Falls Church and Northern Virginia's Premier Weekly Newspaper
Friday, September 29, 2023
Several years ago, an elderly constituent, who had served in World War II, came to my office and asked me, with some agitation in his voice, “is it true that, if you are born here, you automatically are a U.S. citizen?” A little surprised by the question from the gentleman, […]
My favorite restaurant is closing. Foxfire Grill in the Pinecrest Shopping Center has been a popular fixture in Mason District since 2003, but owner Terri Fox announced this weekend that the lease could not be renewed, and she made the difficult decision to close her restaurant on October 31, 2023. […]
In all the cacophony surrounding assaults on democracy and the founding ideals of the United States of America, a recent op-ed in the Washington Post brought some suggested clarity to the battles for ideas, inclusion, and independent thought. The essay was by Eli Tillemann, a senior at the Thomas Jefferson […]
When I was first elected in 1995, digital communication was in its infancy, and most inquiries and requests for county services came by telephone, letter, or fax machine. For those too young to remember, a fax machine, or facsimile transmission, uses telephone lines to transmit documents to a special printer; […]
No one expected Donald Trump’s mug shot to be a well-lit and air-brushed eight-by-ten glossy, but his snarling visage imposed on the Fulton County Sheriff’s logo did a good job of highlighting, in one split-second photo, his oft-demonstrated disdain for governmental institutions. I wondered how long he had practiced that […]
Where did summer go? We still may be in meteorological summer, but what I call “social” summer has come to a close. School is back in session, neighborhood pools have reduced their hours, and the free summer concerts at Mason District Park and Ossian Hall Park have concluded. A few […]
A telephone survey, and subsequent column in The Washington Post, got me thinking more about the past, present, and future of newspapers, and the press and journalism overall. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t read a newspaper every day, weekends included. Starting the day without a newspaper at […]
The so-called “smoke-filled back room” for making political decisions in secret is long gone, replaced by “sunshine laws” that prescribe how public bodies, elected or unelected, must provide notice of public meetings to the community. Sunshine laws (the proper name is the Virginia Freedom of Information Act – VFOIA) also […]
Public libraries can provide a gateway to a wider world, whether a beginning reader, a new resident in a new country, a job seeker, or a retiree looking for new challenges. Today’s libraries provide more than reading materials on loan; they provide endless opportunities for all their patrons. Limiting individuals’ […]
There is an abundance of musical talent in Northern Virginia, and summertime provides an opportunity to enjoy live performances absolutely free! In Fairfax County, you can enjoy live, and professional, music performances almost every evening from mid-June to late August at a variety of park venues. Log in to www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/performances […]
