Alliance Pushes for New Policies
Reston-Herndon Alliance to End Gun Violence holds vigil at NRA headquarters.
Members of the Reston-Herndon Alliance to End Gun Violence gathered at the National Rifle Association headquarters in Fairfax Friday, Feb. 22, to advocate for stricter gun laws. This was the group’s second such protest, where more than 30 members carried signs citing statistics about gun-related deaths.
Classified Advertising Feb. 20, 2013
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Column: Definition of “Slippery Slope”
Figuratively speaking, of course. That definition being: a late stage cancer patient/survivor previously characterized as “terminal” awaiting the results of their most recent diagnostic scan. A scan that will indicate whether the tumors have grown, moved or God forbid, appeared somewhere new. If your life hung in the balance before the scan, waiting for results of this however-many-months-interval-scan will most assuredly loosen your figurative grip on your equilibrium and your most literal grip on your sanity. This is a domain, unlike the one referred to in one of the more infamous Seinfeld episodes, that one cannot master. To invoke and slightly rework Dan Patrick’s “catch” phrase: You can’t stop it, you can only hope to contain it.
Reston Home Sales: January, 2013
In January 2013, 50 Reston homes sold between $1,000,000-$136,600.
Reston Home Sales: January, 2013
New Recreation Facility Debated
Reston Community Center solicits public input on a new indoor recreation center at Baron Cameron Park.
Reston Community Center invited the public to bring their wish lists to an open forum meeting on Monday, Feb. 11, to discuss the potential development of a new indoor recreation center at Baron Cameron Park. In 2012, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors transferred 68 acres at the park to the Fairfax County Parks Authority, and Bill Bouie, who is both a member of the Reston Community Center Board of Governors, as well as the chairman of the parks authority Board told the assembly that the Reston Community Center is “an interested party” in the Fairfax County Parks Authority’s Master Planning Process about to begin in March.
Circus Comes to Town
I am going to be taking two of my grandchildren to the Barnum and Bailey Circus at the Richmond Coliseum tonight. It is really amazing how quickly the circus can move into its venue; amaze, entertain and hold in suspense its audience; and then pack up and move on. Just a few blocks from the Coliseum, the General Assembly opened at the State Capitol the second week in January and will pack up this week and members will go back home. For the last six weeks the 140 members of the House of Delegates and State Senate along with their staff and about a thousand lobbyists have been holding forth on Capitol Square for the annual legislative session. The agenda is serious, and the activities over the past several weeks have been humorous, suspenseful and in a term used by the circus ringmaster, “unbelievable.”
Rock Musical Takes CenterStage
Reston Community Players to present "Next to Normal."
A "cathartic, powerful rock musical, with a hopeful ending and a great honesty to it" is the way director Andrew JM Regiec describes the next Reston Community Players production, the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award recipient "Next to Normal." With a score of about three dozen songs "Next to Normal" tells the story of a suburban family battling personal demons "through a fast-paced story-telling and the heightened emotions that music can bring," said Regiec.
TJ Students Promote Science
Science Innovation and Inspiration Youth Conference at Langston Hughes Middle.
The study of science and technology among youths was given a boost on Saturday, Feb. 9, at the Langston Hughes Middle School. The Science Innovation and Inspiration Youth Conference (ScI2YC), a STEM conference aimed at encouraging the study of science and technology among middle school students was hosted by Project BEST.
Week in Reston
The Reston Historic Trust and the Reston Museum are exploring the early history of Reston. The Reston Museum is producing another free program on Feb. 28, 7-9 p.m., to be presented at the Jo Ann Rose Gallery at Reston Community Center—Lake Anne, titled: “Building Community in Reston: Diversity, Openness and Inclusiveness.”
P Minor of a Purim Paparazzi
Instead of joining an exasperated press probing into prominent people's privacies, I will pursue celebrities like King Ahasuerus, Queen Esther and Vashti of Persia. I will serve a much greater purpose by presenting a better picture, or portrait, of the Megillah's principal personalities. It gives me the opportunity to report on the grand procession of Mordechai, Haman and his sons Parshandatha, Parmashta and Poratha, to name only three. Now, with the approach of Purim, I prefer to devote my expertise to promote the proper performance of the Purim procedures and its prerequisites.
‘Casino Royale’ Raises $10,000 for Homeless Children
The Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce’s event honors educators, raises money for county students.
The Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce’s annual Casino Royale event evidenced great success on Feb. 8, packing a ballroom at the Westfields Marriott in Chantilly with guests eager to support education in Fairfax County. Chamber members, sponsors, and Fairfax County Public School educators enjoyed the evening, raising more than $10,000 for homeless children in Fairfax County and honoring seven area educators who were presented with the chamber’s Educator of the Year Award.
New Approach to Helping Chronic Homeless
County joins "100,000 Homes" effort as chronic homelessness on rise.
The number of chronically homeless individuals in Fairfax County is on the rise. Currently, nearly 300 individuals are considered chronically homeless, many living in cars or sleeping in tents. In an effort to find permanent homes for these individuals, the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Partnership to Prevent and End Homelessness is joining the 100,000 Homes Campaign, a national movement to find permanent homes for 100,000 chronically homeless throughout the nation.
‘Two Symphonies and a Dance’ for Area Music Lovers
Virginia Chamber Orchestra to present early Mozart and Mendelssohn works.
There has always been the debate about the role of nature and nurture in a child’s development. This is especially true in child prodigies. Mozart and Mendelssohn were from musical homes and received encouragement in musical studies. Although Gluck sang in his church choir, his interest in music was surely of his own making as he was expected to work in his family’s forestry business.
Seahawks End Majors' Season with Buzzer-Beater
Mount Vernon girls' basketball loses in regional quarterfinals.
South Lakes advances to face Oakton in the Northern Region semifinals.
Classified Advertising Feb. 13, 2013
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A Positive Reflection
Joan Brady gives foster children needed exposure.
On Monday, Sept. 10, 2001, Joan Brady of Great Falls had just started a three-month sabbatical from her job with an Internet company. Newly-married, Brady, who was 36 years old at the time, was exhausted from 80-hour work weeks in a rigid corporate environment. She wanted time that fall to contemplate what to do next with her life. The next day provided answers and a sense of urgency. It was Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. The terrorist attacks, and the moving stories of heroism and tragedy on 9/11, indelibly left their mark. Brady, like many Americans, was inspired to do something new, to take more chances, to change direction.
Editorial: On Transportation
Compromise, in the works, should include indexing the gas tax to inflation.
Virginia needs more options, not fewer, in developing revenue to pay for roads and transportation. Compromise on a plan to increase transportation revenue should not include making Virginia the only state in the nation without a gas tax. The current, ridiculously low gas tax should be indexed to inflation. The last thing the commonwealth needs is to do away with an existing, major source of money for roads.
Week in Reston
Local Early Childhood educators will get together for what will be the largest gathering of classroom teachers, leaders and administrators in Virginia.
Statesmanship Prevailed
During legislative sessions in Virginia there is far too much partisan bickering, currying to special interests and, in recent years, doing the things that appear on late-night comedy shows.
Elected Leaders Failing Us at So Many Levels
Americans are feeling more than a little let down by our government in Washington.