Fairfax County’s Homeless Population Declines 12 Percent
Emphasis on rapid re-housing, prevention keys to success.
Despite economic obstacles and fallout from across-the-board sequester cuts, Fairfax County’s number of homeless individuals declined 12 percent decline in the past year, and 26 percent since 2007.
Classified Advertising March 27, 2013
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Editorial: More Obstacles to Transparency
General Assembly puts more information out of public reach, but other factors also limit access.
The first paragraph of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, passed by the General Assembly in 1968, states that all public records "shall be presumed open." It doesn’t add, “except when we don’t want to,” although that provision does seem to be available in many cases. Individual government entities have a variety of ways of making it hard for the public to access public information.
Column: 14.8 Percent
That is the percentage of diagnosed lung cancer patients who survive beyond five years, according to The National Cancer Institute’s SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2009, in a graph published in the Feb. 26, 2013 Washington Post’s weekly Health & Science section. As a non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) survivor beginning his fifth year post-diagnosis, charting my prospects in such a cold and impersonal manner is both chilling and arguable. “Chilling” in that facts speak for themselves and are hardly made up of whole cloth, to invoke one of the late Jack Kent Cooke’s more famous quotes. And “arguable” in that charts, statistics, etc., may very well measure the mean, but it sure doesn’t measure the man (this man, anyway). Meaning, from my perspective: sure, the chart is scary as hell, but I’m not sure I’m on it, if you know what I mean? (I know you know what I hope.)
Better Training, More Technology
The bipartisan commission released findings, recommendations regarding long lines on Election Day.
"The commission has identified a variety of improvements and efficiencies to ensure access and convenience for voters in future elections.” —Sharon Bulova
Governor Approves Conditional Budget for Medicaid Expansion
Vote-swapping operation traded transportation votes for Medicaid money.
Half a million uninsured Virginians may be eligible for Medicaid under an agreement now being worked out in Richmond — a deal in which Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell agreed to include Medicaid expansion as part of the budget if Senate Democrats supported a transportation package.
U.S. Geological Survey Tightens Services
U.S. Geological Survey stops hosting science camp, closes visitors center.
The U.S. Geological Survey in Reston is canceling its participation in the annual science camp it hosts in partnership with the Reston Association and closing its visitors center as part of its implementation of the sequester.
Helping Provide Food for Others
In an area where the median household income is above $100,000, how can there be 47,000 students eligible for free and reduced lunches? But this is the case in Fairfax County, where one in six do not have sufficient resources to meet daily expenses. The Giving Circle of HOPE is making a difference by hosting Empty Bowls, an event that raises funds to fight hunger, on Friday, April 12.
Week in Herndon
Week in Herndon
Letter:Airport Authority Gets Into Business
Letter:Airport Authority Gets Into Business
Music Loft and Council for the Arts Hold Instrument Drive
Fundraising party at Jimmy's Old Town Tavern benefits drive.
Council for the Arts of Herndon partners with The Music Loft, LLC, to bring donated musical instruments to Herndon-area schools via a used instrument donation drive.
Clearview Celebrates National Literacy Month
Clearview Elementary School in Herndon celebrated National Literacy Month, March 2013, by hosting children's books authors Jacqueline Jules and Sara Lewis Holmes.
Farm Fresh at Frying Pan
Farmers Table at Frying Pan Park offers a preview of the market season.
Dreaming of all that farm fresh produce and the treats on offer at the area farmers’ markets? Counting the days until May when most will re-open? Stop dreaming. And stop staring at the calendar. Wander over to Frying Pan Farm Park on Thursdays between 2:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. and satisfy your cravings for food that hasn’t been flash-frozen or packed with preservatives so that it could make the gazillion mile trip from who-knows-where to your grocery store.
A Voice for the Voiceless
Q&A with SALT Coordinator John Horejsi.
“When there are bills affecting the wealthy the committee rooms are filled to capacity, but when issues affecting the needy, the hearing rooms are empty.” —SALT Coordinator John Horejsi
Local Perspective
Small-business owner tackles the sequester.
Raul Danny Vargas has beaten the odds all his life.
Classified Advertising March 20, 2013
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Oak Hill, Herndon Home Sales: February, 2013
In February 2013, 45 homes sold between $920,000-$130,000 in the Herndon and Oak Hill area.
Oak Hill, Herndon Home Sales: February, 2013
Editorial: Say Yes to Health Coverage
Governor, state panel must accept coverage for 400,000 Virginians without health insurance.
More than 140,000 residents of Fairfax County have no health insurance. That’s more than 13 percent of the slightly more than 1 million people who live in the wealthiest county in the nation. Arlington and Alexandria have similar percentages of uninsured.
Column: Just Wondering
Having never attended medical school (and not really having had the grades or commitment to do so), and having only completed 10th grade biology and freshman year astronomy, and rarely even driven by a medical school growing up, my understanding and/or instincts regarding how a medical professional plans and/or prepares for his day is as foreign to me as sugar-free chocolate (if I’m going down, I’m going down swinging; in truth however, considering the anti-cancer, alkaline diet I’m following, I do need to swing a little less frequently).
The Sound of Music
Enhancing your child’s music education during Music in Our Schools Month and beyond.
From the powerful sounds of a high school band to the soothing melodies sung in a kindergarten music classroom, local music educators are using the month of March to raise awareness of the benefits of learning music.