Stories for August 2012

Vienna/McLean/Great Falls Calendar, Aug. 29-Sept. 9

On Saturday, Sept. 8 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., at Riverbend Park, 8700 Potomac Hills Street, Great Falls, meet Native Americans from the Chickahominy, Mattaponi, Pamunkey, Rappahannock, Tauxenent, Upper Mattaponi tribes and the Monacan Nation. Come to see dance performances, learn about early Indian skills through the dug-out canoe demonstration and event try to shoot a bow and arrow. The festival will feature crafts for sale such as pottery, jewelry, flutes and dream catchers. $5. 703-759-9018, or http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/riverbend/events.htm.

Classified Advertising Aug 29, 2012

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Vienna, Oakton Home Sales: July, 2012

In July 2012, 108 homes sold between $1,610,000-$180,000 in the Vienna and Oakton area.

Vienna, Oakton Home Sales in July, 2012

Char-a-oke Anyone?

$1 million raised for Fairfax County Public Schools Education Foundation.

Listen, baby… "Ain't no mountain high. Ain't no valley low. Ain't no river wide enough, baby. If you need me, call me. No matter where you are. No matter how far."

911's Complete Failure

Fairfax County says Verizon "failed completely" during June 29 derecho.

"It’s like the captain of the Titanic telling passengers the ship hit an iceberg when the bow is on the bottom of the ocean floor." —Steve Souder, Fairfax County 911 Director

Letter: Separate and Unequal - II

Your editorial in the titled "Separate and Unequal ?" [The Connection, July 25-31, 2012], addressed the "eye-popping" disparately low admission of Black and Latino students to Thomas Jefferson High School, and the complaint that this was "in voilation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1965 which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, and national origin."

Opinion: First Day of School Coming Up

And never too early for parents to get involved.

The first day of school in most of Northern Virginia is Tuesday, Sept. 4. We don't agree with having the General Assembly dictate the first day of school, requiring the start date to be after Labor Day, but starting school after Labor Day does seem more hospitable than the Aug. 27 start in many other areas.

495 Express Lanes Tested

On Tuesday, Aug. 21, 20 test vehicles traveled the newly completed section of the 495 Express Lanes as part of an on-road test.

Helping Provide School Supplies for Veterans’ Children

The gift cards are intended to help pay for school supplies and other essentials for the coming school year. The donation continued for the second year of the program.

‘Pride of Vienna’ in Fundraising Campaign

The James Madison High School Band, the "Pride of Vienna," offers one of the finest high school band programs in the U.S. On Sept. 8, the band students (both instrumentalists and color guard) will canvass neighborhoods in the Madison school district to solicit contributions in support of its programs.

New Name, New Location, Same Mission

Vienna Tysons Regional Chamber of Commerce takes next big step.

It’s official. On Aug. 21, the Vienna Tysons Chamber of Commerce became the Tysons Regional Chamber of Commerce, and after more than two decades of doing business in a small, two-storey office building on Maple Street in Vienna, the chamber will soon make the move to new, modern office space at 7925 Jones Branch Drive in the heart of Tysons Corner.

Fairfax Symphony Orchestra Names Interim Executive Director

The Fairfax Symphony Orchestra (FSO) Board of Directors announced the appointment of Galen Wixson as its interim executive director through December of 2012. Galen currently serves as the executive director of The Guitar Foundation of America where he has guided the organization through a transition to a new governance and management model, leading to several new program initiatives.

FCPD Traffic Safety Efforts Recognized

The Fairfax County Police Department was recently recognized by two prestigious law enforcement organizations which evaluate police traffic safety programs across the commonwealth and the nation.

Column: Diagnosed But Not Sick

Having/being diagnosed with cancer/a terminal disease is neither fun nor funny; however, unless I find some humor or wishful thinking in how I approach this situation, I don’t suppose I’ll be approaching it much longer. To me, it’s always been mind over matter, and even though these matters are rather serious, I still don’t mind.

Students Present STEM Projects

Forward Future hosts summer program for 30 teens.

Thirty children from the Herndon and Reston areas presented a series of projects on Thursday, Aug. 23 at the Herndon United Methodist Church, a result of their summer with Forward Future, a local organization dedicated to youth mentoring.

Reston Rotary Funds Field Trips

Club pays for six schools to receive electronic field trips to Colonial Williamsburg.

The Reston Rotary Club announced the funding of electronic field trips for Dogwood, Forest Edge, Hunters Woods, Lake Anne, Terraset and Fox Mill Elementary schools this year. The trips are hosted by Colonial Williamsburg, and are a series of live internet events and television broadcasts.

Beach Mill Bridge Postponed

Replacement of temporary bridge will begin June 2013.

The Virginia Department of Transportation has postponed the scheduled replacement of the bridge over Nichols Run on Beach Mill Road. Originally scheduled to close from Aug. 13 to December, construction has been pushed back, and will start after the 2012-13 school year lets out.

Analemma Raises Funds for Sundial

Sundial designer speaks at library on dial proposed for Observatory Park.

While most of the tools available at Observatory Park at Turner Farm are designed to look upward, there are plans for additional features on the ground as well. The Analemma Society, which hosts programs and facilities at Observatory Park, is raising funds to build a second sundial.

Teen Center Throws Block Party

Old Firehouse Teen Center hosts revamped annual event.

The Old Firehouse Teen Center in downtown McLean hosted their annual block party on Saturday, Aug. 25, opening up their center for a variety of activities. The event featured the second annual McLean Teens Got Talent variety show, contests between acts and other arts and crafts opportunities.

How To Register, Vote and Vote Early

Election Day is Nov. 6, but you can vote as early as Sept. 21.

How important is it for Virginia voters to turn out on or before Nov. 6? As a critical “battleground” state, Virginia will be key in determining who will be the next President of the United States. Who will represent Virginia in the U.S. Senate is also too close to call. Since polling shows that there are very few undecided voters in the Commonwealth, every eligible voter will want to be sure to cast a ballot.

North Fairfax County Calendar, Aug. 24-Sept. 2

Events to get you out and about in the area.

Breeze through the events calendar and pick up a few events to spice up and fill out your week.

Opinion: Mindless Slashing

Automatic cuts set to kick in January would harm Northern Virginia more than any other region.

While reducing the federal deficit is critical to the nation's economic health in the long run, the knee jerk, slash and burn method based only on cuts that is coming at us like a freight train will do immense damage to the economy nationally. But no place would feel the pain more intensely than Northern Virginia.

A Year in Fairfax County

A sampling of some of the cherished, annual events of the county.

Church Street Garage Debated

Proposal submitted under Public-Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act.

“This is an opportunity to get Church Street to work better.” --Mayor M. Jane Seeman

Vienna Insiders Perspective

What makes living in Vienna special?

Everyone knows that the best advice comes from experience--and that's true even in the small things. Newcomers and old-timers alike can find a refreshing look at what we love about Vienna herein. Looking for the best place to eat? Forget yelp and find a local blog or ask a neighbor. Wondering about the places to be on the weekend? Finding an in-the-know peer can be the antidote to a all kinds of boredom. So, c'mon, you've got no excuse: do your research and get exploring.

State Senator Shares Places-to-See

Q&A With Chap Petersen

Virginia State Senator Chap Petersen (D-34) represents central and western Fairfax in the Virginia State Senate. He grew up and lives in Fairfax City.

Oakton Senior Loves Her Girlhood Home

86-year-old Pat Price lives in house she was raised in.

Pat Price lives in her girlhood home in Oakton. Not in the same place, but in the same house. Price is 86 years old now. Her Oakton bonds go back to before 1850 when her great-grandmother took over as Oakton School’s first teacher. A great-grandfather fought in the Civil War. Her “people,” as she refers to her ancestors, have been in the Vienna-Oakton area for more than 150 years.

Free Fun in Vienna

There’s a bit of free something for all around town.

From free concerts on the Town Green to Civil War-era exhibitions and festivals to presentations, there are lots of free things to do in the Vienna area for every age group. Even those not-quite-free things are a bargain for what you get. The restored and newly-repainted red caboose across the street from Freeman House is maintained by the Optimist Club of Greater Vienna. Children are always welcome to climb aboard, but once a month or on special occasions, the Optimists open the doors to the caboose for the public to walk through.

Classified Advertising Aug. 22, 2012

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Column: Life in the Cancer Lane

Having been there and done that now for three and a half years certainly helps. And however familiar it may be and/or has become, it doesn’t exactly help to pass the time or affect the results, unfortunately. Cancer sucks! That much is clear. Now and in the future.

Madeleine Steppel Finds Recipe for Success

Reston resident dines with president and first lady.

One night a few weeks ago, while she was at Camp Louise in Maryland, Madeleine Steppel, 9, of Reston headed to the administration building to wait for a call. Once she got to the building, known around camp as "the White House," the call came in: she had won a trip to the real White House for lunch with first lady Michelle Obama.

Finding Recreation in Reston

Trails, tennis, pools offer variety of opportunities.

As avid outdoorsman, Larry Butler says he spends his vacations getting as far away from civilization as possible. As the director of Parks and Recreation for the Reston Association, he knows places in Reston offer something similar.

Great Falls Exxon Station to Close

Community concerned about losing one of two gas stations, TD Bank preparing application for site.

The Exxon station at the corner of Walker Road and Georgetown Pike will cease pumping gas Sept. 1, and will cease all operations by March of next year. Starting Sept. 1, the underground fuel tanks will be removed, which will cease pumping gas. The current service operator will maintain services until February 2013, then they will move to the Shell service station across the street.

Community Meets at Old Brogue

Katie’s Coffee House, Cars and Coffee, traditional Irish fare are signatures of local restaurant.

On most Saturday mornings, Matt Borland of Falls Church is up before sunrise, washing and waxing his red and white 1965 Mustang. Though Saturday is only one of two mornings during the week Borland doesn’t have to be in Washington, D.C. by 8 a.m., he doesn’t mind getting up early, he has a purpose.

Great Falls Has Development Standards

Comprehensive plan, community involvement, designed to keep semi-rural character.

With an area of just under 18 square miles and one of the lowest densities in the county, Great Falls is designed to have a semi-rural character. The Great Falls Citizens Association, a non-partisan committee made up of residents, has as a primary goal to "preserve the historic, low density semi-rural character of Great Falls and its natural resources."

Main Street Envisioned for McLean

What is in store for downtown McLean?

While Tysons Corner is where most of the attention, construction and business headquarters are located, McLean’s actual downtown is a much more traditional downtown area. Home to local businesses and nationally acclaimed restaurants, McLean’s downtown is also undergoing some improvements of its own.

A Center of Community Life

McLean Community Center offers something for everybody.

Founded in 1970, the McLean Community Center aims to connect residents of almost every age and interest. It is funded by a tax district that collects 2.2 cents for every $100 of assessed real estate value in the district.

Nearly 800 Jobs Added to the Local Economy

Information technology firms and professional service companies see growth.

Information technology firms continue to do well in a sluggish economy, according to a new report from the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA). During the second quarter of 2012, the FCEDA provided services and resources to 33 businesses that are adding almost 800 jobs in Fairfax County. Most of these businesses are in the information technology and professional services sectors and four are foreign-based firms using a Fairfax County location to expand in North America.

Minority-Owned Businesses Prosper in Fairfax County

Companies generate more than $1 billion in revenue and provide more than 1,000 jobs.

Businesses owned by Hispanics, African-Americans and women shine in Fairfax County, according to the latest national rankings for largest or fastest-growing companies. "Fairfax County is proud to be a community in which companies of all descriptions can and do succeed to a greater extent than in the rest of the region, the state or the country," said Gerald L. Gordon, president and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, which supports and monitors the growth of local businesses. Eleven Fairfax County-based companies are among the 500 largest Hispanic-owned businesses in the nation based on revenue — more than the total in 40 states, according to a recent report by HispanicBusiness.com. The Fairfax County companies are among 22 from Virginia on the 2012 Hispanic Business 500 list.

Time for School

Advice on how to transition from a laid-back summer to a hectic academic year.

When Ellen Feldman’s 5-year-old son started school for last fall, one of the biggest adjustments for the single mother of two was having to adhere to a schedule. “All of a sudden we went from being able to do things on our own time frame to having to wake up and be at a certain place at a certain time,” said Feldman. “Sending my son off to school for the first time was exciting, but also difficult.”

Editorial: Starting School Prepared

First day of school is Sept. 4; local nonprofits provide school supplies and weekend food.

With school beginning in a few weeks, area charitable organizations have been collecting contributions of new backpacks, calculators, other school supplies, money and gift cards and winter coats to help the tens of thousands of truly needy Northern Virginia students.

Classified Advertising Aug. 15, 2012

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Vienna Woman Follows a Slippery Slope

Madison grad training for skeleton in winter Olympics

Since graduating from Elon University, Veronica Day’s life has gone downhill. And well it should be because Day, a Madison High School graduate in 2007 who was track and field three-time All-State, who broke Elon’s track and field records, is at the U.S. Olympic Committee’s training facility at Lake Placid, honing her skill at "skeleton," a relative of luge and bobsled. She’s preparing for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia.

Column: A Pill a Day…

Hopefully will keep the cancer at bay. (I’d say “away,” but let’s be realistic, three and a half years past a NSCLC diagnosis, there is no way, generally speaking, that stage IV lung cancer disappears into the ether; it’s classified as stage IV for a reason.

Reston Youth Cheer Kicks Off Season

Youth cheerleading group performs at competitions, RYC football games.

Reston Youth Cheer, an organization that allows girls to learn how to become cheerleaders, has kicked off their latest season, with summer practices beginning Tuesday, Aug. 7. The group, which features cheerleaders as young as kindergarten age, practices at Langston Hughes Middle School.

Triathletes Swim, Bike and Run in Reston

Second annual youth triathlon raises scholarship funds.

Two hundred and fifty children spent their Sunday morning swimming, biking and running around Langston Hughes Middle School and South Lakes High School on Aug. 12 as part of the second annual Reston Children’s Triathlon, hosted by the YMCA, Fairfax County, Reston and the Reston Association.

Langley Fork Master Plan Delayed

Park authority to conduct additional studies of 54-acre park.

The Fairfax County Park Authority has announced a delay in the master planning process for Langley Fork Park, a 54-acre site located just north of the intersection of Georgetown Pike and Dolley Madison Boulevard. The park, which contains two diamond fields, two rectangle fields, basketball courts and a fitness trail, is owned by the National Park Service.

Letter: No Enemies on TJ Admissions Front

To the Editor:

FCPS is not being honest, straightforward or holding itself accountable for the fact that too few of these disadvantaged kids are achieving as well as others relative to their populations and too few are fostered appropriately so they can be identified for and take advantage of advanced curricula, including advanced academic programs (AAP) and thence TJ and high school honors, AP and IB programs. The leaders in this system have had years to figure out how to make serious improvements, but they have hidden and spun or not even bothered to gather data and have excluded individuals and groups that could be partners in resolving this situation. Thus, we have a segregated system, as the data show.

Classified Advertising Aug. 8, 2012

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Should Virginia Compensate for Dark Days of Eugenics?

Del. Patrick Hope (D-44) asks governor and General Assembly to form a task force.

The number of victims is unknown in Virginia’s system of forced sterilization, a dark chapter that stretched from the 1920s into the 1970s.

Column: Derive to Survive

Now that I can taste food again, or rather have food taste like normal again, my attitude is much improved.

Vienna Optimist Club Honors PFC Kristin Ruddy

On Aug. 1, the Vienna Optimist Club held their annual banquet to honor the 2012 Charles A. Robinson Respect for Law Enforcement Award recipients at the Marco Polo Restaurant in Vienna.

Letter: Comstock Politicizes Wounded Warrior Event

As a Vietnam Era Veteran and one who has worked as a volunteer with veterans returning from deployments, I read with interest your Wednesday, Aug. 1 coverage of the Yellow Ribbon Fund picnic for wounded military personnel and their families.

Letter: Putting Aside Politics

Letter to the Editor

As the mother of a wounded warrior, I am appalled at Del. Barbara Comstock’s (R-34) apparent inability to put aside partisan politics to honor our wounded men and women and their families.

Moonlight Shines in Vienna

“Moonlit Musical,” children’s theatrical production, premiers in Vienna.

What child has never imagined herself to be on-stage, bowing to adoring fans? If you are a child living in Fairfax County, you have a good shot at stardom.

National Farmers' Market Week Starts in Vienna

USDA launches National Farmers’ Market Week from Vienna’s Church Street farmers’ market.

USDA Under-Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Ed Avalos launched National Farmers’ Market Week from Vienna’s Church Street farmers’ market on Aug. 4.

MCA Seeks More Information on Tysons

County’s ‘Strawman’ plan missing key funding details, group says.

The McLean Citizens Association has expressed displeasure with the Fairfax County Planning Commission Tysons Corner’s set of recommendations for Tysons Corner redevelopment. The recommendations, called "Strawman," were released June 13, received public comment June 21 and were re-released July 18.

Nike Field to Handle 100-year Storm

Drainage in conjunction with turf field expected to hold 100-year storm.

In addition to adding synthetic turf to Nike Field #4, the Fairfax County Department of Environmental Services will add stormwater improvements to the area, which aim to help assuage local storm water drainage issues.

Classified Advertising (Aug. 1, 2012)

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Shakespeare at Madeira

Traveling Players Ensemble presents ‘As You Like It.’

After two weeks of touring throughout Virginia, the Traveling Players Ensemble returns home to perform Shakespeare's "As You Like It" at the Madeira School.

‘Footloose’ Takes Foot in Vienna

Musical comes to Vienna Community Center for five performances, starting Aug. 3.

"Footloose" hit the big screen with a bang in 1984. More than 15 years later, it opened on Broadway. Now, "Footloose" comes to Vienna.

Column: Choosing My Words, Respectively

It has been brought to my attention by some regular Kenny-column readers – who are friends, too, and whose opinions I value, that my most recent batch of “cancer columns” (as I call them) were not funny; in fact, they were more depressing and negative than anything, and not nearly as uplifting and hopeful as many of my previous columns have been.

Weekly Entertainment (Vienna/McLean/Great Falls)

Entertainment in Vienna/McLean/Great Falls.

Getting a Body Like an Olympian

Local fitness gurus offer gold medal advice for achieving a toned, muscular body.

Muscular legs, toned abs and buffed biceps are hard to miss in London this week, but is it possible for the average sports fan to achieve a body like an Olympian? Local fitness experts say "maybe."

Taking Care of One’s Teeth

American Dental Association says many Americans don’t know basic oral care.

Here’s a pop quiz: How often should a person replace their toothbrush? "Once a year," said Terrie Andrews of McLean.

Beating Bad Breath

Dental experts offer solutions for chronic halitosis.

When Amanda Welch’s boyfriend asked her to marry him last spring, she accepted his proposal on one condition: that he find a cure for his bad breath.

Editorial: Readers Respond on TJ Admissions

"Stop making smart 8th graders feel inferior because they are not admitted."

Readers responded to last week's editorial, which cited a civil rights complaint about the apparent lack of access to gifted and talented programs and admission to Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.