Saturday, May 19, 2012
You may think twice about telling your kid to stop doodling.
If you've ever wondered what Sharon Bulova, Chair of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, is scribbling under the microphone during those incredibly long public hearings, it turns out she's a lifelong doodler. In addition to her duties as a public official for 25 years, Bulova has run more than a few pens dry by making cartoon likenesses of her colleagues. The drawings tell a sort of truth — from a certain point of view. Once you see them, you'll never mistake the mustache of U.S. Rep Gerry Connolly (D-11) for another, or the familiar dome of Mount Vernon Supervisor Gerry Hyland. "Since becoming Chairman, I don't draw and doodle as much as I used to," Bulova told Patch from her office in the Fairfax County Government Center. "I used …
Friday, May 18, 2012
Fun for the entire family from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Burke Lake Golf Center at Burke Lake Park is hosting a family-friendly open house Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. According to the Fairfax County Park Authority, the free event will feature demonstrations, door prizes, golf tips, skills contests and kids' events. Burke Lake Golf Center was named in Virginia Living's "Best Of Virginia 2012" issue as one of the top golf courses in the Northern region of the Commonwealth. Burke Lake Golf Center is a slightly wooded 18 hole, par 3 course, ideal for golfers of all playing abilities. There is also a lighted driving range with 40 hitting stations, a practice bunker and an 8,000 square-foot putting green. The course is open year-round, weather permitting. Hours vary with the season. The …
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Burke Lake Park
7315 Ox Rd, Fairfax Station, VA
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The Clifton home tour took place Thursday.
On Thursday, visitors got a peek inside some of Clifton’s homes and enjoyed the sunny day as a part of the town’s 40th Annual Clifton Homes Tour. “ I love to see all the houses and how they decorate them,” said Marguerite O’Connor, who was on the tour with her daughter. “And the setting is so peaceful.” The tour brought out O’Connor and hundreds of others to Clifton. The event put on annually by the Clifton Community Woman’s Club brings in funds for the women’s club charitable trust distribution. It includes $20,000 for scholarships, food banks and local charities. In addition to the homes, the Acacia Masonic Lodge welcomed visitors with a membership table and a lemonade and cookie stand. Paradise Springs Winery was home to a marketplace, …
Virginia Railway Express' board meets Friday.
The Virginia Railway Express (VRE) Operations Board meets Friday to discuss several issues of specific interest to area riders. WiFi VRE has considered adding WiFi to trains for some time, but dropped the plan in January due to cost and reliability of providing uninterrupted service. The board will begin the discussion anew on Friday. The agenda lists four possible technologies, with routers the preferred choice. The issue is listed for discussion only. Security Cameras VRE received a grant in 2004 from the Department of Homeland Security for the installation of security cameras at a limited number of VRE stations, which included: In 2010, cameras were added to the Manassas station as part of the parking garage project. In FY 2009, VRE …
Fairfax County Public Schools staff is looking into possibility of deferring budget approval
The Fairfax County School Board continued to debate how to implement changes to the Virginia Retirement System into the fiscal 2013 budget during a work session Thursday, with most of the members leaning toward phasing in the required shift to 5 percent employee contributions. Susan Quinn, chief financial officer for Fairfax County Public Schools, presented six of the hundreds of options for how to adjust VRS and Educational Employees' Supplementary Retirement System of Fairfax County (ERFC) contributions, market-scale adjustments and STEP increases. [See the options in a PDF included with this article.] Option A showed Superintendent Jack Dale's proposal, which would have FCPS complete the 5 percent shift in fiscal year 2013 and eliminate…
The Robinson Secondary School coach and alumni was remembered Thursday.
To those who did not know Barry Gorodnick, Robinson Secondary School would seem like an odd place for a memorial service. But Gorodnick, or “Coach G.” as students knew him, lived for the school where he had attended since the seventh grade. He was 47 years old when he died on Saturday, and it seemed like he had never left the place. “He loved it so much he graduated and came back here for another 24 years,” said Robinson principal Dan Meier, who gave an opening statement at the memorial service held in the school’s gymnasium on Thursday afternoon. “Barry was Robinson.” The memorial service brought out hundreds of people — Gorodnick’s family, his extended family, the Robinson community. The service welcomed comments from the school …
PG-13 'Battleship' feels like a two-hour Navy recruitment video.
I'm surprised blue and gold aren't the colors used on the movie poster for "Battleship," along with Go Navy! and Beat Aliens! If you leave your brain at the front door of the multiplex on a day you feel like rooting for the home team, you could do worse than vacillating between cheering and snickering for those two hours of this completely ridiculous, raucous mash-up of "Independence Day," "Pearl Harbor," and "Transformers." Director Peter Berg, of "Friday Night Lights," "The Kingdom," and "Hancock," knows his way around the camera. So we can try to accept the fact that for some reason he feels the need to release his inner Michael Bay. What results is not exactly a good movie, but one that unapologetically embraces its cliches, even on …
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate answered questions in appearance at AOL's Dulles office.
U.S. Senate hopeful Tim Kaine said the federal government should chip in for the Silver Line Phase 2 — but that the commonwealth also needs to pay a bigger share than the $150 million it has promised to ensure it gets built as scheduled. "What we are seeing in Washington is an anti-investment mentality," Kaine (D) told a group at AOL's Dulles headquarters Thursday. He said he worked with the Bush and Obama administrations to get $900 million for the first phase and the next phase has centered on who pays for it. "I believe it is a project of federal significance because it links Dulles with the most important capital city in the world," he said. "But when it comes to the state being a meaningful participant, Virginia has fallen short too. …
The course is being offered next week.
A free two-day self-defense class for women run by the Fairfax County Police Department begins next week. The classes is for women ages 13 and over and will cover risk awareness, crime prevention, defense, and hands-on-training on tactics. Mothers or female guardians are required to attend the class with teenaged students. The course is sponsored by the police department, the Fairfax Police Law Enforcement Foundation and C. & J. Security Corporation. Classes are on May 22 and 24 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Fairfax County Criminal Justice Academy, 14601 Lee Road, Chantilly. Email wsd@fairfaxfoundation.org to register for the May sessions or sessions that are scheduled for June 12 and 14, or call 703-246-7806. Seating is limited.
The students won first place in their category.
Robinson Secondary School students recently won first place at a statewide Technology Student Association State Leadership Conference. Andy Artze, Exxus Altimus, and Michael Sherburne won first place in their category, system control technology. The TSA conference judges middle school and high school students on innovation, design, and engineering. The category asks students to develop a computer-controlled model-solution to a problem. Teams analyze the problem, build a computer-controlled mechanical model, program the model, explain the program and mechanical features of the model-solution, according to the national TSA website. At the middle school level, Fairfax County Public School students won 10 first-place awards. High school …
Bob
6:46 am on Friday, May 18, 2012
What's this? Moon is actually doing some work on the School Board for a change? He's actually consulting with colleagues? Wow - that's IS a change! more ›