Editorial: Safe Fourth
Talking and planning are the best safety measures; SoberRide offers a safety net.
Independence Day is a national celebration, and for many, that celebration includes alcohol. The summer overall and July 4 in particular are times of greater risk for drinking and driving.
"One Less Thing"
Forrest Gump knew when he voiced over: "Mama got the cancer and died on a Tuesday. I bought her a new hat with little flowers on it. And that’s all I have to say about that." And if you watched the movie as often as I did (it was one of my mother’s favorites), you may also recall "Mama always said you got to put the past behind you before you can move on."
Call for Pet Photos & Stories
The Pet Connection, a twice-yearly special edition, will publish on July 23, and photos and stories of your pets with you and your family should be submitted by Wednesday, July 16.
Editorial: More Affordable Housing Needed
Anticipated job growth to exacerbate problem.
In Northern Virginia, affordable housing means more than human services or helping those who are less fortunate. It means more than housing the chronically homeless, although that is not optional.
A Dream Come True, Sort Of
Growing up in the 60s, if you loved sports, as I did/still do, you spent hours listening to games on a transistor radio. There certainly wasn’t “Cable” television back then; heck, there wasn’t even color television, let alone “HD,” “interactive,” or whatever else television technology has evolved into. And of course, there were no “big screen” television sets either. We had a 19" Zenith black and white television and we received three channels: 4, 5 and 7 (in Boston), and as much as sports was/is important in Boston/New England, viewing options, given the limited VHF/UHF band frequencies, meant listening to games on radio – AM radio. Games were regularly televised on weekends, more so if the home team was playing on the road. As the decades have passed, so too have transistor radios, black and white televisions and limited viewing on only three channels. Between “Cable,” computers, and more recently, the introduction of hand-held devices, access to and familiarity with sports has grown exponentially. Add in the explosion of sports-talk radio and the abundance of sports-themed content on television (regardless of whether the games are at home or on the road) and one could be in his “man cave” for hours on end “channeling” his – or her – passion, for any team, in any city, at almost any time.
Column: Something New – or Old, to Consider
And therein lies the anxiety. Although, all things considered – and as you regular readers know, I like, maybe even need, to consider all things – the medical assessment of the most recent CT scan of my upper torso and thorax/lungs showed a new object in my left lung, “approximately the size of a silver dollar,” according to my oncologist. What this object is, exactly, cannot be determined at this juncture; technology prevents such clarity, unfortunately. Nevertheless, its appearance and location are possibly cause for concern, possibly not.
Opinion: Transitioning to Summer
Summer is a time of change — always welcomed by students. The break during the hottest months gives a chance for kids to de-stress and prepare for their next grade on their short path to adulthood. After five summers at FACETS, I’ve had the opportunity to watch many children make this transition. What’s fun for kids though, can be a huge struggle for their parents. Finding appropriate and affordable care, providing enough meals during the day, and incurring the extra costs of entertaining children can be an enormous challenge for families that FACETS serves.
Opinion: Clearing the Air on New Carbon Standards
The EPA‘s new proposal to safeguard the air we breathe and contain a primary driver of climate change by reducing carbon emissions from existing power plants is the lynchpin to reducing our carbon footprint. As co-chairs of the House Sustainable Energy and Environmental Coalition, we welcome action on carbon pollution and look forward to working with all stakeholders in a responsible manner to advance a 21st century energy economy for America.
Team On Going
In anticipation of my next face-to-face appointment with my oncologist, the first in three months (as per usual) and considering a breathing issue I’ve been experiencing the last month or so, my wife, Dina (original Team Lourie member) asked if I wanted my brother, Richard (the other original Team Lourie member), to attend. Not that he wouldn’t attend if asked (he’s local); it’s more that I’m wondering if he really needs to attend, as in whether there will be life-changing, cancer-related decisions where all hands need be on deck. Of course, a week before the appointment I have no legitimate clue – nor have I received any suggestions from my oncologist – that anything of substance/recent changes that have occurred (I have also recently completed my quarterly diagnostic scans and am awaiting those results as well) will be discussed; and that’s the point of this column: how frequently, how/when does the patient/survivor know when team members should be present at these appointments?
Editorial: On Voting in the 8th
Vote this week at your convenience in person absentee, or be sure to vote on Tuesday.
Chances are that if you are a registered voter in the 8th Congressional District, your mailbox has been letting you know that many candidates are running in next week’s Democratic primary.
Editorial: New Measure - More Living in Poverty
Inside the Beltway, that is Alexandria, Arlington and parts of Fairfax, 32 percent of children are living in poverty or near poverty. In Fairfax County, 26 percent of children live in or near poverty. This is according to the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia.
Editorial: Remembering on Memorial Day
Fewer deaths as military operations wind down, but 22 veterans a day die of suicide.
In Arlington over the coming Memorial Day weekend, the organization TAPS, or Tragedy Assistance for Survivors, will hold its 20th annual Military Survivor seminar and Good Grief camp for young survivors, children of all ages. TAPS offers support to anyone who is grieving the death of someone who died in the military, whether from combat, suicide, terrorism, homicide, negligence, accidents or illness. http://www.taps.org/
Editorial: Virginia Proves Elections Matter
Health and economic issues are entwined.
Some people continue to assert, either with their words or by simply abstaining, that voting just doesn’t matter. Here in Virginia, nearly every day we prove that is incorrect. All of Virginia’s elected representatives who are elected by the entire state are of the same political party. They are all Democrats: Gov. Terry McAuliffe, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, Attorney General Mark Herring and Virginia’s two U.S. Senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine.
Opinion: BOS Budget Falls Short for FCPS
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors (BOS) continues to state that education is its top priority but its actions clearly do not match its words -- not when county spending next year will increase by 3.6 percent while Fairfax County Public Schools’ (FCPS) budget is projected to increase by just 1.6 percent over last year’s adopted budget. Overall, FCPS will receive 52.4 percent of the county’s budget, down from 52.7 percent this year. While this percentage change seems small, that equates to more than $12 million that FCPS would have received.
Still Curious, But Maybe Not Dying
Although one never knows, especially if that one is living in "cancerville." And by "cancerville" I mean, euphemistically speaking, anywhere where one of us diagnosed with cancer is living. Living being the operative word. Still, as my column from a few weeks ago entitled, "Dying With Curiosity" discussed, cancer patients are often besieged by their subconscious, changing fact into fiction and manipulating feelings into inevitabilities. If only there was a switch to turn off the mind games that don’t exactly mind their "man-ners" or "women-ers" for that fact, I’d flick it in a second. Cancer creates physical problems – as we all know, but I have to tell you, it’s the mental problems that can be just as deadly.