Decorating for Easter
Easy ideas to welcome spring into your home.
From floral arrangements that burst with pastel blooms to candles that fill one’s home with scents reminiscent of warm weather, local style experts offer suggestions for accents that welcome spring.
The Region’s Best Home Designs
Local contractors get top honors for remodeling projects.
From designing a kitchen with a concave glass tile backsplash to creating a backyard with a fireplace and pool, some local home remodelers were honored recently with the National Association of the Remodeling Industry’s (NARI) 2013 Regional Contractor of the Year awards for design acumen. Winning projects ran the gamut from historic preservation projects to environmentally conscious conceptions.
Recycle, Reuse, Remodel
Remodeling often affords an opportunity to re-purpose existing materials by donating to those less fortunate. Ask your remodeler if there is a plan or policy for saving materials for re-use rather than sending it to a land fill. Every project is different. And some materials are more easily removed and saved than others. Here are a couple of organizations that accepted used materials.
World’s Fanciest Rummage Sale Coming April 7
Rumor has it that the “world’s fanciest” rummage sale will feature some of the crystal light fixtures and other items recently replaced in the remodeling of the Ritz-Carlton Tysons.
‘How to Fall in Love’
Hopkins & Porter, Inc. will be offering "How to Fall in Love with Your Home Again,” a free design and remodeling seminar on Thursday, March 21, 6-8 p.m. This seminar will include a complimentary supper with opportunity to discuss one's own project with professional staff.
Virginia Garden Week to Feature NoVa Gardens
80th Historic Garden Week, April 20-27, 2013
Historic Garden Week 2013 will feature approximately 200 private homes and gardens open on 32 separate tours throughout the state of Virginia over eight consecutive days. It is the largest ongoing volunteer effort in Virginia and represents the coordinated efforts of 3,400 club members. One hundred percent of tour proceeds are used to enhance Virginia’s landscape. For 80 years, the grounds of the commonwealth’s most cherished historic landmarks have been restored or preserved with help from proceeds from Historic Garden Week including Mount Vernon, Monticello and the grounds of the Executive Mansion in Richmond.
Column: Writing What Four
As far as anniversaries go–and I hope this one “goes” a lot further; acknowledging, dare I say celebrating my four-year survival anniversary from “terminal” stage IV (inoperable, metastasized) non-small cell lung cancer, a diagnosis I initially received on Feb. 27, 2009, along with a “13-month to two-year prognosis” from my oncologist, is certainly column-worthy.
Editorial: Hybrid Hijinks
Discouraging innovation in high-tech Virginia.
Consider this as a possible scenario (although perhaps we should have saved this for April 1): Fewer people are smoking, and many of those who do are smoking less. Virginia’s cigarette tax, the lowest of any state at 30 cents a pack, is a declining revenue source. Higher cigarette taxes are proven to reduce smoking. Under current logic in the commonwealth, there would be two courses of action to raise revenue: a) cut the cigarette tax, and b) charge non-smokers a fee to make up the difference and to compensate for the fact that they don’t pay cigarette taxes.
EPA Will Not Appeal Court Decision on Accotink Watershed
EPA regulations could have cost county $300 million.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) effectively ended a two-year legal battle with Fairfax County when the agency announced last week it will not appeal a federal court decision favoring Fairfax County’s handling of the Accotink Creek watershed.
Bicyclists Pedal Onward, Despite Legislative Losses
FABB promotes extended hours on W&OD Trail.
As the weather gets warmer and the days get longer, Northern Virginia bicyclists are back on the roads and trails, despite the Virginia General Assembly’s antipathy for bike safety bills this session.
Fairfax Reenacts Mosby’s Raid
Civil War re-enactors kick off 150th anniversary commemoration.
Despite the brutal and bloody nature of America’s Civil War, it’s still an integral part of the rich history that comes with living in this area of the country. People seek it out, seek to interact with it and learn more of it—they love to see history being preserved as authentically, yet nonviolently, as possible.
Sharks Take a Bite Out of Cancer
Swimmers raise $17,000 for breast cancer awareness during annual marathon.
One woman is diagnosed with breast cancer every three minutes, and one woman will die of breast cancer every 13 minutes in the U.S. On Sunday, March 3, 38 members of the Shark Tank Racing Squad swam for three hours to put a dent in that brutal statistic.
‘At Some Time, Everyone Needs a Helping Hand’
Wounded veteran talks about the value of serving others.
Two years ago, Marine veteran and Purple Heart recipient Justin Constantine shared his personal story with Mountain View High students. Severely injured during the War in Iraq, he had a long road to recovery and now helps other wounded veterans.
Father Runs Marathon in His Son’s Honor
Fairfax teen is in remission from leukemia.
This Saturday, March 16, Glen Goold is running in the Rock ‘n’ Roll USA Marathon in Washington, D.C., to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. And fueling his every footstep will be the knowledge that his son Spencer is now in remission from this disease.
Letter: Preserving Electoral Board Integrity
The integrity of our elections administration is too important to be trusted in the hands of someone who may have ulterior motives or seek partisan advantage. For that reason I am pleased that Hans von Spakovsky will no longer be on the Fairfax County Electoral Board.
The Irish ‘Rose’ of Burke
Briana Apgar shares her experiences as the 2012 Washington Rose.
The Rose of Tralee Festival is celebrated in Irish communities worldwide. Each Rose Centre selects a female with Irish heritage between the ages of 18-27 as their “Rose,” who will serve as a role model and ambassador for their community at the international festival in Ireland, where one international Rose of Tralee is selected.
Sisters Thai Come to Town
New restaurant adds spice to Old Town Fairfax.
With its bookcase-lined walls, artfully-arranged floral pillows, bone china tea cups and fresh flowers, the newest restaurant in Old Town Fairfax seems more European bistro than Asian contemporary. And that’s the point.
Rev3 Run Rogue 5K and 1K Races
* The Rev3 Run Rogue 5K and 1K are slated for Saturday, March 23, at the Fairfax Corner Shopping Center. Participants may walk or run a USATF-certified 5K course at 8:30 a.m., or participate in a 1K kids’ fun run at 8 a.m.
Roundups
Free Carseat Inspections
Certified technicians from the Sully District Police Station will perform free, child safety carseat inspections Thursday, March 14, from 5-8:30 p.m., at the station, 4900 Stonecroft Blvd. in Chantilly.
Classified Advertising March 6, 2013
Read the latest ads here!