2015 New Year Remodeling Resolutions
Improving long-term living needs and future home value.
After all the holiday festivities have passed and the ball has dropped to ring in the New Year, many homeowners are inspired to tackle resolutions that relate to their living space. 2015 may be the year you want to remodel your home to allow for the changes occurring in your life.
Fairfax County Public Schools Needing Community’s Help
Superintendent Karen Garza begins and ends her Listening Tour meetings with a plea to those in the room — parents, teachers, employees, unions — to help her achieve what needs to be done for their school system. “I am going to need your help,” she says to audiences who voice concerns about class size, resources for special education, and teacher salaries.
Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Karen Garza Bio
Current Position: Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent
Timeline of Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Karen Garza’s career in education.
1986-1991: Elementary School Teacher, Yoakum, Texas (1,539 students, 38% white and 50% Latino and spends about $8,000 per pupil).
Franconia Nonprofit Koinonia Engages More with Business Community
Mary Tinsley of Alexandria pushed the loaded shopping cart right out the door and into the parking lot where Marcia Reid of Woodbridge was pulling her car around. Mid-morning sun pierced through trees overlooking the parking lot behind Franconia United Methodist Church. Reid was picking up groceries for a Springfield-based client of Koinonia, a local nonprofit outreach organization.
Burke Church Volunteers Assemble Birth Kits for Haiti
Meg Hanrahan of Burke and Melinda Engelbrektsson of Fairfax Station have each faced life-threatening complications with childbirth. Thanks to the medical resources available to them and “the grace of God,” said Engelbrektsson, they and their children survived. Many women in third world countries including Haiti don’t have the same opportunity.
Editorial: Merry Christmas
A message of peace and joy.
Merry Christmas. It’s a magical time of year, and perhaps Connection Newspapers has over indulged in displaying the many rituals of Christmas on our pages in the past few weeks. In events around the area, a sense of community has infused holiday parades, Christmas tree lightings, menorah lightings, choral performances, singing of carols and other traditional events with warmth and joy.
When Dad (or Mom) Is High School Sports Coach
Local coaches and athletes share their feelings about the relationship between parent/coach and child/athlete.
95 Express Lanes Open
Transportation project culminates after a decade and four governors.
The 95 express lanes opened on Sunday, Dec. 14, after a decade of planning and since breaking ground almost two years ago. Gov. Terry McAuliffe--joined by Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx, members of the Fairfax, Prince William, and Stafford counties board of supervisors, and representatives from VDOT and Transurban--cut the ribbon on Wednesday, Dec. 10 in Alexandria.
Letter to the Editor: New Level of Accountability
To the Editor: As a Christian, I believe we are all made in the image of God - and that means every life matters. However, our justice system is currently sending black people the message that their lives do not matter the same way that others do.
Springfield's Doodlehopper Sells Toys that Enlighten
For toys, books, and baby and toddler gifts that tend to enlighten the child this holiday season, be sure to check out Doodlehopper 4 Kids, located in the Huntsman Square Shopping Center off of the Fairfax County Parkway in Springfield.
Virginia Railway Express Riders Donate Toys for Tots
Virginia Railway Express riders gave from their hearts and wallets and donated a truck full of toys and nearly $19,000 in the commuter rail agency’s annual Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Campaign.
Santa Lives in Springfield
Greenspring resident starts a new career impersonating St. Nick.
He may be retired, but Jim Weedon still wears a suit…a Santa suit! A resident of Greenspring retirement community in Springfield, Weedon recently started a new career impersonating St. Nick.
Cappies Review: Thought-provoking and Inspirational
“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” at Robert E. Lee High School.
R.P. McMurphy has always been the bull goose of wherever she goes. She is the wildest, lustiest, strongest woman in the world and, as long as she’s stuck in this cuckoo’s nest, the craziest too, the unquestioned bull goose loony. But when she finds herself butting heads with Nurse Ratched and his relentless iron fist of control, it’s not just fun and games anymore.
Bringing Smiles to Military Families in Lorton
Operation Homefront, in partnership with Northrop Grumman, held a Holiday Toy Party for children of enlisted soldiers in Lorton. Five hundred families registered online to be part of the festivities on Sunday, Dec. 14.
Springfield Home Sales: November, 2014
In November 2014, 94 Springfield homes sold between $860,000-$155,000.
Springfield Home Sales: November, 2014
Column: A Level That’s Anything But
This is not a home improvement reference, but this is most definitely a do-it-yourself column.
An Essay To Remember
Local educators offer advice on acing independent school admission essays and interviews.
While many are knee-deep in wrapping paper and eggnog, some students are holed up with computer keyboards and books of quotations. In addition to driving to the mall for holiday shopping, some parents are throwing rapid-fire questions at their children to make sure they are fast on their feet.
Commentary: Helping People without Homes
The weather has turned colder and the holidays are in full swing, which means it’s the time of year when people ask “what can we do for the homeless now that it’s so cold?” Or “how can we help the homeless have a good Christmas?”
Editorial: Holidays Are for Giving
In the scramble to finish Christmas shopping, remember tens of thousands of local children are short of food as well as presents.
The holidays are for giving. Christmas and Hanukkah are about children and family, about sharing, about joy, about being thankful and about faith and appreciation. Here in Northern Virginia, many of us see few signs of families in need as we go about our daily lives and holiday shopping. Our neighborhoods are largely segregated economically; we mostly see the people who are most like ourselves economically.