Her WISH Granted
Robinson student selected to intern at NASA this summer.
Betsy Berenback-Gold, a student at Robinson Secondary School, recently returned from a week at NASA where she planned a robotics and radiation mission and experienced life as an engineer and scientist.
Making Strides for Children’s Health Care
Fairfax girl to participate in Children’s National Race for Every Child.
Fairfax girl to participate in Children’s National Race for Every Child.
Seven Schools to Implement Back-to-School Soda Ban
FCPS conducts pilot program banning sugary sodas in seven high schools.
Healthy eating habits begin early, and in an effort to curb consumption of sugary drinks by students, Fairfax County Public Schools will be conducting a pilot program in September that will ban sugary soda drinks in seven of its 25 high schools.
Fairfax Republicans Nominate Bryan ‘BA’ Wolfe for Sheriff
Wolfe faces Democratic nominee Stacey Kincaid in Nov. 5 special election.
When retired Fairfax police officer Bryan “BA” Wolfe was selected as the Republican nominee for Fairfax County Sheriff last week, he vowed to “restore the public trust” by making the 500-member department more “accountable and transparent.”
Shedding Sunshine on the Secret World of Regulation in Virginia
Advisory panel rejects effort to open records of the State Corporation Commission.
Ever wonder what happens during deliberations that regulate payday lending? How about the effort to oversee your health insurance?
Preserving History’s Jewels
Fairfax County considers new “resident curator” program to save historic properties.
“A successful resident curator program would allow the county to restore, maintain and protect important historic properties at little or no cost to the public.” —Cindy Walsh, Fairfax County Park Authority’s Resource Management Division director
Fairfax County Public Libraries: Version 2.0?
Staff, volunteers urge supervisors to reconsider “disastrous” library reorganization plan that cuts staff and services.
In a world where the Internet has replaced newsprint, e-books have supplanted paperbacks and the latest films stream directly to laptops, how do public libraries compete?
Woman Charged With Fraudulent Tax Prep
Fairfax County Police detectives have charged a Fair Oaks woman in connection with an investigation involving fraudulent preparation and submission of income tax return documents. She is Thuy Tien Le, 40, of 12808 Madeley Court.
Runfest 5K Race Returns to Fairfax City
The Paul VI Catholic High School (PVI) Runfest 2013 will be held on Sunday, Sept. 15, at 8 a.m. Last year’s race marked the successful return of PVI Runfest to the Paul VI neighborhood, with over 300 runners (and walkers) participating.
City of Fairfax Remembers Geraldine ‘Gerry’ Estep Sherwood
Avid arts supporter, community center visionary, died Aug. 5.
Geraldine Estep Sherwood, a longtime city resident and avid supporter of the arts, died Aug. 5 in Fairfax, leaving a legacy as the visionary behind the Stacy C. Sherwood Center. Mrs. Sherwood donated $5 million for the construction of the state-of-the-art facility. Opened in 2011, the center was named in honor of her husband, who served as a member of the Town of Fairfax Council (1956-60) and City of Fairfax City Council (1960-64) and who died in 2002.
Week in Fairfax
The American Red Cross Greater Chesapeake and Potomac Blood Services Region will hold blood drives in cities and towns throughout the region. Donors are encouraged to give all summer long, but especially near key summer holidays when donations decline.
Outdoor Elegance Meets Cutting Edge Technology
A design/build team explores fine architecture in weather-resistant materials.
If anything in the summer of 2013 points to still evolving homeowner expectations, it may be the frequency with which locals are integrating screen porches, patios, fire pits, and outdoor kitchens into original landscaping schemes that artfully marry the house to its setting.
Geocaching Diversifies
Urbanites embracing new game.
Geocaching usually has been portrayed as someone with hiking boots and a walking staff gazing afar from a hilltop in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Not so anymore. Substantial numbers of those joining the sport are placing and hunting for caches in urban settings, and that includes Northern Virginia.
Will the Next Attorney General Defend Constitutional Ban on Gay Marriage?
Republican says he will defend amendment; Democrat is not so sure.
Virginia's next attorney general will have to stand in a courtroom and make a decision about whether or not the commonwealth's constitutional ban on marriage should be defended. Republican candidate Sen. Mark Obenshain (R-26) has been clear about his support for the amendment and his intention to provide a vigorous defense of marriage. Democratic candidate Sen. Mark Herring (D-33), on the other hand, has yet to take a position on whether or not he will defend the amendment.
The Median Has No Message
Political signs banished from roadsides as campaign season heats up.
Some people call them flowers of democracy. Others call them weeds of political pollution. Whatever one thinks of the campaign signs and placards that appear along the roads of Fairfax County, expect to see a lot fewer of them. Last month, county officials launched a new program in which nonviolent inmates at the county jail hit the streets four days a week to remove illegal signs. With apologies to Marshall McLuhan, the message is no longer in the median. Anger and resentment has been rising over the issue of roadside political signs for years, and campaigns frequently go to war with each other to see which side can plant or steal or deface the largest number of placards. Unlike Prince William County, which had an agreement with the Virginia Department of Transportation that allows the local government to collect the signs and fine violators, Fairfax was caught in a bind. Part of the Virginia code made it illegal for the county to remove the signs in Fairfax County until after an election.