Letter: Time to Move Forward
To the Editor: I am writing in response to Linda Greenberg's letter "Catering to the One Percent" in the Jan. 15 edition of the Gazette. Her question, "Why isn't the city expanding car lanes to ease congestion" deserves an answer.
How To Keep One’s Financial Affairs in Order
Plan, plan, plan — it’s never too early. This was the mantra at last week’s Senior Speaker Series event: Planning for your Family’s Future, sponsored by Senior Services of Alexandria and ACT for Alexandria. Temple Beth El Hebrew Congregation hosted a crowd or more than 100 for a panel discussion about the steps we all need to take to protect our assets and put our legal affairs in order.
Local Photographer To Exhibit at Sugarloaf Festival
Arlington resident Peter Tomlinson’s nature and wildlife photos will be displayed at the 2014 Sugarloaf Crafts Festival from Friday, Jan. 24 until Sunday, Jan. 26 at the Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly.
Into the Budget Fray
Bulova highlights accomplishments, challenges in annual address.
Despite the lingering impact of an anemic economy, and the regional ripple effects of federal sequestration, Fairfax County residents will see some concrete signs of progress this year.
Editorial: Extend Health Coverage in Virginia
Standing on what is essentially scorched earth, Republicans in the Virginia General Assembly have condemned hundreds of thousands of poor Virginians to living without health coverage even though it would be fully funded by Federal money for the next three years, and with Virginia paying 10 percent after five years.
Friends Forever
Since it had been more than a few months, today I summoned up the courage to Google my long-time friend and fellow stage IV lung cancer survivor, Suzanne. Suzanne and I had been years out of touch (for no real reason other than initiative and the geographic consideration that she lived in Barnstable, Ma. and I live in Burtonsville, Md.) and recently back in touch – due to our identical cancer diagnoses. I learned that she had succumbed to her disease back in October, 2013. We last had contact electronically back in the summer. She was extremely weak then, she said, too weak to talk, so e-mailing was best. In that e-mail, ultimately her last, she wrote that the most recent chemotherapy drug with which she was infused was no longer effective and that her oncologist had no other drugs left to recommend. Not that she said it in so many words, but at that point her prognosis was grim. She offered that her two boys were with her and from them she would gain great comfort. The news was very unsettling to me and I was afraid that this e-mail might be our last – and so it was.
Arlington Home Sales: December, 2013
In December 2013, 219 Arlington homes sold between $2,260,000-$100,000.
Arlington Home Sales: December, 2013
Classified Advertising January 15, 2014
Read the latest ads here!
Virginia Supreme Court Opens Access to Audio Recordings of Oral Arguments
Policy change overturns blackout instituted in 2008.
Members of the Virginia Supreme Court have a New Year’s Resolution — become more transparent.
W-L Gymnastics Winning Despite Loss of ‘Fab Four’
Hatcher twins, freshman Shea lead Generals.
Washington-Lee is the two-time defending region gymnastics champion.
Encore Presents ‘The Little Mermaid Jr.’
Final performances of the Encore Stage & Studio Theatre’s “The Little Mermaid Jr.”
Obituary
Allan R. Plumley, Jr.
Allan R. Plumley, Jr. died on Dec. 26, 2013 at Virginia Hospital Center, in Arlington, due to complications following a fall. He was 80 years old. A fourth generation lawyer, Mr. Plumley was born in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 14, 1933, and raised in Wilmington, Del., where his father, a patent attorney, was an executive with DuPont.
Capitals Blood Drive: Giving Blood
The Washington Capitals and Inova Blood Donor Services held the Capitals annual winter blood drive on Saturday, Jan. 4, at Kettler Capitals Iceplex
Day of Service
Arlington for a Clean Environment coordinated volunteers to clean up Barcroft Park at 4200 S Four Mile Run Drive on Saturday, Jan. 4, as part of Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s Commonwealth Day of Service events.
Schools Budget Requires Tough Choices
Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Karen Garza’s proposed budget of $2.5 billion for FY 2015 will require an additional $98.1 million, or 5.7 percent increase compared to FY 2014, from Fairfax County.
From Late Night Comedy to Your Bedroom
Why the General Assembly matters more in Virginia than most states.
The Virginia General Assembly began its annual session last week on Jan. 8. The actions of the Virginia General Assembly matter more to localities than it would in many other states. In Virginia, localities have only the power specifically granted by the General Assembly, the Dillon rule. So, for example, Montgomery County and Prince Georges County in Maryland recently voted to increase the minimum wage in those localities. They didn’t need permission from Maryland General Assembly to do so. Arlington and Alexandria might be inclined to follow suit (the District government also voted to increase the minimum wage) but do not have that power.
In Case Someone Is Wondering
I don’t mind being alive, really I don’t. Occasionally though, I receive well-intended inquiries – electronic and otherwise, from people (who know my cancer story) who are sort of wondering if perhaps I’m not. When people haven’t heard from me in a while – and this is a category of people with whom I don’t have regular/recurring interactions, but rather a group of people who reach out and attempt to touch me (figuratively speaking) every three or four months or so – there is a presumption on their part that my silence (so far as they know) is not in fact golden, but rather ominous, as in the cancer might have won and yours truly didn’t. And when I respond, their pleasure/relief at my not having succumbed to the disease is quite positive, generally speaking. Their honesty and joy in learning that I’m still alive is both rewarding and gratifying. Rewarding in that they care and gratifying in that I must be doing something right which enables me to sustain myself through a very difficult set of medical circumstances: stage IV, non-small cell lung cancer, the terminal kind (is there any other kind?).
Let Sun Shine on Virginia’s Financial Disclosure Laws
State legislators turn attention to ethics in wake of McDonnell gift scandal.
As members of the Virginia General Assembly convene for the first time since last February, legislators are stampeding to introduce ethics legislation in response to the gift scandal which engulfed then Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R). The revelations last spring about numerous undisclosed gifts and purported loans from businessman Jonnie Williams to McDonnell — including a $6,500 Rolex watch engraved to the "71st Governor of Virginia" and $35,000 in gifts and catering for his daughters’ weddings — shined a spotlight on Virginia’s porous financial disclosure laws.
Summer Camp: Start Planning Now
Applications for many camps open in January.
The frigid January temperatures can make summer feel like a distant fantasy of sunscreen and popsicles, but it’s actually not that far away. If you have children who want to attend camp after the current school year ends, now is the time to start planning, said experts. In fact, registration for many camps begins this month.
Creating Books with Children
Experts say helping little readers become authors can deepen a love of reading.
K.J., 8, and his sister Kalina, 3, love reading books, particularly books they’ve written themselves or with their mother. In fact, K.J. is an avid reader of both homemade and traditionally published books, and his sister is following in his footsteps.