What’s Wrong With This Picture?
County suspends discarding of library books.
Just when Sam Clay, Fairfax County’s Public Library director, thought FCPL’s public image couldn’t get any worse, Supervisor Linda Smyth (D-Providence) released photos of bins filled to the brim with discarded library books.
Letter: Joining Forces to Prevent Homelessness
You can prevent homelessness, you can end chronic homelessness, you can move people rapidly out of homelessness. What you cannot do is stand aside and let people fall. This simple belief—that together we can change the rate and severity of people losing their homes—brings together nonprofits, for-profits, civic leaders and government staff. We each play a special role, depending on our location and mission. For United Community Ministries (UCM), prevention is the key.
Fit Club, Not 'Fight Club'
Some call it back-to-school stress. Others call it a seasonal rush. Either way, early fall is filling up Springfield gyms like TITLE Boxing Club with moms and children ready to punch one of the 58 heavy bags the center houses. Opened in October of last year, TITLE Boxing Club Springfield is attracting members who strive to participate in a challenging, high impact and motivational workout. (No sparring, says co-owner Kate Carski: "It's a fit club, not a fight club.")
Chili Cook-off Winners Announced
Greenspring recently hosted its first Chili Cook-off. The top resident recipe winners were announced and culinary team recipes from around the community were judged. Greenspring resident Clint Lambert and Chef Eric Phipps took home the “Best in Show” titles. Both recipes will be entered into the 2014 DC101 Chili Cook-Off. As a special surprise, Angie Goff from NBC Washington helped Greenspring announce the winners. Now a weekend anchor for News4Today, Goff worked as a production intern at Greenspring in 2001.
County News & Notes
Putting Brakes on Neighborhood Speeding
In an effort to get drivers to slow down in residential neighborhoods, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved $350,000 to fund a public awareness campaign and “traffic calming” measures in the county Tuesday, Sept. 10. Supervisor John Cook (R-Braddock) initiated the measure last year, soliciting constituent support through an online petition, which resulted in more than 250 signatures and hundreds of emails from supporters.
What to See, When to See It
The playwright Tom Stoppard’s existential spinoff from “Hamlet” runs for one night in March 2014. Two relatively minor roles from the bard’s play tirelessly and cleverly weigh their significance in the historic royal plot. The production of the tragic comedy benefits from direction by Tony Award-winner John Rando.
HOV Lanes Closing on Weekends
Closures begin on Friday night, Sept. 13 and continue each weekend until late October.
To advance the fast track towards completion, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) will be closing the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes every weekend starting on Friday nights and keeping them closed until Sunday afternoons in September and Monday mornings in October for 95 Express Lanes construction. These closures are scheduled to begin on Friday night, Sept. 13 and continue each weekend until late October. The lanes will be closed from just north of I-495 to Dumfries.
Column: Now This is What
Do nothing (no more treatment) and live life to the fullest (for as long as I’m able, and right now, I’m extremely able); start another chemotherapy protocol – with an I.V. chemotherapy drug which, according to my oncologist, has not been proven in any clinical setting to be better than the patient doing nothing; or, try to get into a Study (Phase 1, 2 or 3) at either N.I.H. (National Institutes of Health) or Johns Hopkins (in Baltimore) and let the treatment chips fall wherever experimental/research medicine takes them. This is what my oncologist discussed with Team Lourie at my most recent appointment, my first appointment with him since my hospitalization and subsequent release.
An Artistic Evening Like No Other
“ARTS by George!” returns to George Mason stage.
With an open invitation to the community, the George Mason University College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) is holding its eighth annual "ARTS by George!" event. It has quickly become one of the premiere arts events in Northern Virginia. The mission of "ARTS by George!" is to showcase and support Mason students in a wide range of artistic fields including arts, dance, music, theater, computer game design, film and video studies and arts management. The gala raises funds to provide for student scholarships. It is capped off this year by the headliner performance of Tony Award winner Laura Benanti.
NVAR Summit at GMU’s Mason Inn
Complex shortage of homes for sale likely to persist; boomers not planning to retire, not planning to move, experts say. Rising mortgage rates should inspire renters to buy soon.
Nationally syndicated columnist and moderator Kenneth R. Harney introduced the expert panel for the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors (NVAR) 17th annual Economic Summit Thursday morning, Sept. 5. Dr. David Crowe, chief economist and senior vice president of the National Association of Home Builders, joined economic experts David E. Versel, a senior research associate at the George Mason University Center for Regional Analysis, and Dr. Lawrence Yun, senior economist for the National Association of Realtors.
Condo Renovations
As sales of condominiums grow, so does demand for luxury renovations.
More people are moving from leafy, sprawling suburbs to more urban areas, neighborhoods both in the city and in Northern Virginia that offer close proximity to restaurants, jobs, cultural activities and Metro.
Big Ideas for Small Spaces
Local designers offer ideas for decorating small rooms.
Whether one is sprucing up a small powder room or decorating a studio apartment, space limitations often pose a design challenge. However, local designers say that no matter how a small space’s square footage or how awkward the layout, there are plenty of decorative cures for small spaces. Whether one is sprucing up a small powder room or decorating a studio apartment, space limitations often pose a design challenge. However, local designers say that no matter how a small space’s square footage or how awkward the layout, there are plenty of decorative cures for small spaces.
Top-to-Bottom Makeover Embraces Longterm Horizons
The Hollis family wanted a house that would work better today — and long into the future.
Sometimes it’s not limited square footage that makes a house feel inadequate — it’s how that square footage is configured.
Like Magic
New plan in built-out 1940s colonial gains vital square footage as young family looks ahead.
In the end, a skillful spatial reconfiguration is like a deft magician's trick — you've seen it with your own eyes, but you still can't figure out how they did it. “Really, I don't know how this plan created so much more usable space,” Alexandria resident Alice Goulet said, discussing a recent reconfiguration to several rooms in the family's 1,800-square-foot center-hall Colonial.
Northern Virginia Designers Awarded Rooms in Showhouse Event
Northern Virginia/metro area interior designers Kelley Proxmire of Kelley Interior Design and Wayne Breeden of E. Wayne Breeden Design are among 17 designers awarded rooms at the benefit Winchester Showhouse & Gardens, open to the public through Sept. 29.
Sun Design Named One of U.S.’s Fastest Growing Private Companies
Sun Design Remodeling Specialists, Inc., of Fairfax, was named by Inc. Magazine as one of America’s fastest-growing private companies. This is the fourth time the magazine has included Sun Design on its annual Inc. 5000 list.
Editorial: Small Steps to Fight Homelessness
Efficiency apartments would serve 20-somethings, service workers, retirees and more.
One way to prevent homelessness is to think small. It doesn’t take much space to house one person. Sure, many houses in our area have 1,000 square feet and sometimes two or three times that much per person, but that’s really not necessary.
Celebrating Diversity Through Music
The Fairfax Symphony Orchestra (FSO) will be presenting bilingual master classes and outreach presentations at various Fairfax County venues.
With grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Arts Council of Fairfax County, the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra (FSO) will be presenting bi-lingual master classes and outreach presentations at various Fairfax County venues in the coming weeks.
Classified Advertising September 11, 2013
Read the latest ads here!
Saluting Soldiers
12th annual Springfield BridgeWalk celebrates and affirms community support of Fort Belvoir’s soldiers.
For just a few minutes every year, the hum of constant traffic halts on Veteran’s Bridge in downtown Springfield as the Ft. Belvoir Fife and Drum Corps leads a contingent of soldiers, civic leaders and community participants across the bridge during the annual Springfield Bridge Walk.