Avoiding Holiday Debt
Plan now to prevent post-holiday bills.
Festive store displays mean the holiday shopping season is in full swing.

Tips for Year-End Charitable Giving
Financial experts offer suggestions for ensuring one’s donations are well spent.
’Tis the season for giving, and that includes donations to charities.
Brief: Helping Animals Find Homes for the Holidays?
Special adoption promotion to help animals find homes.
Brief: The Fairfax County Animal Shelter is offering a free spay or neuter for the first 100 cats, kittens, dogs or puppies adopted from the shelter through Dec. 31.
We Are the World, at Garfield
Teachers discuss challenges of teaching English as a Second Language.
Garfield Elementary School in Springfield, like all of Fairfax County, has a population that reflects a wide range of backgrounds.

Marshall High is the Face of Fairfax County
Upwards of 90 countries represented by student population.
The schools that feed into George C. Marshall High School are the academic home to children from all over the world.
Brief: History Conference Focuses on Conflict and Courage
Local historians honored.
Brief: The eighth Annual Fairfax County History Conference was held on Saturday, Nov. 10, at the Stacy C. Sherwood Community Center in the City of Fairfax.
Brief: Community Meetings to Help Search for Superintendent
Brief: On Sept. 22, 2011, Superintendent Jack D. Dale announced his intention to retire from Fairfax County Public Schools effective June 30, 2013.

Uranium Money Spreads Across Virginia in Radioactive Debate
Upcoming General Assembly session to feature effort to lift ban on uranium mining.
The uranium deposits under the farmlands of Pittsylvania County are miles away from Northern Virginia, but the debate about what happens there is shaping up to be one of the hottest issues of the upcoming General Assembly session.

Bibliophiles Rejoice
Richard Byrd Library Book Sale a holiday bestseller.
Booklovers, bargain hunters and holiday shoppers will find the perfect gift for everyone on their holiday list at the annual Richard Byrd Library holiday book sale beginning Thursday, Nov. 29.
Brief: NAACP, Fairfax County Branch Elects New President
Brief: Campaigning on the platform, “A New Beginning,” Shirley Ginwright was elected president of the Fairfax County Branch of the NAACP. Ginwright pledged to increase membership, membership participation, civic engagement, and community involvement.
Put the Zip on Homelessness
Second Annual Jeans Day Campaign to End Homelessness launches.
The Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce (Fairfax Chamber), in partnership with the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Partnership to Prevent and End Homelessness, The Connection Newspapers and Apple Federal Credit Union, has announced the 2nd Annual Jeans Day to Put the ZIP on Homelessness (http://jeansday2012.eventbrite.com).

Fairfax Becomes Immigrants’ Gateway
Focus on immigration.
Yesuf Beshir spent nearly three years gathering the mountain of paperwork he needed to leave Ethiopia and emigrate to America.

A Way Out of No Way
Two women — one African-American and one from Africa — learn to see America through each other’s eyes.
Rosemary Osei, 22, and Lillie Reynolds, 61, have been good friends for four years. The two women, who help teach special needs students at a Vienna elementary school, are sometimes mistaken for mother and daughter.

Viewpoints: Immigrants’ Experiences on Becoming Americans
On Sept. 22 at the Multicultural Festival on Lake Anne Plaza in Reston, 25 people participated in a naturalization ceremony that made them American citizens.

Honoring Veterans at Sangster Elementary
Students carry on Veterans Day traditions.
Armistice Day. November 11, 1918. The day when hostilities ended on the Western Front of World War I and the day that ultimately gave birth to our Veterans Day Observances. Originally the day set aside to officially honor our fallen military heroes, it has become the time to not only honor their sacrifice, but to recognize all those who served and all who continue to serve.