Stories for August 2013

Column: From Weak to Week

Eight days and seven nights. Not exactly the vacation I was planning. Nevertheless, admitted to the hospital on Friday, August 2nd. Discharged on Friday, August 9th: that was my hospital “staycation.” Though I definitely improved as the post-surgical week went on, the process itself – specifically, nearly four days in S.I.C.U. (Surgical Intensive Care) with round-the-clock monitoring, nursing and doctoring – was hardly restful. In fact, if you read the following prose, you’ll presumably develop an understanding of the cons.

Every Year Is Election Year in Virginia

Northern Virginia has most two-party races on ballot.

While the Virginia governor’s race is the one getting the most attention, both nationally and in the state, Virginia’s House of Delegates race is shaping up to be the most competitive in a decade. According to an official candidate list released last month by the Virginia State Board of Elections, 57 House seats will be contested this November — marking only the second time in the last decade where at least half of the 100 House seats will have more than one name on the ballot.

What in the World Does a Supervisor Do, and Why Should We Care?

Local Government 101: Where the rubber meets the road.

We see them at just about every community event. They manage a budget larger than the budgets of four states, and rule over a county with a diverse, well-educated population of more than a million people. The 10 members of the Fairfax County Supervisors have an intense, time-consuming, insanely detailed job, one that comes with enormous power and even more responsibilities. They impact our lives in large and small ways, allocating money and resources in ways that can propel our community forward—or cost us our first-rate status in education, livability and culture. Yet most of us, media included, are so focused on politics at the state and national level that we overlook the decision-makers in our own backyard.

Obsessed With Politics? Fairfax County Welcomes You!

What newcomers need to know to be politically-savvy insiders.

Fairfax County may be physically separated from Washington, D.C.—the ground-zero of All Things Political—but residents here are a politically-savvy bunch. We know who Larry Sabato is—a prominent University of Virginia political analyst—and we pay attention to Not Larry Sabato—a Virginia politics blog by Ben Tribbett, a Fairfax County resident and self-described “vicious campaign insultant.” We follow our politicians on Twitter and Facebook.

Supervisors Give Us Their Best “Insider” Tips

Fairfax County has a fantastic park and library system, with tons of activities to enjoy. One of my personal favorites is the Cardboard Boat Regatta at Lake Accotink Park every summer.

An Insider's Guide to the Arts in Northern Virginia

A selection of upcoming arts productions, happening right where you live.

There are more artists of every stripe making art in Northern Virginia than you may realize. Populating the bedroom communities, small towns, growing cities and metropolitan areas of Fairfax County, Arlington and Alexandria are your pick of dance, theatre, choral, symphonic, visual and performance, music and fill-in-the-blank groups. Look beyond Wolf Trap and Jammin' Java to the Torpedo Art Factory, the Workhouse Arts Center, and smaller, quality groups like ArtSpace Herndon and McLean Project for the Arts to cast their creative spell (that's only to name a few). Delve in and, we dare you, let your stereotypes of an artless string of suburbs dissolve. In place you'll get something much better than stereotypes: some culture.

Lifetime Learning Institute of Northern Virginia

Affiliated with Northern Virginia Community College, the Lifetime Learning Institute of Northern Virginia (LLI) is a non-profit, member-run organization dedicated to providing continuing educational opportunities to older adults of all backgrounds and income levels.

The Non-profits of Vienna

AHC, a nonprofit developer of affordable housing, operates in Vienna to provide quality homes for low- and moderate-income families. AHC Also offers services for residents and homeownership opportunities.

The Beauty of Vienna Living

From national recognition to local perspective, views on life in Vienna.

What surprised many people living in the Vienna area is not that Vienna was voted by Money magazine as the third best small town to live in in America but that it did not come in first. That’s Vienna pride.

A Fading Craft Thrives in Vienna

Guarantee Shoe Repair blends business with congeniality and nature.

The cream-colored two-story clapboard house at 131 Church St. N.W. could be mostly any one’s home in Vienna. It’s well cared-for with rose bushes and an array of flowers and greenery out front. To the side is a small fish pond and to the back is a gazebo anchored by a fountain. The gazebo’s flooring covers an obsolete well whose pump remains a visual magnet.

Area Chambers of Commerce: Meet Your Vienna Business Contacts

Meet the Vienna business associations and chambers of commerce who want to meet you and get to know your business too.

A Year of The Arts in Vienna

Don't miss the arts in front of your nose: Vienna has concerts, exhibits, community theater and more, right here, in town.

Vienna, Oakton Home Sales: July, 2013

In July 2013, 137 homes sold between $1,705,000-$199,900 in the Vienna and Oakton area.

Vienna, Oakton Home Sales: July, 2013

Newcomers and the Community Guide; Get to Know Area Non-profits

Get to know the area non-profits!

Best Educated, Most Diverse

If you are a new resident of Fairfax County, or an employee working for a company new to the county, welcome!

New Superintendent Relishes Opportunity

A fan of Baylor grad RG3 … not Cowboys

Here in Fairfax, not only do we have the talent and the expertise to solve the problems facing us in FCPS, but we are uniquely positioned to solve the most pressing issues facing public schools across the country. -Karen K. Garza, Ph.D., superintendent, Fairfax County Public Schools

Chamber Gives Voice to Businesses

The Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce (Fairfax Chamber), the Voice of Business in Northern Virginia, represents 650 member companies with nearly 500,000 employees throughout the region.

Northern Virginia Senior Olympics

Online registration for the 2013 Northern Virginia Senior Olympics is open Deadline to register online is Aug. 30. The fee is $12. Participants can register online at www.nvso.us. Events take place Sept. 7-19 at 17 venues throughout Northern Virginia. Call 703-228-4721 for more.

Chambers

Find a comprehensive online listing of county business resources at http://www.fairfaxcountyeda.org/business-resources.

Welcome to Fairfax County

Hello and welcome to Fairfax County!

A Year in Fairfax County

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

Upcoming events in the county.

Editorial: About the Connection

As your local, weekly newspaper, the Great Falls Connection’s mission is to bring the local news you need, to gather information about the best things in and near your community, to advocate for community good, to provide a forum for dialogue on local concerns, and to celebrate and record milestones and events in the community and people’s lives.

Classified Advertising August 8, 2013

Read the latest ads here!

Metro and More Coming to McLean

Tysons redevelopment to highlight coming months.

Over the next few months changes will be abound in the McLean area, not least of which will be the arrival of trains on the Silver Line. While the trains themselves will carry people to and from McLean to other areas of the region, the areas surrounding the stations are undergoing many changes themselves.

Silver Line Brings New Opportunities

Metrorail line aims to connect Washington, D.C. with Dulles Airport by 2018.

When the first trains of Metro’s Silver Line start carrying passengers, around February 2014, it will mark a new era for Northern Virginia, particularly the northern part of Fairfax County. By 2018, riders from Ashburn, Sterling, Herndon, Reston and McLean will have access to Dulles Airport and Washington, D.C. via the Silver Line.

Back to School: Back to Lunch

Healthy lunchbox and after school snack ideas.

Healthy Lunch and Snack Ideas

Excerpts From King’s ‘I Have a Dream’

Martin Luther King Jr. spoke to the March on Washington 50 years ago next week, Aug. 28, 1963.

Excerpts from Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech: “Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.

School Bells Ring Sept. 3

Local schools gearing up for new critical thinking programs.

It’s that time of the year when school bells across the region begin ringing … families are doing last-minute back-to-school shopping for supplies and clothes, the days are getting shorter, fall sports are at practice and children are playing outside until dusk. It won’t last much longer. Fairfax County Public Schools start the school year on Tuesday, Sept. 3, possibly the last year the county will be required to schedule the school calendar year after Labor Day. Fairfax County Public Schools’ new initiative is to develop 21st century learning skills among its students. Several Vienna-area elementary school administrators shared “what’s new” at their schools.

Packing Healthful Sack Lunches Children Will Eat

Local experts offer lunch suggestions, recipes.

The bigger challenge for mom or dad than building a healthful sack lunch is building a healthful sack lunch that tastes good-enough to eat. If children are not actually eating what you serve them, it makes little difference how healthy the ingredients are. That’s where local food specialists lend a hand. Registered dietician Judy Caplan and professional chef—and mother of two school-aged kids—Christine Wisnewski share suggestions, tips and recipes for planning sack lunches your kids will eat because they enjoy doing so. Healthy and tasty—the ultimate combination.

Shepherd’s Center of Oakton-Vienna Announces Adventures in Learning Fall Classes

Shepherd’s Center of Oakton-Vienna plans to offer a new program, Adventures in Learning (AIL), fall classes Thursdays, Sept. 19-Nov. 7. An Open House/Registration is slated for Sept. 12 at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fairfax, 2709 Hunter Mill Road, Oakton.

Fairfax Republicans Nominate Bryan ‘BA’ Wolfe for Sheriff

Wolfe faces Democratic nominee Stacey Kincaid in Nov. 5 special election.

When retired Fairfax police officer Bryan “BA” Wolfe was selected as the Republican nominee for Fairfax County Sheriff last week, he vowed to “restore the public trust” by making the 500-member department more “accountable and transparent.”

Shedding Sunshine on the Secret World of Regulation in Virginia

Advisory panel rejects effort to open records of the State Corporation Commission.

Ever wonder what happens during deliberations that regulate payday lending? How about the effort to oversee your health insurance?

Share Readies Students for School

Nonprofit gives out school supplies, backpacks, back-to-school haircuts.

Share of McLean helped its clients get into back-to-school mode Wednesday, Aug. 14, with their annual school supply drive. The nonprofit worked with local individuals and organizations to stock their shelves with the items returning students were sure to need.

Walmart Comes to Tysons Corner

New store at Tysons West is first "urban style" location.

Walmart opened their first urban-style location in the country in Tysons Corner Wednesday, Aug. 14. The store, which is one of their "supercenters," will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and serves as the anchor of the JBG Rosenfeld Retail-owned Tysons West.

Resurrecting The Post for a New Era

The Post has two upcoming gigs in Vienna and Alexandria.

Don’t let the minor chords fool you: The Post is made up of happy people. The band, originally started by guitarist Kate Jarosik and singer/pianist Chelsea Bryan during their time at the University of Virginia, took a brief hiatus after graduation but has started up again with some new musicians in Northern Virginia. Fresh off a successful stint through a Battle of the Bands at Jammin’ Java in Vienna, The Post is getting ready for a show there next Wednesday, Aug. 28 and another at St. Elmo’s in Alexandria Sept. 20.

Preserving History’s Jewels

Fairfax County considers new “resident curator” program to save historic properties.

“A successful resident curator program would allow the county to restore, maintain and protect important historic properties at little or no cost to the public.” —Cindy Walsh, Fairfax County Park Authority’s Resource Management Division director

Fairfax County Public Libraries: Version 2.0?

Staff, volunteers urge supervisors to reconsider “disastrous” library reorganization plan that cuts staff and services.

In a world where the Internet has replaced newsprint, e-books have supplanted paperbacks and the latest films stream directly to laptops, how do public libraries compete?

Classified Advertising August 14. 2013

Read the lastest ad here!

Is Your Home Ready for Back to School?

Local designers offer tips for creating functional and stylish homework spaces.

Summer will soon come to an end, and children everywhere will be heading back to school and coming home with homework. To keep students engaged and excited, some local designers offer suggestions for creating a space so fun and inviting that your children will want to hang out there — even if that means doing homework.

Outdoor Elegance Meets Cutting Edge Technology

A design/build team explores fine architecture in weather-resistant materials.

If anything in the summer of 2013 points to still evolving homeowner expectations, it may be the frequency with which locals are integrating screen porches, patios, fire pits, and outdoor kitchens into original landscaping schemes that artfully marry the house to its setting.

Geocaching Diversifies

Urbanites embracing new game.

Geocaching usually has been portrayed as someone with hiking boots and a walking staff gazing afar from a hilltop in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Not so anymore. Substantial numbers of those joining the sport are placing and hunting for caches in urban settings, and that includes Northern Virginia.

Editorial: Library Mission

Further cuts to library budget must be analyzed for impacts on needy families.

The current proposal to “streamline” services at Fairfax County Public Libraries comes on top of disproportionate, and some would say Draconian, cuts since 2009.

Editorial: On Federal Dollars in Virginia

State’s role as one of the biggest “takers.”

We received some emails and phone calls about the expansion of Medicaid in response to last week’s editorial.

Oakton Football Looking to Maintain Success

Cougars won 2012 Division 6 Northern Region championship.

Members of the Oakton football team huddled at the end of a recent practice and watched as head coach Jason Rowley shaped his hand like the number zero.

Week in Vienna

The Town of Vienna has been ranked 3rd on Money magazine’s list of Best Places to Live – America’s Best Small Towns.

Rachel Gart and Daniel Raphael Engaged

Rachel Gart of Fairfax Station, daughter of Ron and Ilyse Gart of Fairfax Station, and Daniel Raphael of Oakton, son of Larry and Marlene Raphael of Oakton, are engaged and plan to wed in early September.

‘Aida’ Rocks Vienna in Musical Spectacular

Vienna Youth Players presented Elton John’s Broadway blockbuster.

Calling the Vienna Youth Players’ production of Elton John’s “Aida” an “amateur” production is like calling the Concorde an airplane, the Beatles singers and Michelangelo a painter.

Fairfax County Police Officers Win Gold in Darts at World Games

Fairfax County Police officers Mike Tucker and Mark Kidd won gold medals in the darts competition at the 2013 World Police & Fire Games in Belfast.

Guarding Against Identity Theft and Fraud

Police advise residents on how to protect themselves.

With identity theft and fraud being such a major concern these days, police investigator Tom Polhemus and Det. Mike Deane recently presented some ways local residents can protect themselves from becoming victims.

Opinion: Issues That Matter

Mental health services discussion gives insight into real differences between candidates.

It came as somewhat of a relief to have the candidates for governor in Virginia, Ken Cuccinelli (R) and Terry McAuliffe (D), discuss an actual issue that matters to many Virginia families this week at a forum on mental health issues.

Will the Next Attorney General Defend Constitutional Ban on Gay Marriage?

Republican says he will defend amendment; Democrat is not so sure.

Virginia's next attorney general will have to stand in a courtroom and make a decision about whether or not the commonwealth's constitutional ban on marriage should be defended. Republican candidate Sen. Mark Obenshain (R-26) has been clear about his support for the amendment and his intention to provide a vigorous defense of marriage. Democratic candidate Sen. Mark Herring (D-33), on the other hand, has yet to take a position on whether or not he will defend the amendment.

The Median Has No Message

Political signs banished from roadsides as campaign season heats up.

Some people call them flowers of democracy. Others call them weeds of political pollution. Whatever one thinks of the campaign signs and placards that appear along the roads of Fairfax County, expect to see a lot fewer of them. Last month, county officials launched a new program in which nonviolent inmates at the county jail hit the streets four days a week to remove illegal signs. With apologies to Marshall McLuhan, the message is no longer in the median. Anger and resentment has been rising over the issue of roadside political signs for years, and campaigns frequently go to war with each other to see which side can plant or steal or deface the largest number of placards. Unlike Prince William County, which had an agreement with the Virginia Department of Transportation that allows the local government to collect the signs and fine violators, Fairfax was caught in a bind. Part of the Virginia code made it illegal for the county to remove the signs in Fairfax County until after an election.

If You Are What You Eat, Eat Well

Local nutritionist turns personal challenge into book and health and nutrition practice.

When Teri Cochrane’s son was 18 months old, he was diagnosed with asthma and placed on a variety of medications, including steroids. Less than two years later, doctors warned the Reston mother that he would have frequent seizures, would never have a normal childhood and would never grow taller than 5 feet 4 inches. When Cochrane’s daughter was born three years later, she also suffered from health problems, including chronic, severe abdominal pain.

County Hosts Hearing on Crescent Apartments Redevelopment

Crescent redevelopment proposal brings optimism, concern for some.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors hosted a public hearing to discuss an interim agreement to redevelop the Crescent Apartments at their Tuesday, July 30 meeting.

Smith Takes Stage at Jammin’ Java

Singer-songwriter A.J. Smith headlines hometown show.

Growing up in Herndon, A.J. Smith went to see plenty of shows at Jammin’ Java in Vienna. On Sunday, Aug. 4, the singer-songwriter went to another show at the venue, but this time he was the headliner.

New County Police Chief Named

Supervisors appoint Lt. Col. Edwin C. Roessler Jr.

Effective Tuesday morning Aug. 6, a Centreville resident, Lt. Col. Edwin C. Roessler Jr., became Fairfax County’s new chief of police. He was appointed July 30 by the county Board of Supervisors.

Tysons Interim Parking Agreement Approved

Located next to McLean Station, 711-space proposal is the first approved by county.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved the first agreement for an interim commuter parking lot for Silver Line users in Tysons Corner Tuesday, July 30.

Champions Parade at Frying Pan

Frying Pan Farm Park hosts 65th annual 4-H Fair.

From Aug. 1-4, Frying Pan Farm Park in Herndon held its 65th annual Fairfax County 4-H Fair and Carnival.

Apple Federal Credit Union Seeks Donations for Back-to-School Supply Drive

Apple Federal Credit Union kicked off its Collect for Kids Program in Northern Virginia.

Police Warn of Scam Involving Prepaid Money Cards

Police are investigating a scam in which a local couple was bilked out of thousands of dollars by an unknown suspect claiming to be affiliated with the Internal Revenue Service.

Week in Vienna

The American Red Cross Greater Chesapeake and Potomac Blood Services Region will hold blood drives in cities and towns throughout the region.

Letter: A Thank-you to Congressman Wolf

As a Chinese American living in Vienna, I’m very grateful for my representative Congressman Frank Wolf’s co-sponsorship of the recently introduced House Resolution 281, condemning the systematic, state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience in China.

Letter: Two Hours in a Japanese Middle School

The 23rd Shimane Grassroots Summit (July 1-8) was to be the fulfillment of a promise I made to my daughter Kolleen that I would take her to Japan one day.

Honoring Brian Bedell

Annual Vienna event raises money and awareness for brain cancer research.

Adults and children of all ages could be seen playing wiffle ball at the 18th Northern Virginia Annual Wiffle Ball World Series on Saturday, Aug. 3 at Waters Field.

Brief: St. Marks Scouts Take 184-mile Ride

Fourteen Scouts from Troop 1978, sponsored by St. Marks Church, Vienna set out on a four-day bicycle tour of the C&O Canal from Cumberland, Md., to Washington, D.C. Friday, July 12.

Candidates Agree on Amendment for Voting Rights, Disagree on Executive Order

Restoration of civil rights on the agenda for next governor.

Should nonviolent felons have their right to vote automatically restored? What exactly is a nonviolent felony? What kind of process can be considered automatic?

Editorial: Enjoy Tax Holiday, Donate School Supplies

Good timing to help those in need.

It is debatable whether recurring tax holidays for different seasonal needs are good policy. But since this weekend is Virginia’s tax holiday on school supplies and clothing, it makes sense to take advantage of the savings, and to spread the wealth around. The savings are more significant this year with the new sales tax increases in effect as of July 1.