Origin of Mount Vernon Watersheds
Future of watersheds remains unresolved.
In a watershed, it is the tremendous diversity of life that makes it work. There is a trade-off when human intervention changes the way nature works. We have disconnected the water systems, the patterns of water in the landscape to which plant and animal life communities have adapted over millennia
Top Fitness Trends for 2015
Here are some low-cost and mobile routines.
The beginning of a new year is often a time when many resolve to begin a fitness plan or to ramp up their current routine. Officials at the American College of Sports Medicine rang in the New Year by releasing the organization’s annual survey of the top fitness trends for 2015.
Editorial: Happy New Year
Focused on community.
Happy New Year. We need your help in 2015. As local, weekly newspapers, the Connection’s mission is to deliver news readers need close to home, to help readers enjoy great local places and events, to advocate for community good, to call attention to unmet needs, to provide a forum for dialogue on local concerns, and to celebrate and record milestones and events in community and people’s lives.
Column: Down and Not Out, Yet
Thankfully (so far as I know, which isn’t very far), after a five-week interval between infusions, which included two additional weeks of pre-chemotherapy lab work and an out-of-the-ordinary 24-hour urine collection (“creatinine clearance”) to boot – to more accurately measure my kidney function in hopes of meeting a 1.6 threshold – muster was finally passed, and I was subsequently infused without any further adieu.
Overnight I-66 Closures in January
All lanes of Interstate 66 in one direction will close intermittently between midnight and 5 a.m. on several dates in January for the installation of gantries. Each closure will last up to 30 minutes.
Letter to the Editor: A Wonderful Article
To the Editor: What a wonderful article you wrote, Kareese (“How I Left…” by Kareese Akinloba, grade 8, Irving Middle School, Children’s Connection, January 1-7, 2015). Your writing ability is beyond your years.
Children's Connection 2014
This week, the Connection turns over its pages to the youth and students.
Column: Level Best
If I wanted to rationalize the benefit of delaying my heretofore every-three-week chemotherapy infusion from three weeks to four and now on to five, possibly six – and that’s dependent on improved results from a second/maybe even third retest upcoming (this retest a bit more involved than drawing blood) – I would say it’s only fitting that I should have a break/brake; after all, it is the holiday season when all good things; yada, yada, yada. If only it were that simple.
Horse-Filled Holidays
The Potomac Horse Center helds its holiday party and show on Sunday Dec. 14. Participants decorated their horses and stalls and then had a drill.
B’Nai Tzedek Leads Ceremonies for Hanukkah
Lighting the menorah at Potomac Place.
On Tuesday, Dec. 16, the first night of Hanukkah, the lighting of the candle of a large menorah, singing, and the giving of gelt welcomed in the Jewish holiday.
Potomac’s Arden Courts Celebrates 20 Years
A facility for memory care.
Arden Courts in Potomac, the first community built by Manor Care dedicated to those with Dementia and Alzheimer’s, celebrated its 20th anniversary on Nov. 5. More than 200 healthcare professionals, government officials, resident families and local businesses in the community came out in support.
Column: The New Normal
Loosey goosey, I suppose. As much as one might prefer some predictability in their life (certainly a cancer patient would – I know I would), I may be entering a cycle of permanent unpredictability.
Letter: Do Fairfax County Police Act with Impunity?
Fifteen months, after the shooting of John Geer, no officer has been identified, no charges have been filed, no grand jury has been convened and no reason has been given to the family or the public.
I would like to begin by saying that I have always and still do support the police as a whole. I appreciate the job that they do and the risks they take on a daily basis in an effort to keep the public safe. The ongoing policy in Fairfax County of police self-investigation, when officers are involved in possible crimes, has to change.
Irresistible? How Karen Garza Creates Change in Fairfax County Schools
Karen Garza is a good listener. And once she’s listened, she is, admittedly, not very patient. “If there's a real issue, I don't think it has to be debated for 10 or 15 years,” Garza said in an interview. “Either we're going to do something about it or not.”
FCPS Chief Karen Garza and Her Previous Life in Texas
“When I hired Karen in 2005,” former Superintendent of Houston Independent School District (HISD) Dr. Abelardo Saavedra said, “the position of chief academic officer had been open several months. I went looking for her. I’d never met her but I’d heard about her. There is a big difference between a mid-sized district and a larger one; the dynamics are completely different. I was taking a risk because she came from a mid-sized one of about 40,000 in Corpus Christi, and ours was much bigger. She adjusted very quickly.”
Fairfax County Public Schools Needing Community’s Help
Superintendent Karen Garza begins and ends her Listening Tour meetings with a plea to those in the room — parents, teachers, employees, unions — to help her achieve what needs to be done for their school system. “I am going to need your help,” she says to audiences who voice concerns about class size, resources for special education, and teacher salaries.
Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Karen Garza Bio
Current Position: Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent
Timeline of Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Karen Garza’s career in education.
1986-1991: Elementary School Teacher, Yoakum, Texas (1,539 students, 38% white and 50% Latino and spends about $8,000 per pupil).
Editorial: Merry Christmas
A message of peace and joy.
Merry Christmas. It’s a magical time of year, and perhaps Connection Newspapers has over indulged in displaying the many rituals of Christmas on our pages in the past few weeks. In events around the area, a sense of community has infused holiday parades, Christmas tree lightings, menorah lightings, choral performances, singing of carols and other traditional events with warmth and joy.
When Dad (or Mom) Is High School Sports Coach
Local coaches and athletes share their feelings about the relationship between parent/coach and child/athlete.