer

A lot has been discussed recently in the blogosphere regarding the Reston Association Board’s unanimous decision to send to member referendum the question of borrowing up to $2.65 million for the purchase and renovation of the old Reston Visitors Center and the associated open space it sits on.

Opinion: D-Day for Reston National Golf Course

By the time you read this, the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) will have made its decision on the technical merits of the claim by the owners of Reston National Golf Course (RNGC) that they should be allowed to sidestep the normal process to develop 166 acres of open space into residential housing.

'101 and Tons of Fun' for Reston's Founder Bob Simon

Founders Day celebrates Reston's first 51 years and Simon's first 101 years.

After Bob Simon cut his 101st birthday cake, Jo Marshall and the band Natural Selection sang, "You're Still the One."

Some Lunacy for Springtime by Reston Community Players

Reston Community Players presents a fun, diverting show.

“A great distraction from the everyday” is how director Adam Konowe describes the Reston Community Players’ next production, “The Fox on the Fairway.” And the madcap comedy was written by popular local area playwright, Ken Ludwig.

Send in Mother's Day Photos

Deadline for submissions is May 1.

Mother’s Day is May 10 and, every year at this time, The Connection calls for submissions to our Mother’s Day photo gallery.

Editorial: Counting Homeless; Solution Is Housing

Results of the annual census of homeless show progress, persistence of the problem, and some worrying trends.

On the night of Jan. 28, 2015, there were 1,204 people who were literally homeless in the Fairfax County area.

Holocaust Remembrance Day in Fairfax County

"One of the most important things we do."

Holocaust survivor Michel Margosis spoke before the Board of Supervisors, Tuesday, April 7, when the Board of Supervisors made a proclamation declaring April 16 as Holocaust Remembrance Day in Fairfax County.

Weekend Fun in Fairfax County - April 10-12, 2015

A roundup of entertaining things to do this weekend.

A roundup of fun things to do this weekend in Fairfax county.

D.C. Design House

McLean showcase home opens to the public April 12.

Local interior design enthusiasts will have an opportunity to tour a much-anticipated unveiling this weekend when the 2015 Design House opens in McLean on Sunday, April 12 at noon, with ticket sales benefiting the Children’s National Health System.

Editorial: A Big Election Year in Virginia

Register, research, vote. And vote again.

Every year is an election year in Virginia. Here are a few examples that demonstrate that while elections are ubiquitous in Virginia, they are neither simple nor unimportant. Wade in, a lot depends on figuring this out and voting. This is not intended to be a comprehensive list of candidates.

More Than 200 Attend First Fairfax County Budget Hearing

Schools, libraries, economic development authorites and others seek more funding while tax-hawks call for reductions.

More than 200 people packed the Fairfax County Government auditorium Tuesday, April 7, and 60 speakers were scheduled to testify before the Board of Supervisors on the advertised budget. The hearing began with a presentation by School Board Chairman Tamara Derenak Kaufax. Members of the Fairfax County School Board sat in the front row, gave a standing ovation, and remained standing as Kaufax finished her testimony to begin the budget hearings.

Column: The Fact Is Not Yet The Matter

I don’t know which is worse: the extra-special, extra-expensive, dental cleaning (the kind that requires Novocain and involves the actual dentist, not merely the hygienist) that I have scheduled for April 8th – or my next hopefully-not-do-or-die CT Scan, moved up a month from my usual three-month interval because of a suspicious formation seen on my most recent scan back in mid-February.

Week in Reston

Weekly in happenings in Reston.

Letter: Keeping Reston Pollution Free

To the Editor

The work on the New Herndon Monroe Metro station has begun and will negatively impact the surrounding Reston community almost immediately

Letter: Taking Exception on ‘Education Taxes’

To the Editor

It's the lofty tone of certainty that grates. Bob Simon ("Turning Every Rock for Education Budget," Reston Connection, April 1-7), who, I hazard a guess, is comfortably able to pay ever-rising RE taxes, suggests that the county's rate should be jacked up yet again -- an extra penny yielding $22 million in revenue. Why didn't we all think of this? Why not two pennies for $44 million?

Column: A Hundred Fifty Years Ago

The first person I ever knew who wrote a weekly newspaper column was a teacher in the high school I attended who wrote a column during the period 1961-1965 entitled, “A Hundred Years Ago: The Civil War Day By Day.” He did not have to think of a new topic every week; he simply reported what was known to be going on a 100 years before during that week.

Weekend Fun in Fairfax County - April 3-5, 2015

A roundup of entertaining things to do this weekend.

A roundup of fun things to do this weekend in Fairfax county.

Prisoner Escapes from Fairfax Hospital, Gets Recaptured

Social media aids manhunt

Around 3 a.m. on Tuesday, March 31, Wossen Assaye overpowered the female member of his two-guard private security detail while the male was out of his hospital room. Assaye was reportedly in shackles on a hospital gurney before the struggle.

Springfield: Getting into Marian Homes

Remodeling project to provide for residents with intellectual and or physical disabilities.

When the new residents of Marian Homes’ latest remodeling project move in to the Gresham Street house in north Springfield, Fairfax resident and Marian volunteer John Germain hopes they feel at home.

Northern Virginia Training Center in Fairfax to Close by March 2016

From institution to community, finding homes for those hard to place.

Joseph McHugh has lived at the Northern Virginia Training Center for 35 years, moving in when he was a teenager. McHugh has cerebral palsy and colostomy and severe spasticity issues. At the training center, McHugh works with a speech pathologist, nurse, on-campus dietician and is close to an X-ray machine, dental facility and clinic on the grounds.

‘Your Life Is Today and Tomorrow’

Residents of local senior living communities share their experiences.

“I didn’t want to come here,” said Bill Woessner, referring to Brightview Assisted Living Community in Great Falls. “That’s right,” agreed Sheila, his wife of more than 50 years, with plenty of her native Scottish brogue to be heard in her voice. “He really didn’t. We have a lovely house here in Great Falls and I don’t think he was ready to budge. But how long after we got here did that change?” she turned to her husband and asked. “At least a day,” he laughingly replied. “Seriously,” said Bill Woessner, “it probably wasn’t more than the first 48 hours.”

Creative Aging Festival Coming in May

Includes 114 performances, poetry readings, art exhibits, lectures, classes and more.

A Creative Aging Festival will take place throughout the month of May at 100-plus local venues in Fairfax County, the City of Fairfax, Arlington and Alexandria. The month-long festival includes 114 performances, poetry readings, art exhibits, lectures, classes and more.

County Adult Centers Offer Seniors Activities, Social Interaction

In 2014, the attendance at Fairfax County senior centers was 277,342.

At the Kingstowne Center for Active Adults, volunteer Frank Bauer sees zumba and yoga classes “flowing into the main room sometimes,” he says, revealing how popular those classes are at the center, which caters to seniors 55 and older. This Kingstowne center, one of 14 senior centers throughout Fairfax County, offers classes and activities to keep seniors active.

Column: Manifest Destiny

I wouldn’t say I have symptoms (why would I say that? If I said that, I’d have to admit that cancer is having an effect on me.

Fit for the Golden Years

Fitness programs for seniors are part of a trend.

One night each week, Sue Thompson can be found dribbling a basketball down the court, leading her team, the Nova United, to victory. Thompson, who is in her 60s, is one of the youngest players in her league, the National Senior Women’s Basketball Association.

Nysmith School Students Interview War Veterans

Richard Graff didn't hesitate to describe his darkest days while serving in World War II. "Every combat soldier has to get used to the bodies," he said. "Whenever I think back to that one day when I didn't think I would have another day, you bet, I'm glad to be here," Graff said.