Into the Budget Fray
Bulova highlights accomplishments, challenges in annual address.
Despite the lingering impact of an anemic economy, and the regional ripple effects of federal sequestration, Fairfax County residents will see some concrete signs of progress this year.
Editorial: Extend Health Coverage in Virginia
Standing on what is essentially scorched earth, Republicans in the Virginia General Assembly have condemned hundreds of thousands of poor Virginians to living without health coverage even though it would be fully funded by Federal money for the next three years, and with Virginia paying 10 percent after five years.
Friends Forever
Since it had been more than a few months, today I summoned up the courage to Google my long-time friend and fellow stage IV lung cancer survivor, Suzanne. Suzanne and I had been years out of touch (for no real reason other than initiative and the geographic consideration that she lived in Barnstable, Ma. and I live in Burtonsville, Md.) and recently back in touch – due to our identical cancer diagnoses. I learned that she had succumbed to her disease back in October, 2013. We last had contact electronically back in the summer. She was extremely weak then, she said, too weak to talk, so e-mailing was best. In that e-mail, ultimately her last, she wrote that the most recent chemotherapy drug with which she was infused was no longer effective and that her oncologist had no other drugs left to recommend. Not that she said it in so many words, but at that point her prognosis was grim. She offered that her two boys were with her and from them she would gain great comfort. The news was very unsettling to me and I was afraid that this e-mail might be our last – and so it was.
Springfield Home Sales: December, 2013
In December 2013, 121 Springfield homes sold between $910,000-$130,000.
Springfield Home Sales: December, 2013
Classified Advertising January 15, 2014
Read the latest ads here!
Imagining a Transformed Springfield
Executive Director of Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce shares her thoughts on 2014.
Last year may have been a big year for Springfield, but according to Nancy-jo Manney, the executive director of the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce, 2014 will be even better.
Program Works to Restore Greenery
Trees still available for planting in communities along the Interstate 95 Corridor.
In an effort to restore greenery to areas that lost trees during construction of the 95 Express Lanes project, Transurban and Fluor, private partners of the project, launched "1,000 Trees in 1,000 Days" to encourage community members to plant trees in areas along the 95 corridor.
Fairfax County Launches Sex Trafficking Prevention Campaign
Sex trafficking education materials also added to school curriculum.
In order to raise awareness to the fact that sex trafficking can happen anywhere, even in Fairfax County, a new prevention campaign and website raising awareness of this issue launched on Jan. 13.
Garza Proposes $2.5 Billion Budget for FY 2015
Proposed Fairfax County public schools budget would cut 731 positions, increase class size.
At the Jan. 9 School Board Meeting, Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Karen Garza released the proposed budget of $2.5 billion for FY 2015. The budget proposal requires an additional $98.1 million, or 5.7 percent increase compared to FY 2014, from Fairfax County, which the school system says is due to uncontrollable factors such as enrollment growth, retirement rate increases and the structural deficit. The FY 2015 proposed budget is an increase of $59.4 million from last year’s approved budget.
Sharpshooting Berglund Leads Spartans in Blowout Victory
Senior guard scores 30 points, makes 13 of 14 attempts.
The West Springfield girls' basketball team improved to 13-0.
Virginia Supreme Court Opens Access to Audio Recordings of Oral Arguments
Policy change overturns blackout instituted in 2008.
Members of the Virginia Supreme Court have a New Year’s Resolution — become more transparent.
From Late Night Comedy to Your Bedroom
Why the General Assembly matters more in Virginia than most states.
The Virginia General Assembly began its annual session last week on Jan. 8. The actions of the Virginia General Assembly matter more to localities than it would in many other states. In Virginia, localities have only the power specifically granted by the General Assembly, the Dillon rule. So, for example, Montgomery County and Prince Georges County in Maryland recently voted to increase the minimum wage in those localities. They didn’t need permission from Maryland General Assembly to do so. Arlington and Alexandria might be inclined to follow suit (the District government also voted to increase the minimum wage) but do not have that power.
In Case Someone Is Wondering
I don’t mind being alive, really I don’t. Occasionally though, I receive well-intended inquiries – electronic and otherwise, from people (who know my cancer story) who are sort of wondering if perhaps I’m not. When people haven’t heard from me in a while – and this is a category of people with whom I don’t have regular/recurring interactions, but rather a group of people who reach out and attempt to touch me (figuratively speaking) every three or four months or so – there is a presumption on their part that my silence (so far as they know) is not in fact golden, but rather ominous, as in the cancer might have won and yours truly didn’t. And when I respond, their pleasure/relief at my not having succumbed to the disease is quite positive, generally speaking. Their honesty and joy in learning that I’m still alive is both rewarding and gratifying. Rewarding in that they care and gratifying in that I must be doing something right which enables me to sustain myself through a very difficult set of medical circumstances: stage IV, non-small cell lung cancer, the terminal kind (is there any other kind?).
Let Sun Shine on Virginia’s Financial Disclosure Laws
State legislators turn attention to ethics in wake of McDonnell gift scandal.
As members of the Virginia General Assembly convene for the first time since last February, legislators are stampeding to introduce ethics legislation in response to the gift scandal which engulfed then Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R). The revelations last spring about numerous undisclosed gifts and purported loans from businessman Jonnie Williams to McDonnell — including a $6,500 Rolex watch engraved to the "71st Governor of Virginia" and $35,000 in gifts and catering for his daughters’ weddings — shined a spotlight on Virginia’s porous financial disclosure laws.
Classified Advertising January 8, 2014
Read the latest ads here!
Suspicious Death in Springfield
Serena Hansken-Vierimaa, 41, was found dead in her home on New Year’s Day.
Serena Hansken-Vierimaa, 41, of Springfield was found dead by police responding to reports of shots fired in a home on the 7100 block of Healy Drive on New Year’s Day. According to a report released by the Fairfax County Police Department Public Information Office, officers attempted to call the home several times and knocked on the door, but were unable to gain access until 9 p.m.
Long-time Springfield Resident Shares His Story of Flying
Raymond Gilbert, who served in World War II, will turn 90 later this month.
As long-time Springfield resident Raymond Gilbert prepares to turn 90 years old on Jan. 23, he will continue working on his autobiography and reflect on his time in World War II and as a value engineer for the Department of Defense.
Legislators Head to Richmond, Address Upcoming Session
Proposed bills and priorities include ethics reform and ABC Transformation.
As the General Assembly convenes on Jan. 8, several delegates from Fairfax County have written bills that tackle some of the issues they believe are important to Virginians. Del. Dave Albo (R-42) proposed a bill that would get rid of the Alcoholic Beverage Commission’s three person board and would replace them with five citizens with business experience who are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state legislature. Members of the current three-person board make six-digit salaries and are appointed by the governor. Albo’s plan would make the position part time and would pay 50 dollars per day.
Debate Over Residential Studio Units Continues
Housing advocates, Fairfax County supervisors, area residents address affordable housing.
Fairfax County residents have yet to agree on the specifics of residential studio units and are continuing the debate on several aspects of the proposed amendment. As of Jan. 6, the Planning Commission proposed amendment defines residential studios as efficiency units that make up a multiple-family residential building, or part of a building, in which 80 percent of the units must be for those who do not make more than 60 percent of the median income of the area. In the Washington, D.C. area, that is $45,000.
Living With My Decisions
On multiple occasions throughout my nearly five years of being treated for stage IV, non-small cell lung cancer, my oncologist has given me opportunities to stop and/or take a break from my treatment, or to consider alternatives to the normal protocols – for the expressed (literally) purpose of sustaining/enhancing the unexpected, above-average quality of life I have mostly experienced during my nearly non-stop, every three-week chemotherapy infusions which began in early March, 2009. The goal being to enable me to enjoy my life and not be subjected to/beaten down by the ravaging and debilitating effects of chemotherapy.