Richmond Diary: Re-writing the Rules
State senator reflects on the first week of the 2012 General Assembly session.
I packed up the car and stopped by a constituent’s house to pick up information regarding 100 percent disabled veterans whose homes are in trusts, and who are not receiving the intended property tax relief.
Undercutting King’s Dominion Law
Governor supports Northern Virginia’s plight to start schools before Labor Day.
Ever since Republicans gained a narrow one-vote majority in the state Senate, many in Northern Virginia have been fearing a loss of influence in Richmond.
Allen Declares War on Unions
Former governor goes on the offensive against organized labor.
Hoping to capitalize on anti-union sentiment in Virginia this year, Republican George Allen is giving labor issues a starring role in his bid to recapture the Senate seat he lost to Jim Webb in 2006.
Column: “Scanxiety”
The meaning being: the anxiety one feels waiting for, and awaiting the results of, a diagnostic scan.
Revitalizing Central Springfield
Demolition of blighted buildings paves way for upscale development.
Fairfax County Supervisor Jeff McKay (D-Lee) could not be happier about the destruction going on all around him. And he’s willing to share some responsibility for it. “Just look at all this,” he said, pointing to a large crane dropping debris into a dumpster on Friday, July 8. “It’s a major step forward.”
Family Tells ‘Roller Coaster’ Story
Springfield family testifies before White House against Medicaid cuts
ike most new parents, Carrin and Mitchell Brandt of Springfield were thrilled and exhausted after the birth of their first daughter in 2001. Born on May 19, Bailey was a healthy and happy infant. “She cried a lot, but infants cry, and she was developing typically,” Carrin Brandt said.
Woman Sexually Assaulted Seeking Job at Employment Agency
Police launch effort to reach more victims of similar assaults.
A 41-year-old Falls Church woman was allegedly locked in a room, forced to watch pornography and repeatedly sexually assaulted at the World Employment Agency in Annandale on Tuesday, July 7.
Vision on Display
Many Greenspring residents know Verna Finley as the costume designer for the Greengspring Players’ recent musical production of “My Fair Lady.” But what most people don’t know is that costume design is just one of Finley’s talents. Finley, who is 90 and largely confined to a wheelchair, gained fame in the 1950s as one of the first and finest foam puppet makers in the world.
Yes, We Need Medicaid Reform…
Block Grants are Not the Answer
A young man sits in a crowded waiting room. He is a wheel chair user, his hair is cut close to his head and his body is angular, arms bent in ways that most people would find uncomfortable. He wears head gear that looks like something from a sci-fi movie; it is a band that wraps around his head with a stick of some kind protruding off the front of his forehead.
A Runner’s Life
Karen Dickerson to run half marathon at Special Olympics World Summer Games.
Every Tuesday evening, Karen Dickerson meets at her former high school to run with a group called DC Capital Striders. Every Saturday morning, she meets at the Iwo Jima Memorial to run with a group called DC Road Runners, where she runs approximately 14 miles.
Knitting 530 Blankets
Greenspring resident Janie Hermon earns Meritorious Service Award from the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society.
In May, the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society recognized Greenspring resident Janie Hermon for her outstanding service to the society, as she logged 17,000 volunteer hours from February 2000 to May 2011.
From Hollywood to Springfield
Rev. Peter Ackerman is new rector at St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church.
In May, St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church in Springfield welcomed a new permanent rector, Rev. Peter Ackerman. Ackerman was previously assistant rector at Immanuel Church on the Hill, where he served under Margaret Ann Faeth for many years.
Joining the Fight Against Human Trafficking
Dawn Turton commits to being at least “a part of the solution.”
Dawn Turton, a member of the Commonwealth Baptist Church in Alexandria and a Springfield resident, was among 130 citizens from over 30 states who visited Capitol Hill on April 11 to spotlight human trafficking.
Student Makes Difference for ALIVE! House
Samantha (Sammy) Rebecca Archer, a middle school student at St. Stephens & St. Agnes School in Alexandria, wanted to make a difference for those less fortunate, and she knew just how to do it. She encouraged guests invited to her Bat Mitzvah to donate to a local charity. Sammy asked her neighbors to give her some ideas. Many of them encouraged her to look at ALIVE! (ALexandrians InVolved Ecumenically), an organization that provides services to families in need in Alexandria.