Potomac’s Mike Hammer Adjusts as Ambassador to Chile
Strengthening U.S.-Chile ties.
On Wednesday, March 5, Mike Hammer was quietly residing in Potomac with his family where he enjoyed weekend walks to Starbucks and watching his children’s sports activities. However, one day later, he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as ambassador to Chile — and life started moving at a breath-taking pace. Three days after the confirmation, he and his family boarded Air Force Two to fly to Santiago with Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden.
Historic Potomac Home Goes on the Market
The house’s origins date back to late 1700s, say owners.
Adam Garfinkle and Scilla Taylor are aficionados of historical architecture, particularly when it comes to their homes. They enjoy restoring and uncovering the hidden stories of bygone eras, and they found a wealth of inspiration in their Potomac home at 9901 Glen Road.
What to Expect
Real estate experts offer a forecast for spring.
Real estate agent Joan Caton Cromwell says she lost a home bidding war last week in Falls Church even though her client was a strong contestant.
Spring Songbirds Arriving Now
Local bird groups and bird walks help beginning birders see colorful birds.
The birds are coming. The annual migration of often brightly colored songbirds from their winter homes in Central and South America, Mexico, the Caribbean Islands, and the southern U.S. is underway now. Millions and millions of avian migrants fly northward every night and the come down to rest or nest every morning. Some of the birds are enroute to nesting areas far to the north; some nest right here or nearby.
Region Sees Lowest Number of TB Cases in Decades
Outreach efforts get people in for tuberculosis treatment before it spreads.
When Dr. Barbara Andrino came to the Fairfax County Health Department in 2011, there were 137 cases of tuberculosis in Northern Virginia.
Mother's Day Photos
Mother’s Day is May 11, and every year at this time, the Almanac calls for submissions to its Mother’s Day photo gallery.
Animal Shelters, Wildlife Rehabbers Often Receive Needlessly Orphaned Birds
Area animal agencies caution that not every wild bird baby who looks as if it could use help actually needs it.
Where Am I?
"I’m sitting in the rocking chair, good buddy," (a "Smokey and The Bandit" reference, if you’re not of a certain vintage), between two 18-wheelers where the police radar can’t find me – further referencing the C.B. radio days. Updating to the "Kenny-with-cancer" days, I’m a month or so past my last very encouraging CT Scan, the one I wrote about when my oncologist offered me a congratulatory handshake, a gesture he had not made in the five-plus years since we’ve been tangling with this damn disease; and I’m approximately seven weeks away from my next CT scan, "intervaled" every three months at present. Seven weeks is far enough away where I’m not even thinking about it, or the possibility of its discouraging results that I’ll know about on or about June 9th. I am cruising, emotionally, and savoring the excellent results from the last scan and not yet worrying, wondering, hoping, praying (too much) about my next scan. This means, at the moment – or moments, I should say, I am enjoying a relatively stress-free and blissful ignorance to what may – or hopefully may not, be happening in my lungs. I am, to quote a Three Stooges line: "as safe as in my mother’s arms."
Entrants Sought for Anti-Alcohol Awards
A Vienna-based, alcohol-education group wants to honor local, high school groups for their efforts in fighting underage drinking. To recognize high-school students for "doing the right thing," the nonprofit Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) will present its 2014 GEICO Student Awards at a May 16 ceremony in Washington, D.C., and is accepting applications for the honors through Monday, April 28, at http://www.wrap.org/files/youthOutreach.htm. Entry is free.
Editorial: Past Time for Later Start Times
Teenagers are sleep deprived, and sleep deprivation takes a significant toll on safety, health and learning. We’ve known this for decades. But for decades, literally, Fairfax County Public Schools (and Montgomery County, Md.) have let a combination of reactionary blabber ("buck up and get moving;" "just tell them to go to bed earlier") and organizational resistance prevent implementing a solution to this very real problem. Getting up at 5:30 or 6 a.m. to hop on a school bus at 5:45 a.m. or even as late at 6:30 a.m. to get to school by 7:20 a.m. is not healthy for teenagers. It is nearly impossible for teenagers to go to sleep before 11 p.m. or midnight. Fairfax County high school students average six hours of sleep a night on weeknights. Research shows they need nine hours of sleep. Research has also quantified the costs of sleep deprivation.
Classified Advertising April 23, 2014
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Classified Advertising April 16, 2014
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Potomac Home Sales: March, 2014
In March 2014, 29 Potomac homes sold between $2,430,000-$385,000.
Potomac Home Sales: March, 2014
Beth Shalom Hosts ‘Guys Night Out’
The 4th annual BBQ, Scotch and Seder Summit took place April 6 at the Beth Sholom Congregation on Seven Locks Road in Potomac.
Dinner Music
Focus Music brings folk and acoustic music to Potomac’s Tami’s Table.
Tami’s Table Café and Wine Bar, located at 12944-E Travilah Road, Potomac is the scene to check out.
Tiger Trot Triumph
More than 500 runners participated in the fourth annual “Tiger Trot” at Connelly School of the Holy Child.
Editorial: Celebrate Earth Day
Get outside with your family, participate in group activities, or just walk in your favorite park.
Earth Day is April 22, observed April 19-27 and beyond. Fairfax County offers many useful and educational ways to enjoy the day. Don’t miss the chance to get outside, observe the developing spring weather, flora and fauna. Here are some of the opportunities:
Challenging A Child’s Mind
Experts say reading is critical to cognitive and emotional development.
Arlington mother Holly Karapetkova reserves time for reading in the schedules of her two young children. It has become such an important part of their daily routine that it is a treasured family activity. It is also vital to her children’s development says Karapetkova.
Dying of Curiosity
As I was completing last week’s column ("I Thought I Was a Goner") and thanking my oncology nurse, Ron, in the process, for the excellent care he has provided me for nearly five years now; a week after I wrote a column thanking my Certified Holistic Health Coach, Rebecca Nenner, for the health and fitness-type knowledge she has given me over those same five years; it dawned on me that perhaps my subconscious mind knew something that my conscious mind didn’t: that I should move closer to the undertaker like Radar’s Uncle Ernest did two days before he died, in the M*A*S*H episode titled "Novacaine Mutiny" from season four.
Mother's Day Photos
Mother’s Day is May 11, 2014, and every year at this time, we call for submissions to our Mother’s Day photo gallery.