Bark and Call
Mobile Pet Grooming Comes to You
Marzi Sharifi started HoPPooH in Fairfax, a mobile pet grooming service, in 2013. With her two vans and groomer, Sara, HoPPooH—which means little dog or dog in Persian—will come to the pet owner’s door to groom and style man’s best friend…or his cat.
Shelter Gets Creative To Save Lives
Volunteers, social media assist in pet adoptions.
Since 2013, Fairfax County has been the largest jurisdiction in the United States with a placement rate of animals above 90 percent. Last year alone, nearly 2,500 animals were adopted, which is nearly double the adoptions just two years earlier.
Column: Not So Late This Time
But real-time once again: February 20, 11 hours, approximately, after our regularly-scheduled, post-scan meeting with the oncologist at 10:00 this morning.
Vienna: Oakton Girls’ Basketball Continues Winning Ways
Cougars win 10th conference/district title in last 11 years.
The Oakton girls' basketball team defeated Chantilly on Monday to win the Conference 5 championship.
Editorial: Managing Mental Illness in Jails
Natasha McKenna’s death provides window on national concern.
A national report released on Feb. 11 highlighted the prevalence of people with mental illness incarcerated in local jails.
Fairfax County School Board Discusses New AAP Center at Poplar Tree
Board seeks more community feedback before taking action.
Greenbriar West Elementary School is far from the only Fairfax County Public School with an overcrowding problem.
Vienna, Oakton Home Sales: January, 2015
In January, 2015, 61 homes sold between $2,391,677-$199,900 in the Vienna and Oakton area.
Vienna, Oakton Home Sales: January, 2015
Vienna Church Takes Ash Wednesday Message Outdoors
On Ash Wednesday, Feb. 18, Emmanuel Lutheran Church will be offering Ashes and Dashes, a new approach to a centuries-old Christian tradition, in its church parking lot (at 2589 Chain Bridge Road) from 6:45-8:30 a.m. Emmanuel is part of a new nationwide movement that has clergy and lay people stepping outside of churches to mark the foreheads of interested passers-by in parking lots, at transit centers and on street corners with ashes and encourage them to gain a better sense of self by examining their humility and mortality, and seek renewal.
Seniors Celebrate Valentine’s Day with Dinner and Dance
Town Recreation Department and SCOV partner at Vienna Community Center.
More than 120 “seniors” filled the auditorium at a Valentine’s Day dinner-dance on Feb. 13. The event was sponsored by the Town of Vienna Department of Parks and Recreation in partnership with Shepherd’s Center of Oakton-Vienna [SCOV]. The Tallwood Trio played pop music and standards and many couples danced. They boogied to “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” and held each other close to “Embraceable You,” some men mouthing the words as they danced.
Column: Staying Ahead of the Feds
The federal government is not always wrong. At the same time, the state government is not always right.
The Virginia House and the Senate have penned similar but competing mid-point versions to the 2014-2016 biennial budget.
Black History Month Celebrations
Local students learn about the history and accomplishments of African-Americans.
Fourth grade student Eli West crafted a poem this month that was modeled after Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous, “I Have a Dream” speech.
Stalled Labor Market Slows County Budget
Proposed budget calls for no real estate tax rate increase, but average homeowner would pay $184 more.
Supervisor Jeff McKay pointed out an irony in County Executive Ed Long’s proposed $3.8 billion budget. Three planning positions would be eliminated from the budget even though Long suggested the county needs more efforts to raise revenue from commercial and industrial venues.
Super-Insulation Talk Attracts Homeowners in Reston
How to lower electric, gas and water bills?
The Rose Gallery at Reston Community Center at Lake Anne in Reston was the venue for a well-attended presentation by Rich and Marian Taschler on proper home insulation and its mostly unknown benefits. The program was offered under the auspices of Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at George Mason University.
Oh Deer! What Can the Matter Be?
The county Park Authority used aerial infrared surveys via fixed-wing airplanes to count the number of deer inside parks and within a small distance in the surrounding neighborhoods on Feb. 6, 2014 and Dec. 27, 2013, according to the 2014 Annual Report on the Environment for Fairfax County.
Column: Real-Time, Really Late
I’m not a night owl. More of an early bird, worms notwithstanding. But given the contents of last week’s column, “Scantsy,” I find it difficult to write about anything else while waiting for the results of my CT Scan.
Matthew Charged In West Potomac Alumna Hannah Graham Murder
Suspect faces life in prison.
Nearly five months after the disappearance of University of Virginia sophomore and West Potomac High School alumna Hannah Graham, the primary suspect in her death investigation has been indicted by a grand jury in Albemarle County.
Combining Health and Mental Health
Community Services Board provides emergency services, prevention and treatment.
One teenager who attempted suicide revealed that if anyone had asked him beforehand whether he was thinking of hurting himself, he would have said yes.
Fairfax County Judge Orders More John Geer Materials Released
Family’s lawyer’s motions supported.
Though extensive, the thousands of pages of documents, dozens of audio files and handful of videos released last month by Fairfax County, documenting the shooting death of Springfield resident John Geer, aren’t exhaustive.
Letter: Failing in Their Duties
Letter to the Editor
I applaud your editorial on the Geer murder (“No Justification for Secrecy, Delay on Geer Shooting,” Connection, February 4-10, 2015). The Connection has done yeoman’s work in keeping this tragedy in front of the public, unlike other newspapers which are johnnie-come-latelies.
Editorial: Not the First or Only Time
Secrecy around police shootings has been a problem for at least a decade.
The official position of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on the need for changes in policy after the shooting of John Geer by police in Springfield in August of 2013 appears to be that this is the first time police policies have been a problem: “Policies for handling police-involved incidents, which served us well for decades, were inadequate in this complicated situation.”