Letter: Vote ‘Yes’ to Protect Property
Letter: Why is there an amendment to the Virginia Constitution on the Nov. 6th ballot?
Editorial: In Wake of Sandy, Still Plan to Vote
Variety of choices in political landscape.
Hurricane Sandy means that the week preceding the election will not be what we were expecting. This editorial is being written Sunday night, Oct. 28, as forecasters predict five inches of rain and 65-mile-per-hour winds over the next two days. With some predicting that power could take a week or more to restore, we have to worry about the likely condition of the Eastern seaboard will be on Election Day, Nov. 6. Absentee voting in person had been cancelled for Monday, and most government offices were closed in anticipation of the storm. What will this mean for voter turnout, for access to voting places on Election Day?
Opinion: Be Part of the Children's Connection
Call for student artwork and writing; deadline Dec. 3.
During the last week of each year, The Connection devotes its entire issue to the creativity of local students and children. The results are always remarkable. It is a keepsake edition for many families.
Editorial: Pick Your Own Election Day
It's called “absentee voting in person,” and there are a lot of reasons why you should.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 6. The deadline to register to vote is past, although in Northern Virginia, it's clear that a very high percentage of eligible voters are registered. Four years ago in the presidential election of 2008, there were 5,034,660 voters registered in Virginia, and 3,752,858 actually voted. Just in the month of September 2012, Fairfax County saw more than 6,000 newly registered voters, for a total of 646,881 active voters. Arlington registered more than 3,300 new voters in September, with more than 130,000 active voters total. Alexandria added more than 1,300 new voters last month alone, with 81,847 active voters.
Column: Our Health Depends on the Air We Breathe
For too many Americans and Virginians, simply breathing the air can be dangerous. That’s especially the case for the 306,000 Virginia children and 96,000 adults who battle asthma, the 1.1 million with cardiovascular disease, the 154,000 with chronic bronchitis and the estimated 411,000 who live in poverty. But it is true for all of us and it’s that way because of soot in our air.
Letter: Vote Yes for Area Parks
As Connection readers know, the upcoming election is a pivotal one. What readers may not be aware of is that a park bond referendum question is on the ballot for Fairfax County residents. I'm writing to ask readers to vote YES for the 2012 park bond.
Column: Volunteerfest Provides Opportunities for All Interests
I’d like to encourage all Fairfax County residents to consider participating in this year’s “VolunteerFest,” sponsored by Volunteer Fairfax on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012. This year marks the 18th year for VolunteerFest, and more than 1500 County residents are expected to volunteer their time at dozens of sites around the County. Tasks include landscaping, sorting and collecting food at food banks, maintaining an outdoor classroom at an elementary school, helping seniors, cleaning libraries and sorting clothes at a thrift store that funds programs for people with disabilities. A full list of events can be found at http://www.volunteerfairfax.org/. Volunteer Fairfax is much more than “VolunteerFest,” however. For 37 years, this organization has been a tremendous resource for volunteering in Fairfax County. Through a variety of programs and services, Volunteer Fairfax strengthens the capacity of its nonprofit members and offers meaningful volunteer opportunities for local citizens. Moreover, all year long they match the skills and interests of volunteers and donors to the needs of local nonprofit organizations, helping to build a better community through service.
Editorial: Cancer Awareness
Success with breast cancer awareness should help other cancers.
October is breast cancer awareness month. Anyone connected to media of any variety already knows this. A massive marketing success, we all know that pink shows support for breast cancer prevention, especially in October.
Column: “Less Fluid, Most Nodules Stable, Minimal Growth.”
Given how I feel now, three-plus years later, and considering the results of this most recent scan, the future may simply be what it is: not now, but later. At least, that’s the way I see it, subjectively speaking. (Now whether “subjectively speaking” is just a euphemism for “unrealistic” is likely a topic for a “future” column.)
Editorial: Last Week to Register to Vote
To vote on Election Day, you must be registered at your current address no later than Oct. 15, 2012. Registered voters should have received a new voter card in the mail by now. You can check your registration status online by visiting the State Board of Elections website at www.sbe.virginia.gov. There you can also download a voter registration form and mail or fax it to your elections office address.
Letter: Supporting Albo’s Position
After watching the video of President Obama’s “You didn’t build that” harangue, I (as did most Americans) came to a very different conclusion than did Delegate Dave Albo’s detractors.
Letter: To Feel Better About 1040
I see in the Aug. 30 addition of the Springfield Connection (“‘Somebody Else’ Didn't Come”) that Dave Albo received his marching orders from the Karl Rove propaganda machine and has weighed in on the presidential election. Typically, while regurgitating a stock campaign line based on a distorted quote taken out of context, he managed to lard things up with a basic load of self-promotion.
Letter: Land Preservation Success
You often don’t hear stories of government actually working well, so I thought people would enjoy hearing about Virginia’s great successes in land preservation.
Letter: State Vs County on Transportation
When I read my colleague Supervisor John Cook’s Sept. 13 Connection column advocating that Fairfax County take over state roads, I wondered how our taxpayers would feel about accepting a $150 million per year unfunded mandate from the state. That would be a slap in the face given everything that the County has done to balance its budget and provide for our residents during difficult budget years.
Column: My Team
Not literally, of course. Nor am I the coach or the general manager. But I do feel like an owner, in that there are people that I invest in – again not literally, but definitely emotionally.