Letter: The "Land of the Freebies and Home of the Knaves"
Letter to the Editor
I came from a family of Democrats. My grandfather's tavern in upstate New York was a frequent meeting place for Democrats including the late Congressman Sam Stratton who used to speak there regularly. But the Democrat party has lately come to represent “the Land of the Freebies and Home of the Knaves” instead of “the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave.”
Letter: ‘Real Jobs’ and ‘Real Taxes’
To the Editor
In Leesburg on August 21, Supervisor John Foust, in discussing his opponent Delegate Barbara Comstock, said "I don't think [Comstock's] even had a real job."
Letter: Facing Homelessness
To the Editor
In his opinion piece (“Homelessness: Source of Trauma for Children,” Connection, August 13-19, 2014), Dean Klein, the Director of Fairfax County’s Office to Prevent and End Homelessness, clearly enumerated the reality for hundreds of homeless families and their children in the County.
Letter: Worried About Follin Lane
To the Editor
I am a sixth grade student at Vienna Elementary School. I live at the corner of Branch Rd. and Echols St. I think that they should not redo the road on Follin Lane
What’s on the Ballot; How to Vote
Election Day is Nov. 4, 2014, but you can vote as early as Sept. 19.
Every year is Election Year in Virginia. This year, every Virginia voter will choose one member of the U.S. Senate and their member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
About the Connection
As your local, weekly newspaper, the Connection’s mission is to deliver the local news you need, to try to make sense of what is happening in your community, to gather information about the best things in and near your community, to advocate for community good, to provide a forum for dialogue on local concerns, and to celebrate and record achievements, milestones and events in the community and people’s lives.
Editorial: Back to School - Good Steps, Good Intentions
The first day of school in Fairfax County is Tuesday, Sept. 2, but Monday, Sept. 8 is the beginning of something important. For the first time in decades, elementary school students will have a full day of school on Mondays instead of being sent home hours early. This action makes so much sense in for families with children in elementary school. The ability of Superintendent Karen Garza to facilitate this change to go into effect right away is remarkable, and we hope a promise for more changes ahead.
Editorial: Accountability for Police in Northern Virginia
There is more transparency in the police shooting in Ferguson last week than in police shootings in Northern Virginia.
This is not Ferguson, and tanks do not roll down the streets of Northern Virginia driven by police officers pointing sniper rifles at residents.
Letter: Opposing Medicaid Expansion
Letter to the Editor
Four years ago, a practical doctor said something like this: “So let me get this straight. We’re going to be gifted with a healthcare plan we are forced to purchase, and fined if we don’t, which purportedly covers at least 10 million more people, without adding a single new doctor, but provides for 16,000 new IRS agents, written by a committee whose chairman says he doesn’t understand it, passed by a Congress that didn’t read it (but exempted themselves from it), supported by a government which has already bankrupted Social Security and Medicare, all financed by a country that’s broke. So what the “blank" could possibly go wrong?”
All Write For Now
And so it goes, every three months or so; a CT Scan, a week or so of waiting, and then a face-to-face appointment with my oncologist to learn/discuss the results. Thankfully, the results continue to be amazing. My doctor has told me that I’m his third miracle; stage IV, non-small cell lung cancer patients generally don’t live beyond two years. I’m in year six.
Write Now, I Just Don’t Know
The biggest writing problem that I have, other than the ones you regular readers generally know about, is writing a current column on the weekend immediately preceding the next Wednesday’s publication date, when I am still waiting on results from my most recent CT Scan. This isn’t like putting the cart before the horse, this is more like putting the horse in the cart and pulling it.
Homelessness: Source of Trauma for Children
Nearly 700 children live in emergency homeless shelters in Fairfax County at some point during the year.
Summer vacation is wrapping up; kids everywhere are gearing up for the return to school. Stores are filled with school supplies; back-to-school advertising fills our TVs, radio and mailboxes. Many families are hustling from store to store getting supplies, backpacks, clothes and haircuts. As children, while we hated to see summer end, we fondly remember the yearly ritual and the excitement and anticipation of getting all those new things.
Letter: Back to School With Asthma
Back to school season is upon us! For many families, there’s more to do than sign up for activities and shop for supplies: 2,277 kids in Alexandria, 3,155 in Arlington, 417 in Fairfax City, and 23,441 in Fairfax County have asthma.
Letter: Fit Academics Into the Fun
Finding ways to fit academics into the fun is imperative to making sure children are prepared for the coming school year which begins in just a few short weeks.
Editorial: Brightening Outlook for End of Summer
Local pleasures to offset discouraging news.
The news here has been a bit discouraging, and that’s without considering the human tragedy and disaster of several different international situations.